[QUOTE=Pocket Pony;8717374]
So peeing in my indoor arena at the edge of where it meets my barn is actually keeping some critters away? Good to know! :lol:
OP, you don’t need a boy for this part - drop your drawers and let it flow! :lol:[/QUOTE]
You are so self sufficient, Pocket Pony! Keeping critters away n’ all and you didn’t even know it!
[QUOTE=Gamma;8717096]
Since you already have a small dog, you might be able to discourage them by getting dog smell all over your barn. Like, really thoroughly have your dog get into every nook and cranny about once a week. Cat would be better, because a cat would also catch some of them, but…
Also, box up as many blankets and other cloth goods as possible, in real (thick-sided) containers. Good advice for everyone who doesn’t like mouse-poo on their blankets anyway! You can fit an awful lot of blankets in a job box, and it will take rodents a really long time to chew through it, enough time that they will move on to something else.[/QUOTE]
Good thinking. Now wishing I’d have kept his hair from the bad hair cut I gave him. His hair was about 2" long. He isn’t much of an explorer. He guards the doorway while I’m feeding or following me to paddocks. Would distributing some of his little tootsie rolls in paddocks near doorways help?
Mice like to be in my fields over being in my barns, even in winter and especially in this particular barn. If they come into my barn, they rarely poop, so I don’t think they come in much. No mouse poop on my blankets (which need washing and put into storage for the summer, thanks for reminding me). Occasionally catch one in my tack room.
[QUOTE=csaper58;8717901]
Dear OP, Regarding your original post…
This behavior does not sound rabbit ish, it sounds rat ish. Especially the black fur.[/QUOTE]
Last year when I saw the fur and dead baby, I wasn’t sure what it was. It had faint black fuzz and there was tracing of a star on it’s forehead. Realize it had ears and hind legs of a rabbit. The three babies I found in my hay stall looked just like him. They each had white stars on their heads. They started out black but turned mixed brown.
The poop I saw in the beat pulp looked like round rabbit pellets to me. Don’t rats have more oval shaped poop?
Rat poop looks like pellets. At least for the big rats. 
[QUOTE=IPEsq;8718624]
Rat poop looks like pellets. At least for the big rats. :D[/QUOTE]
Not sure where you’ve seen rat poop looking like pellets but I worked in an animal facility that had rats for 31 years and never saw that. Some rats were on long term studies and lived from birth through breeding to death and never saw round pellets like a rabbit has. All the rat poop was elongated oval-shaped.
I would research a wildlife rehabber in your area to help you.
I do not ever advise relocating wildlife if you don’t know how to do it properly.
*** whenever you have wildlife that is not welcome ( rabbits, skunks, raccoons ect) you should try ‘hazing’. It involves making very loud noises, taking a stick and beating it against the stall, pots and pans. ect - leave a radio on at night and the lights on - try that for a few nights & days - see if that works. A rehabber will be able to give you some good advice as well.
It is unusual for a rabbit to build a nest in a building… and the net chewing and blanket destruction is absolutely NOT wild rabbit behavior at all. We have rabbits all over our yard and fields and not once has one built a nest in our barn, run in or paddocks in 14 years. However, we’ve had Norway rats, pack rats and mice galore and yes they will destroy blankets, etc.
Momma rabbit will only visit babies once a day, usually at night, to nurse. Otherwise, they are alone in their very shallow, fur filled nest. If they are up and hopping around, eyes open and about the size of a big hamster, they are generally ready to head out on their own.
I wonder if that first fur pile/dead bunny was actually the work of a predator leaving behind the inedibles? MistyBlue has the right methods to discourage rabbits from your barn. But honestly? They are harmless. I am positive the destruction you experienced is not rabbit related.
[QUOTE=msj;8718776]
Not sure where you’ve seen rat poop looking like pellets but I worked in an animal facility that had rats for 31 years and never saw that. Some rats were on long term studies and lived from birth through breeding to death and never saw round pellets like a rabbit has. All the rat poop was elongated oval-shaped.[/QUOTE]
Maybe our definition of pellets is different? I am thinking longer like feed pellets. I am not well versed in rabbit poop.
Rabbit poop is nice and round balls. Rat is elongated and oval-shaped.
Sounds like you don’t your sh*t afterall!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: (just joking-not meant as snarky)
I’m also thinking this isn’t a rabbit. It doesn’t sound like rabbit behavior to me to nest inside a building, or to destroy stuff. Rats, though…
[QUOTE=IPEsq;8718624]
Rat poop looks like pellets. At least for the big rats. :D[/QUOTE]
Oh, I did NOT want to hear that!! :eek: Rabbits and giant rats.
[QUOTE=msj;8718776]
Not sure where you’ve seen rat poop looking like pellets but I worked in an animal facility that had rats for 31 years and never saw that. Some rats were on long term studies and lived from birth through breeding to death and never saw round pellets like a rabbit has. All the rat poop was elongated oval-shaped.[/QUOTE]
Thank you! Rat poop I’ve seen was the same!
[QUOTE=Calvincrowe;8719998]
It is unusual for a rabbit to build a nest in a building… and the net chewing and blanket destruction is absolutely NOT wild rabbit behavior at all. We have rabbits all over our yard and fields and not once has one built a nest in our barn, run in or paddocks in 14 years. However, we’ve had Norway rats, pack rats and mice galore and yes they will destroy blankets, etc.
Momma rabbit will only visit babies once a day, usually at night, to nurse. Otherwise, they are alone in their very shallow, fur filled nest. If they are up and hopping around, eyes open and about the size of a big hamster, they are generally ready to head out on their own.
I wonder if that first fur pile/dead bunny was actually the work of a predator leaving behind the inedibles? MistyBlue has the right methods to discourage rabbits from your barn. But honestly? They are harmless. I am positive the destruction you experienced is not rabbit related.[/QUOTE]
It is a rabbit for certain. The fur last year and dead bunny were the same as the fur I saw in the hay stall and the 3 bunnies were about the same age. They grew up to be brown bunnies, hopped around, and then eventually left. The brown bunnies looked exactly like the rabbit I saw near my gate coming out of black berry bushes. The two subsequent litters were identical to the first and to the dead bunny last year. Maybe this mama rabbit is coming back into my barn because she had a litter in here last year (possibly her first), and thinks it’s where she’s supposed to have them?
The hay nets she chewed were in the hay room and contained some fur.
[QUOTE=msj;8720266]
Rabbit poop is nice and round balls. Rat is elongated and oval-shaped.
Sounds like you don’t your sh*t afterall!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: (just joking-not meant as snarky)[/QUOTE]
I don’t know my sh*t, that is for certain! I don’t know Jack either. :lol::D:D
[QUOTE=Color of Light;8718457]
Good thinking. Now wishing I’d have kept his hair from the bad hair cut I gave him. His hair was about 2" long. He isn’t much of an explorer. He guards the doorway while I’m feeding or following me to paddocks. Would distributing some of his little tootsie rolls in paddocks near doorways help?
Mice like to be in my fields over being in my barns, even in winter and especially in this particular barn. If they come into my barn, they rarely poop, so I don’t think they come in much. No mouse poop on my blankets (which need washing and put into storage for the summer, thanks for reminding me). Occasionally catch one in my tack room.[/QUOTE]
Lucky you, our mice know about the mouse paradise that is the tack room…
I “encourage” our cat to explore whenever the mice start getting too bold, by physically moving her into the places where I don’t want mice. Could you do stall inspections with your dog? Let’s walk through all the stalls and sniff in the corners, good boy!
I like that idea of inspector dog (or cat). He doesn’t usually venture into the stalls through the back doors (knows horses could be in there) even if horses are out, but I could probably encourage him. Excellent idea!
we have rabbits that live around our barns, we also have owls and hawks that eat the rabbits… rabbits are pretty hardy, they have learned like the chickens, see hawk go hide under grazing horse
Smarties! I have hawks too. They seem to avoid the barn areas (no close trees) and instead fly to the trees above my pastures or hang out on fence posts in the fields.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;8715621]
I think the point that is being made (that you are missing) is that it is probably more humane to actually kill the rabbit yourself than snatch it and relocate it to somewhere that it is likely to be dead sooner than later and in not so humane of a way.[/QUOTE]
This, and it’s worth noting that predator urine comes from wire caged animals whose urine is collected. Or from killed predators bladders. Either way, killing or abusing a predator to save a prey animal is pretty sad.
You can successfully live trap and relocate wild rabbits. Check to see if there are any dachshund or beagle field trial grounds near you. They will often accept live trapped rabbits to add to their rabbit population or bring in new blood. When they were stocking the dachshund field trial grounds in Laconia, Tx., they stocked it with live trapped wild rabbits.
Lest anyone think putting rabbits in field trial grounds is cruel to the bunnies, I will point out that field trial bunnies live a life of luxury. They have food plots, feeding stations, fresh water provided. They are provided with cover and protected from predators. Simevgrounds even provide dusting stations where sand is mixed with sevinsevin dust to control fleas and ticks. In return, they are tracked by beagles or dachshunds or bassets a few times a month in the fall and early spring.
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