Neighbours' pet rabbits ate all my plants!

[TrixC]

Just an update on the situation. We'd noticed that the neighbours normally let the rabbits out on weekends so we were waiting for Saturday to see if they did again, and then we were going to use that as an excuse to go and knock on their door. It got to Saturday and the rabbits had not appeared, although looking out the window we could see them in their hutch. Then I checked again later in the day and both rabbits and hutch were gone!

Maybe someone else complained, or maybe they heard us chasing the rabbits last weekend, or maybe they simply realised that keeping multiple rabbits in a small urban garden wasn't practical. In any case, problem solved :-)

And in case people think we are weird for not meeting or speaking to our neighbours earlier, we have eight gardens backing on to ours on one side plus the house on the opposite side and two at the back so 11 sets of neighbours in all, we simply haven't had time to meet all of them!

[alldigging]

Do you know they're theirs?

A 'Hello do you know whose these rabbits are?' might be a good starter.

[Knight of Albion]

Well, I do hope the rabbits are okay. It's not the rabbits fault. They're just doing what rabbits do.

Sharing your life with an animal companion can be wonderful and life-enhancing --- In the increasingly isolated society in which we live, for many people their 'pet' is their world, their only source of love and companionship --- but there are responsibilities.

I suspect in this case the owners thought they were doing a kindness to the rabbits, giving them a measure of freedom to wander about the garden, not realising they were getting out. Apart from annoying the neighbours!, this was putting the rabbits at risk. So I do hope the owners will be more security minded in future, for everybody's sake.

Wise words from previous correspondents re - handling the neighbours. Neighbours are just that neighbours! There's no avoiding them! So a soft word and the hand of friendship is always the wisest course of action.

[Jay-ell]

How old would you say the babies were? If I remember correctly farmed rabbits are slaughtered at around 12 weeks old which may explain where they've disappeared to.

Where I work there's wild rabbits. The site is so protected that they aren't afraid of people. I was standing on the path last week with two baby rabbits about 6 inches from my right foot.

[starloc]

I have rabbits in the house, thats the best place unless supervised,

it is too dangerous for pet rabbits outside, it would not take much for your neighbours to restrain them in there garden as domesticated breeds of rabbits are not very clever.....

a bit of chicken wire and 4 bars and they would generally not burrow out that much....they would be seen burrowing a bit first and just put a tile on the hole they will then sit and sulk....

but being outside on there own they have probably got ill or died of heatstroke, mixamatosis, VHD , flystrike, or been eaten by something like a fox , cat, dog, human....

Its like people keeping them in a hutch, its stupid and not good for them, mine have the whole livingroom of the house to bounce round in between the citrus trees and the tv etc, outside would be good but too many flies and other predators

[Knight of Albion]

I'd love to have rabbits in my living room! How do you manage with the chocolate drops though???

[Nicos]

We used to have a house rabbit!
It was very easy to house train him as a little 'un!...just a standard litter tray in the room containing shavings/ straw and leave the collected raisins in it.
That's what we did.
Got to watch out for electric cables though!!

[Scarlet]

I also had a pet house rabbit! They are easily house trained, though mine had a habit of jumping on OH lap while he was playing chess on his laptop used to drive him nuts
They really love the company

[Bren In Pots]

Daughter has a house rabbit she's even got her own spot on the sofa

[starloc]

We have about 6 inch of hay on the floor, held back to half the room....open front 2 story rabbit house about 3 meters long by a meter back , they like and use the litter tray, and like to sleep in it as well!,

strange that the rabbit litter tray doesnt smell, but the house now smells like a haystack

Lots of hay on the living room floor

[jonny the plant pot]

Ring this fella

[bearded bloke]

^^^^^ I wouldn't bother calling him, Elmer Fudd never did catch/shoot "dat pesky wabbit"




On a more serious note I see the original problem is now resolved............

I checked again later in the day and both rabbits and hutch were gone!

Maybe someone else complained, or maybe they heard us chasing the rabbits last weekend, or maybe they simply realised that keeping multiple rabbits in a small urban garden wasn't practical. In any case, problem solved :-)

So I shall now close the thread.