|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Free images of Rabbit Life Cycle Note
on large files: Very large files may be bigger than your
screen.
My
urban backyard is home to many living creatures, including rabbits.
I battle with them continuously over who has domain over the
plants, bushes and trees I so carefully purchase, plant and care for.
This cold winter saw the rabbits eat the bark off many of my
fruit trees. The damage was
so severe that I doubt the trees will survive.
Rabbit Burrow - 1 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 3456 x 4608 - Now only available by email request.
Rabbit Burrow - 2 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 4608 x 3456 - Now only available by email request.
Rabbit Burrow - 3 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 4608 x 3456 - Now only available by email request.
The
spot the doe chose is against a brick wall, surrounded by sharp rose
bushes. Although the kits were
well protected from predators, I was concerned about the scorching heat of
the day as the spring sunshine bore down on the flower bed.
As
all nursing wild mother rabbits do, I did not see the doe come to
intermittently feed her babies. I’ve
learned that they do this during the night and only for a few minutes in
the early morning hours. Many
people incorrectly assume that a nest has been abandoned, but this is not
the case. The kits are weaned
at 4-5 weeks.
Rabbit Kits - 1 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". No larger image available.
Rabbit Kits - 2 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 3264 x 2448 - Now only available by email request.
Rabbit Kits - 3 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 3264 x 2448 - Now only available by email request.
Rabbit Kits - 4 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 3264 x 2448 - Now only available by email request.
Rabbit Kits - 5 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 4608 x 3456 - Now only available by email request.
Rabbit Kits - 6 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 3264 x 2448 - Now only available by email request.
I
saw the kits for three days. On
day one, they were bare, very tiny and moved very little.
Day two was similar. It
was evident that the doe had visited the nest since more hair had been
pulled and the pile of grass covering the burrow had been enhanced.
On day three, hair growth on the kits was evident and they seemed
to be leaping out of their burrow. Their
heads were bobbing up and down like water in a boiling pot. One would
leap and land upon the others causing the others to leap in turn.
I was concerned that they would injury themselves on the nearby
rose bushes.
Rabbit Kits - 7 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 3264 x 2448 - Now only available by email request.
Research
has now taught me that kits easily become cold, dehydrated and weak.
They are easily fatally overstressed.
Since wild animals like the cottontail rabbit mature faster than
domestic rabbits, when they begin to go down hill, they do so very
quickly. Most kits die from
either trauma or harsh exposure. While
adult rabbits have a body temperature of about 101.5 – 102.5F, kits do
well in an ambient temperature of about 78-80F.
A too cold or too hot environment is detrimental to their survival.
If they are deprived of food and warmth for more than a day, they
die because they have no reserves to fall back on.
Baby rabbits dehydrate rapidly. Baby
rabbits are also very susceptible to bacteria since their immune systems
are not yet developed. Another
reason kits die is a lack of protective antibodies in their mother’s
milk. The most common cause of
death, however, is a failure for normal rabbit flora (bacteria) to
establish in the kits’ intestinal track.
While babies are born with these protective antibodies, they loose
them after birth. ►
Did you know... That in order to have healthy baby bunnies, they need to eat their mother’s poop? Rabbits produce two types of feces. The night time stool that looks dark and sticky, contains the “cecotrophs” that kits need to eat in order to obtain necessary digestive organisms.
Rabbit Kit - 8 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 4608 x 3456 - Now only available by email request.
The day after the cold spring storm, four of the litter had died and had been thrown outside their nest. The fifth lone survivor lived another day and then passed away as well.
Rabbit Kits - 9 Medium - 640 x 480 Right click on above image and chose "save as". Large - 3264 x 2448 - Now only available by email request.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|