Theres a wild rabbit next to my house constantly

[ppacimr9ball98]

There is a wild rabbit on the side of my house for about a month now, he seems to like the high grass and hides there all the time - night and day, he never leaves, i love having him there, i love bunnies so much but i'm concerned he might not have a home some how since hes there all the time, i have checked late at night and hes there, this morning i went out and its raining and 38 degrees and he was there getting rained on, what can i do for him? I was thinking on making a small place for him, like some kind of box and hope he uses it, can someone give me some advice?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

If it truly is a wild rabbit, I'd leave it alone.

 

[whitelop]

Is it really a wild rabbit? Do you live in the country or in a neighborhood/urban area? What does he look like?
Have you tried to approach him?
If he is a wild rabbit, he would run and I would stay away from him. He'll know how to get out of the elements on his own. But if he is a dumped domestic rabbit, then he probably wouldn't know how to take care of himself outdoors.

Does he look like this http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Sylvilagus_floridanus_Yardley_PA.jpg
Or does he look like a domestic breed?

 

[ppacimr9ball98]

Yes he is wild, but its strange he is always there, i went home for lunch and he is still there

 

[ppacimr9ball98]

Yes he is wild, i had domesticated rabbits before, i live in a suburb of philly, and there are always rabbits in my backyard, and he runs when i get close, he is still there today just sitting in the cold rain getting wet

 

[whitelop]

Does he look injured when he runs away?
That does seem strange that he is always sitting there.

 

[JBun]

I guess it couldn't hurt to put some sort of doghouse out there, or maybe a large plastic bin with lid, with an entry hole cut in the side, and stuff it full with grass hay. Then if he really doesn't have his own burrow to go to, this will at least give him a warm and dry place that is somewhat protected.

If you can manage to get a picture, it would be interesting to see what he looks like.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, hay or straw stuffed into some sort of box would work if he'd be willing to use it. (if you have a feed store (for horse supplies, etc) nearby, you can get a huge bale of hay or straw for $10 or less that should last you the whole winter)

 

[Tam O Ham]

isn't this the beginning of a rabbit horror movie?

Seriously though, if it's always out there chances are it's got a burrow nearby and chilling near your house is just how it gets its grub, keeps an eye on things and doesn't stray too far from its safety. Unless it's acting sick or hurt I'd let the little dude or dudette just do their thing and enjoy the chance to watch a wild bunny. If it snows or food gets scarce or something hay sounds good but I wouldn't go much further than that. Wild animals know what they're doing even when we don't and it's best to let them do it. Humans often make things worse accidentally when we're only trying to help.

 

[ppacimr9ball98]

I'm starting to see why he likes it there, the sun hits there all day and theres alot of dried grasss surrounding him, he hides under the dried pushed down grass sometimes, he's not injured because if i get near him about three feet away, he runs but comes back right away, i guess there could be a hole i can't see under the dried grass, but its nice to have a bunny there to check out all the time - i love bunnies, i think i'll try to put out some kind of small home for him, maybe he'll use it, maybe a small box with a piece of blanket stuffed inside

 

[LakeCondo]

Just remember that if you have your house rabbit outside in nice weather, it could get worms or other internal parasites from wild rabbits. Before having it outside in an enclosure, treat the ground under the enclosure with food-grade diatomaceous earth a few days before.