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John Hart
07-07-2010, 4:19 PM
So here I am at work today...another hot July day, and I work at a manufacturing facility that is a campus of several buildings, concrete, and asphalt. This morning, a landscaping crew accidentally killed a mother rabbit and uncovered a nest of bunnies. They are just about ready to go off on their own but not quite.

Anyway..the bunnies scattered, ran across the street to our facility, where they crouched quivering in the concrete jungle of our facilty. By 2:00pm this afternoon, they were pretty well cooked and lithargic so I decided to rescue them and give them a new home out at my property where they will probably be happy.

I filled a box with grass and clover and gave them a little dish of water....to cool out and relax til the end of the day.

One bunny had a big tick on his head, and I was a bit concerned about his health, so I wanted to remove it.

I know that the standard way to remove a tick is with fishing line or tweezers...but I thought I should search around and see if there were any alternatives.

A co-worker said..."Hey...I've never done it...but try this"....and he showed me an email, forwarded a billion times, about a cool way to remove ticks.

Take a cotton ball, put a blob of liquid dishwashing soap on it, then hold it gently on the tick's back for 15 seconds.

I said, "No way!!...that ain't gonna work!!"
But I tried it anyway...and sure enough...the tick immediately abandoned his grip and was off the bunny.
I was amazed.

When I get home this afternoon, I'll take some pics before I give the rabbits to my daughters. (who will promptly adopt them and get them ready for their new home in the marsh)

Rod Sheridan
07-07-2010, 4:26 PM
John, you're my hero.

As someone who has two daughters, my townhouse has been home to more orphaned animals than I can count.

Keep up the good work.

Regards, Rod.

Ken Fitzgerald
07-07-2010, 4:30 PM
I bet they'd adopt some horsies too, John.:)

Steve Schlumpf
07-07-2010, 5:00 PM
Sounds like a different way to break up a regular work day! Looking forward to the photos! Your daughters are going to love them!

Belinda Barfield
07-07-2010, 5:23 PM
This is the best story I have heard all day, John, actually all week or longer. Thank you for taking care of the bunnies. I hope all is well with them.

John Hart
07-07-2010, 6:16 PM
Well...they seem to be doing pretty good. I got them home and they have some real life to them. The girls get this pouty look on their faces and say, "Do we really have to let them go?"

:rolleyes: Girls.

Here's a picture of the three of them attaching themselves to Rachel.
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John Hart
07-07-2010, 6:18 PM
I bet they'd adopt some horsies too, John.:)

Yeah...And I'd let them...as long as we let the horses go free after a day or two, to roam the plains...across the Dakotas....Through Montana....Over the Sawtooth....and north to Ken's house. :)

Danny Hamsley
07-07-2010, 6:19 PM
Wild rabbits almost never survive in captivity. Your marsh plan will give them a chance. Good luck!

John Hart
07-07-2010, 7:39 PM
Wild rabbits almost never survive in captivity. Your marsh plan will give them a chance. Good luck!

Thanks....I hope so. That thought doesn't stop the tears though. Rachel had a rough time with this. In just a couple hours, she thoroughly got attached to one of them.
But.....here we go.

They decided since there are already rabbits living in the elderberries by the marsh...that would be the best spot. The berries are pretty dense and big.
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So...off with the first...he took off like a rabbit right after this shot
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This one was a little slower to run...but eventually he did.
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Rachel didn't want to let go. (this took a long time)
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But then Elise ended up doing the final duty.
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So that's it. They seemed to take to the elderberry bushes quite well. If they make it, I'm sure we'll see them again.:)

Curt Harms
07-08-2010, 7:53 AM
I bet they'd adopt some horsies too, John.:)

I recall a story on a news magazine or animal planet show exactly like that although I'm not sure who adopted who. A retired race horse and domestic rabbit. They were inseparable. It was a riot watching them play in the pasture. Danny is right, wild babies seldom survive long in captivity. Domestic rabbits are descended from European wild rabbits and are a different genus than american wild rabbits.