Baby Bunnies...sigh

I know dogs are predators and when they chase and kill small animals they’re just doing what Nature programmed them to do, but I sure do hate to witness it!  I was waging war on my nemesis weed (that thistle!) with my sprayer when I saw Henry expressing too much interest in something buried in the tall grass.  Sure enough, it was a rabbit hole with a youngster nosing up out of it.  I zapped Henry (effective but mild – don’t worry!), yelled at Molly (no collar on her), and we moved on.  However, I lost track of the dogs after about 10 more minutes until I heard that awful noise of a baby rabbit being chewed up.  Running screaming at the dogs, zapping all the way, backpack spraying bouncing all over, I was, of course, too late.  The poor little thing had an eye gouged out (head bite, most likely, pulling it out of its burrow?) and skin tears along its little legs.  I HATE this!  But the only alternative is to keep the dogs leashed all the time and I won’t do that on our own 10 acres.  I appealed to Fred’s manliness and he dispatched the little bugger more mercifully than letting it simply die in its own lingering time.  Between the two dogs, they’ve killed 5 baby rabbits I know of.  I wish the dang things would go burrow somewhere else!  I read that they tend to nest near houses because they know their natural predators (foxes, weasels, coyotes, etc.) will avoid the houses.  What they don’t seem to recognize is the danger of cats and dogs…  Sigh.  After reading Watership Down, I’m entirely too capable of anthropomorphizing rabbits!

An hour or so later, Henry was charming me with his passion for shredding boxes.  Boxes of all sorts – really cheap chew toys!  I’ve spent many dollars on fancy squeaky toys or braided ropes, and he ignores them all for a box.  Go figure.

Several hours later, three more baby rabbits are gone!  God, what a day! The dogs got two more and the barn cat got the third, and I am a basket case.  How do I keep the rabbits out of the areas near the house??  I think the whole litter is gone…  I suppose there’s really no way to keep wild rabbits safe near the house, short of leashing the dogs (which I won't do out here) but this is really upsetting!  

I just read up a bit on cottontails (god I love the internet!) so I'll be better prepared for the next litter we find.  At least now I'll know how to age the babies and have some tips on how to protect the nest from the dogs and cats.  Such trauma out here in the country!