Keep your Eyes Open for CottonTail Nests by WildLife Welfare... March's COTM

nominated by Veronica of ScrappyRat

Story & Photos by WildLife Welfare

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN 
FOR COTTONTAIL NESTS !

Before you mow your lawn or spray fertilizers or chemicals you walk the area to look for rabbits' nests. Rabbits nest in the middle of lawns--not because they are dumb, but because predators hunt the edges where there is cover. The nests are very shallow and often filled with the mother's fur. 

If you do find a nest, do not disturb it.  Instead mark it in such a way that it will not be disturbed by tractors or chemicals. Simply cover it with a laundry basket while you mow, and remove the basket after. The babies won't be startled and run into the mower and you can mow that patch after they leave the nest, in about 3 weeks.

We often receive calls from worried individuals when they do not see the mother; however, mother cottontails are usually only present at the nest at dawn and dusk.

If you find a nest that has been disturbed by a dog, cat or children and the babies are not visibly injured, place everything back within the nest and make an "X" with twigs over the top. If the "X" has not been disturbed the next morning, the mother has not returned and a permitted rehabilitator should be called. 

If the babies look injured, are covered in ants or other bugs, or the nest has been disturbed by a cat, please call a rehabber immediately. Domestic cat saliva is unfortunately fatal to NC wildlife, and so any contact with a cat's mouth will require antibiotics.

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