cotton tail rabbit – Life on the Farmlet

Tonight while putting the chickens away I saw Little Bit chasing after something…

It was a little rabbit about 5 or 6 inches long and she nearly got it until Bob stepped in. I walked over to where Bob was pointing at the base of the tree and there it was, with its little head stuck into the crotch of the tree’s roots. Gently I reached down and scooped it up. Immediately it started wriggling in my hands and I held on just a bit tighter.

So furry and soft with little ears that framed its face. I looked into its eyes and saw fear. I’m sorry little one.

Nearing the fence I was just about to bend down and push it back through, when it began to scream! Apparently it could no longer contain its fear. How can such a little creature make such a big scream?

Surprised, Bob asked, “Did he make that noise?”

“Yup,” I answered.

The look of surprise on his face was priceless!

I wondered why it’d come into the yard. They hadn’t done it before. Then it hit me! It was the horses. They have eaten everything but the honeysuckle vine out back… there is not even one clover, nor one blade of grass for even the littlest of bunnies to eat.

If I have identified him correctly he’s a baby Sylvilagus floridanus or Eastern Cotton Tail Rabbit. Glad I saved him from the cat!