# What kills and eats a rabbit at the throat?



## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

I lost a rabbit yesterday and one this morning. Yesterday the rabbit's head was missing. The belly and legs were all intact. This morning the rabbit's head was kind of there and the throat was torn out and eaten and maybe a foreleg.

I'm thinking either raccoon (that's how they eat chickens, at the throat) or an owl or hawk.

I have let the weeds around the rabbit pen get out of control and I switched off the electric scare wire a couple of days ago due to tall grasses leaning against the outside of the fence (and the wire) and rain we've been having. The solar charger on the scare wire was just grounded out. 

Also, the bird netting we have over the colony has pretty much bit the dust this year. It's mostly missing and what's there is torn, and has leaves and twigs and small branches entangled in it.

The weather today is supposed to clear so I plan on weed-eating this evening and turning the charger back on. Will address the bird netting as soon as I can... but it might be the weekend before I can get to a place that sells netting. Maybe an old sheet or something in the meantime. Or heck, maybe permanently if I can get it rigged securely.

Anyway, I'll address the problem but I was wondering what's getting the buns.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

I can only guess, but it may be a weasel. It may have carried off the head some place. Weasels will often only bite through the throats of their prey and drink the blood. 

Ususally the reason ***** tear a bird open at the throat , is that they prefer to eat the contents of the crop. If a **** is very hungry, he will eat any or all of the animal, if he is adequately fed, the crop is a "gormet delight" for him.


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## pookshollow (Aug 22, 2005)

My vote is for weasel or mink, too. When the mink took my ducklings, it only took the heads and part of the necks.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

Hmm... will have to look up weasels. So far our only predator problems here have been owl, hawk, raccoon, coyote, and fox. Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it's nocturnal.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

Wow! Yup, almost certainly a weasel. Those things are amazing. They like to drink the blood from the throat but will also stash food for later consumption. They are small but will take on large animals - even a raccoon, porcupine, or bear! They will follow animals into their burrows and kill them in there. 

They also go for chicken, so I'll be locking my chickens up tight at night. I've had no problems for such a long time that I'd become complacent and was just leaving their trap door open. No longer!

Not sure if I'll try to trap and dispose of it/them or not. My reading indicates they are voracious killers of mice and rats, and usually the rats do a lot more damage than the weasels. I know I've had problems with rats in both my rabbitry and my henhouse in the past, so I'm thinking I'll just get that scare wire in good working order again.

Related critters are mink, otter, ermine, ferret, fisher.. and I know for a fact we have fishers here. Could be a fisher instead of a weasel. Whatever it is, I think you guys were definitely well in the ballpark. Thanks!


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

Don't think it's a fisher; they *generally* go for smaller prey, though they do get snowshoe hares.

Weasels can climb!! Gotta get that netting taken care of too, lest they climb a tree, run along a branch, and drop into the rabbit pen.


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2009)

Our cats kill adult wild cottontails and kill in this manner. So cats are a possibility as well.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Weasels and mink are not strictly nocturnal, especially in the colder parts of the year. I've seen a mink run down, catch and dispatch a cottontail rabbit. I've also seen how they clean out the rats here at the homestead. I think you are wise, Turtlehead, to "secure the perimeter" and let them be instead of declaring all-out war. 

Weasels are tiny and yes, very fierce, but I doubt very much they would take on anything larger than a rabbit unless cornered, when they would undoubtedly go out fighting. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I think your source of information that suggests they will take on raccoons or bears is suspect, since *a large weasel weighs only 9 ounces*. 

I think perhaps your source was speaking loosely of the "weasel family" which includes weasels, mink, otters, pine martens, fishers and even, most formidable of all, wolverines. I believe that fishers do eat porcupines, which can offer little resistance if the predator can get past the quills. Martens are particularly fond of red squirrels. Wolverines are the ones with the reputation for taking on large animals. They are scavengers as well as hunters and will drive other animals from their prey.

http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=MA0036


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

I don't know much about weasels but I had an evil ferret that a friend trapped (it was "set free" and went ferral) that he gave to me. I had Kakiri for 8 years and she was an adult when she was trapped. She would routinely make a german shepard, a chow chow, and a grown male who is 6'9" run away from her. These little guys can be VICIOUS if they want to. 

I had 3 vets tell me to never come back after they met her. She hung off of one vets hand for almost half an hour when he put a thermometer up her butt (routine visit). I warned him...... Boy I miss her. Anyways, just don't underestimate anything in the weasel family. 

If a weasel can get it's head into a hole, the hole body will fit. Bird netting may be too big to be of much use. I could see a weasel chasing off a raccoon, but probably not a bear.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

Most sites did say they were speaking of the weasel family, that is a good point. That's what made me consider the fisher which DH has seen around here. Good catch, MaggieJ.

Yeah, the bear comment made me open my eyes wide in surprise, and then roll them.
Every site I checked said weasels eat rabbits, though. Now my domestic rabbits are bigger than wild, but it's not that much of a stretch to think a weasel would go after my domestic buns in a relatively enclosed space.

It's *still* raining. Not sure if I can weed-eat around the rabbit pen without injuring myself. It's on a very steep hill and I don't fancy slipping with a weed eater in my hands. We'll see. Maybe I can just stomp the weeds down for now.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

We found a mink stomped to death in our pasture. It was near the water trough. I expect it didn't back down when my mare came up the path, and she takes an instant dislike to most other animals in her pasture. 

Cathy


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## NorWester (Jul 23, 2009)

laughaha wrote,



> She would routinely make a german shepard, a chow chow, and a grown male who is 6'9" run away from her. These little guys can be VICIOUS if they want to.


Pound for pound any member of the weasel family is a tough customer but don't confuse the prowess of your ferret with the short comings of it's foes


As for the culprit killing Turtlehead's rabbits, I'm gonna go with fox. Text book fox behavior if the fox is well fed and has easy access.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Most of the time when I have seen a fox kill close to a homestead, he carries the food off. I have never seen one just bite through the throat of an animal and leave it.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

A fox would have to scale the fence, and it's about 4' high. I don't have any dig in/ dig out routes in the colony at the moment (though I'll double-check to be 100% certain). Not saying a fox couldn't scale the fence, just that a weasel sounds more likely. We've had foxes get our chickens and they carry off the prey. Of course, it's possible that getting in was one thing, but getting *out* with a carcass was too much of a challenge.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Since you have rain, there should be mud... Check for tracks, Turtlehead!


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## Terry W (Mar 10, 2006)

Mink and ermine-- if i recall, are the same critter-- like the 'varying' or 'snowshoe' hare-- the white is winter coat. And those silly little minks can do a LOT of damage--at the wildlife center I used to volunteer at, the use of 1/2 x 1 wire was imperative on the outdoor enclosures in order to keep the minks out. But then, it wasn't much good one night when someone forgot to cover the hole( about 2x2) that the hose was run through to fill the waders pond....many ducklings died that evening....


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

Great horned Owls tear thier head off of prey and eat it and maybe eat some breast as well...I know because I had an owl get a bunch of my turkey babies before I realized what it was. They only eat one a night....they will swoop in even if the animal is right outside the backdoor.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Terry W said:


> Mink and ermine-- if i recall, are the same critter-- like the 'varying' or 'snowshoe' hare-- the white is winter coat.


Not quite right, Terry... *weasels* and ermine are the same critter. Mink are a bit larger and do not change colour in the winter.


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## NorWester (Jul 23, 2009)

turtlehead said:


> A fox would have to scale the fence, and it's about 4' high. I don't have any dig in/ dig out routes in the colony at the moment (though I'll double-check to be 100% certain). Not saying a fox couldn't scale the fence, just that a weasel sounds more likely. We've had foxes get our chickens and they carry off the prey. Of course, it's possible that getting in was one thing, but getting *out* with a carcass was too much of a challenge.


I think you're on to something now. A fox could easily clear a 4 foot fence if it felt motivated, but like you wrote, going back over with a decent size rabbit in it's mouth may have been too much, ate some and then bailed out the way it came in.


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

Quick way to find out is to set a live trap outside the run at dusk baited with wet cat food, I've found that just about everything that will attack small livestock will fall for wet cat food in a live trap. They are already use to the wire for the most part so it becomes the easy meal that bites back. 

My best guess would be opossum, mink, or **** in that order, as it's been raining you should likely be able to find some tracks which would aid in identifying. Weed eat and get that hot wire back on is the next best defense IMHO, I've found that once a predator finds my live stock it keeps coming back till it dies.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Canned cat food is a good bait, but we found that mink can absolutely not resist sardines. And they can smell them from some distance.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

Too many cats to use cat food or sardines. We've trapped possum and racoon with peanut butter as bait though. Foxes won't go into a box trap, in my experience. Research I've done on the web supports that. I might set one with peanut butter tonight.

Good idea to look for tracks! Not sure I can find any due to grass and leaf litter on the ground but will def. take a look. I hope I find something.

DH ran the weed-eater; he's taller and stronger than I am so it's not such a challenge for him. We turned on the power supply for the hot wire and no losses last night. That could be coincidental - it could be owls that took the night off. That's worrisome because my netting is torn up so if it's an owl it could come back. But, I'm hopeful!


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

The key to trapping foxes, yotes, and bobcats in live trap is to have a TALL trap that is well staked... build a live trap 10" wide and 20" tall 30" long and I guarantee you can catch a fox. ;-) Cats are just as likely to be at fault if there's a lot of them, I've lost more bunnies to cats than to any other predator and they generally don't eat them... They just play with them and maybe chew a bit. =( 

I'm glad you've had no losses last night with the hot wire back on! Hopefully that'll do the trick but I'd still try and trap what ever it is, if your cats end up in the trap leave them for the night... most will learn that traps are bad fairly fast, my worst trap robber to date was a beagle pup that managed to end up in one of my feral traps every night for a week. The owners thought it was funny and their response was we knew you'd let him loose in the morning... GRrrr. Stupid pet owners!


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

I've not read about the large trap, RyanNC but I have read that to catch a fox you need one of those leg traps. Foxes are apparently really difficult to trap.

We are still sleeping with the windows open. This morning at 3:17 I woke up hearing a "scream" a lot like a rabbit makes. I wasn't sure if I really heard it, or dreamed it, and then I heard another. I couldn't be positive it was a rabbit and not some cat or bird or something - critters make some odd loud noises sometimes. Nevertheless, I threw on my jeans and a jacket and went outside with a flashlight that could serve as a beacon for landing the space shuttle. By this time I'd heard at least three, probably four screams.

I shone the beacon all over the colony and spotted a big fat raccoon nosing around the far side of the pen. He scooted up a tree when the light hit him. All rabbits are present and accounted for. From what I can tell they are uninjured but a couple were not willing to come out where I could get a good look.

I think I heard the raccoon, getting shocked by the scare wire. I'm glad he didn't figure out that he could climb a tree, scoot out on a branch, and drop into the colony.

Havahart and peanut butter tonight!


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Good for you! At least now you know what you're up against. Raccoons are nasty predators, but at least their curiosity makes them easier to trap than foxes.


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## NorWester (Jul 23, 2009)

I've never heard a racoon scream, but I have heard foxes scream. Their bark sounds like one would imagine a puppy caught in a leg hole trap would sound like.

Sounds like maybe the racoon is your culprit. The way you described the scene it still sounds like fox to me but ya gotta go with the obvious. 
Next time you watch that '**** head up the tree, grab your flash light and .22 and shoot him out. One less predator to worry about


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

I've not ever heard a raccoon scream, either. I've heard them hiss plenty when they're caught in a havahart trap. DH said I should have grabbed the .22, also. I was not fully awake - I got my bedroom slippers *soaked* with dew 'cause I didn't think to put on shoes.

Yeah, I've heard the foxes bark and the coyotes too. This was definitely more rabbit-like. Kind of like a cat fight but with a clearer voice. More like a squeal and less like a growl. But maybe a little growly too. Now I can't remember clearly.


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

Sounds to me like you've found your culprit! =) ***** will often reach through the wire and try to pull a critter out which is likely what you heard, **** most likely got the rabbits hair or some other non firm grasp and the rabbit screamed as it tried to get away... That's my guess anyways. We're over ran with them this year, just wish the pelts were worth something still!

Foxes aren't all that difficult to catch if they are hungry, there are starting to be a lot of trappers using custom made live traps (won't find them in a store) due to the ever increasing urban environment. I wouldn't dream of setting a leg hold for fox's or yote's in most of the areas round my place, there are to many pets to contend with. Fortunately ***** are an easy target, if there are to many pets to use wet cat food, marshmallows and PB are an enticing treat that'll normally set a live trap in motion... Can't wait to see the "mug shot" of your culprit, hope ya get him tonight!


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