Help! Nest of leverets exposed...what should I do?

Samphyr · #1 (**permalink**) 17-05-2010, 03:11 PM

My husband was strimming a rather wild part of the garden today and exposed a nest with three little leverets in it. They are very small, but their eyes are open, and they are utterly captivating. We haven't seen their mother at all and we don't know what we should do. Their nest is now very exposed and I'm terrified the cats will find them. Please could you tell us the best thing to do.

valleyforge · #2 (**permalink**) 17-05-2010, 03:24 PM

Hi Samphyr and welcome to the WAB forum.

It is important that you cover the form (nest) as soon as possible with the strimmed grass cuttings, or hay .... and leave well alone.

Under no circumstances should you attempt to handle the leverets, so that you do not transfer your scent to them.

It is entirely natural that the mother will leave the youngsters alone in the nest for most of the day, returning just once during the night (normally around an hour after sunset) to suckle them and to stimulate them to urinate/defecate. So don't be surprised that you don't see the parent for some hours, if at all.

It is likely though that she will return and relocate them to a safer place ...
she is usually no more than 200 - 300m away from them.

If the danger is from your cats, please keep them indoors. If from neighbouring cats, then on the grounds that they hadn't previously discovered them, if you re-cover the leverets adequately, they should hopefully be just as well concealed as before ... and the parent will of course defend them provided she doesn't sense your presence too.

Gill Catton · #3 (**permalink**) 17-05-2010, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samphyr

My husband was strimming a rather wild part of the garden today and exposed a nest with three little leverets in it. They are very small, but their eyes are open, and they are utterly captivating. We haven't seen their mother at all and we don't know what we should do. Their nest is now very exposed and I'm terrified the cats will find them. Please could you tell us the best thing to do.

My advice would be to keep the cats in for the rest of the day and night and stay away from the nest area I reckon by the morning mum will probably have re-located them.

Lance Morgan · #4 (**permalink**) 17-05-2010, 03:40 PM

Yes mum will relocate them out of harms way.

Cowgirl · #5 (**permalink**) 17-05-2010, 03:53 PM

Ooh poor things, hope they will be ok.
As a point of interest, are hares born more 'ready to go' than rabbits due to the more exposed nest sites?

valleyforge · #6 (**permalink**) 17-05-2010, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

As a point of interest, are hares born more 'ready to go' than rabbits due to the more exposed nest sites?

They are indeed ... they are well-furred when born and eyes are open almost immediately. They need to be suckled for around 14-18 days after birth, but thereafter they can graze on their own, although they will continue to accept milk once daily as their main source of nurishment for a further 35 to 70 days.

Rabbit kits on the other hand are born only very sparsely furred and blind. Their eyes don't open until around 10 days. They normally begin to venture out of the burrows at around 18 days and are weaned by 25 - 30 days of age.

Cowgirl · #7 (**permalink**) 17-05-2010, 07:14 PM

Ah thank you Valley, thought it might be something like that. Makes sense in evolutionary terms.

Samphyr · #8 (**permalink**) 18-05-2010, 06:23 AM

We did as suggested and recovered the nest with grass clippings and kept the cats indoors. However this morning the leverets are still there. I've no idea if the mother has fed them or not. Keeping the cats in for weeks isn't going to be possible either. What is the next step?

valleyforge · #9 (**permalink**) 18-05-2010, 09:39 AM

It is worrying that the mother has not already relocated them, but it might just be that you've made a good enough job of reconcealing them to reassure her.

On the other hand, particularly if your scent has been transferred to the leverets, she may possibly have abandoned them.

The next step depends therefore on what you think might be the most likely scenario.

If the former, then continue to keep your cats safely indoors and stay well away from the youngsters for the remainder of the day.

If however either you or your husband have handled the leverets (I know there is always a powerful urge to do so) then you probably need to begin contacting wildlife rescue groups in your general area, to see who might be able to assist you ... handrearing leverets, I'm afraid, is not a job for anyone inexperenced in rearing this species.