Cottontails and Hares

The rabbits most commonly found in Delta are cottontails and hares. Being herbivores, rabbits eat grasses, clover, herbs, lettuce, peats, dandelions, and the leaves of saplings. But in the winter, their food includes the bark of birch, oak, maple, and dogwood trees, along with twigs, stems, and buds. They are mostly nuisance pests and can cause wide-ranging damage to gardens while looking for food and shelter. Infamous for their breeding behaviors, female rabbits produce up to five litters each year. Rabbits can live up to seven years in the wild. Chewed sticks, missing tree bark, and looted gardens are all signs that rabbits have been feeding. Their feces will be present in copious amounts, grouped together in small mounds. To help exclude rabbits the first step would be to build a perimeter fence, remove brush to stop hiding and nesting sites and the use of flashing lights may help.  

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cottontails-hares-randy-bilesky?published=t

http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-cottontails-and-hares-1.7349013

 

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