Poor you (and Hudwyn)! I’m so glad your buns avoided disaster! Nothing would be worse than seeing some bird take off with your bunny! Thanks for sharing your story and *hugs* to Hudwyn.

thank goodness he’s okay!  thanks for the warning.

gees that sounds so tramatizing! Glad he is ok!

I am so glad your bun is ok. How frightening. We were thinking about doing the same thing this summer. I will rethink that now. I already bought the pen and pick the spot in the yard. Thank you for sharing your experience. Again I am so glad your bunny is okay.

I’m so glad this wasn’t a tragic end that often happens in these cases and I am VERY relieved that your bun is O.K. Rabbits can die from shock too so give him extra love. However, I am a bit shocked and disappointed at your vet for not having you take in your rabbit. If anything to have the claw punctures cleaned out. Skin lesions, puncture wounds etc. can get infected quite easily in rabbits. Also do an all over body check to see if there are any tear marks that need stitches and call that vet back if something looks bad and the fur needs to be shaved off for the wound to heal.  Remember that rabbits are notorious for hiding if they are hurt.

I recommend that you dilute some peroxide, irrigate the puncture marks and daub some A & D oinment or regular Neosporin on them right away. Blow on the fur to expose the skin in patches for an easy and gentle way to check for wounds. Talons can harbor microbes or bacteria that will make an animal sick, even if they get away. Keep a close eye on your guy for behavioral changes (rabies etc.) and I recommend that you keep your babies inside. Since the hawk knows they are there, it may hang around for an extended period of time for a second go at a meal. God bless.

That’s unbelievable!  I had no idea a hawk could do such a thing!  Eeeks!  Thank God you have a happy ending!

Whew, well I am glad we’re here for you and relieved that you were able to clean the wounds and they weren’t many. I am surprised to hear that no puncture marks were in the skin on his back etc. Keep an eye on him for the coming days. You might want to just check on the progress of them daily and clean them every other day. I think you will find that they will heal quickly.

Oh my gosh! I am so glad that your buns are okay. What a terrifying experience for them and for you. It’s awful that you and your bunnies had to experience this but I’m so glad that you posted this warning – it’s a dangerous world out there for our furry rabbit babies…maybe other people will take heed and learn a valuable lesson from this.

How horrible for you, I am so relieved he is ok.

((((((((((((Healing vibes))))))))))))

Thank you very much for posting your experience so we can all learn from it. I’m so happy your babies are okay!  How much did the rabbit weigh that the hawk tried to take off with?  I’m just curious to see how big of a rabbit they will try to steal. Thank you.

oh yes, a hawk will get a rabbit in a heartbeat..you must have your outdoor area covered on the top for protection.
I’m sooooooo glad your bunnies escaped, what a horrible experience. I’ve been through it with my bantam chickens,
makes me sick!
I hope all will be ok for both your buns.

I can totally believe what happend. Thank God you bun did not die from the shock. We live in an industrial area of Long Island and even though it is built up we have daily hawk invasions. We feed birds and have huge hedges for cover, but still we have casualties amongst the pigeons and song birds. We have seen hawks walking along the tops of the hedges trying to fish birds out. (there is a chain link fence embedded in them so they are safe) We have seen redtails take squirrels out of trees.

Just before I logged on to this site I had a hawk slam into my screened window trying to get a pigeon. I don’t even let my cats out because of this. They are very elderly and like to lay in the sun on the patio.

To answer Dustbunneh’sMama, a hawk will take a small dog. If they are hungry enough and desperate enough they will attack even with the dog on the leash. Frostyleo, please don’t blame yourself. If you had thought for one moment that a hawk would be bold enough to go on an enclosed patio, you never would have let them go outside.

And I have to agree, your vet sounds like a pillock.

For those who still want to take their buns out in nicer weather, I know that some people will clip a bedsheet to the top of an X-pen for protection.  You still shouldn’t leave them, but this way you can read your book nearby and have less worry.

I’m so glad your bunny is OK.

wow, that is truly terrifying! I am so glad your husband managed to hear the commotion and get out there before it was too late.
I hope his paw will heal well and he’ll be ok…

Jeeeez, that’s awful. Poor things. My mum told me this morning that her friend watched in horror last weekend as an apparent wild cat took off over the fence with her pet mummy duck in it’s mouth!!! I hope everythings ok!!!!!!!x

Wow!!! I am so glad your bunnies are okay. That is an amazing terrifying story. I have heard of hawks and owls getting domestic bunnies out of backyards, but this is a first where they were so close the doorway and brought inside. Thank you so much for sharing because I think this experience will actually save other bunnies lives, as I will keep this as a reference.

I also know of others who cover their pens and even balcony areas (sides and top) to prevent land and air predators from getting their bunnies. Maybe that will be something you can do IF you decide to allow them to the balcony again.

Maybe he was desperately trying to grip onto something and that’s how he injured his nails. I just keep picturing this awful nightmare! I’ve seen hawks and crows pick up baby birds but never anything bigger. So happy he’s ok! He’s a lucky boy!

Oh my goodness how scary!!!! TG he’s OK!!!

I’m glad to hear he’s healing well, and that he doesn’t seem to be freaked out or stressed about it.

That sounds like a great idea! You might want to build it out of the NIC cubes, as you can always rebuild it to suit changing needs and plus it’s pretty light and easy to move around! or, the other thing I was thinking was to use that latice stuff as the walls and you could make the roof our of a big tarp. That way they have a roof and shade, plus breathability….Just ideas though

Really glad to hear he’s better, I was just telling my family yesterday what happened to him.

WOW! I’m glad that your bun buns are ok! That’s a good idea about the screen run area outside.

what a freakin scary story!!!  wow.  i’m so glad it ended as it did and it can serve as a cautionary tale for others instead of… well… you know.   yay for hudwyn feeling better!

oh wow how lucky.

See, this is EXACTLY why I’ve always been so apprehensive about taking bunnies out for walks on leashes. I know that plenty of people do it, and probably most of the people on this forum do it. But I’m just…God-awful terrified of birds of prey.

About 5 years ago, in a quiet residential neighbourhood not far from here, someone was walking their small dog on a leash and had a hawk swoop down and carry it off.

Yeesh.

I would LOVE to get Little-Bit out on a leash, but…I just don’t think it’s worth it. Does anyone have any ideas to divert hawks? I’ve thought about all sorts of crazy things -like taping brightly-coloured paper to the bun’s ears or carrying a brightly-coloured umbrella.

But I just don’t know..

not sure just watch out and look around before you go anywhere stay away from places that have alout of trees that a bird would hide in you know just the basic stuff, I used to Take Easter for walks.

More than likely the hawk didn’t have a clear swoop area to get to Hudwyn due to the cage. He probably only got fur and Hudwyn ran inside, tearing his nails in the process. Maryann obviously has encountered them before because the two times I had tried to take her out into the park, all she did was hunker down in the grass and looked like a black and white puddle with two eyes.

Unfortunately, domesticated buns don’t always know that the big flying things are bad guys and don’t keep a lookout for them. I don’t take my buns outside not only because of that risk but also because of the possibility of insect bites and other possible illnesses. Most hawks won’t try for an animal if it is within your arm’s distance as the hawk doesn’t want to become the prey. However one that is comfortable around people (such as having some people feed them pieces of cold cuts) or one that is really starving may take a chance. And, there’s no way to tell if it is such a hawk just by looking at it.

Also, I wouldn’t say that the vet was wrong in not having the bun come in. If he wasn’t wounded by the hawk directly, it could be more traumatic to box him up and rush him to the vet. A lot of family spoiling was what was called for and it sounds like he’s getting it in abundance.

Binkles I agree and nothing is going to deter a hungry hawk with binocular-type vision. I also would not want to hurt the hawk either by swinging at it and breaking a wing or what-have-you. They are only doing as their instinct tells them to and they are also a very beautiful animal.

No I do not think most people take their buns outside!  I know some do but many more don’t. I would never take Edson outside – heck he can’t even take leaving his room! There’s just no reason and I would be overly paranoid about stuff in the streets and the grasses, bugs, fleas, diseases, dogs, cats, etc.  Not worth it. Edson’s room, my office, has plently of light and I keep the windows open for fresh air which I think  is important.

I agree w/ Knowltons4, most people on this site actually don’t take their rabbits out. We have a little doggy stroller for ours but have never used it. Too afraid it will freak them out. Sometimes my buns will sit and watch the outside world by the sliding glass doors but none have ever tried to get near the door when its open.

Wow. That was a shocking story! I am glad that your buns are all right.

We also have an “outdoor” play space for Coco – and I have places a “screen” of chicken wire I bought at the Reno Depot for 10 bucks over it. I figure this will prevent an attack from above – what do you all think?

OMG! So scary!!!!!! I’m sooo glad your buns is ok! Big buns hugs to feel better soon!

When I found Bunykins she was so lucky because it was in an area with hawks, coyotees etc. Every day I look at her and wonder why someone would dump her in the middle of nowhere and knowing that she would have never made it overnight in the woods. My friend who I was visiting in upstate NY when I found my buns had her kitty attacked by a hawk. She knew what happened because she saw the claw marks on her kitties back with a big bite mark (open wound area and missing fur) around her neck area where it looks like it tried to hold on to the kitty with it’s beak. Her kitty was very lucky that day. She now keeps her inside because of this. Very scary that they are so brave to swoop down on our pets!

my aunt used to let her 3 pound yorkie out in her back yard and she would just sit on the patio while the dog played, until a hawk decided to swoop down and try to get her! the dog (Halle) was fiesty enough to make the hawk drop her before he could even take off again, but now the dog gets to go outside on a leash only and she watches her very carefully!

peppers mama – SCARY! And that’s WITH your Aunt nearby watching, and the hawk still brave enough to swoop down? (shivers)

yeah i know definately scary, luckily the little girl wasnt hurt!