I have still not caught any rabbits, though I did get a second mouse in the greenhouse. Exasperated with waiting for them to walk into my traps in the back garden, and finding a large, neat pile of rabbit pellets in the drive by the Eleagnus hedge, I set one trap in the base of the hedge and the other on the far side, with an extra carrot lying a few inches outside each door to try and tempt the bunnies in.
The Systems Administrator checked the traps this morning on the way to open the gate, and appeared mid morning saying that the rabbits were active because there was a huge pile of droppings that hadn't been there first thing. I went outside to inspect the evidence, and thought it was the same pile I saw earlier in the week, but honestly one heap of rabbit crap does look much like another. The SA claimed to have heard the rabbits rustling around inside the hedge, and suggested that perhaps they did not eat carrots. Surely they do? It is ingrained in English lore that rabbits love them.
It is true that the pest controller who lent me the traps was non-committal about what I should put in them. I partly chose carrots because I thought they would remain edible for longer. If I use any kind of salad leaf I'll be out there changing the bait twice daily. The Systems Administrator said perhaps we should use the commercial food that people feed to their pet rabbits, and that there were bound to be forums about it. I dare say there are, though whether they are very nice is another matter.
Meanwhile spring must be nearly here. One of the hens laid an egg.
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