Animal Pests Chomping on Winter Vegetables

Question from Bonnie:
I planted my winter vegetable garden, and something chomped my brussels sprouts and cauliflower seedlings. I think it is crows. Can crows be a problem for a vegetable garden? I don’t think it is rabbits. It could be a possum or something like that.

Answer from Pat:
Too bad about the veggie garden. Ground squirrels eat the tops off plants, such as cole crops. Do you have ground squirrels? Not likely to be crows. They go more for grain and pine nuts. Possum is possible but not too likely… but rabbits? Yes, big time! Way to tell is this: If it is a rabbit, they leave jagged-edge teeth marks. If it is a rat they leave a slice downwards from left to right or right to left on one side as if cut straight through at an angle by a gardener with a sharp pair of secateurs. If it is a ground squirrel, they chomp off the top in a straight line through the stem (not at an angle) but sometimes (though not always) they leave a leaf behind, hanging by a thread or lying on the ground. All will come back night after night. Ground squirrels take more sorts of things, beginning with favorite items and after that they move on and take the less favorite also. Rats stick with well-favored plants. A particular rat will get a liking for one plant and then go around the garden eating just that one thing. One can always tell it’s a rat by the precise angle of the clean cut.