Do Rabbits scare deer off bait?

Zradix · December 08, 2014, 04:05:00 PM

Hey Gang,

I bit the bullet a while back and put some bait out (carrots) in a spot I hope to be able to hunt this late season.
Normally I'm not much of a baiter...but desperate times/desperate measures.

Deer were coming into it pretty good for a few days.
Then the rabbits found it.
..LOTS of rabbit tracks, fair amount of scat, and lots of rabbit chewed carrots.

Since the rabbits have been hitting the pile, I haven't seen much for deer sign.

Do deer get scared off by rabbits....or the scent left by em anyway?

Thanks.

reddogge · December 08, 2014, 04:12:00 PM

Could be those killer rabbits Jimmy Carter was afraid of.

Zradix · December 08, 2014, 04:13:00 PM

could be...

ChuckC · December 08, 2014, 04:13:00 PM

Only by the mean ones.
ChuckC

randy grider · December 08, 2014, 04:21:00 PM

You need a "Holy Hand Grenade".

reddogge · December 08, 2014, 04:27:00 PM

I've not had any experience with deer reacting to rabbits. I know they don't like to be very close to horses and will give my neighbor horse Duke a wide berth. It won't keep them out of his field though as long as he isn't right up where they want to go.

December 08, 2014, 04:32:00 PM

We use feeders a lot down here in Tx, and I have rabbits and deer at the same time a bunch. Pigs push deer off almost every time, but not rabbits.

Bisch

Dan bree · December 08, 2014, 06:16:00 PM

Turkeys bother them . But rabbits ?

K.S.TRAPPER · December 08, 2014, 06:28:00 PM

Never seen turkeys, rabbits, squirrels or raccoons ever bother deer in years of running cams. Have hundreds of cam pics of them running raccoons off the bait but they could care less about bunnies and turkeys.

Maybe it's the predators that are hunting the bunnies that are making the difference. But I get coyotes and fox on our cams too and the deer always come back. We put out corn right before and after rifle season to keep the deer close then get a count of what made it after. They are always pretty busy places for that couple weeks

Tracy

Duncan · December 08, 2014, 07:06:00 PM

Don't know how regular this could occur because I only saw it once. One night there were 2 cottontails at the bird feeder feeding on the the spillage on the ground. A group of deer came in and immediately the larger rabbit became agitated darting around nervously. When the mature doe approached the larger rabbit that rabbit jumped right on mama's head and went for a ride. The deer scattered and the rabbit came back to the feed. I've also seen squirrels do this in daytime.

Dan bree · December 08, 2014, 07:28:00 PM

Yep got to watch out for those killer Monty python bunnies !

The Whittler · December 08, 2014, 07:38:00 PM

Only the one from Monty Python's Holy Grail :-)

JamesV · December 08, 2014, 09:11:00 PM

I once watched a deer and a coon eating acorns under the same tree, at times just a few feet apart.

smokin joe · December 08, 2014, 09:30:00 PM

I watched a deer get run off by a cardinal last week. Deer are generally spooky creatures that are easily scared by all kinds of things.

buckracks7 · December 08, 2014, 09:33:00 PM

Yep, they go for the throat.

Charlie Lamb · December 09, 2014, 08:29:00 AM

I've seen rabbits "startle" deer down in Texas. The deer would return almost immediately once they knew what had scared them.

Mind you this was in an area where a mouse fart would turn one inside out.

Zradix · December 09, 2014, 08:34:00 AM

Thanks for the info guys.

Just trying to figure out what's going on here.

It's weird the deer now go around the carrots rather than eating them. We have snow here too. Normally bait seems to get hit pretty hard once the snow flies.

CLOVIS · December 09, 2014, 09:12:00 AM

I think the question is do you have to use bait to get a shot? The yellow acorn in a bag has spoiled a lot of hunters.

My thoughts

Zradix · December 09, 2014, 09:25:00 AM

???

The short answer would be no.
..at least it wasn't for the last few deer I've taken.

This year I'm very crunched for time in the woods.
Trying to boost my odds of getting a bit more meat in the freezer.

My thoughts

mike g · December 09, 2014, 09:49:00 AM

I think not..Bambi and Thumper got along great.