Bunny habitat.

[Stone Knife]

Does anyone put in an effort to improve the habitat to suit rabbits. Joe and i walked for a few hours today and saw four, but the cover is far and few between. I was thinking about cutting some trees and piling the brush on some pallets to give them a hidey hole.

[702plmo]

Purdue University done a rabbit habitat study on a fish and wildlife area near my home.   They planted some different type grasses.   You might go onto the PU website and find out some more info.    One thing I did see and talk to a person about was some 1 inch x 1 inch by 2 foot wooden rods and that were soaked in salt water.  They drove them into the ground and many places to help the rabbits out with salt intake.?????

[insttech1]

hmmm...then would an agricultural salt/mineral block help them out too?

We're trying to get more back as well...where we used to have 5 or 6 in the yard at any given time, now we can only push out one or two...

I like the pallet idea a lot...seems just the right size for them to get into, if covered over pretty well with some brush...

Take Care,
Marc

[Gatekeeper]

Yes I do.

Chop and drop is one of the best things that you can do. I cut trees and drag them to the edge of our timber to create runs for the rabbits to get into to avoid predators and put in brush pile for them to live in. The rule of thumb for the rabbit runs is you want it thick enough that you can see through it but you can't walk through it. Try and make them at least 10 to 15 feet wide or wider if you have the energy. For the brush piles put a crisscross of logs at the base and then pile brush on top of that. A pile about the size of a Volkswagen will work great.

This time of year is a great time to get free evergreen trees. If you have a good size trailer drive to a Christmas tree dumping site and get all of the free rabbit habitat that you can handle.

One of the things that you will want to do within the rabbit runs is to spray the cool season grasses. Fescue is one of the worst habitat grasses around. It grows too thick for the rabbits to run through. If you have access to a disk use it to break up the ground. This is known a disturbance and will create a place where weeds will grow the following spring and summer but remember to spray the fescue. Disking the ground up in front of the rabbit runs is a good idea also.

The best habitat for wildlife are areas that look like a mess to most people. The manicured park like appearance does very little for wildlife. Wildlife likes weeds, briars and thickets. Making these rabbit runs will also create habitat for quail. Doing this takes a lot of work but it can be rewarding when you start to see more of the animals that you are trying to attract.

Here are some links to the Missouri Department of Conservation they have a lot of helpful information on their site.

Tom

http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/rabbit/

http://www.mdc.mo.gov/landown/wild/rabbit/management/

http://www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/

[drewsbow]

I throw my x-mas tree out back for them to hide in , along with other brush in that area :0)

[Izzy]

Large, thick brush pile start out providing food when fresh limbs are used and after the bark is stripped it reamains as cover.

[Shawn Leonard]

Jim, you know the bunnies my place has, we do little there. The reason we have so many is the thick and I mean thick cover and the fact we shoot lots of them. that is right I believe as my dad taught me and that rabbits produce a lot and if you kill plenty you leave plenty of food for the ones who make the winter and are healthy to produce more. Taht said I still go out and make a few freesh piles of brush each year, but that is more to offer me god shots withthe bow than anything else. Damon, Jamie and I hunted today and we saw 35 in a little over 2 hours and damon managed to get one!! OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Shawn

[VTer]

My son and I made up the word Rhabitat when we were looking for some. We're hoping it catches on!  

[Shawn Leonard]

Wow the Absolut must be kickin' in, I read that last post. Spelling stinks but either way we have bunnies for this years hunt. VTer ya should come1 Shawn

[Gatekeeper]

Greg

 That is funny!    I was telling my wife about this thread and by accident I kept saying rabitat. I think I said it three different times. She thought I was saying it on purpose but I wasn't I was getting tongue-tied.

Thought you might like to know it is already catching on.

Tom

[geno]

everyone hit it right on. the pallet or 6" pvc or any thing that will help with wind or rain. a chunk of salt and brush on top. Also any grass you can grow in the area will help. Clover or alfalfa.roaming cats are tough on them.

[-Achilles-]

the bunny population has went down here in Missouri bigtime...loss of habitat,coyotes,bobcats not to mention all the hawks and owls(that you cant hunt) have destroyed the population...used to you could drive down just about any gravel road at night and rabbits would run all over the place...old timers have told me of when they didnt even need a dog to get there limit with a bow...now your lucky to get your limit with a dog and a gun

[JBiorn]

I think Mr. Leonards' new username should be "Bunny"!    He is evidently a bunny junkie!

[Gatekeeper]

Geno's post reminded me of this. The black drain tile, cinder blocks and old woven fence works good too.

[Doug in MI]

I took my beagles out today and ran about 5 different rabbits. I have been making brush piles and cutting trees for several years now. I found out in early November that the neighbors cats had moved into my woods. From the lack of tracks I think they took a toll on the bunnys.
I tried the christmas tree thing and never kicked any rabbits from those piles. I dont know why??? The best piles are old pallets and natural brush for me. I like to add limbs to the brush piles when they have leaves on. It realy helps give them a nice cover to hide under.
Maybe someday I will have a spot where I can see 35 in a couple hours! You guys must get a lot of shooting and carry two quivers full of arrows with that many.