Why No Rabbits?

[Loyalist Dave]

Hey folks I hunt a nice farm, and the northern part has some overgrown fields that are returning to natural meadow. But in the 10 years that I've been out there, I've only seen a rabbit twice, and harvested one once. That was when they were mostly grass. NOW there are lots of places for critters to hide, but for some reason, not a single bunny. There's plenty of water, vegetation, and cover.

The only think that I can figure is that the Raptors and the Foxes take a huge toll on the bunnies, and they can't get reestablished.

Any other ideas folks?

LD

 

[JeffG]

Urbanization of coyotes. National reintroduction of wolves. It's been bad here for years.

 

[whughett]

Come to Florida. My neighborhood has a healthy population. In a few more weeks I’ll even be seeing a cotton tail family or two , Thumper, mama and little ones. With the vacant lots being cleared and built on I haven’t seen a BobCat in three years.

 

[caribou]

Cycles, habitat and predators all effect Rabbit populations.

Around my end of Earth, Rabbits are at a 'High" right now and can help fill out a few dinners when Caribou are over the hill and far away. A couple years back they were hard to come across for sure.

 

[Hookeye]

House cats and coyotes are heck on bunnies.
Coyotes are mean on groundhogs too.

And groundhog dens are good places for bunnies to escape from predators.
Do think lack of chucks correlates to lack of bunnies.

I live literally right outside of town. Have cats, coyotes and hawks around.
No garden, there's a rabbit den under my shed.

Been seeing hawks and cats trying to get em.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well the farm has groundhogs, no problems. I live about three miles from the farm, and my neighborhood has lots of bunnies too. I would try to have-a-heart, live trap them, and transplant them to the "farm" (no crops for many years) but with all of the chemicals on the neighborhood lawns here, I'd worry about them having the chemicals in the meat.

LD

 

[Kingcreek]

We were overrun with the darn things. Last winter we had a big snow that crusted over and they couldnt get down to grass. They moved in and destroyed our landscaping shrubs and small trees by eating all the bark above snow line. I shot 10 with an old Stevens model 66 without even putting my boots on. Made a big Dutch oven full of stew and still have some in the freezer.
I'm still seeing quite a few rabbits even though we have hawks owls and coyotes. We live on 40 acres with creek bottom, some timber and 17 acres of prairie grass.

 

[jmorris]

Put out a feeder and a game camera, you’ll get to see everything out there that eats corn.







You have to remember their life depends on predators not seeing them, so if you are out to kill them but can’t see them, they are doing their job.

 

[LNK]

Hey folks I hunt a nice farm, and the northern part has some overgrown fields that are returning to natural meadow. But in the 10 years that I've been out there, I've only seen a rabbit twice, and harvested one once. That was when they were mostly grass. NOW there are lots of places for critters to hide, but for some reason, not a single bunny. There's plenty of water, vegetation, and cover.

The only think that I can figure is that the Raptors and the Foxes take a huge toll on the bunnies, and they can't get reestablished.

Any other ideas folks?

LD

We have so many rabbits here they would come to the chicken runs and hang out with the chickens and guineas. If the weren't so destructive I wouldn't mind them. Then the other week, the guineas chased off a bobcat. I am seeing less and less rabbits. I hope the bobcat is satisfied with bunny, and doesn't decide to try chicken. That won't end well for the bobcat.

 

[Armored farmer]

Loss of habitat is the number one reason for the decline in rabbit populations here in my area.
USDA has programs for leaving land idle for small game habitat.
CRP, and 'quail buffer strips' are popular programs. Unfortunately the hawks and coyotes literally patrol thos areas. I think hawks are more damaging than coyotes. The hawks patiently wait, and they dont miss an opportunity. They are death from above on small game.
I carry a .204 in my combine. It isn't just for coyotes.

 

[buck460XVR]

Heavy depredation and/or no preferred food. Lack of cover(like brush piles) may contribute to the first. Could have been a bout with mange that decimated the population too. Could be someone else with permission to hunt got a new hound. Back when I used to hunt rabbits with my BIL, areas were either feast or famine. What held a ton of bunnies one year held very few if any two years later. I'm sure our pressure on the population had something to do with populations, but I'm also sure there were other factors.. The fact that "just down the road" has good numbers, means it's a localized thing and not a "cycle". Like anytime one hunts or fishes, it helps to have more than one spot.

What tracks did you see when hunting the area? Feral cat? 'Yote? Still without prey, odds are the predators won't be there either.

 

[jmorris]

USDA has programs for leaving land idle for small game habitat.

One of our pieces of land we have as a wildlife management area to keep it tax exempt. We Put up bird houses, cut cedars and pile them up and such every year to satisfy the requirements.

 

[whughett]

I’ve read somewhere in the past that some critters, rabbits, squirrels, and smaller ones like mice and voles go thru cycles of life. Populations will increase then decline often for unknown reasons, but usually controlled by weather and its effect on food supplies.

 

[LNK]

I’ve read somewhere in the past that some critters, rabbits, squirrels, and smaller ones like mice and voles go thru cycles of life. Populations will increase then decline often for unknown reasons, but usually controlled by weather and its effect on food supplies.

I know that hickory trees will take a year off from nut production. This allows some nuts not to be harvested by the tree rats as they moved to nuttier pastures, er forests. Not sure if oaks do the same.

 

[whughett]

In Rhode Island it’s Oaks and their acorn production. We referred to as “mast” and the grey and red squirrels were reflected by it. I generally sucked at hunting but sitting under a tree overlooking a hard wood stand with a scoped 22 was usually productive. Fried up like chicken they are tasty critters.

 

[eastbank]

stan and I have not done very well in the last years on rabbits, maybe 8-9 this year. no dog, we just hunt pasture fields and fence rows.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

What tracks did you see when hunting the area? Feral cat? 'Yote? Still without prey, odds are the predators won't be there either.

got lots of mice and chipmunks, and the woodlot next door has squirrel, not to mention the groundhogs in the Southern field.. I've seen fox, and three different types of hawks. That's why I thought maybe it was the raptors and the fox. I won't abide a feral cat, and there hasn't been one there for about 20 years.

LD

 

[WestKentucky]

Hawks are really efficient critter gitters. If you have an a a dance of hungry predators then you will have a decline in prey. It should even itself out in a couple years.

 

[MCgunner]

Rabbits have a very high natality rate, similar to hogs. Their population grows really fast, then they outgrow their food and over crowd themselves and their population crashes. This is known in game management as a "J growth curve". So their population cycles from high to low.

https://www.encyclopedia.com/earth-...m/environmental-studies/j-shaped-growth-curve

 

[ACES&8S]

Domestic pets take the major toll on several species around here.
Bob cats Fox are better at it & I never interfere with them doing what they have to do to live.
Then there are domestic, well fed, cats sitting along the edge of every field --------except ours.
I remember when Quail could be heard everywhere every day, haven't heard one here in 30 years now.
Grouse are beginning to thin out as well, lots of us quit hunting them just to give them a rest.
We need a CAT SEASON !

 

[LNK]

Domestic pets take the major toll on several species around here.
Bob cats Fox are better at it & I never interfere with them doing what they have to do to live.
Then there are domestic, well fed, cats sitting along the edge of every field --------except ours.
I remember when Quail could be heard everywhere every day, haven't heard one here in 30 years now.
Grouse are beginning to thin out as well, lots of us quit hunting them just to give them a rest.
We need a CAT SEASON !

We have bobwhite quail here on our property. I won't tell anyone that knows us we have them. But then, we allow thickets of blackberries and other thorny species, where our neighbors mow everything to get the last bale of hay.

 

[Hookeye]

Busted a covey of about 30 on one of my deer spots. Landowner said theyve been there for decades

Yup, deer hunting is cool. But you are required by the landowners rules.....to nuke every four legged predator on sight.

The quail of course are off limits.

 

[ridgerunner1965]

I think bunny pop is directly tied into fur price. predator fur that is. back in the late 70's up to late 80's I could easily go kill sum bunnys for supper.

now I would have a much better chance of killing a deer than a rabbit.

back then coons, coyotes,bobcats and foxes were very valuable. everybody kiled every furbearer they could find and sold the furs. coons would bring up to 50$ coyotes the same, bobcats up around a 100$ and foxes around 30$. if I remember,30 to 50$ was pay for a day for a skilled grown man.

once fur price went down, we were overrun with coyotes,coons and bobcats. foxes died out cuz of competition with the yotes.

its much the same here now, lots of predators and not much small game like bunnys and quail. squirrels however seem to be immune.

 

[Speedo66]

Australia could still use some help, hunting them.

 

[Ryden]

My brother in law have a farm on an island which is totally infested with rabbits, but none on his farm.

A few hundred meters away they are all over the place.

Turns out he has stoats living on the farm, they are enormously aggressive predators.

I bet that you have some too, or pole cats or weasels or whatever your local variety is