Tags: rabbits , grazing , pastured meats , livestock , North Carolina , Amanda Goble ,. Continue Reading. Share your thoughts.
Compact Cabins. Add to cart. Recipes From The Root Cellar. Advanced Bush Craft. Building Rabbit Housing E-Handbook. Related Content. Kime, senior extension associate in agriculture economics; and Jayson K.
Harper, professor of agricultural economics. Department of Agriculture-Extension Service. Let's Stay Connected. By entering your email, you consent to receive communications from Penn State Extension. View our privacy policy. Thank you for your submission! Home Rabbit Production. Rabbit Production.
Rabbit farming has grown from raising a few rabbits for family consumption to large commercial operations with hundreds of rabbits. Marketing Before you start producing rabbits, you must identify your market. Getting Started Once you have researched your particular market meat, laboratory, breeding stock, or wool , you can then plan the size of your operation and determine which breed of rabbits to raise.
Housing The rabbitry should be an enclosed building that has proper ventilation, lighting, heating, and cooling systems. Nest Box A nest box should be placed in the hutch prior to kindling birth to provide seclusion for the doe and protection for the litter.
Breeding Medium-weight breeds 9 to 12 pounds are able to start breeding at 6 to 7 months of age, with males maturing one month later than females. Nutrition Two types of nutrition programs are used for raising rabbits: hay and grain diets or commercial prebalanced pellet rations. Health Program The most important factors for maintaining a healthy rabbit herd are cleanliness, good ventilation, close observation, and protection from sun and rain.
Regulations All agricultural producers in Pennsylvania, including small and part-time farms, operate under Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law. Risk Management There are several risk management strategies you may want to employ for your farm.
Budgeting The following sample budget gives an example of the annual costs and returns of meat rabbit production based on 20 does and 2 bucks. Domestic Rabbit Biology and Production. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, Cheeke, P.
Rabbit Feeding and Nutrition. New York: Academic Press, Patton, S. Lukefahr, and J. Danville, Ill. Harkness, J. The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents. Philadelphia: Lea and Febinger, Live-In Rabbit. Periodical Countryside and Small Stock Journal. Withee, Wisc. Lynn Kime. Expertise Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. Jayson K. Harper, Ph. Why do we need this? Entering your postal code will help us provide news or event updates for your area. Related Products. Several types of paper wrap are available, but they are designed to protect trees from sun or other damage.
Check with your local garden center for advice. When rabbits are abundant and food is in short supply, only hardware cloth will guarantee protection. Small-mesh 0. A dome or cage of chicken wire secured over a small flower bed will allow vulnerable plants such as tulips to get a good start before they are left unprotected.
Several chemical repellents discourage rabbit browsing. For best results, use repellents and other damage control methods at the first sign of damage.
Always follow the directions for application on the container exactly. Since pesticide registrations change frequently, check with your local extension office for information on repellents or other new products available for use in your area.
Remember that some repellents are poisonous and must be stored and used safely. Most rabbit repellents are contact or taste repellents that render the treated plant parts distasteful. Taste repellents protect only the parts of the plant they contact; new growth that emerges after application is not protected and heavy rains may necessitate reapplication.
Odor repellents protect plants within a limited area, and do not need to be touching the plant. The degree of efficacy is highly variable depending on the behavior and number of rabbits and the alternative food sources that are available to them. When rabbits are abundant, use other control techniques along with chemical repellents.
Hinder is a repellent that is currently available for use on consumable plants such as vegetables and fruits. It consists of ammonium soaps of higher fatty acids. It is an odor repellent that may be sprayed or painted on the foliage.
Hinder has been found to be effective at repelling rabbits and deer from crops and ornamental plants. Miller Hot Sauce, which contains capsaicin the hot in hot sauce , can be applied to fruit trees and vegetable crops. However, it must be applied either before fruits or vegetables are on the plants or after they have been removed. Capsaicin is a taste repellent. The warm sensation it leaves in the throat of the animal is believed to cause the animal to avoid eating that plant again.
The effectiveness of capsaicin containing repellents is variable and depends on the availability of other food sources. In addition to capsaicin containing repellents and Hinder, there are many repellents that may be applied to non-consumable plants. Many commercially available rabbit repellents contain the fungicide thiram, which can be purchased in a ready-to-use form.
Thiram products are effective but can be dangerous because they are skin irritants. These products are taste repellents that can be painted or sprayed on the trunk and foliage of ornamentals and dormant fruit trees. Some repellents contain a mixture of tobacco dust and dried blood meal. Place these substances among the plants, but not on them.
They are not to be used near food crops. These products are odor repellents. As always, remember to read the labels. Repellents containing denatonium saccharide, such as Ro-Pel, have been found to be less effective. There is little evidence to suggest that the bittering agent, denatonium saccharide, works as a mammal repellent.
These products are taste repellents that may only be applied to plants during the dormant season. Because it is a taste repellent, the new growth in the spring is not protected.
Trapping can be used to remove rabbits from problem areas. The first step is to get a well-built and well-designed live trap. Several excellent styles of commercial live traps are available from garden centers, hardware stores, and seed catalogs. Most commercial traps are wire and last indefinitely with proper care. Live traps often can be rented from animal control offices or pest control companies. Finding bait is not a problem because dry corn or dried apples make very good year-round bait.
Dried leafy alfalfa and clover are good cold-weather baits. Apples, carrots, cabbage, and other fresh green vegetables are good baits in warmer weather, but these soft baits become mushy and ineffective once frozen.
For best results, use baits that are similar to what the target rabbits are feeding on. Check traps twice daily to replenish bait or remove the catch.
Pennsylvania law requires that traps be checked every 24 hours, but they really should be checked every 12 hours, particularly in suburban areas where neighborhood pets may be caught. Position the bait at the rear of the trap. A commercial wire trap can be made more effective by covering it with canvas or some other dark material, which will cause the trap to resemble a safe, secure environment. Be sure the covering does not interfere with the trap's mechanism.
If the rabbit was using a hole or burrow under a building, trapping and then releasing the animal after blocking the hole will alleviate problems. Various chemical repellents can reduce or prevent rabbit damage. They are most useful when you apply them to trees, vines, or ornamentals. These products work by creating an unpleasant odor, taste, or stickiness.
Research has shown that repellents with putrescent whole-egg solids can reduce rabbit browsing. Apply repellents before damage occurs, and reapply them frequently, especially after a rain, heavy dew, or sprinkler irrigation or when new growth occurs.
In all cases, follow the label directions for the repellent you are using. The usefulness of repellents is limited. They work best to protect woody plants during the early years before they bear fruit or during winter. Repellents usually fail when you use them in a vegetable garden, an area that contains highly preferred rabbit foods, even if the repellents are registered for use on edible crops. To discourage cottontails and brush rabbits, especially in suburban habitats where alternate habitats might be limited, remove brambles, piles of brush, stones, or other debris where rabbits can hide.
Control vegetation along fence rows, ditch banks, or brushy areas. Keep in mind vegetation management can affect other wildlife such as songbirds. Removing cover probably will have little effect on jackrabbits, because they can use cover that often is great distances from their feeding sites. If outbuildings such as sheds, trailers, or other storage units are on slightly raised platforms of about 2 to 12 inches, construct a mesh barrier to exclude rabbits from hiding underneath.
Shooting can be an effective means of eliminating small numbers of rabbits where it is safe to do so in rural locations, but it is prohibited in urban and suburban locations.
Best results are achieved in early morning or around dusk when rabbits are more active. Check both local and game regulations for license requirements and any restrictions on shooting in your area. A pet dog left loose within the area you want to protect can be somewhat effective in keeping rabbits away, but some dogs are better at this than others.
In order to comply with label instructions, you must recover all rabbits that die after coming into contact with the bait. Because the rabbits are likely to die outside the baited property, carcass recovery is almost impossible. Rabbits serve as food for a number of predators, including hawks and coyotes, but in urban and suburban situations, the greatest threat is from cats and dogs.
Although relatively vulnerable to predators, rabbits generally cope well and maintain their populations in spite of this threat. Inspect previously undamaged plantings for new damage, as rabbits can switch to new food sources after you have excluded them from an existing feeding site.
If trapping or shooting has reduced the rabbit population to a tolerable level, periodically search the area for signs of an increase in rabbits. Rabbits are easy to see, but because they frequently feed when it is dark, you might have to examine the garden at night with a flashlight to see them. Their eyes shine yellow or red in a flashlight beam. Because few, if any, rabbits are acceptable in a garden or landscaped area, take appropriate action when you first observe signs of them.
Rabbits seen nearby frequently will invade a garden when the plantings become desirable to them. Consider exclusion methods such as a fence before damage actually occurs. Clark, J. The Vertebrate Pest Control Handbook. Sacramento: Calif. Food and Agric. Craven, S. Cottontail rabbits.
In Hygnstrom, S. Timm, and G. Larson, eds. Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage, Vol.
0コメント