thin rabbits

declan1980

i've shot a few rabbits recently and they seemed to be in very poor condition both males and females compared to the ones this time last year.
has anyone noticed this in other parts of the country?

landkeeper

well it was along and hungry winter and a very very late spring

Tackleberrywho

declan1980 wrote: »

i've shot a few rabbits recently and they seemed to be in very poor condition both males and females compared to the ones this time last year.
has anyone noticed this in other parts of the country?

They are starting to improve, grass growth has only been in the last weeks in earnest, Grass drives the food chain.

Dusty87

Its the recession, they cant afford to feed themselves. Oh no wait......

ferrete

you should leave them alone until september anyway give them peace to breed. if you want a sport to do during th summer buy a fishing rod

Tackleberrywho

ferrete wrote: »

you should leave them alone until september anyway give them peace to breed. if you want a sport to do during th summer buy a fishing rod

Rabbit shooting is a summer passtime.
September is deer & Duck.

Rabbits don't need any peace to breed, they can do it in any conditions hence the expressin "at it like rabbits"

It wasn't me!

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Rabbits don't need any peace to breed, they can do it in any conditions hence the expressin "at it like rabbits"

Not true. They need decent food supplies and conditions. Does absorb foetuses for nutrition in hard conditions, so there will have been extremely few rabbits breeding over the long winter.

declan1980

ferrete wrote: »

you should leave them alone until september anyway give them peace to breed. if you want a sport to do during th summer buy a fishing rod

i don't shoot a lot of them at this time of year just the odd one for something different to eat every couple of weeks. i usually leave them until the end of july or start of august.
as for fishing, i'm afraid its just not my thing. i prefer to do some target shooting when i'm not hunting so i can keep my accuracy up for the headshots on the bunnies. no meat damage here i say

johngalway

ferrete wrote: »

you should leave them alone until september anyway give them peace to breed. if you want a sport to do during th summer buy a fishing rod

Depends on whether letting them breed is your aim I'd guess.

meathstevie

If there's a lot of them around in an area you can just as well shoot them now before the mixy gets them or someone starts laying poison as was mentioned in another thread.

Don't loose sight of the crop protection aspect of rabbit control either.

Tackleberrywho

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Not true. They need decent food supplies and conditions. Does absorb foetuses for nutrition in hard conditions, so there will have been extremely few rabbits breeding over the long winter.

IWM, I may bring you down to where i live, show you the rabbits and yuo make the call. Fat Fcukers and I am the only person who hunts them.

I shoot on average 200 a year in more or less the same places, and hey presto next year their are more.

Shooting will never get rid of bunnies, too many bunnies and too little shooters.

It wasn't me!

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

IWM, I may bring you down to where i live, show you the rabbits and yuo make the call. Fat Fcukers and I am the only person who hunts them.

I shoot on average 200 a year in more or less the same places, and hey presto next year their are more.

Shooting will never get rid of bunnies, too many bunnies and too little shooters.

Yeah, and I've got some nice lowland ground where the bunnies are plentiful, unshot and fat and healthy, and I've got some mountainous ground where they're scrawny, scarce and sketchy. I've seen plenty of places shot out of bunnies by over-shooting too. The fact remains that those areas hardest hit by the cold have diminished rabbit populations and they're still in poor nick, while others are fine. What I said is also true.

hunterpajero

its from that virus they brought out to rid the rabbits once more,calici i think is the name of it