Catching wild rabbits for meat?

[Rabbit19]

Hey everyone!
A while back I had a thread about how I could keep meat rabbits in an enclosure I had.
Sadly keeping rabbits for meat just didn't work out, mostly because of not enough time or room.

I have come across a wild (feral) rabbit warren that needs getting rid of, because they are doing environmental damage.
I would like to be able use them for their meat, rather than just killing and leaving them.
I have a live trap of the sort that one uses for catching feral cats, and I thought I could just put it up against one the busiest holes, and hopefully the might trigger it as they try to get out. (I have my doubts if they really like carrots)
Any thoughts here?
I want to give them as little stress as possible, but some will be unavoidable as I don't have a gun or anything, so I was thinking of doing cervical dislocation.
I hope this is ok to post here, but I wanted to check with someone if there was anything I hadn't thought of, before going ahead.
Should I check if they are lactating first? And if they are, should I let them go?
There is no great hurry to get rid of them, as long as their numbers are kept in check.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Definitely don't use carrots as bait.
Live traps could give them a scare when they get trapped, but it's much better than using something like a snare or beartrap where they could lay(lie?) there in pain for a long time

 

[Rabbit19]

Definitely don't use carrots as bait.

Any particular reason why not to? Just interested, as while I didn't think it would be affective, I didn't know there was any reason to definitely not use them.

Live traps could give them a scare when they get trapped, but it's much better than using something like a snare or beartrap where they could lay(lie?) there in pain for a long time

Yeah, I'm not using a snare! I expect they can be fairly quick if set up just right, but I would have no idea what I would be doing, and it could go horribly wrong.
I'll only be able to check them twice a day, so thought I would set the trap in the evening, and then check it in the morning and close it for the day.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Any particular reason why not to? Just interested, as while I didn't think it would be affective, I didn't know there was any reason to definitely not use them.

Yeah, I'm not using a snare! I expect they can be fairly quick if set up just right, but I would have no idea what I would be doing, and it could go horribly wrong.
I'll only be able to check them twice a day, so thought I would set the trap in the evening, and then check it in the morning and close it for the day.

Rabbits generally shouldn't have very many carrots, only as a small treat. Sometimes they aren't interested in them anyway

 

[Preitler]

Before I started raising rabbits a caught two wild ones in the garden to see if I can handle the dispatching and butchering, and if they are tasty (they were).

They are cautious critters, and rather reserved about food they aren't used to, and carrots aren't really that much liked anyway, so they might not be the best bait. Imho apples should be better. Put a few where you know the rabbits are, when they are gone you can put the life trap there, baited.
I used a simple trap made from a tilted cage top and the apple on a stick that triggered the cage to fall down. It took quite some time. I put a video camera there and watched live what the rabbits where doing, and I also installed a switch that trggered an alarm in my house, since the trap was far from perfect and given time the rabbits would have escaped. Also, keeping them trapped for a long time is unnecessary stress.

I think i would feel better releasing a lactating doe, although that would reduce the chances of getting rid of the warren anytime soon. Here, when populations get too dense Myxo passes through and decimates them, about every 5-10 years, and our wild rabbits are going downhill for other reasons too - here those are wild ones, not feral ones though

 

[a2lute]

I have had so many issues with wild rabbits...but yeah, they like carrot tops, not carrots. Bait with apples or fresh leafy greens. Use a live trap if you are new to trapping, you may catch other creatures on accident.

 

[Rabbit19]

Thanks for the replys everyone!
Apples or greens seem to be the way to go, so I'll see what they think of that, although first I might try my idea of just putting it up against a hole.
A slight complication is it is about 10 mins away driving, and the 10 min walk, so I can't keep popping over, so I'll only set it at night.
I think at least to start with, I will let go a doe if it has milk; yes the rabbits need getting rid of, but it just wouldn't sit right with me.
I will also set a wildlife camera up, so I can see what happens and tweak things if needed.
I'll let you know how they taste! (if I do catch them, that is)

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Any particular reason why not to? Just interested, as while I didn't think it would be affective, I didn't know there was any reason to definitely not use them.

Yeah, I'm not using a snare! I expect they can be fairly quick if set up just right, but I would have no idea what I would be doing, and it could go horribly wrong.
I'll only be able to check them twice a day, so thought I would set the trap in the evening, and then check it in the morning and close it for the day.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Here is a video of setting a power snare. Wild rabbits are unlikely to into a live trap.


https://www.google.ca/search?q=powe...#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:307046ef,vid:wC77WDnM07U

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Thanks for the replys everyone!
Apples or greens seem to be the way to go, so I'll see what they think of that, although first I might try my idea of just putting it up against a hole.
A slight complication is it is about 10 mins away driving, and the 10 min walk, so I can't keep popping over, so I'll only set it at night.
I think at least to start with, I will let go a doe if it has milk; yes the rabbits need getting rid of, but it just wouldn't sit right with me.
I will also set a wildlife camera up, so I can see what happens and tweak things if needed.
I'll let you know how they taste! (if I do catch them, that is)

Apples can cause bloat and kill the rabbits their digestive system’s are not setup for sugar.

 

[Preitler]

Apples can cause bloat and kill the rabbits their digestive system’s are not setup for sugar.

No, not really. Maybe unless it's an indoor rabbit that had nothing but pellets and hay his whole life and gets too much at once.

Rabbits in the wild, or ones fed a natural diet and are used to grazing, know very well what and how much of it they can stomach. I do feed apples (and Topinambur, pumpkin, cabbage, etc) through winter, and even when they wolf them down when out on the meadow in autum - no problem at all.

That "*insert whatever* can cause bloat" usually is a generalization from incedences under special circumstances, or just a generaliziation of what makes the rounds on the internet - of which a lot is half true or outright bs.
It pivots around the word "can". That can be applied even if the chances are less than 0.1%

There are rabbits with digestion issues, IMHO mostly from bad breeding practice, but rabbits living in the wild definitly do not have such issues (otherwise they would have fed the wild a long time ago)

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

No, not really. Maybe unless it's an indoor rabbit that had nothing but pellets and hay his whole life and gets too much at once.

Rabbits in the wild, or ones fed a natural diet and are used to grazing, know very well what and how much of it they can stomach. I do feed apples (and Topinambur, pumpkin, cabbage, etc) through winter, and even when they wolf them down when out on the meadow in autum - no problem at all.

That "*insert whatever* can cause bloat" usually is a generalization from incedences under special circumstances, or just a generaliziation of what makes the rounds on the internet - of which a lot is half true or outright bs.
It pivots around the word "can". That can be applied even if the chances are less than 0.1%

There are rabbits with digestion issues, IMHO mostly from bad breeding practice, but rabbits living in the wild definitly do not have such issues (otherwise they would have fed the wild a long time ago)

I free range my rabbits in a 3000 square foot pen 9 breeding does and three bucks. I feed a natural diet (no pellets) and they do get apples because they have apple trees in their pen. I have bird netting up so it helps catch the apples (also keeps critters out) and I can feed them at a slower rate.
Wild rabbits in my area really don’t get apples in the wild. I never have them going after my apples in my yard but the bark of the tree they love.
Yes lots of bs on the internet.

I am curious as to what your percentage is based on to arrive at that number of 0.1%?

 

[Preitler]

As I tried to point out, this was just a number to show what "can" on the internet means. Practically nothing. Things can happen, impossible to prove that they can't. Manhatten can be destroyed by a meteorite tomorrow.

For example, all those toxic or proper diet lists, and whatever published by well meaning, but not really knowledgeable people dominate the internet, but the bias is that people who think they know it all and are hell bent to mean well are much more numerous and talkative than people who actually know things. Reading forums like this really helped me to learn to differientiate

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

As I tried to point out, this was just a number to show what "can" on the internet means. Practically nothing. Things can happen, impossible to prove that they can't. Manhatten can be destroyed by a meteorite tomorrow.

For example, all those toxic or proper diet lists, and whatever published by well meaning, but not really knowledgeable people dominate the internet, but the bias is that people who think they know it all and are hell bent to mean well are much more numerous and talkative than people who actually know things. Reading forums like this really helped me to learn to differientiate

Oh ok, I got my knowledge from raising rabbits my entire life. Thanks for your insights.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

As I tried to point out, this was just a number to show what "can" on the internet means. Practically nothing. Things can happen, impossible to prove that they can't. Manhatten can be destroyed by a meteorite tomorrow.

For example, all those toxic or proper diet lists, and whatever published by well meaning, but not really knowledgeable people dominate the internet, but the bias is that people who think they know it all and are hell bent to mean well are much more numerous and talkative than people who actually know things. Reading forums like this really helped me to learn to differientiate

Oh ok, I got my knowledge from raising rabbits my entire life. Thanks for your insights.

 

[Preitler]

Sorry.

This wasn't meant as an insult. Just in my experience with rabbits and apples is that they gorge on them whenever possible, but there never ever was any trouble with it. I can't say that there can't be problems, with other rabbits at other circumstances, but I think that ones living wild are the least prone to it. mine live pretty close to how wild ones would, spending the day foraging. This is why i think apples are a good bait, knowing that my rabbits will raid my neighbours garden if I don't herd them properly.

Did you have rabbits getting bloated from apples? What feed where they used to? How did they get too much apple? I can't fill in these parts of rabbit nutrition since mine, as I said, never had any issue, also as far as I noticed not any wild ones since any fruit is a welcome addition to their diet.

Over the years I had bloated rabbits, mostly related to molting. Never lost one though, but since my keepers are more pets than lifestock I'm off to the vet as soon as they act sufficiently off, I reckon that's not the norm.

Anyway, this thread is about how to catch feral rabbits, and I still think apples are a pretty good option for that.

 

[Cindy in SD]

Hey everyone!
A while back I had a thread about how I could keep meat rabbits in an enclosure I had.
Sadly keeping rabbits for meat just didn't work out, mostly because of not enough time or room.

I have come across a wild (feral) rabbit warren that needs getting rid of, because they are doing environmental damage.
I would like to be able use them for their meat, rather than just killing and leaving them.
I have a live trap of the sort that one uses for catching feral cats, and I thought I could just put it up against one the busiest holes, and hopefully the might trigger it as they try to get out. (I have my doubts if they really like carrots)
Any thoughts here?
I want to give them as little stress as possible, but some will be unavoidable as I don't have a gun or anything, so I was thinking of doing cervical dislocation.
I hope this is ok to post here, but I wanted to check with someone if there was anything I hadn't thought of, before going ahead.
Should I check if they are lactating first? And if they are, should I let them go?
There is no great hurry to get rid of them, as long as their numbers are kept in check.

I had a rabbit in my garden, so I did some research and found that apples and/or apple cider vinegar are the number one recommendation for trapping rabbits. They recommended some other things too, but I don't remember them b/c the ACV and a slice of apple worked.

Put the trap in a sheltered place so that the rabbits will feel safe entering it. I put mine amidst some wild raspberry bushes with the entry facing outward. Put your apple slice on the other side of the trip pad. If you put it ON the pad, the rabbit may not trip it, gently nibbling as they do.

I put my ACV in a spray bottle and scented the whole cage and the entry area with it. Next day I caught my rabbit; it was cute and too small to bother eating it. I put the cage in the 4-wheeler and took him to a creek a few miles into the woods and let him go. I caught another one a few days later and did it again. The end. Unfortunately the never-ending legions of mice were not so easily dealt with.