Starting pen

[cburchett77]

I was wondering if anyone could give me some helpful advice for my starting pen. I am in the process of building it. I was really wanting some wild rabbits to go in it, but I can't trap any and can't find anybody that has any. What are the best tame rabbits to go in it? What is the fastest way to make them wild once they are in it? What is a good way to keep them alive when I do get them in there? Has any body have any advice how to keep them water inside the pen(most efficient)? All suggestions will be appreciated

Thanks,
Clyde

[cris axtell/coal hill ken]

make a lot of cover and put out feeders to bring the wild rabbits in before you put up your fence. if your going to stock it the cheapest rabbits work the best. there all the same except for color. lop ears don't work well. i like hare crosses. the best way to keep them alive is to stand over them with a shotgun or have a lot of thick cover and brush piles. for water cut a 55 gal drum length wise and sink it in the ground or set out shalow trays to colect rain water by the feeders. dump them before it rains to cut down on biting bugs.

[Ky. Hunter]

"What are the best tame rabbits to go in it?"

"there all the same except for color. lop ears don't work well. i like hare crosses. "

I use Smokey Mountain Cottontails and some that are Smokey Mountain and Belgium Hare cross and they run good and I have no problem with them being able to adapt to the wild but one of the best running rabbits we had in one of the pens we run in was just a mixed breed black rabbit and when he got wild man did he run. I put mine in the wild when they are any where from 6--12 weeks old and let them get their legs under them before I let them be run by dogs. The reason I put some in so young is that the longer you feed them in captivity the more they tame down but as stated above you need to have lots of cover for them and also letting them run in the pens for a couple of weeks before you put dogs in allow them to get use to finding their hiding places in the pen and the same with wild rabbits if you catch any to put in your pen. Don't put them in one day and turn the dogs in on them the same day. We also use pieces of 4" drain pipe cut in lengths of 4' and place them in different spots in the pen and just let the grass grow around them. We have also had some of our rabbits to have young in the pens and when this happens we don't run in them until they get big enough to run and hid.

[cris axtell/coal hill ken]

i use smaller ground pens to put my baby rabbits in. they have neting on top and pallets for them to hide in. they get used to runing around and hiding. they spend two weeks in there then into the starting pen. then no dogs for a week. i have smokey mnt/swamper/hare crosses. some of the best rabbits i have used i bought from a dutchman for three bucks each and were verious colors.

[Ky. Hunter]

(quote)"i use smaller ground pens to put my baby rabbits in. they have neting on top and pallets for them to hide in. they get used to runing around and hiding. they spend two weeks in there then into the starting pen. then no dogs for a week"


Good idea, the main thing is for the rabbits to get their legs under them and learn how to run and hide before putting dogs on them. Just about any kind of rabbit will make runners if you keep them wild while they are young, they don't know they don't look like wild rabbits