Rabbit habitat improvement

[Aaron Lariscy]

Do any of yall do anything to improve the habitat for your rabbits? I have pretty thick land to begin with but I am always wishing I could do better. I have access to some small diameter cast drain pipe and was considering cutting it into sections of around 3' and placing them in spots around and in the briars. Is there anything that I could plant that would help them I am open to any suggestions on this matter. Thanks Aaron

[south mtn beagles]

i've asked the same question and here is what I've been told,you can plant clover and put in feeder's that they can feed at so they dont' become pray for something,put in corn into the feeder as well as the pellets I've been told to put in a stack of pallets for cover as well as salt blocks for the rabbits to use!! good luck and let me know if any of this helps i'm still in the process of it all!!

[bill huttozac]

Cover is an "absolute must have" for rabbit habitat. I find that Orchard Grass and Fesque is not a good thing, too thick and does not stand the winter weather very well. To solve this problem, I planted Sorgram-Sudan Grass in April. It grows fast, reaches 6 to 7 feet in height when properly fertilized and provides great winter cover. The downside is that it is a annual plant and care should be given not to plant it in too thick of a stand. Of course, blackberry and honeysuckle are most desirable. Salt is a great help to maintaining a healthy rabbit population. As a rule, wild rabbit do not need corn or alfalfa pellets to survive. Their water requirements are met by the food they eat, green grass, tree bark or wet leaves. Clover, peas and vetch are a very good source of protein.
Perhaps the most productive improvement that can be made is tight control of predators. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[billfosburgh]

i build cover. lots of brush piles. i collect all the xmas trees i can after the holidays & pile them up. i also put a lot of salt out. i trap rabbits from different areas & take them to other areas, never hurts to deepen the gene pool.

[Bobby Vest]

Aaron I have found Serecia to be the best cover out there. It is an extremely hardy plant from the Lespedeza family. It will grow over waste high and gets extremely thick and course and the hawks and owls can't get in it. Serecia has the about the same food value as Alfalfa but it is much hardier. The best thing about it is once you get it established you don't ever have to go through the expense of reseeding it will reseed itself forever. When I went to buy mine it was close to $4.00 a lb. for the seed. The man at the feed store said if I would wait about a month he could get it for $1.75 lb. I don't know why the difference and I didn't ask I just ordered it. I wanted it to come in thick and quick so I plowed the ground and disced it up good, but you can sew it right on the ground and it will eventually come up by itself. I had a lot of people tell me it would spread and take over my whole place but that isn't so. It does get so thick in the summer I bush hog 6' S shaped paths through it so the races will be better. I do mow the perimeter so I can get to my fences easier. It stays standing up in the winter and turns darkish brown but it is beautiful when you get about a 6' snow and it lays on top of the Serecia. If I can help you in any way give me a call. Bobby 502-655-9486

[CHAD CAMPBELL]

Bobby, where did you buy you Serecia seed at? Most of the online stores say sold out. Wondered what a good price would be for 50pound bags?

[Aaron Lariscy]

Doing some research it appears this Serecia is detrimental to the quail so I don't know about planting that. I will try the christmas tree thing and definitely the salt. I also have one of those timed feeders I might fill with corn and rabbit feed and put about 6" off the ground in the thickest briar patch.

[warddog]

I'm curious if what you planted was the Sericia Lespedeza? I have been looking at the Lespedezas and read that the Sericia is considered an invasive species and banned in some states. I then read about the Kobe and Korean Lespedeza and am wondering if anyone has any knowledge of these and how they may compare to the Sericia as far as cover? What I have read about the Korean and Kobe is that it can be used as cattle forage and even bailed. I'm also wondering if the lespedezas will grow in partial sun or areas with low sun as the Sericia I've seen is out in the wide open areas of mine property.

[Bobby Vest]

I was told by the State not to plant serecia that it would invade the whole country and it's just not true. It will reseed itself every year but it doesn't blow from farm to farm like some will tell you. It is the best cover there is for rabbits as far as protection from predators. I have horse farms next to me and if it was invasive I would be in big trouble. You can believe what you want but quail love serecia also. If you have ever hunted the Indiana strips you know this is true.
Chad I got mine from a local feed store for $1.75 a lb. on sale but at some times of the year they want over double that???????? Anyone that has any doubt is welcome to come and see the layout I have here any time, just give me a call. Jimmy Abshire ran here this week and he said he couldn't believe the cover and the layout. I sit out back in the gazebo during the summer and have a blast running dogs. Jon Wagner, Jimmy Abshire, Eddie Frederick and some others on the board have been here and they can tell you about it. Yes Serecia is a Lespedeza. I pulled it up on the internet and did some research and during the depression it was the number one mortgage saver in the state of Missouri. Like I said Alfalfa only lasts about 3 years and you have to buy more seed. Serecia has the same food value as Alfalfa if you cut it for hay but you never have to resew it. Serecia is also a natural wormer for goats I thought that was funny. I listened to a lot of horror stories about this stuff and they just aren't true. I have had mine for 6 years and wouldn't trade my cover for anything else I have seen.

[south mtn beagles]

Doing some research it appears this Serecia is detrimental to the quail so I don't know about planting that. I will try the christmas tree thing and definitely the salt. I also have one of those timed feeders I might fill with corn and rabbit feed and put about 6" off the ground in the thickest briar patch.

Alot of guy's on here have made some feeders from cender blocks and ply wood and others have made them out of barrels cut long ways with enterance and exit holes on each end with a pipe that is put through the middle for the rabbits to feed in w/o having to fear the yotes and hawks,the barrels have been hard to come by but I have recently gotten a endless supply of the white plastic 55 gallon drum so I'm going to start on mine next week.