improving running areas any Ideas?

[don nash]

I started this thread in hopes of getting some Ideas or tips to improving running grounds. Like what is the best salt to put out ? Has anyone tried putting out water softner salt like the pellets that come in the 80lb bags? Thanks Don

[briarycreek]

Yes I have used it and it works fine. It is also fast since it dissolves fast. I like to place it on a pine stump where it dissolves into the wood and then the rabbits come along and eat it. I have used block salt but like the water softner salt best . It is easier to carry around and put out at various spots and will increase your population of rabbits.

[wvduece]

yes i have used the softner salt with good results both types the pellets n rock salt also busted the regular block salt i like the softner the best its way easier to spread just go along n throw a few handsful out in dofferent places the rabbits will find it thats how i have done it

[tinymwoods]

I recommend Trophy Rock. A whole trophy rock will last about 3 or 4 months. Broken up, a couple months. Trophy rocks weigh about 16 lbs. and sell for anywhere from #12.99 to $16.99 and are at most farm stores, hunting stores, and at Bass Pro. They are an all natural mineral block with over 130 trace minerals. Not only is it healthier for them, but it lasts alot longer. I first thought about using it when I saw rabbit tracks around a block put out for deer. Below is a link.
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/store ... rchResults

[Laneline]

I know many people have a real problem with this, and a lot has to do with your location, predators and circumstances involved. But Shelter and Food, focus on these two things “only” and you will have rabbits.

For shelter, use wooden pallets {the kind lumberyards use to stack shingles on, they are usually free}, line them up in rows of 3 and stack an abundance amount of brush and tree limbs on top of them. Create as many of these as you can all over your running grounds, you can’t put too many. Do it in the early spring so that the foliage can grow up, thru and around it. {Only put these where it is dry, do not put these in a year round swampy area unless you plan to create a snake pit} They will last for years.

For food, use Ladino clover “the best”, which is a preferred legume, or wheat. Food plots should be established near and all around your escape cover, {pallets with brush on top of it}. Don’t put clover, salt or anything else too far away from your escape cover, you will make them reach out too far and become easy prey. Water, salt, grain and other things are great if you want to go the extra mile, but they are not necessities. The “shelter” with “clover” around it is, two cheap and simple things that can change everything. Also, you would be surprised of the water that rabbits get from the plants they eat and the dew.

Predators? Regardless of what most think or say, Cats, Feral Cats, Owls and Hawks are your real threats. I have run in “stocked” fox pens in the past and they were stocked with foxes and coyotes and were still full of rabbits. Foxes and coyotes really don’t kill that many rabbits other than get lucky and find a nest or two. Cats and feral cats, they will find most nests and catch most of your baby rabbits and absolutely clean you out.

Here are a couple good links:

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/publicat ... rabbit.pdf

http://mdc.mo.gov/landown/wild/rabbit/cottontail.htm


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[Buckeye Blues]

Good post laneline.

[don nash]

Thanks for all the good post everyone. Keep them coming ing this is something every beagler should be interested in. Thanks Don Nash

[HarleyPA]

I would say one of the best things I have done, was to get rid of all the perches for Hawks and Owls. I went trough and cut down all the dead snags and trees that provided a perch with a line of sight along rabit feed and cover. If I could fall them into the brush, I left them like that. If they fell into a field or path, I cut them into large chunks and threw them into a loose pile just inside the brush. I have seen more rabbits than ever, after doing that.

I would say salting and supplemental feeding is secondary to having good cover and feed. If you have good cover, predators shouldn't be that big a of a problem. Optimal, is to have the right mix between cover and food.

I wouldn't agree about Mr. Lanes assement about Foxes and Coyotes. In a stocked pen, they put food out for them don't they? Why would a Fox or Coyote go hunting when he can get a free meal. I do agree that Hawks and Owls are responsible for more rabbit kills.

[wildhare2]

We try to put salt out, but if you do make sure you put it in covered areas. That way the rabbit isn't just sitting out in the open. Under brush piles, holes, etc.

[DavisFarms]

I agree that cover and food are the two greatest things you can provide to keep a strong rabbit population. Hawks and Owls are a rabbit’s biggest nightmare and I also agree with the “cat” theory, unless they are a pet and full time kept in the house, there is only one “good” kind of outdoor cat… because they will feast on rabbit nests and baby rabbits. As for the Coyotes and foxes? I have run among Coyotes and foxes for many years, all my life {over 50 years}. If you run up until the “dusk” you can hear the coyotes sing into the night, at least 10 to 15 at a time and right in the middle of where they dwell is a strong population of rabbits. In stocked pens? They don’t feed them as often and like many think they do. They may kill a deer and throw it to them time to time or feed them some in the winter, but for the most part, they are on their own, especially if it is a big pen. They want them to stay wild. Coyotes and foxes eat more of the dead carcasses from all animals, road kills or garbage that they find, than anything else. A fox may stumble on a nest or they both may find a sick rabbit, but as far as killing rabbits? Not too often, only when they are easy to get. Coyotes in the heart of winter with a lack of food are more of a danger to your dogs than they are a rabbit. Especially if your dogs stumble upon their young. For rabbits, it is all about their shelter and food.