Well it is growing closer to the time.....

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BCBeagles
Posts: 5546
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:27 am
Location: West Virginia

Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by BCBeagles »

My brother reached out to the Timber company today. Lord willing, they will be clear cutting our area for our pen over the next couple months.

I know this is not an overnight job, but we will have all the tree tops left in the near 15 acres we will be fencing in there are some areas that are hay field that we will simply let grow up. It has some nice Multiflora rose on it already. We want to plant both food and cover to add to this areas as time goes on.

If you had to pick one or two great food sources and one or two great cover options what would TOP the list???

thanks so very much!!!

rabbitatfarm
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Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:07 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by rabbitatfarm »

Autumn olive would be at the top and the bottom of my list. Top because it produces browse and cover quickly. Bottom because it is terribly invasive and spreads everywhere. IF you could plant it in wide strips and mow it before it ever blossoms it might be okay. I cut some of my old stuff in the spring and by late fall the new sprouts were six feet tall. Clover is a universal green browse that grows in a variety of soils. After your clear-cut is done I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of berry canes and vegetation that will follow. Good luck and keep us posted. Pictures would be nice.

Larry
LP R Ch Quick Strike Go Go Boots
LP R Ch Quick Strike Big Red

BCBeagles
Posts: 5546
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:27 am
Location: West Virginia

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by BCBeagles »

thank you....I will post some pics of the whole process.

It will be fun to undertake!!

BCBeagles
Posts: 5546
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:27 am
Location: West Virginia

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by BCBeagles »

They are finishing up the clear cut today!!

Gonna seed out the roads in clover and pasture mix...going to selectively put out some sections of little blue stem.

Got a culvert to put in and get the fencing up to the pen area.

Going to brush hog then mow the fence path and Wade will be down to put her all together in the next month.

Man I am excited!!!

I will get pics soon...

thanks for looking and good running to all!!

sbeagler
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Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2011 5:07 pm

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by sbeagler »

be sure and use endophyte free grass seeds. some pastures you notice there's no rabbits that's why. PA State University done a study it wrecks havoc a cottontails stomach like a parasite. The seed should say ENDOPHYTE FREE

BCBeagles
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Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:27 am
Location: West Virginia

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by BCBeagles »

Thank you Steve.

BCBeagles
Posts: 5546
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:27 am
Location: West Virginia

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by BCBeagles »

Patience has paid off...they are coming to build it in about a month...man are we excited!!

My dad retires in Feb. of 2016....guess who I am going to pay to run my dogs...lol.....

cris axtell/coal hill ken
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Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2003 9:58 pm
Location: greenville pa NW

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by cris axtell/coal hill ken »

Congrats Jim. Your going to love it . Building my starting pen was one of the best things I ever did. A running pen would be even better.
COAL HILL KENNELS. LP GR CH Coal Hill's Brush Buster. 2014 PA state champion LP GR CH Coal Hill's Mama Cass. 2010 PA state champion LP R CH GR BCH Coal Hill's Princess Willow HOG DOG POWER!!!!

Aubrey Holcombe
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Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by Aubrey Holcombe »

Yes sir,, I love my starting pens, and I have an 8 Ac-er Running pen, that is nice to rum my broke hounds inside when the Deer Season is ope here in N.E.Ga.!

The old type Ky. Fescue is also a Bad grass that folks will plant in their starting pens, and it also has the Fungus that will mess up the digestive trac in cotton tails and they will dye.

I plant Orchard Grass,, it looks a lots like the old type Ky. fescue that will kill rabbits, but it is a good cover as well as the rabbits love to eat this grass. I have experiments with all type of grass and cover is very important as the owls, and hawks will clean you out if there is much Open space. Keep an eye out for stray cats,, I have to keep live traps hand at all times bob cats are bad on the baby rabbits.

Might as well get yourself some homemade, rabbit boxes made up, as it will take a good many rabbits to stock that size running pen.

Good Luck.
D.R.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>> :dance:
ARHA Hall Of Fame, own "The Daddy Rabbit Kennels", Royston, Georgia

rabbitatfarm
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Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:07 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by rabbitatfarm »

I won a "cheese wheel" trap at The World Hunt. Caught two rabbits in four days. They really work!! And they are relatively easy to make compared to box traps. I used the one that I won as a pattern and made five in an afternoon.

Larry
LP R Ch Quick Strike Go Go Boots
LP R Ch Quick Strike Big Red

DarkWater
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Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2016 9:12 pm

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by DarkWater »

How does the Orchard grass do in the winter mths with cover???? Does it die out or what????

rabbitatfarm
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Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:07 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by rabbitatfarm »

Orchard grass doesn't hold up as well as the warm-season grasses if you get a lot of snow. It will go dormant but come back in the spring. To keep it palatable it should be mowed when it gets to tall and rank.

Larry
LP R Ch Quick Strike Go Go Boots
LP R Ch Quick Strike Big Red

Aubrey Holcombe
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Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by Aubrey Holcombe »

I seldom have any Snow here in my stated, of Ga. My Orchard grass is real good for the South,, but like he said it does need to be mowed once a year, and I do that in the spring and with rain it works great, i also put out Fertilizer, once a year on all my Food plots and inside my Pens.

D.R.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>>
ARHA Hall Of Fame, own "The Daddy Rabbit Kennels", Royston, Georgia

BCBeagles
Posts: 5546
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:27 am
Location: West Virginia

Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by BCBeagles »

Long time coming...but patience pays off.

They are building our pen this week upcoming. we worked hard their this weekend to get it all ready for fence.

Saw rabbit sign and two rabbits in the area. Going to be about 14 acres....the grasses and clover we planted last year have really taken off. Once fence is up we will go in and cut our roads back down for new growth.

To say we are excited is an understatement....it will be fun to have.

Thanks for the information on the grasses. We are going to spot plant a few areas that did not take as well as what we wanted.
Last edited by BCBeagles on Mon Jul 25, 2016 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

Aubrey Holcombe
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Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:54 am
Location: Royston, Georgia
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Re: Well it is growing closer to the time.....

Post by Aubrey Holcombe »

I been using the "Night-Guard" Red Flashing Solar, power Lights for years.. The Owls keep getting my rabbits at night !! If you see any sign, of rabbits entrails, fresh laying in your pen, then the Big Birds are going to clean you out !

These Flashing red lights, work wonders for keeping them Owls, out and they will last a long time, I have some that worked for several years, the sun keeps them charged all day and at night they come on, and flash all night,, I but four (4) of them right in the middle, of the largest food plot, pointing them in all directions, N,S.E.W. and they well worth the cost they $19,95 and will ship them free of charge..

Good Luck and keep an eye out for stray cats, they will show up and they catch your baby rabbits.

Keep Looking up!
D.R.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>>
ARHA Hall Of Fame, own "The Daddy Rabbit Kennels", Royston, Georgia

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