The American Beagler Forum

I have a 6 acre rabbit pen that is thick. I have Tennessee Red Backs and smoky mountain cottontail now. I just built a brooder to start raising my own rabbits. The kind that I have run good but I'm trying to better my starting pen. Any suggestions of what kind of rabbits or hare to buy?

From the little I know and hear, you have some of the best stock already.

Larry

wild cottontail in Michigan, When I had a pen they were the best. now just for starting pups I had 10 tame big flop ear rabbits that lasted over a year they stood out like a sore thumb and somehow survived. I had my worst luck with San Juans in michigan

Wild cottontails.

I raise redbacks too and I put a lot of time in my breeding program to get the best rabbit I can. I sell a lot and guys seem to like them. I started with them to stock my own pen. The problem I run into is every once in awhile I get a die off in my pen. Don't know what it is but happens. There is definitely a difference in the running style of both rabbits too. I found more sight chases with redbacks as they seem to hold tighter than wild and jump close to the dogs. Now the redbacks pull more tricks than a wild. They will bob and weave more than a wild. Wild seem to just put distance between themselves and the dogs. I feel if a dog can run a clean race with redbacks with very little breakdowns, then you have yourself a dang good dog. I try to keep one or two redbacks in the pen at all times to give my dogs a mix of what to run and in starting dogs for others its sped things up quite a bit.

Now here is where I'm going to probably step on some toes. It matters little what anyone calls there rabbits. Redbacks, San Juan's , whatever. We are all dealing with the same rabbit. None runs better than others. Its all how they are raised. You raise them in a cage, hand them to someone, they drop them in a pen and put the dogs on them its not going to turn out well. I've talked to several guys that raise them to try to better what I move out and all that sell and have a good reputation on their rabbits raise with a lot of ground time before they leave. Every rabbit redbacks, San Juan, whatever all go back to the same. I doubt anyone that has a San Juan can go back lineage to the island or show they have a pure strain rabbit. If you were to get them off the island then you might have something, but all I've seen breed wise, raised in like condition, runs the same.

wild rabbits!!!!!!

My pope rabbits as i call em are doing a great job for us
We r running a akc midwest fc , midwest 2 time fld winner and 4 strong derbies on ny rabbits in a 40 acre pen
Getting 20 to 30 miles a night on em
Not bragging just facts

Wild rabbits! Don't think there is any comparable substitute for them.
I agree with span870.I also had a 6 acre starting pen when I lived over in middle Tn. and I tried what folks called San Juans,Knotheads,Redbacks,Smokey Mtn. cottontail,New Zealand dwarf,etc.In my opinion any of these domestic rabbits are fine for introducing VERY YOUNG beagles to some rabbit scent and let them figure out how to use their nose and follow it.Beyond that I don't feel they serve much of a purpose in developing your rabbit dog of the future.
It may depend on the type of beagle you are starting on these domestic rabbits but the line of dogs I raise at 4-5 months would run down and kill those types of rabbits in pretty short order and yes,my pen had pretty thick cover in it also.
These rabbits even after putting them in the pen for a month or more before letting a dog get after them possessed very little stamina and would run and squat,run and squat and then just sit and let the pups maul them.Keep in mind that these domestic rabbits usually carry a lot more scent than a wild cottontail,most often run barely in front of the dogs and many times the pups are running them by sight [ which contrary to many's opinion is NEVER good ].I've seen young dogs that were started on domestic rabbits that when taken to the woods wouldn't hardly open on a wild rabbit after having run open on the pen rabbits.Another issue that I've noticed is that in some of these small starting pens the folks keep too many rabbits in them and there is rabbit scent EVERYWHERE and this sure doesn't help a young dog develope his search when transfered to the wild.I also found that the domestic rabbits possess very little awareness of predators and are pretty easy pickings from the ground or air.

golden acres wrote:wild cottontail in Michigan, When I had a pen they were the best. now just for starting pups I had 10 tame big flop ear rabbits that lasted over a year they stood out like a sore thumb and somehow survived. I had my worst luck with San Juans in michigan

Last time I was at a field trial, we ran wild cottontails, so I say that would be the best opinion. Nothing better than the real thing.

I always put wild rabbits in my pen. That's the type of rabbit your dogs will run when hunting or field trialing. I think the other type of rabbits put off more scent.

The problem with wild cotton tail is they try to hide all the time in a small pen.
A few yrs ago, I crossed a Smokey Mt. buck with a mean Californian Doe.
The offspring ran excellent!! I even used them in the big pen.
Unfortunately the Owls cleaned them out.

The trick is if you are going to raise tame rabbits for the pen is to put the babies on the ground where they can run right away;better to have them kindle on the ground if possible. Too much work for most people, but they'll run like fire.
Thanks,
Bob

The trick is if you are going to raise tame rabbits for the pen is to put the babies on the ground where they can run right away;better to have them kindle on the ground if possible. Too much work for most people, but they'll run like fire.
Thanks,
Bob