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ihookem Offline OP
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I have 2.5 - 3 ac. in my back yard. It is real good rabbit habitat. It has high grass, brush, junk, spruce and pine trees about 10' tall. I love rabbit and a joy to take a walk in the back yard to hunt them . So far we have 5 rabbits between me and my son. The hawk or owl got one and so did a cat kill one to leave it lay. I thought I got the last one the other night , but lo and behold, the trail cam got another one last night. I can't believe all the rabbits . There were at least 8 rabbits on this 3 ac, parcel. All around it is corn and mature hardwoods so there is very little coming from the other parcels. I always wondered how many rabbits are on an ac. of land but never thought there could be three rabbits per ac. I am hunting them hard cause I also have a lot of little oak and spruce trees that are getting bit up real bad. Does anyone else manage small parcels for rabbits?


But the fruits of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, Gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5: 22&23
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The question should be how many rabbits per acre do the local coyotes eat?

Personally, I'd leave them alone if I only had 3 acres. I get more satisfaction out of watching wildlife in my backyard than I do eating it.


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We used to have rabbits everywhere, but a bad blizzard in '76 (iirc) killed off nearly all of them.
The nominal frost line is 3 feet deep, but it got so cold it drop below 4 feet. Only the rabbits that had burrowed below four feet survived. So we had 10 years ,here, with a closed season for any type of rabbit. And they are reintroducing snow shoe hares in certain locations. (Those you still can not kill).
They are legal to hunt now, but still thin on the ground. I do, however, find them in-city, and live trap them. I raise them for a short time, until I have a full cage, and then release them on my hunting land.
Hopefully, they will start a breeding population there. Rabbit is good eating.


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Snow shoes not so good eating. NC

Last edited by northcountry; 02/20/17.

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ihookem Offline OP
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MIchiganscott, I my small parcel of 3 ac. I manage it for rabbits but noticed the deer like it now too. I dont deer hunt it though. If it were not for the small parcel of land , I dont think I would bother rabbit hunting. I walked 1.5 mi. the other day on public land . I found exactly 2 rabbit turds in that walk. I can scout for deer till hell freezes over before you kick up a rabbit. I walked 20 miles a few years ago in the fall after I got my bow buck. I kicked up 1 rabbit and one Ruffet Grouse. Not much on the public land .


But the fruits of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, Gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5: 22&23
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I gave up rabbit hunting about 20 years ago because the coyotes eat most of them. The guys with dogs take a few, but it's not the same as when I was in college in the early 1970's and you could easily walk up a limit.

Congratulations on having your own little piece of heaven. I'd still watch them instead, but I certainly understand your desire to hunt them.


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I'll often see 6-8 rabbits around the house (1 1/4 acres) many nights. Some years about an equal amount of swamp rabbits and cottontail, some years hardly any swamp rabbits.

Typically come across a nest about once a year. Find many tuffs of fur around, likely the coyotes or fox. Sometimes just find most of the pelt, so that's got to be an owl.

I haven't shot one yet, I prefer knowing they are there.


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Rabbits are scarce here in NW Ct and the woodchucks are gone since coyotes moved into this area a few years ago.


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Sounds like heavy varmint - Predator hunting may be in order in many parts.

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ihookem Offline OP
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Was a time I didn't hunt them much. Maybe one or two a year, but by the end of winter they were almost all gone anyway. I went back out there today. Just when I had to push through some brush I ended up a bit off balance . Sure enough, that is when a cottontail made a B line about 93 MPH. Never got a shot. I also found another rabbit kill. This is 5 for my son and I , and 3 for the predators. There is still one out there so that is 9 rabbits in about 2.5 ac. . Also, what is a swamp rabbit? A snowshoe Hare?


But the fruits of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, Gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5: 22&23
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Swamp rabbit is a big ass cottontail that lives in the swamps/river bottoms. Darker in color and noticeably larger.

We called them cane cutters in Louisiana.


"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"

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