The cottontail rabbit
is found practically everywhere in Missouri where habitat needs are met.
Supplying food and cover for rabbits is relatively simple, and the rabbit, with
its rapid reproduction, responds readily. The average size farm
has ample room for rabbit management, because under good conditions the home
range of a cottontail is often less than 5 acres. Thus, it is possible to
encourage rabbits along with normal operation of the farm by supplying their
habitat needs within small areas.
Rabbits need well
distributed protective cover, an ample year-round food supply, and a safeplace
for nesting and development of their young.
Although rabbits drink water during hot,dry spells, their water needs are usually met from the succulent plants they eat. Sometimes only one of these needs is lacking, but occasionally two, or even all three, have to be supplied.
Although rabbits drink water during hot,dry spells, their water needs are usually met from the succulent plants they eat. Sometimes only one of these needs is lacking, but occasionally two, or even all three, have to be supplied.
Good, well distributed
protective cover is the most critical element for the development of a good
rabbit population. With modern, intensive farming, cover is the one element
that is most often lacking.
RELATED INFORMATION
Improving
Existing Cover
·
Fence pastured
woodlots. This increases the value of the woodlot timber and, by letting the
grass and shrubs come in naturally, provides cover and food for rabbits and
other wildlife. Limbs from firewood and timber harvest should be piled and left
to provide additional escape cover.
·
Improve fence rows.
Overgrown fence rows are excellent wildlife habitat. Many fence rows can be
improved as wildlife habitat by topping larger trees to keep the growth low and
dense.
·
Fence rows permit the
rabbits to move freely into bordering fields and then return to the safety of
the cover. Many fence rows also furnish winter food, valuable during deep
snows, because the animals can feed without leaving shelter.
·
Fence gullies. This
retards the spread of the gully by preventing stock trampling and grazing of
soil-holding vegetation. It improves the value of the gully for rabbits and
other wildlife by letting the vegetation grow.
·
Odd areas. Most farms
have odd or non-agricultural areas which have been allowed to grow sprouts,
briars and brush. These usually provide excellent nesting sites and cover for
rabbits, quail and other wildlife. Both loose and dense brush piles can be constructed
by topping the larger sprouts.
·
Food plots (both grain
and green browse) can be added if the area is suitable. Disked strips on the
contour will also allow annual weeds to grow.
·
Pond areas and dams.
If fenced from livestock, pond areas can provide good rabbit cover. Travel
lanes or dense fence rows which connect the pond area to nearby cover will
increase the value to rabbits. Well grassed pond dams and terraces make
excellent nesting sites for rabbits.
·
Don't burn bulldozed
trees and brush. If clearing is necessary, brush piles can be pushed to the
edges of fields or into draws. These make instant, top-notch rabbit cover and
allow forage plants to grow beneath their protective structure. However,
larger, compacted bulldozer piles can also provide shelter for ground predator
species (raccoons, skunks, fox, coyotes, etc.).
Providing
New Cover
·
Brush Piles: Located
in the right place, brush piles bring the quickest response of all the
management tools. Rabbits will often take over a brush pile the night after it
is made.
·
Some larger trees such
as locusts will remain alive for several years when "lopped over" or
hinge cut. If the top is allowed to remain attached to the stump the twigs and
limbs will provide both food and cover for rabbits.
·
Practically any brush
growth is good material. It is best to pile the brush over large rocks, old
culvert pipe or discarded farm equipment. This keeps the brush off the ground
and allows rabbits more freedom of movement. The pile should be 12 to 15 feet
in diameter and 4 to 5 feet high. The number of piles required will depend on
existing conditions. Usually, the more brush piles there are, the better it
will be for rabbits.
·
Brush piles have other
advantages, too. Groundhogs tend to burrow beneath them rather than out in the
open field. This puts the burrows where they aren't as damaging. These burrows
make perfect retreats for rabbits during both cold and hot weather. Another
benefit is that the piles eventually decay and add humus to the soil. Brush
piles in gullies will provide cover while also reducing erosion.
·
It is important to
place the brush piles in or very close to other permanent cover, such as
briars, fence rows, woods or unpastured grasslands. A brush pile located in a
closely grazed pasture is of little value to rabbits. Here, rabbits are exposed
to predators while going to and from such a pile. In most cases they will not
use it in winter when they need it most.
·
Artificial Dens: Old
culverts, plastic pipes and discarded farm equipment, placed in tall grass or weeds
close to permanent cover, make attractive sites for rabbits. Brush placed over
the top will improve their usefulness.
·
Nesting Cover: Rabbits
nest in grassy locations such as pastures, ditch banks, pond dams, orchards and
even lawns. The importance of well drained sites to protect the nest lining
materials from becoming dampened cannot be underestimated. On flat land, heavy
rains during the breeding season fill the nest depression and either drown the
young or force them from the nest. When well grassed, terraces make good
nesting sites.
·
In flat areas, well
drained nest sites can be made by plowing two back furrows against each other
and seeding them to a grass-legume mixture. The chance for survival of the
young will be increased by placing these nesting areas near permanent cover and
some bare ground. This allows young rabbits to escape dense, dew-covered
vegetation, which tends to be a deadly combination during the early period of
growth.
·
Seeding banks of
gullies, pond dams and bare road cuts will provide ideal nesting cover. A mulch
of straw, sawdust or discarded vegetation will also improve these localities
for nesting. All nesting sites should be protected from grazing, mowing and
burning. Nesting habitat is especially important for the first litter, which is
usually produced before most vegetation starts growing in early spring.
·
Native Warm-Season
Grasses: The value of native warm-season grasses (e.g., big bluestem, little
bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass) for wildlife lies with its structure and
the time of the year when new growth occurs. The tall, stiff, upright stems and
elevated leaves effectively reduce wind speed, modify humidity and
transpiration extremes, as well as soften raindrop impact. To ground-nesting
species, these traits provide a more favorable reproduction condition than do
most cool season grasses (bluegrass, fescue). The upright stems of native
grasses persist throughout the winter months and are able to hold up even under
heavy snow and ice.
·
The
"clumpiness" of natives allow free movement along travel lanes
beneath the protective cover. Young rabbits are able to climb into the clump to
escape drowning or chilling rains. This characteristic also allows the
germination of other broad-leafed plants, which may be valuable browse for
rabbits and other wildlife.
Food
Rabbits eat a wide
variety of plant foods, but recent studies show they can be quite selective for
certain foods.
Some food items are
heavily used during certain seasons of the year while they are used little
during other seasons. When it's available, bluegrass comes nearest to being an
important year-round food, although even bluegrass is barely touched during the
summer.
Wheat as forage, and
corn and milo as grain are important foods during the fall and winter. Cheat,
an annual grass, is an important food during early spring. The main summer
foods are white clover, Korean lespedeza and crabgrass. These foods must be of
high quality and located next to good cover in order for them to be beneficial
to rabbits.
Soil tests taken in
areas where food plantings are to be located will show the amounts of
fertilizer and lime the soil needs. As a rule, established pastures will be
improved by applications of fertilizers. New plantings will benefit also, if
fertility requirements are met.
·
Locating Rabbit Food
Plots: Locate new food plots or improved sites adjacent to fenced woodlots,
draws and fenced pond areas or around large brush piles that will
allow feeding without exposure to predation. A rabbit will pass up a food patch
if exposure to predation is a possibility.
·
Size of Food Plots: In
most cases, 1/10-acre plots are sufficient if they are managed properly and are
well distributed. Strip plantings 20 feet wide by 200 feet long are adequate if
other needs are met.
·
Protection: For
maximum value to wildlife, plantings must be protected from fire and grazing.
·
Plants for Food Plots:
Fertile soils encourage succulent new growth that is palatable and nutritious.
Food plants that are predominately too mature and consists of growth that has
stagnated usually produces poor rabbit populations. Thus, plantings made to
improve rabbit habitat should contain a variety of seasonally palatable,
nutritious foods that are grown near permanent cover.
·
The seedbed for a
rabbit green browse plot should be prepared in August or early September,
working in the fertilizer per soil test recommendations at the same time as you
prepare the ground for planting; or 500 pounds per acre of 6-12-12, if no soil
test is accomplished. Plant 1/2 bushel per acre of wheat and 2 pounds per acre
of orchardgrass after ground is adequately prepared. At the same time, or in
early winter, over-seed half of the food plot with 2 pounds each of ladino and
red clover. Then, sometime in January-March, over-seed the other half with 10
pounds per acre of annual lespedeza (Korean, Kobe, or Summit, or a mixture of
any of these). Clipping once anytime from mid-July to mid-August and top
dressing the plot with 100 pounds of phosphate and 100 pounds of potash every
other year should add additional years of life to the planting.
For those who want to
go one step further and provide plants with the highest monthly use, the
following plant list will be helpful:
1.
January: Bluegrass,
corn, timothy, cheat, wheat, sumac
2.
February: Bluegrass,
sorghum, wheat, poison ivy
3.
March: Bluegrass,
cheat, wheat, timothy
4.
April: Bluegrass,
cheat, wheat, dandelion
5.
May: Bluegrass, white
clover, wheat, red clover
6.
June: Korean
lespedeza, white clover, knotweed, wheat
7.
July: White clover,
Korean lespedeza, timothy, crabgrass
8.
August: Crabgrass,
white and red clover, Korean lespedeza, wheat
9.
September: Crabgrass,
Korean lespedeza, white clover, wheat
10.
October: Crabgrass,
wheat, white clover, Korean lespedeza
11.
November: Wheat, white
clover, bluegrass, timothy
12.
December: Wheat,
cheat, bluegrass, meadow fescue
·
Cattle Grazing and
Rabbit Management: The impact that grazing has on rabbits varies considerably
with cattle stocking densities, time of year, rainfall and availability of
"cattle-proof" cover. Grazing cattle will compete directly with
rabbits for both food and cover.
·
However, under
conditions of over-mature forage, grazing can be beneficial by reducing the
amount of dense vegetation. "Free movement" is essential for rabbits
to escape predation. Rabbits avoid areas of dense, wet vegetation and some
grazing will produce both openings for movement and some bare ground for
sunning. It should be emphasized that the key to rabbit abundance is cover.
The Monoculture vs.
Rabbits: A monoculture (extensive areas of one type of vegetation) is not
conducive to the production of a variety of wildlife species, particularly
upland wildlife.
Old fields which have
grown into dense, stagnant stands of grass are about as uninviting to rabbits
as are the large fields of cool-season grasses. It should be noted that
perennial grasses, even bluegrass, are used very little by rabbits during their
summer dormant season. During this period, both the young and adult rabbits
rely heavily on white clover, red clover, lespedeza and annual grasses when these
are available.
Fescue, a cool-season
grass, has the capacity to control and eliminate other plants by producing
toxins. This principle (called allelopathy) is not uncommon among plants and is
best demonstrated by the black walnut. The walnut produces a toxin (juglone)
which inhibits plant growth. For example, studies in Illinois have shown that
fescue has this same capacity and can kill sweet gum trees. It is this control
of plant species diversity that makes fescue so undesirable for wildlife,
especially rabbits.
Recently, some rabbit
research pens at the Green Area near Columbia, Mo., had to be abandoned. It was
found that despite brush piles and an artificial feeding program to make all
research compartments comparable, there was a consistent difference in rabbit
production and survival between bluegrass pens and pens which had been invaded
by fescue. During two years of research, four fescue-dominated (approximately
75 percent) pens produced a total of 42 rabbits compared with 112 rabbits in
the four bluegrass pens. During the following years, solid stands of fescue
developed, and it became increasingly difficult to keep rabbits alive in them.
These pens were ultimately abandoned. The evidence seemed to unmistakably point
to a negative relationship between fescue and rabbit abundance. The explanation
probably lies in the high stem density of a typical stand of fescue and the
virtual elimination of other food species.
Summary
Important Management Practices
If rabbit numbers are
to be maintained or increased, high plant diversity must be encouraged along
with heavy cover. A rabbit management plan should include as many of the
following "tools" as is practical:
1.
Dense brush piles -
cattle-proof cover
2.
Small grains - oats,
wheat, rye, barley
3.
Row crops - corn, milo,
grain sorghum, soybeans
4.
Green browse -
clovers, bluegrass
5.
Native warm-season
grasses
6.
Some bare ground for
"sunning"
7.
Weeds - crabgrass,
foxtail, ragweed, etc.
8.
Fenced woodlots -
ungrazed areas
RELATED INFORMATION