black rabbits

[lukeM51 1]

Im in the south of Ireland and im after catching 3 jet black rabbits on my local apple orchard. 1 had no tail and the other had half an ear but the last buck i caught looked healthy? dey dont seem 2 grow as big as normal coloured rabbits either?

 

any comments???

[lamping-mad 0]

what comments do you want mate

[bob.243 8,965]

Im in the south of Ireland and im after catching 3 jet black rabbits on my local apple orchard. 1 had no tail and the other had half an ear but the last buck i caught looked healthy? dey dont seem 2 grow as big as normal coloured rabbits either?

 

any comments???

Hi luke, Seen a few black ones up my way over the years and are always smaller, even though they live amongst and I would assume breed with the natural brown ones, just must be the strain of them, probably escaped or let off pets at one time?

[mad al 146]

Im in the south of Ireland and im after catching 3 jet black rabbits on my local apple orchard. 1 had no tail and the other had half an ear but the last buck i caught looked healthy? dey dont seem 2 grow as big as normal coloured rabbits either?

 

any comments???

Hi luke, Seen a few black ones up my way over the years and are always smaller, even though they live amongst and I would assume breed with the natural brown ones, just must be the strain of them, probably escaped or let off pets at one time?

 

Yep the ones about here are the same, seen quite a few close to an old quarry on a mountain here which is popular for folk to discard their unwanted stuff, which includes their pets

They taste the same as the others tho, so I've been told

[theferreter 311]

theres millions of black rabbits here in ireland still 2 catch 1 though ive caught a ginger which was the maddest looking rabbit uve ever seen and caught loads of them dutchies millions of them about 2 people must be f*****g there pets out and there breeding with the wild population good 2 see all these different colours about but

[The one 8,486]

Same here pick up a few odd coloured ones during the course of a season but there always a bit smaller

[Coca 0]

I shot a very ugly rabbit last year. Im sorry now,i didnt get a pic.

Ye lot would of loved it

[bouncer 51]

i had a black one sunday but i let it go,i dont know why but i do.

[martin 332]

How about this one I shot the other night........

Totally white with a very light grey grizzle onthe top of it's tail......Martin.

[lukeM51 1]

How about this one I shot the other night........

Totally white with a very light grey grizzle onthe top of it's tail......Martin.

 

 

that white 1 is class!

1 of the lads was lamping last year and caught 1 with a white head n back but never seen 1 like dat!

[mcass123 6]

i have caught a few black rabbits, i always give them to my uncle once they have been gutted and skinned, he said they are lovely to eat, he doesnt know they are black rabbits so there cant be much of a difference

atb

mcass

[comanche 3,038]

If you look at a wild rabbit closely you will see that it is not actually brown. The hair ranges from white,yellow to grey and black . This gives the overall immpression of being brown .The proper term for this colouration is agouti.

Most black rabbits are simply a genetic variation that lack the other colours in the pelt.Other variations occur,from a simple white dot on the head to banded "Dutch" to pure white . White rabbits tend not to last long as they obviously are a better target for predators unless they learn to be clever very quickly.Hence they don't often live long enough to breed and pass-on the mutation and are quite rare .

Where tame rabbits have been released their mark on the wild population is usually short -lived as the wild rabbit is obviously the best colour for long-term survival.Years ago I ferreted a farm on which probably a dozen or more pet rabbits had been left behind by an out-going farm worker.They scuttled about the farm buildins for a year or two before dying out but never once did we catch an odd coloured wildie.I have heard though that released Dutch rabbits have a better survival rate than other domestic breeds .This might be because they can be a bit more nervy and aggresive than other tame rabbits and also are a similar size to wild rabbits . Perhaps they are a bit more primative than other breeds .

In the past ,especially in managed areas such as parks odd-coloured rabbits were encouraged for decorative reasons and some of the old commercial warrens specialised in black rabbits for the fur industry.

Old Keepers are said to have liked to have seen a few odd coloured rabbits about as their disappearance was noticable and would give -away the activities of predators and poachers .Other folk refered to them as vicars or doctor rabbits and credited them with special powers.It is weird that sometimes you spot a black rabbit about but on ferreting days it just does'nt turn up where you thought it would be .Maybe they are a bit cleverer ?.

These might be some of the reasons that killing a black bunny was supposed to bring bad luck.All of which means that of all the rabbit colour variations black is probably the commonest .

As to them being a little smaller than normal rabbits . It could be that they are young(a wild rabbit is past it's prime at less than two years )as I've caught several that have been full size although the sleek coat makes them appear more slender.

Yes I know .How many anoraks do I own?

Edited December 18, 2009 by comanche

[Countryboyo 0]

If you look at a wild rabbit closely you will see that it is not actually brown. The hair ranges from white,yellow to grey and black . This gives the overall immpression of being brown .The proper term for this colouration is agouti.

Most black rabbits are simply a genetic variation that lack the other colours in the pelt.Other variations occur,from a simple white dot on the head to banded "Dutch" to pure white . White rabbits tend not to last long as they obviously are a better target for predators unless they learn to be clever very quickly.Hence they don't often live long enough to breed and pass-on the mutation and are quite rare .

Where tame rabbits have been released their mark on the wild population is usually short -lived as the wild rabbit is obviously the best colour for long-term survival.Years ago I ferreted a farm on which probably a dozen or more pet rabbits had been left behind by an out-going farm worker.They scuttled about the farm buildins for a year or two before dying out but never once did we catch an odd coloured wildie.I have heard though that released Dutch rabbits have a better survival rate than other domestic breeds .This might be because they can be a bit more nervy and aggresive than other tame rabbits and also are a similar size to wild rabbits . Perhaps they are a bit more primative than other breeds .

In the past ,especially in managed areas such as parks odd-coloured rabbits were encouraged for decorative reasons and some of the old commercial warrens specialised in black rabbits for the fur industry.

Old Keepers are said to have liked to have seen a few odd coloured rabbits about as their disappearance was noticable and would give -away the activities of predators and poachers .Other folk refered to them as vicars or doctor rabbits and credited them with special powers.It is weird that sometimes you spot a black rabbit about but on ferreting days it just does'nt turn up where you thought it would be .Maybe they are a bit cleverer ?.

These might be some of the reasons that killing a black bunny was supposed to bring bad luck.All of which means that of all the rabbit colour variations black is probably the commonest .

As to them being a little smaller than normal rabbits . It could be that they are young(a wild rabbit is past it's prime at less than two years )as I've caught several that have been full size although the sleek coat makes them appear more slender.

Yes I know .How many anoraks do I own?

 

Very good reply.many people do not realize that coloured rabbits occur naturally in the wild.and assume they are escapee pets or second generation pets, how do you think pet rabbits got their colours in the first place? mutant coloured wild rabbits were sellectively bred....

[caterpiller 10]

I've had a fair few ' Odd Balls ' over the years ranging from the common Blacks to Dutch type and a few Blues, one of the Blues was Stunning, around the outline of its ears were a nice peach colour,he/she was left to run another day .

What i have noticed though is all the Black ones have a very funny texture to there pelts, it might just be me but they do feel a little different to the norm.

[theferreter 311]

caught this on the lamp last season 1 ugly f*****g rabbit