What to do if you cant see runs and beats???

[Coote 5]

I'm a bit frustrated. Last summer I found this forum and I learned a lot about trapping rabbits from the guys here. We are now in the middle of spring down here in New Zealand and I've found a small corner where there are maybe 10 or 20 rabbits living. Most of them are small.

 

I am keen to snare these bunnies... but the grass is short and I cant see runs . Most of the fences are just three wire electric fences designed to keep horses enclosed, so consequently there aren't any decent gaps for snares.

 

I have spent quite some time observing these rabbits and didn't find any decent patterns in their movements which might indicate a foolproof location where I should put the snares. However I did set about a dozen snares on some reasonably likely spots in the area (and got one small rabbit before I left to come home). I will check these first thing tomorrow morning. I also set a few possum snares in case there are some possums in the neighbourhood.

 

Any ideas as to how I can find good places to set snares? Has anybody ever laid bait for rabbits?...maybe I could attract them to a smell of some kind.

 

Thanks in advance for any ideas..... Best wishes..... Coote.

[Guest JOEB]

Hi Mate,

I do most of my snareing on a golf course and the grass dont come much shorter than that........the beats are there belive me, they can just be a bit hard to see.

Its a get down low job mate, if you look you will see where the grass has been pressed down.

The beats are NOT runs.... in the short stuff I find that they go all over the place once down and away from the warren .........look for a small flat area, then when you find it, there will normally be more in the line so to speake....set your wires on the middle beat of a run of three of so.......look for natural funnels in the foliage that would force a bunny to go a certain way.

Also, if there is a bit of dew down, stand with your back to the warrens and you can sometimes pick out the runs very easily.

Allways look in the direction in which they are travelling out......as told to me by Peg&Gun

Good Luck,

JOEB

[Coote 5]

Thanks Joeb....you've given me hope. I will take a closer look . This evening maybe.

 

Aye...that Peg and Gun knows a thing or two.

 

I checked my 13 rabbit snares and 8 possum snares this morning. No rabbits , but I did get a possum. This possum will be about the 100th possum I've got this year since around April.

 

Here's a picture of the skin from this morning's possum.

 

 

On the skin I have a few bits of gear. The big loop of cord I use to hang the possums up when I skin them. I tie the loop to a branch about six feet off the ground, and I take a cow hitch around a back leg. And for any knot fans that may be lurking, the ends of the loop are joined with a Zeppelin bend... a knot that I am beginning to use more and more. Simple and reliable.

 

The black cord snare that is wrapped around a bit of thin silver-coloured wire is my standard possum-getter. I set this on a sloping branch. The tail of the snare is tied to the branch, and the bottom of the wire goes under the tied end before it is tightened. The snare hangs from the wire...and hopefully the possum will stick it's head through the loop as it climbs the branch. I place fragrant bait above the snare....maybe something with cinnamon or vanilla or aniseed in it. These Australian Brushtailed Opossums are real tree climbers, and they mainly eat vegetable matter.

 

The grey snare is a bit of very strong Dynex fishing cord with one bit of copper snare wire wrapped around it to give it some stiffness. This stuff is fairly new to my arsenal, but it shows great promise.

 

The knife is a cheap one that CKB Products in the USA were selling (and probably still are) for under US$1 each. I use it a lot. Great value. I sometimes use it closed to force between the possum skin and the carcase to separate the skin instead of using my fingers.

 

The club is about 15 inches long.

 

Best wishes to all..... Coote.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Coote

[Coote 5]

I've been thinking about what Joeb wrote. He said:

 

"The beats are NOT runs.... in the short stuff I find that they go all over the place once down and away from the warren .........look for a small flat area, then when you find it, there will normally be more in the line so to speake....set your wires on the middle beat of a run of three of so.......look for natural funnels in the foliage that would force a bunny to go a certain way"

 

If I have understood correctly, it seems that Joeb has observed that the rabbits stick to regular paths mainly near their warren..... then beyond that they can "go all over the place"

 

This certainly fits with my experience. When I was watching the rabbits, they didn't seem to be following any particular path..... probably because they were in open paddocks some distance from their usual home or cover. So I guess you could say that rabbits do often religiously stick to the same path, but generally only within a certain distance from their warrens. They may also follow a regular path to reach, or travel from, their favoured hole through a fence or hedge.

 

Do people agree with this?

 

Hmmmmm......now I have to find their warrens .

 

So how far might a rabbit travel from its home? Any ideas?

 

Thanks folks..... Coote.

Edited November 3, 2006 by Coote

[Mitch 0]

Look for there poo piles, these indicate feeding areas. I have found a foolhold trap burried under these with some carrot around is a good way to catch. I have the same trouble as you, short grass hard to see runs.

 

If you find there warren, or hedge, i have found the runs going into it are more visible to see, pick you small beat and set on the middle and you will catch them.

 

Have you ever tried 7x7 Wire Rope for your possum snares? ,

[Coote 5]

Have you ever tried 7x7 Wire Rope for your possum snares? ,

 

Thanks for your thoughts Mitch.

 

No....I've never used any sort of wire cable for snares. An old publication by the New Zealand Forest Service advises the use of Bowden cable for possum snares....and I think this is fairly similar to the wire you are talking about.... it is what I'd call control cable. I also met a guy in my home town that has caught a few with a very thin wire rope, but I can't be sure that it was 7x7 or anything.

 

The Forest Service advised having quite a big diameter snare only about three-quarters of an inch above the pole that it is set on. From my experience I would guess that this method of setting would give you a lot of body catches....not the hanging 'kill' catches that are intended. Mind you, I have never set snares exactly like the Forest Service recommend so I can't be sure how they'd work.

 

If I had unlimited time and resources, I'd love to make a long wall or hedge through the middle of the area where I've been watching these rabbits. I'd then make only a dozen or so holes through it for the rabbits to use as access. I'd be able to catch them then.

 

I went back to the area last night. I may have seen only one or two fully grown rabbits... none of the others seemed to be much bigger than only three-quarter size. And they hopped all over the place without any obvious paths ...except for some tiny ones which I saw go into a burrow.

[Guest Fishaben]

Hi coote,

another thing to look for when you are down low like joeb says, look for droppings, they can sometimes make the run/beat quite noticable. Hope this helps,

Ben

[Coote 5]

Thanks Fishaben.... I will keep my eyes peeled for poo. I guess there is a bit of a science regarding the crap factor. I know that pigs seem to have rules about where they take a dump, and although rabbits might not have the same inclinations as pigs they might have some habits that could help us understand how far they are from home or whatever. There is always something to learn. I've shot heaps of rabbits, but now that I am trying to snare them, I realize how little I know about the animals and their habits.

 

Our rabbit population was severely damaged when somebody illegally introduced a virus a few years ago. I think it was called RCD or Calicivirus (not sure of the spelling). But as predicted, the numbers are building again. I like to see a few rabbits around, but I imagine there are some farmers who are not so thrilled. I understand that in some places the population is almost at plague proportions. I have a buddy who went down south to do some shooting. He got all sorts of stuff, but the story that impressed me was about the 55 odd rabbits he and his party got in one paddock on a certain night. The next night they went back to the same place and they got around 60.

 

I still don't see rabbits in my own neighbourhood like I did when I was a teenager. In fact I have only seen one in about a year - although I haven't been out specifically looking for them. I've seen the odd hare though. But the area where I have been trying to snare them is only about four kilometres away as the crow flies, so maybe I'll start seeing greater numbers around home soon.

 

I would like to know how far a rabbit's home range is.... and how they go about spreading. Do some deliberately go off looking for new territory, or is it just local competition that forces some to go further afield?

 

Best wishes to all...Coote.