Rabbit Sizes, Mesh Sizes?

[Tiercel 6,986]

A little thought struck me when posting in another topic. Most people would agree that 4" in nylon, because of the stretch, is acceptable? For spun poly and cotton based twine then 4.25 or 4.5" is desired because of the lack of stretch?

 

The last few years I have been rabbiting in Pembrokeshire and been using a mixture of nets 4" 4z, 4.25" double stranded spun poly. Even though the nets catch well, there have been rabbits going through the nets also the size of the rabbits caught even in January are very small, full grown rabbits weighing just over two and a half pounds in weight. Even the dune rabbits here are larger on average.

 

At first I thought that it was a local thing, but having caught them over a wide area of Pembs they are all the same stamp. I have never rabbited in the Dales but have been given rabbits that originated there, and those rabbits where huge compared to the normal run of the mill rabbit here.

 

I know tomo and a few others rabbit the dales regularly questions to those, 1. Are the Dales rabbits all that much bigger than say an average 3lb fully grown rabbit? 2. Do you increase your mesh sizes accordingly?

 

TC

Edited June 6, 2013 by tiercel

[smithie 2,443]

 

A little thought struck me when posting in another topic. Most people would agree that 4" in nylon, because of the stretch, is acceptable? For spun poly and cotton based twine then 4.25 or 4.5" is desired because of the lack of stretch?

 

The last few years I have been rabbiting in Pembrokeshire and been using a mixture of nets 4" 4z, 4.25" double stranded spun poly. Even though the nets catch well, there have been rabbits going through the nets also the size of the rabbits caught even in January are very small, full grown rabbits weighing just over two and a half pounds in weight. Even the dune rabbits here are larger on average.

 

At first I thought that it was a local thing, but having caught them over a wide area of Pembs they are all the same stamp. I have never rabbited in the Dales but have been given rabbits that originated there, and those rabbits where huge compared to the normal run of the mill rabbit here.

 

I know tomo and a few others rabbit the dales regularly questions to those, 1. Are the Dales rabbits all that much bigger than say an average 3lb fully grown rabbit? 2. Do you increase your mesh sizes accordingly?

 

TC

 

 

4.5 inch mesh hand made double knitt (engels twine)

 

 

 

invisable net.. you cant see this in the dark and do trip over it if your not careful.. 4 inch mesh early season

 

 

 

big rabbit in fancy dress

 

Edited June 7, 2013 by smithie

[Mr Wilkes 2,979]

Smithie and i net on some land in the dales and each season we start with 4" 4z nylon nets but as the season progresses we move to 4¼ " 4z nylon then come Xmas time were using 4 1/2 spun poly double strand the reason being that the rabbits put on a hell of a coat which makes them seem larger than normal.

 

edited to add...i answerd this using my mob and rushed, i also accidently pressed a couple of you guys names (so dont think im stalking you.lol)

 

i like to use 4" 4z at the begining of the season so i can catch both full grown and 3/4 grown rabbits but come october i change to 4 1/4 mesh because i like a rabbit to get his head through (easier to kill and imo less holes bitten in my nets) and come xmas time their heads are like bulldogs so i move up to 4 1/2 "mesh .

[Mr Wilkes 2,979]

[Mr Wilkes 2,979]

WTF has happend to photo bucket .... took me nearly an hr to put up this pic.

 

In this pic you can see the 6ft 2 ...18 stone smithie holding a rabbit with its head out of a 4 1/2 mesh....told you id make you famous smithie

[smithie 2,443]

ah you got a picture of my fat brother... i would think that was 2 years ago as i wear martins jacket for netting

Edited June 6, 2013 by smithie

[smithie 2,443]

A little thought struck me when posting in another topic. Most people would agree that 4" in nylon, because of the stretch, is acceptable? For spun poly and cotton based twine then 4.25 or 4.5" is desired because of the lack of stretch?

 

The last few years I have been rabbiting in Pembrokeshire and been using a mixture of nets 4" 4z, 4.25" double stranded spun poly. Even though the nets catch well, there have been rabbits going through the nets also the size of the rabbits caught even in January are very small, full grown rabbits weighing just over two and a half pounds in weight. Even the dune rabbits here are larger on average.

 

At first I thought that it was a local thing, but having caught them over a wide area of Pembs they are all the same stamp. I have never rabbited in the Dales but have been given rabbits that originated there, and those rabbits where huge compared to the normal run of the mill rabbit here.

 

I know tomo and a few others rabbit the dales regularly questions to those, 1. Are the Dales rabbits all that much bigger than say an average 3lb fully grown rabbit? 2. Do you increase your mesh sizes accordingly?

 

TC

 

if the rabbits are bigger in the dales i think there would possibly be no need to increase mesh sizes as doing this would might cause us to be in the same predicament as you. with rabbits getting though the net..

 

this year as we have new permision we will be leaving a man on the net to kill it off as the field is walked in (very large fields) . i have a night vision and small cammera and i will set this up on the best blind drop ever. then we will see how we are for bouncers and rabbits getting through.. i might even weigh some of the bunnys for you to compare..

Edited June 9, 2013 by smithie

[Tiercel 6,986]

It's like pulling hens teeth, but we are getting there

 

Info that you may take for granted, and do without a second thought will be very helpfull to people starting out, please keep it coming.

 

TC

Edited June 9, 2013 by tiercel

[terryd 8,385]

I noticed a few rabbits like this last year near Pembrokeshire

 

But even then net still held them not sure of the mesh size on that net with out checking. But that particular one did look close to slipping through even though was still well wrapped

Edited June 12, 2013 by terryd

[Mr Wilkes 2,979]

Was it early season terry ?

[terryd 8,385]

Was it early season terry ?

 

October the 7th so you could say early season and I suspect it was the middle of these 3 so not as big as the other 2

[Mr Wilkes 2,979]

Healthy looking bunnys, what is the grey coloured net ?.

[terryd 8,385]

Healthy looking bunnys, what is the grey coloured net ?.

 

I think it is an old fishing net and does the job nicely and yes them rabbits have a healthy sheen about them

Edited June 13, 2013 by terryd

[Tiercel 6,986]

 

Healthy looking bunnys, what is the grey coloured net ?.

 

I think it is an old fishing net and does the job nicely and yes them rabbits have a healthy sheen about them

 

If thats my old net Terry, it is and it does. If I remember correctly it's 4z 4" mesh only 13 meshes deep? I still have another 100 or so yards of it here.

 

TC

[terryd 8,385]

 

 

Healthy looking bunnys, what is the grey coloured net ?.

 

I think it is an old fishing net and does the job nicely and yes them rabbits have a healthy sheen about them

 

If thats my old net Terry, it is and it does. If I remember correctly it's 4z 4" mesh only 13 meshes deep? I still have another 100 or so yards of it here.

 

TC

 

 

That's the one Allan