Mixie Rabbits

[Fly The Boy 339]

Why does mixie always show its ugly head in September October has to be something to do with them months,,,,,,Give me answers,,,,,,some people say the minute the corn is cut mixie starts,,,,,,,,,,,,,which i know it is nothing to do with cutting the corn........

[mhopton 807]

All to do with the high numbers off rabbits at that point of the year , young are on the move finding out new warrens, then come across a small number of rabbits do a bit power shafting lol then back home to spread there new found disease !! OR the farmer gets the kepper to go travel and bring a few bunnys back with mixie to get the numbers down

[tsteve9999 456]

I've always thought it was to do with the warm weather and the high numbers at this time of year.

[The one 8,467]

It's to do with the humid tempeture and the amount of mossys flying about

[pie-eater 377]

I thought it was fleas, they do well in warm humid conditions which is why the mixy hits in September.

[rabbit demon 302]

Always thought it was delibratly spread by farmers when rabbits are causing too much damage to crops. They catch a live rabbit and put the mixi in to its ears and throat wth a cotton bud then release it to spread it on to the rest of them. Horrible disease.

[Tiercel 6,986]

Fleas and mosquitoes both carry mixie, with the fleas they have to come into contact with another rabbit or pick them up from a warren. With the mosquitoes they do not, they can travel miles and no contact with any other rabbits is needed.

 

TC

[reddog70 236]

it probably dosnt help with all the crops and the cover starting to be cut around them, maybe spending more time in their burrows with its higher consentration of fleas

[Arry 21,517]

When the rabbits breed the hormones make the fleas breed so she has a high number on her when the kits are born which she passes on when feeding.

 

Maybe when the crops get cut it allows the rabbits to travel more easily which starts the spread.

 

 

Cheers Arry.

[Jax13 251]

we tend to see it in april if we get it. just as the temperature starts rising and the first batch of young ones are venturing out into the open.

 

i have known farmers with mixy live catch a few in cage traps and offer them to friends / neighbours in the pub or at the cattle auctions. the problem is, too many land owners and tennant farmers have been subjected to too many morons over the years and you'll find some who simply won't allow a gun on their land which means they get over run with the little buggers in a couple of years and they then spread onto neighbouring land where there may not have been problems before.

 

if it wasn't for bad experiences farmers have had in the past or problems with other shooters who had permission at the same time as me (which i subsequently lost as they just said no to everyone), i would probably be sitting on another 4 or 5 farms within 5 minutes of home. all these farms seem to magically get mixy each year!

[comanche 2,942]

Part of it is probably because after a flurry of mating and territory defence from late winter into early summer rabbits settle down into a more sociable lifestyle for a few weeks in the hotter months . At this time the bucks become less sexually aggressive because of the high-daylight conditions which affects their hormone levels.

Despite the high population all is sweetness and light for a while. Then as the days shorten and nights draw-in there is a period when light-levels are just right to stimulate the bucks to start mating again in late summer /early autumn.

Myxomatosis in this country is generally spread by fleas and female rabbit fleas can only breed after feeding on the blood of a pregnant rabbit....

Come end of summer the rabbits have a flurry of libidinous activity resulting in pregnant does and as a female rabbit flea can only breed after feeding on a pregnant doe the fleas have a bit of an orgy as well..

Then consider that as autumn approaches food and burrow space become subject to competition and the summer-born rabbits find themselves exposed to chilly damp nights and adapting to eating wet grass as well as a bit of chivvying by their stronger relatives.

The result; a high flea population just when the rabbit population is at its largest and most stressed. Perfect conditions for an outbreak of disease like myxomatosis that for the rest of the year just ticks along.

Well that's my theory and I'll admit that it is probably only part of the story ..

Edited August 5, 2015 by comanche

[grompz 703]

up to afew years ago,every body was saying that the rabbits were becoming immune to mxy,but all of a sudden again there are diffrent strains of the disease appearing all over the country,now dont forget this is a manmade diseasemade by a french doctor in the early 1950s,so after all these years,how does i the virus still withstand severe winters and sub zero temperatues,i am still agreat believer that the disease virus is still being deliberately spread in certain areas,back about 7yrs ago ,myself and a mate caught 2 black rabbits with a ginger tinge to there coats just behind there ear and on a front paw,both thought they had been jabbed with something,shortly after place was decimated of rabbits,makes me wonder,then to cap it all another disease viral haemoragic hit the rabbits yet another man made disease,evil bstrds,

[Arry 21,517]

Grompz.

 

I so agree. I can't emphasise the last two word you use enough.

 

Cheers Arry

[comanche 2,942]

up to afew years ago,every body was saying that the rabbits were becoming immune to mxy,but all of a sudden again there are diffrent strains of the disease appearing all over the country,now dont forget this is a manmade diseasemade by a french doctor in the early 1950s,so after all these years,how does i the virus still withstand severe winters and sub zero temperatues,i am still agreat believer that the disease virus is still being deliberately spread in certain areas,back about 7yrs ago ,myself and a mate caught 2 black rabbits with a ginger tinge to there coats just behind there ear and on a front paw,both thought they had been jabbed with something,shortly after place was decimated of rabbits,makes me wonder,then to cap it all another disease viral haemoragic hit the rabbits yet another man made disease,evil bstrds,

Myxi is not a man made disease. Its a natural disease of the South American rabbit, an animal which interestingly also displays a level of immunity to the disease. European rabbits taken to South America lacked this immunity and died . This gave the boffins food for thought and ,yes, they did experiment with different strains and we all know the result.

But, the spread of myxomatosis proved the old saying that "less is more". The first strains of the virus were simply too virulent and killed rabbits before they lived long enough to spread the disease. Milder strains were the answer though their use increased the chances of a few rabbits developing immunity .

Also ,a disease that kills all its hosts is a failure. With no rabbits to live on the myxoma virus would also have died out. As the rabbits' immune systems work to prevent disease the Myxoma virus itself undergoes modifications in order to survive. The flu virus that strikes humans mutates in the same way and results in different strains hitting the population-usually at Christmas! .

Over a long period a sort of crude,long-term balance,with casualties on both sides, develops between any successful disease and its hosts. As long as myxomatosis fails to kill-off all the rabbits both will be around for a long time . Which in biological terms makes for a success story for both myxomatosis and the rabbit!

Edited August 6, 2015 by comanche

[grompz 703]

my mistake commanchee,yes the virus wasfirst reported in south america in1898,afew many years later in the 50sparts of australia experimented with the virus,in 1952, the retired french pyscian m.armand delillie,innoculated 2 rabbits with the mxy virus obtained from switzerland, ayear later it was in britain, and was spread deliberately and stilll is,also in those days people if proven to do this could be fined 20pound first offence 50 second offence,cruel disease and public say its cruel to kill and hunt them the way we do a load of shite.