Mixxy

[cyclonebri1 8]

Sorry if in wrong category but it's a Q for shooters,

 

How has Mixxy affected your shoots? For example my local area seems to get hit when ever rabbit populations hit problem amounts, ie it seems self regulating. Goes from too many rabbits to nearly none then increases over the next 5 years.

 

Another area I shoot always has some with mixxy, about 1 in 10. Never seem to reduce in numbers, and never gets to epidemic proportions?

 

Comments?

[anythingoes 28]

Sorry if in wrong category but it's a Q for shooters,

 

How has Mixxy affected your shoots? For example my local area seems to get hit when ever rabbit populations hit problem amounts, ie it seems self regulating. Goes from too many rabbits to nearly none then increases over the next 5 years.

 

Another area I shoot always has some with mixxy, about 1 in 10. Never seem to reduce in numbers, and never gets to epidemic proportions?

 

Comments?

 

a think every were has its bit of mixy mate i believe its the fleas that carry it so depends on the warrens tha bunnies use!!

atb anythingoes !!

[The one 8,457]

See a odd couple early summer then it cleared up it never seems to kills a lot of rabbits nowdays

[Finkley 1]

Just had a pretty devastating bout of it round our way, saw the first signs in about October.

 

Combined with lots of shooting it reduced the bunny population from plague proportions to the point where two months ago I was lucky to see more than a handful in a night. The land owners were unsurprisingly very happy.

 

It defo does seem to only occur when the population is very high, we haven't seen any for a long time previously.

 

However, they're already starting to recover and at some rate. They're undoubtedly incredibly resilient to the disease longterm.

 

Cheers

 

 

Steve

[Deker 3,478]

It's always there, although the rabbit population in England is HIGHER now than when it was introduced over 50 years ago. It will tend to manifest itself more when high populations are present as this leads to more contact and therefore an easier spread, often when there is a harsh or very wet Winter and bunny stays in his burrows more it spreads wider too.

Tends to move through and area and almost always some survive (not necessarily because they are immune) but can have devastating results.

It will be back, several areas I shoot have been clear for years but I know sooner or later I will see it again. Can't remember EVER seeing a year when all my sites stayed clear!

It's not nice and killing a Mixxy bunny is not sport or even vermin control, it is an act of kindness!

[cyclonebri1 8]

It's always there, although the rabbit population in England is HIGHER now than when it was introduced over 50 years ago. It will tend to manifest itself more when high populations are present as this leads to more contact and therefore an easier spread, often when there is a harsh or very wet Winter and bunny stays in his burrows more it spreads wider too.

Tends to move through and area and almost always some survive (not necessarily because they are immune) but can have devastating results.

It will be back, several areas I shoot have been clear for years but I know sooner or later I will see it again. Can't remember EVER seeing a year when all my sites stayed clear!

It's not nice and killing a Mixxy bunny is not sport or even vermin control, it is an act of kindness!

 

 

Thanks to all. Totally understand what you say Deker, some rabbits you can walk up to and could kick them to death, not just on a shoot but in public parks and on the highway, it's a very sad sight

 

In my own situation I got access to a 2000acre area of land that had not been shot for years. It was farmed from afar.

The new farmer, still a good friend, was besieged with them. I couldn't shoot enough. Most ferreted off, but when they werer down to manageable proportions Mixxy kicked in, resuly, no rabbits for 5 or 6 years? !0 years later there are only about a 1/4 of what existed before.

[Hammergun12 0]

Loads of it around here not very many bunnys about, i was out last week 6 rabbits 3 had mixy. This seems to be the pattern at the moment

[CharlieT 32]

It's always there, although the rabbit population in England is HIGHER now than when it was introduced over 50 years ago.

 

 

Not actually true, Natural England's latest information quotes that the current population is 35% - 40% of pre 1952 levels and is increasing at the rate of 2% per year.

[dicehorn 38]

[quote name='Deker'

Tends to move through and area and almost always some survive (not necessarily because they are immune) but can have devastating results.

 

From what I have read on this subject, the boffins seem to agree that it is to do with immunity.

 

The conclusions are that when mixxy enters an area some rabbits that get it will recover and they will in turn, pass on this immunity to the next generation so that if for instance the mixxy returns the next year then many more rabbits will survive. However, if mixxy does not return for say 4 years and the immunity will have been much watered down then it is likely to have devastating results.

 

It was assumed that the flea carrying the desease from one warren/area to the next was mainly carried by buck rabbits being kicked out of the warren by the dominant buck and forced to look elswhere for what rabbits do best

 

Peter

[Deker 3,478]

It's always there, although the rabbit population in England is HIGHER now than when it was introduced over 50 years ago.

 

 

Not actually true, Natural England's latest information quotes that the current population is 35% - 40% of pre 1952 levels and is increasing at the rate of 2% per year.

 

 

DEFRA quoted last year numbers were higher then, so there must have been a dramatic decline who knows and whose figures do you believe?

[Deker 3,478]

Tends to move through and area and almost always some survive (not necessarily because they are immune), but can have devastating results.

 

From what I have read on this subject, the boffins seem to agree that it is to do with immunity.

 

The conclusions are that when mixxy enters an area some rabbits that get it will recover and they will in turn, pass on this immunity to the next generation so that if for instance the mixxy returns the next year then many more rabbits will survive. However, if mixxy does not return for say 4 years and the immunity will have been much watered down then it is likely to have devastating results.

 

It was assumed that the flea carrying the desease from one warren/area to the next was mainly carried by buck rabbits being kicked out of the warren by the dominant buck and forced to look elswhere for what rabbits do best

 

Peter

 

 

I totally accept there are levels of immunity out there but the world always says they were immune, simple fact is they may just not have come in contact with mixxy!

Edited January 26, 2009 by Deker

[coldweld 65]

Well deker seams we are all idiots apart from you !

 

Charlie T and Dicehorn save your breath Fact is not a thing he's used too, Anything to boost his posts count !

 

That well known they named the county after him !

[Guest Mass_G3nocide]

Sorry if in wrong category but it's a Q for shooters,

 

How has Mixxy affected your shoots? For example my local area seems to get hit when ever rabbit populations hit problem amounts, ie it seems self regulating. Goes from too many rabbits to nearly none then increases over the next 5 years.

 

Another area I shoot always has some with mixxy, about 1 in 10. Never seem to reduce in numbers, and never gets to epidemic proportions?

 

Comments?

 

 

It's the same around my area,I remember as a kid watching the rabbits move was like watching buffalo run the place was teaming with them but now some years you can see a big difference in the amount of bunnies it has been bad in this area this year for myximatosis hopefully next year will be better so i have more to fill the freezer with :thumbs:

[coldweld 65]

VHD wipes them all out and it takes ages to get the numbers back. On one farm not to far from me we had a nice population taking off an average of 625 rabbits a year , Then along came VHD we are lucky to see 40 rabbits a week now and average 150 a year.

[micky 3,325]

It's always there, although the rabbit population in England is HIGHER now than when it was introduced over 50 years ago.

 

 

Not actually true, Natural England's latest information quotes that the current population is 35% - 40% of pre 1952 levels and is increasing at the rate of 2% per year.

I dont think that theres a fraction of the rabbits that were here before mixi,think of it,all the new roads,houses ,factorys that have been built,the thousands of miles of hedges grubbed out,where do these 40 million rabbits live,rabbits are comeing back ,but nowhere in the numbers that were here before the disease,ive been places that seemed to be alive with rabbits ,but believe me, its nothing to what it was, i think the people who come up with these figures no nothing of rabbit numbers ,either before ,or after mixi.