Increasing Rabbit Population

Rabbit and hare populations, along with some rodent populations, can and do go through explosion and crash cycles. Sounds like you are on the upswing. In a couple of years, you may find few to be seen, then they will come back.

Your food supply can certainly influence the immediately local population. So too can the abundance or lack of predators.

Cottontail is some good eating. Enjoy your bounty.

We will have the same thing, by fall there's none to be seen.

We have a lot in our big yard year round. I have seen foxes running across the yard with cottontails in their mouths while mowing the yard. In the spring the skunks are digging up the rabbit nests when I come home at night.

There's always a "crash" cycle in Florida. No closed season, 12/day bag limit and illegal to harm foxes. I see less than a dozen rabbits per year.

Everywhere else they are dead on the hiways but not here.

We are back on the upswing for a few years now. When I was a boy you couldn't walk 50yds down a fence row without jumping a rabbit or some quail. Coyotes, hawks, and feral cats have wreaked havoc on them. Rabits are coming back, quail not so much.

I believe Much if the decline in small game numbers has to do with current farming practices, coupled with dramatic increase in predator population.

OP glad to hear you have some bunnies running around. Make sure to put a few in the pot for yourself!

I’m told they go feral, approach with caution….

I've been steadily adding brush pile to my place to help them.

Buuuut, it seems like when I start seeing more of them, I start getting more owls close to the house, followed by a decline in population. I'll often find 'bits" of rabbits on either my shooting bench or my range table. Just yesterday evening one of my dogs ran one out of my wood pile. Who knows, maybe we're due for an upswing....followed by owls.

Barbaroja said:

I believe Much if the decline in small game numbers has to do with current farming practices, coupled with dramatic increase in predator population.

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I totally concur. When I was a boy we actually had fence rows around the fields. Now farmers get subsidies to clean off every bush, briar, and fence they can so they can grow an extra bushel or two. They don't leave a stalk of grain in the fields anymore, they don't let the ground rest every seven years, I could go on, but yes farming has been a detriment to wild game around here. Not knocking "farmers", as I grew up farming. But these modern "corporate" farming operations are not farms in my book.

Hugger-4641 said:

I totally concur. When I was a boy we actually had fence rows around the fields. Now farmers get subsidies to clean off every bush, briar, and fence they can so they can grow an extra bushel or two. They don't leave a stalk of grain in the fields anymore, they don't let the ground rest every seven years, I could go on, but yes farming has been a detriment to wild game around here. Not knocking "farmers", as I grew up farming. But these modern "corporate" farming operations are not farms in my book.

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Of course, we all love farmers, I count myself among them. That said I’m in favor of leaving some brushy edges, ditches etc for animal habitat as well as a good windbreak. As @Chuck R. mentions above, building brush piles is a good way to establish habitat for small game.

SmeeAgain said:

Our ranch is covered in cotton tails this winter!
I "might" have had something to do with that by intentionally leaving alfalfa for the little critters.

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As others have said, there is a myriad of things that contribute to rabbit populations and wide swings are the norm. Overall average rabbit populations across the country tho, have declined over the last several decades due primarily to habitat loss. Folks no longer make brush piles like they used to, the county and state mow roadside ditches, decline in the old types of "soil banks" and heavy use of herbicides means less preferred and effective habitat. Food supplies tho, are generally better. Modern agricultural practices leaves grain in the field after the harvest along with providing better "summer" food. Modern landscaping practices both rural and urban, makes for premium winter fare. High populations of rabbits means a upswing in predator populations too. Fox, coyotes, hawks and owls. Up here, downswings in Canadian Hare/grouse populations and upswings in local cottontail and snowshoe populations brings down the Snowy owls. Been seeing more of them than average lately. Seems the upswing of rabbit populations around here coincide with an increase in vole populations since the generally feed on the same things. Heavy snow cover that is advantageous to rabbits in the winter, also is a big boon to the voles. Heavy snow knocks down weeds and light brush bringing food closer to the ground. This also creates better cover and protection from predators.

Back when I was a kid, most hunting rags claimed the rabbit was the #1 game species in the country. Most everyone I knew had a "rabbit" dog and by the end of the season you had to hunt hard to find any that would come out during daylight. Nowadays, it's rare, even in an area where hunting is the norm, to find folks that hunt rabbits enough to justify having a "rabbit" dog. Kind a sad thing, because some of my fondest memories is trudging thru knee deep snow behind a barking hound. We used to dress them where we shot them so we didn't have to deal with the mess when we got home and the hard part of the hunt was done, before the hunt was. It also meant any rabbit with "white spots" on it's liver were disposed of early.

I also raised domestic rabbits for many years. Raising and eating them was the primary reason I quit hunting wild rabbits. While I grew up eating wild rabbit quite regularly, after eating domestic rabbit, I had no real desire to eat wild ones again. Not enough anyway to actively pursue them. I prefer to hunt birds and purposely train my dogs to ignore rabbits. While alfalfa was good for rabbit kits, it wasn't the best food for adults. I believe this is true for wild rabbits too.

Our hawk population grew. And they introduced fishers to the area, Rabbit and squirrel population has gone down.

Like the others have said ^ ^ ^ ^
I'd be tickled pink to have an excess
of edibles running around, especially
with all the uncertainty of February of 2022.
Just me- I'd be popping 3 or 4 a week
for the freezer. I could sure eat several
each week. Rabbit is very versatile, and I
don't think you could ever get tired of
all the different ways to cook rabbit.
They make a pretty good meatloaf
when ground

For some weird reason feral rabbits have an influence on the pack rat population, go figure…

Rabbit, quail, even deer and cattle, all ground animals have been influenced and in some areas, decimated by the invasion of fire ants.

Habitat, drought, farming practices are a factor in the population cycles.

Patocazador said:

There's always a "crash" cycle in Florida. No closed season, 12/day bag limit and illegal to harm foxes. I see less than a dozen rabbits per year.

Everywhere else they are dead on the hiways but not here.

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Here in Charlotte County in a rapidly building up sub division they are fairly numerous. I’ll see a couple in my yard every morning and evening. I first I thought the Bob Cat population had moved out as in the past 18 years the once numerous vacant overgrown lots have been greatly reduced.
But yesterday In broad day light a BobCat sauntered past my garage door like he owned the place.
So perhaps prey and predator have struck a balance.

whughett said:

But yesterday In broad day light a BobCat sauntered past my garage door like he owned the place.
So perhaps prey and predator have struck a balance.

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If so, I'm glad for you. I wish it would happen here because I love fried rabbit.

Clear out the hiding spots and predators will do the rest, assuming you haven’t been killing all of them you can.

If you want more of them pile up brush, let briars get out of control, etc.

Air rifle and rabbit stew anyone? It's still cold outside here so that would be an option.

d

When I was studying to become wildlife & fisheries in late 80s early 90s we learned that rabbits fluctuate on roughly 7 year cycles, I've observed this in my hunting over the last 35 years since learning that. It's fascinating to watch nature regulate herself.