Rabbit breeding cycles

All things Hunting, Fishing, Wildlife and Conservation related.

Moderator: dromia

Forum rules
"The Dromia Rule"

Deer Stalking… reliable word of mouth recommendation from someone you know has undertaken such stalking being offered by a specific syndicate is best. Like other walks of life, stalking has its scammers. E.G., make sure there is deer, of the species sought, on the land being made available; that appropriate insurance is in place; that there is recourse for recompense if it all goes wrong. In addition, obtain and understand terms and conditions; consider the implications of allowing a syndicate leader to be a FAC mentor; make sure ‘coaches’ are suitably qualified; consider the quality of deer management, the construction & execution of a shooting plan and safety; determine if the land is over-shot.

If in doubt, contact BASC or similar.

http://www.basc.org.uk/

Anyone considered to be a scammer will be banned without warning.
Post Reply
Message
Author
Gazza
Posts: 2238
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:45 am

Rabbit breeding cycles

#1 Post by Gazza »

Is there a rabbit population cycle?
I mean a cycle where they breed like mad for a year then die off to virtually nothing?
The reason I ask is the permission I was on 20 years ago was crawling with rabbits (100 an hour at night no problem) and now theres virtually none. The farmer says they come and go in cycles but he's never bothered working the cycles out.
I was just wondering if there is a natural cycle for this?
Anyone into bunny cycles? :D
Triffid
Past Supporter
Posts: 407
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:36 pm
Home club or Range: Wey Valley
Contact:

Re: Rabbit breeding cycles

#2 Post by Triffid »

Probably due to the various diseases that they are prone to, like Mixy.
Populations will increase rapidly due to their high reproductive rate. Then they get overcrowded and disease spreads quickly, particularly transmitted by fleas. This kills off lots of the rabbits, leaving only the strong and those immune to the disease to start the cycle again.
Triffid
Gazza
Posts: 2238
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Rabbit breeding cycles

#3 Post by Gazza »

Triffid wrote:Probably due to the various diseases that they are prone to, like Mixy.
Populations will increase rapidly due to their high reproductive rate. Then they get overcrowded and disease spreads quickly, particularly transmitted by fleas. This kills off lots of the rabbits, leaving only the strong and those immune to the disease to start the cycle again.
Triffid
Yes, thats what the farmer says. I suppose theres not a definitive (say 3 year) cycle then? It will depend on if and when disease breaks out?
User avatar
kennyc
Posts: 2340
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 11:21 pm
Home club or Range: hunters NRPC
Location: Reading West Berks
Contact:

Re: Rabbit breeding cycles

#4 Post by kennyc »

in my experience locally, some of the new strains are decimating the population as soon as they get above a visible number, ie as soon as you can see any number out in the fields the disease cycle starts again and they disappear!
traditionally Mixy was associated with bad/wet weather forcing the rabbits to congregate underground.
I suspect it was always dictated by the population size and weather.
Triffid
Past Supporter
Posts: 407
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:36 pm
Home club or Range: Wey Valley
Contact:

Re: Rabbit breeding cycles

#5 Post by Triffid »

That's been my experience, with rabbit populations booming and busting.
As well as Myxy, there also viral hemorrhagic disease (VHD) . . . again spread by close contact in overcrowded burrows.
Triffid
User avatar
dromia
Site Admin
Posts: 19964
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:57 am
Home club or Range: The Highlands of Scotland. Cycling Proficiency 1964. Felton & District rifle club. Teesdale Pistol and Rifle club.
Location: Sutherland and Co Durham
Contact:

Re: Rabbit breeding cycles

#6 Post by dromia »

The haemorrhage disease has all but wiped out the rabbit population in my part of Scotland, it came in at the back end around three years ago and over night the rabbits were gone.

There are still a few but they are wary as the feral cats are plentiful and slaughter the young at will.

I have been killing the feral cats at every chance I can get to help the rabbits re-establish a bit more. Interestingly a lot of these feral cats have collars and bells on them. I wonder if they are part of some research project.

Still the bells are good as it makes them easier to locate for shooting.
Image

Come on Bambi get some

Imperial Good Metric Bad
Analogue Good Digital Bad

Fecking stones

Real farmers don't need subsidies

Cow's farts matter!

For fine firearms and requisites visit

http://www.pukkabundhooks.com/
Plecotus
Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 1:16 pm
Home club or Range: Monmmouth & District Rifle Club, NRA, Chepstow Rifle Club
Location: Chepstow
Contact:

Re: Rabbit breeding cycles

#7 Post by Plecotus »

Many members of this family have population cycles. The classic example, which has been much studied, is the Snowshoe Hare in Canada which has an approximate ten year cycle. There are a number of things that drive this cycle in the wild and, but, as alluded to by the comments about Myxy, when humans get involved, that can disrupt these natural cycles significantly.

For anyone who's interested in reading around this, there have been dozens of papers published on these hares. e.g. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/art ... /25/251849. It's not a bad summary of how this can work and, for the devotee, there are some good references for further reading if you want to know more.

Cheers,

Denis (I'm a wildlife biologist but don't work with rabbits directly so not in any way expert on this question).
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests