Hereford Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 We are immediately surrounded by fields, used by sheep not crops. We have seen 2 adult and four small rabbits in the garden and fields recently. We see them in the garden a lot!Any thoughts of how to discourage them? We are sure that our vegetable plants and especially the strawberry plants are at risk...although today they bare just eating grass. They also scrub at the grass and leave droppings all over the place.We have had the house since 1995 and this is the first year we have seen rabbits - perhaps the foxes have all decamped?Any suggestions gratefully received (and "no" we don't have a gun although we do like rabbit to eat...)ThanksH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nectarine Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 do you know anyone who has a few dogs, particularly terriers, that they could let loose in your garden? Or you could contact your local chasse, via the mayor, and see if they might have some advice. Or do you have a friend or someone with a gun who might like to come and practice a bit of target shooting ...?We have plenty of rabbits on our land, but also four semi-feral cats that we give a few titbits too now and again. And they hang around the land and catch and eat the rabbits ...so if you have any cats around try and attract them to live in your barn and they will keep the vermin down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Get yourself an electric fencing system. Low power with the wire set 10cm above the ground will work.Just make sure that 'they' are outside the wire before powering up.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Hereford, a doggie will sort them for you. Mine has. The garden is now a killing zone for rabbits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Cats work too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Not all "doggies" act as a charm against invasive rabbits! Our two will willingly bark and chase after rabbits while out on walks, but seem to consider the ones in our garden as "our" rabbits and so not fair game......[:(]Chrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereford Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thanks for replies. There are some feral cats around, although we have not seen them in the last few weeks. Can't have a dog or cat ourselves due to severe allergy problems.We could ask the Maire certainly, but no friends with small fierce dogs! Not sure about an electric fence - clearly we would have to keep gates shut all the time which would be a pain - and is a fence like that OK for sheep? Mind you we had one sheep with it's head stuck through our fence the other day, and when released by us it came back a bit later and did it again. The fence is what we would call "pig" fencing.Will consider options.H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 [quote user="Hereford"]Any suggestions gratefully received (and "no" we don't have a gun although we do like rabbit to eat...)[/quote]Snares ?John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 [quote user="Bugsy"]Get yourself an electric fencing system. Low power with the wire set 10cm above the ground will work.[/quote]No it doesn't - they just hurdle it! I've seen them. Fence to the ground - or ideally 6 inches into the ground - with electric wire in front does work though, at about that height.We are having the same problem, H, and there aren't enough foxes around to deal with the rabbits. Which isn't a totally bad thing as we have free-range chickens. The rabbits appeared last year - for the first time in 10 years - and we are going to have to fence our veggie garden, which is irritating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just john Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Buy a rabbittrap.co.uk, they even give you a recipe, bootiful[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 [quote user="Catalpa"][quote user="Bugsy"]Get yourself an electric fencing system. Low power with the wire set 10cm above the ground will work.[/quote]No it doesn't -[/quote]Oh yes it does ............[Www][Www] [:D]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereford Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thanks Catalpa, this is the first time we have had any in over 10 years. Odd isn't it. We are sure it is lack of foxes! The rabbittrap looked amazing but not cheap especially I would think to send to France. It seemed to trap them alive - presumably leaving one to kill them! Er - not for us perhaps. Even with strawberries and veg that would be a bit "overkill" I think.We were offered a "shotgun and pellets" by a fellow Brit today - but we are not convinced it would be legal for us to go around firing pellets at anything. Anyone know? Thanks again everyoneH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 There are foxes around us but not like we had in Wiltshire. However a local farmer traps and kills them each year so that reduces the numbers somewhat.You can own a shotgun and "pellets" (?) and you can go off clay pigeon or target shooting but you cannot dispatch anything live that you trap yourselves without doing the hunting course and exam. But you're probably not doing to go down the trapping route anyway. Or snares - nasty, indiscriminate things and even the so-called humane snares don't allow for an animal like a cat getting caught, panicking and damaging themselves.Good luck. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Surely you don't need *electric* fencing.I am guessing is that your "pig wire" is the stuff with horizontal rectangular spaces - large enough for rabbits to get through - between the wire. Could you not unfurl "chicken wire" along the lower part of that, around the perimeter of your garden, up to about (human) knee-height? That's the mesh with spaces about the size of a 1 euro coin. It's best if you cut a few inches into the turf, and get the bottom edge of the wire buried, to foil the cunning rabbits that think of tunnelling below it.Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitway Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 [quote user="Bugsy"][quote user="Catalpa"][quote user="Bugsy"]Get yourself an electric fencing system. Low power with the wire set 10cm above the ground will work.[/quote]No it doesn't -[/quote]Oh yes it does ............[Www][Www] [:D].[/quote]Oh no it doesn't !!! panto season has started early here hasn't it [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 "He's behind you". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereford Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Loiseau: In theory we could do this but it would be very very difficult. The majority of the garden is fenced as I described (did not want to write an essay!) but at one point a neighbours's broken down barn is the boundary and in lots of places bushes and trees are along the fence. I think we would have to do it from the field side.Thanks for the info Catalpa re shotguns - we thought it could not be right that one could go about shooting animals unless one was a proper qualifiued person!H.Catalpa: See PM re a totally different subject! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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