Has anyone ever established a semi wild population of domestic rabbits on their homestead or property. How did it work? Thanks, ET

-- Ed Thomas (wilded@austin.rr.com), April 22, 2002

Answers

I do not think they would do well , domestic rabbits have all the natural instincts bred out .There is no one to teach them about getting food and water or how to protect themselves.I think it would be cruel to turn a tamed bunny out to fend for itself.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@hotmail.com), April 22, 2002.

They may become targets of wild rabbits also.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 22, 2002.

My neighbor has had rabbits running loose for the past 10 years. They seem to cycle in the manner of the wild population of Arctic hares although not necessarily in sync with them. They are subject to the same enemies as the wild ones, i.e. owls, Lynx and fox as well as domestic cats and dogs. And are subject also to the same vagaries of the weather. I would point out that he occasionally feeds and waters them so that they are prone to stay close to home. All in all, they seem to do quite well and since they attract the wild predators, which I enjoy watching, serve an enjoyable value to me.

I spent a year on an isolated island in the Gulf of Alaska which was overrun with descendants of domesticated rabbits. The original ones had been released by a former temporary resident and without natural predators they literally exploded. There were a lot of malformed and diseased rabbits though and many died from either disease, or malnutrition as the vegetation there was not all that nutritional. This was over 40 years ago and my sources tell me they still have a population of rabbits there. Perhaps they have reached a plateau of survival by weeding out the weak genes.

-- Mac in AK (nospam@no.spam), April 22, 2002.

I have had the grandkids let some of my meat rabbits out. The ones that I couldn't catch have been seen around and I have seen wild rabbits that don't look like real wild rabbits. I don't know if this is my imagination or if they have cross-bred. Anyway some of the tame ones have survived. I saw one small bunny in my garden not long ago. It looked just like my tame ones.

-- Robin Downing (Southpawrobin1@aol.com), April 22, 2002.

I know a couple of people that let them run free, breeders are kept in cages,, and sometimes,, some do get out,, make sure you give them a place to dig,, since most domestic rabbits come from europe, where they dig to survive,, watch out for the garden,, and it may attract predators

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), April 22, 2002.

A friend of mine did this in Ky. He turned the two he had loose at the pond. When they got up in the morning he found one hidding under his hutch and the other one dead at the pond just bones and fur left!

-- Teresa (Mo) (c3ranch@socket.net), April 22, 2002.

There was a really pretty rabbit that used to live in the padock with my horse. I'm sure that it was someone's ex-pet because of it's size and brindle coloring. It slept in the shed with her and shared her alfalfa and hay. I even saw them play together a couple of times. I tried to make fiends but it wouldn't let me get close enough to touch it. It survived the winter (not that harsh in western WA) but died the following summer when a dog got to it. As far as I know it didn't have a burrow (or whatever you call it) because I would sometimes surprise it when I walked out in the am to feed and it was just curled up in a corner of the shed. I would advise against releasing domestick bunnies. They probably wouldn't fair so well. I'm not sure if you want to do this because you have some unwanted bunnies or want rabbits to hunt on your property. You should give the rabbits to the humane society or pound if they're unwanted pets. If they don't get adopted at least they'll have an easy death (many humane societies are no kill). If it's rabbits to hunt that you want then contact your local wild animal rehabilitation center and tell them that you'd just love it if they'd release some of their rabbits onto your property. (I don't think I'd mention it if you plan to hunt them.) But also remember that if rabbits burrow on your land then you're going to have some holes in the ground. These can be dangerous to horses, cows, and the like. You might also want to consider the possibility that there is a reason that there aren't any rabbits on your land now. Perhaps too many predators. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

-- Erika (misserika129@hotmail.com), April 22, 2002.

We had a Dexter that we would let out on his own during the non- gardening months (he loved young pepper plants!). He did just fine and stayed around our house and outbuilding areas. Occasionally he would venture a short ways over to the neighbors yard but not out of sight of the house. He fended completely for himself but remained tame enought to catch when it came time to go back to the cage. We always marveled that a hawk or owl didn't get him, but he didn't go out on the road either.

-- Walt K. in SW Pa. (kraterkrew@lcsys.net), April 22, 2002.

A neighbour of mine let a few domestic rabbits go and fend for themselves, and they did -75 brocolli seedlings, several rows of peas, lettuce etc, in one night! I wasn't long in getting rid of them, and letting him know what I thought of it.

-- Terri in NS (terri@softkits.com), April 22, 2002.

Ok, flame suit is on. If you dont want them why not eat them? Domestic rabbit is delicious.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), April 22, 2002.

There is an RV Park on the coast of Oregon at Cape Kiwanda. It has an established population of once-domestic rabbits now crossed with wild ones. The originals were released about 35 or 40 years ago by some summer kids there. It is quite a lot of fun to observe them as they come out in the evening and graze on the lawns. They are every color and color combination that you can imagine. And of course every dog that arrives at that park just loves to watch those rabbits and dream of getting out without that danged leash! LOL There is also a VERY healthy population of Fox there and they come out in the evenings too and hang around the edges just waiting for the careless bunny! Enjoy that place a lot. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), April 22, 2002.

In our area we are warned that wild rabbits carry a disease called Tuleremia, which can be transferred to humans by a bite or a scratch. If you want the rabbits for eating, I would not think it a good idea to allow them contact with wild rabbits. Other than that, as stated above, released domestics do seem to proliferate.

-- Dianne Wood (woodgoat@pacifier.com), April 22, 2002.

Our domestic cotton tail rabbits are a totally different species from the rabbits kept for pets/meat/breeding. They are decended from the European wild rabbit. They cannot cross. There is enough difference in the chromosome count the eggs are not fertilized. No mules exist. The domestic pet or meat rabbit can and will cross with the european wild rabbit. The most dominant color is rabbits is chestnut; which just happens to be the same color as our wild rabbits, both cottontails and jack rabbits. When you have a group of rabbits that breed freely without direction within a few generations you have mostly chestnut rabbits. They look a lot like cottontails, but are usually larger at maturity. cottontails average 2-4 pounds; our domestic rabbits range from 2-18 pounds, with the average being 6-10.

-- Deidre Edder (edderland@yahoo.com), April 22, 2002.

VERY bad idea on several fronts!

1) We now have a disease in the United States called RABBIT VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE. One of the very strong potentials for control of this deadly foreign animal disease is the lack of wild or feral rabbits (the European rabbit/domestic rabbit) which would establish reservoirs for continual recurring infection.

Turning domestics loose or creating feral colonies is an excellent way to propagate this disease--which conceivably can wipe out the entire rabbit industry in the US.

2) Although some can survive ferally, few actually do, and the nutritional standards to which they have been raised simply don't exist in the wild.

3) It's unconscionably cruel to release domestics into an environment where they are utterly foreign! Why watch them suffer? Eat them instead, perfectly good for you food!

The RVHD problem is without a doubt the most pressing and it's likely people who DO release rabbits who are creating the increasing occurrence of outbreaks in the US.

PLEASE don't release domestic rabbits, and work hard to eliminate feral colonies if at ALL possible!

Pamela Alley, RVT Director, Rabbit Industry Council

-- Pamela Alley, RVT (RNRQ@cncnet.com), April 22, 2002.

Domestic bunnies make GREAT owl and coyote snacks! Kind people don't "dump" rabbits to fend for themselves, yours are domestic, not wild.

-- Gayle (kestrel91316@aol.com), April 23, 2002.

first off if you release enough enough will survive to start a feral population. how much is enough will vary with the rabbits themselves and the area (predation & nutrition). the people saying they will all die are full of bull just look at australia and the other poster's alaskan island. second you may have to work aggressively to help them survive. planting better feed or escape cover may be needed. with the fur market in the crapper cottontails aren't as numerous as they used to be so you might have to take up trapping and predator shooting. a better option might be to talk with the local game warden about helping out the declining quail populations because everything you do will also help the local cottontails and may get you tax breaks.

-- Pops (pops762@hotmail.com), April 23, 2002.

Our neighbour runs a petting farm for school, scouts, and handicapped children. He gets young bunnies, puts them in the bunny table, and then when they are old enough to jump out, they join the rabbit population that lives in and around the barn.

I have often gone over to trap some in cages to have for dinner. However, even if he wanted to, he would NEVER be able to get rid of them all - and all gardens have to have buried bunny-proof fencing around them. I have a whole bunch of bunny hides to tan in my freezer.

-- Chenoa (ganter@primus.ca), April 23, 2002.

We raise a few meat rabbits and a few dwarfs. A couple years ago, we had a beautiful velet rex doe escape from her cage. She quickly made friends with a cow and an old horse. She still to this day hops around the farm, quite contentedly. She is healthier and more energetic than the "tame captive rabbits". Since then 2 californian meat rabbits and an angora male have "mysteriously" escaped cages. All can be seen daily, hopping with the sheep. These apparently ill- treated rabbits are extremely healthy, and in amazing shape. I do not see the problem that others apparently do and we live in Canada, it is not always so warm here. Happy Hopping.

-- Cindy (ciphi@sprint.ca), April 23, 2002.

I'm not in favor of turning them loose, for most of the reasons already stated. One other possibility, besides the caged/wild options, is to establish a colony. I've never tried this, an old timer I knew told me he had raised rabbits this way.

He enclosed a large area with a very secure fence. Tall and strong enough to keep predators out, and buried a couple extra feet of chicken wire fencing out along the bottom to keep predators from digging in or rabbits from digging out. He then buried short sections of concrete pipe a ways into the ground at an angle, with the top reaching barely above ground level. He then released rabbits into this pen. I think he had only one male, the rest all females. The rabbits went down the pipes and burrowed in, making dens for themselves. I don't recall what he did to keep water from filling the dens during a rain, perhaps it was in a treed area. He still had to provide feed and water, but he said it was a lot easier caring for them in the colony than in individual cages.

Just a thought.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@nospam.com), April 23, 2002.

Oh, please don't do this! We have a neighbor who did this & thinks it's real cute to watch them. Problem is they are overloading the area with bunnies! They breed like crazy and nobody around can keep flowers or a decent garden because the rabbits are eating everything in sight. In fact, we lost some rose bushes to them this winter.

-- ellie (elnorams@aol.com), April 23, 2002.

I have read about a method of raising rabbits on the ground in colonies. I would not recommend this due to the inablity to regulate the breeding and the threat of disease ruining your herd.

I was discussing this method with a co-worker. His father used to do this by burying a fence 6" in the ground, setting a few bales of alphalfa and a water trough out for them. He would feed them scraps from the kitchen, the garden and would collect refuse from the local grocery store.

He would periodically harvest rabbits for meat and skins. Occasionally he would loose one or two to local preditors and dealt with them as need arised.

-- Paul Tharp (pthar@landolakes.com), April 24, 2002.

I put a NZ white down to run around while I scrubbed her cage. A holland lop knocked his feeder out. I didn't know he was loose. Ten seconds later it too late. One quick dart out the door when someone opened it and I didn't catch her for months. It's been 8-9 months and I'm still dealing with the consequences. She kindled outside. Those offspring were still having litters outside in December (mild winter). There are still 12-15 rabbits loose. They're hard on the garden. They don't all know they should run from predators. They girdled trees over the winter. Amazing what disaster one unknown loose rabbit and an open door can cause.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Killing all these rabbits that look so cute stretched out in the grass taking a nap is hard. I'll be kicking myself for this one for a long time to come.

-- Robin (rfollette@farmcollie.org), April 29, 2002.