Will they or wont they....

[gollum 1]

On the pic below the yellow patch is where the rabbits are feeding, the red dots indicate bury locations (approx 15 holes between the 2 sites) and the green lines indicate my simplest long netting option.

 

The bury locations are currently empty having just ferreted 14 rabbits from them and another 11 from further down this hedgeline. The area behind the long nets lines also contains rabbits which are exiting through holes in rabbit fenceing marked as blue lines and crossing the meadow out to feed in the cereals on the other side of the hedge.

 

My question is will... the rabbits that live behind the long nets position run all the way to home, and get caught in the nets, or will they just dive down the first hole they find? Would a very slow beat help any?

It would be no fun to run out 100 + yards only to find the rabbits bolting in to the vacant buries on the hedgeline.

 

I could backfill the holes the previous day, though some of it would be a pain as they are under a hedge...

 

Anyone have any experience of anything like this?

 

HH all.

 

G.

Edited December 1, 2009 by gollum

[Fat-Ferret 857]

The rabbits your intending to net are coming from the blue area, and feeding in the yellow area? But you have ferreted the red area and your afraid the rabbits will run to those holes instead of the blue area?

 

If I am right, what would stop you netting across the front of the red area, therefore preventing them even going there...?

Edited December 1, 2009 by Fat-Ferret

[trapper123 7]

just set the net in front of the red area and the yellow area,they have to go that way anyway.

[gollum 1]

The rabbits your intending to net are coming from the blue area, and feeding in the yellow area? But you have ferreted the red area and your afraid the rabbits will run to those holes instead of the blue area?

 

If I am right, what would stop you netting across the front of the red area, therefore preventing them even going there...?

 

Hi Fat Ferret,

Yes your description is right, I guess the reasons I would prefer netting in the position marked are that:

 

1. The scrub behind the net location is tall giving me a good solid background when running out and less likely I will spook them.

 

2. The distance between the hedge you are referring to and the grazing area is only 20 - 30 yards in which I doubt I have the stealth to run out without spooking. That said, the latest I have checked it with the NV gear is 10.30pm, maybe later would be worth checking?

 

3. Its the easiest point to reach when coming on to the site.

 

Any tips on how to run out so close to the bunnies would be appreciated.

 

HH.

 

G.

[Dosser 52]

Visit the afternoon before you plan to net and place scrunched up newspaper in the empty burry holes.

[Tiercel 6,986]

If I was doing this drop, I would do it exactly the same as you have described, but maybe ferret the couple of warrens along the hedge the day before. Then when banting the rabbits back do it very slowly so that they have time to bypass the warrens stinking of ferrets and head for the rabbit fence and the safety beyond.

 

One major factor that is eveident these days is that no one wants to have a blank night. I have learnt more by having blanks that I have from catching rabbits while long netting, thats for sure.

 

Try it if it works all well and good if it doesn't then don't do it again in the same way, try something different next time.

 

TC

[Fat-Ferret 857]

I see what you mean about the hedgeline, It is a good advantage as it will break your outline, I would still be tempted to go in front of the red area though...30yrds isnt bad, assuming you have a dark enough night, and maybe a bit of a wind....I have found that making any noise approaching the rabbits, ie, getting over fences, gates even from far away etc can actually do more damage than if you get on top of them silently and work steady running out the net...There less likely to move when you are between them and there exits assuming you work slowly and steadily.

 

Failing that, I would purse net the red holes during the day and leave them, and as Tiercal said, Bant them very slowly and if they head for these holes, there purse netted anyway.

[gollum 1]

Thanks for input guys.

 

Tiercel, I couldnt agree more about the blanking bit, I'm not worried if I do.... as you say yourself, assuming one puts the time in to thinking through where it could have gone wrong, the blanks are often more informative than the great drops.

 

In our neck of the woods we have fields known locally as "Slinkets". This word apparently defines any field that is essentially a feeder or access field to others. They tend to be long and thin in nature and almost always have parallel hedges running along the longest edges. No doubt these occur in many places in the UK and it would be interesting to know what they are referred to elsewhere. Anyway, the reason I put up the post is that I have many spots on slinket fields where both hedgelines contain rabbits but they all feed in the field adjacent to one of them. The problem I find is that the rabbits that have to cross through the 2nd hedge to get to the grazing area often will stay very close to it. Too close for me to sneak past anyway, and as we have significant light pollution on a lot of these setts its next to impossible. The potential for netting it like a blind sett i.e running the nets in front of the hedge furthest from the grazing area is there....but so far I have had little success which I suspect is down to the rabbits all going down the nearest holes rather than travelling through the first hedge and on to the nets that block the 2nd hedge. That was why I mentioned the possibility of a slow beat in the hopes that maybe the rabbits would be alarmed enough to head for cover but not so alarmed that it would be a mad dash for the first available hole.

 

Fat Ferret, the outlining thing is maybe a bigger deal than the photo shows... On the photo, the hedge with the buries on it looks like a hedge, but at the moment it actually looks more like a few gnarled old twigs....the stock fence running along it is more noticeable than the hedge.... so if i tried to get in front of it, well it would have to be a totally black night and the motorway running alongside the left side of the pic (but not on the pic) throws enough light up for it to never be that dark. I'm not sure I could get in quietly enough even if it did

 

Any suggestions on the general principles with parallel hedges would be really welcome.

 

HH all

 

G

[Fat-Ferret 857]

Did you try it yet?

[Tiercel 6,986]

I have thought about this quite hard, 'but than means nothing'. Looking at the photo I would guess that the field the rabbits are feeding on is to the North/ish of where they live. You now have an extra disadvantage in that most winds with any North in them will die away after dark.

 

This is not set in stone but happens more often than not. The only Northely wind that will blow consistently all night is usually when there is a low pressure system stuck to the east of the UK.

 

To be honest I think you have solved the problem yourself, without knowing it. When you state that you have ferreted the warrens between the feeding grounds and their home and had 14 rabbits. Just ferret those warrens every couple of weeks as they are obviously using them.

 

Sometimes it pays to think out side the box and many thanks to my mate for pointing it out to me.

 

AJ

[gollum 1]

Thanks for the thought Allan,

Your right about the geography, good tip about the wind

As luck would have it the option to long net has been reduced by the recent heavy winds... the remaining leaf on all scrub and hedge in the locale has been obliterated leaving skeletal, gappy, twig like hedges. The road to the south of the pic lights up the field with each passing car, and unless I do a post midnight session midweek there's little chance of running out undetected. Light pollution is fast becoming the bane of my long getting life...

The odd return trip with the ferrets may well be the simplest option though the 30 removed from this 150 yard section should keep the hedge quiet for a while.

 

ATB

 

G.

[Fat-Ferret 857]

Light pollution is a scurge indeed, I have a few fields I cant do because of the same problem...One night last year my mate shot a bulb out of a yard light with his air rifle so we could long net a field...Silly fecker, It worked though