Darn Rabbit holes!

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katymay

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I am renting a paddock just down the road from my house, which is perfect, current owners really laid back about the whole thing and just let me do as I please! field is currently split in two which the ponies happily trashing the bottom paddock so I can save the top for spring / summer. when I took on the paddock it hadn't been used apart from sheep so was somewhat neglected, we strengthened original fencing etc and upon walking around have noticed a huge amount of dangerous rabbit holes, I tried electric fencing them off to keep the ponies safe but have a fence trasher who despite it being energised just pulls it down, so have filled them in the best that I can but obviously the rabbits just make new holes! I can just about keep on top of the bottom paddock hole issue but the stupid ponies keep escaping up to the top paddock where the holes are untouched and I am so scared that they will break a leg! I am just wondering what is the best way to try and control them a little? thank you x
 
katymay said:
I am renting a paddock just down the road from my house, which is perfect, current owners really laid back about the whole thing and just let me do as I please! field is currently split in two which the ponies happily trashing the bottom paddock so I can save the top for spring / summer. when I took on the paddock it hadn't been used apart from sheep so was somewhat neglected, we strengthened original fencing etc and upon walking around have noticed a huge amount of dangerous rabbit holes, I tried electric fencing them off to keep the ponies safe but have a fence trasher who despite it being energised just pulls it down, so have filled them in the best that I can but obviously the rabbits just make new holes! I can just about keep on top of the bottom paddock hole issue but the stupid ponies keep escaping up to the top paddock where the holes are untouched and I am so scared that they will break a leg! I am just wondering what is the best way to try and control them a little? thank you x
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Ha should have read before I posted, I mean control the rabbits not the ponies!
 
Or get a pest control man to gas them.
According to the local ferret man stuffing an old plastic bag down the hole then stones then earth on top reduces redigging.
 
Can't say how to get rid of the rabbits but I put old tyres over the holes so that hopefully our horses won't tread in one accidentally.
 
2 years ago we had something akin to 'watership down' on the bottom of one of our fields regularly seeing 10 or more rabbits hopping about and some hole digging.
We had one man out who shot at night another 2 who flushed with spaniels and shot daytime and also the ferret man.
We now don't see any rabbits on a regular basis although there are a few about.
The men still come out every so often to keep on top of them.they make no charge but keep the rabbits to feed dogs .
We then fill the holes and stamp down the holes
They can't use ferrets once the rabbits are breeding which will be soon so if you want to use ferrets you need to act asap.
i think I heard 5 rabbits graze as much as one sheep so not only the holes are a problem but you will be loosing grazing with a large rabbit infestation.
 
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I have some really big ones in my fields I get some old bricks and stones and fill them in then put dirt on top, works until they dig some more:( I may have to get the local shoot here to get a few, I feel rotten having them murdered though poor bunnies.
 
Fill rabbit holes with manire, then put a stone on top, the leave because they dont like the manure and set up home elsewhere but enough manure down the holes will make the habitat unpleasant so should leave altogether.
 
katymay said:
I am renting a paddock just down the road from my house, which is perfect, current owners really laid back about the whole thing and just let me do as I please! field is currently split in two which the ponies happily trashing the bottom paddock so I can save the top for spring / summer. when I took on the paddock it hadn't been used apart from sheep so was somewhat neglected, we strengthened original fencing etc and upon walking around have noticed a huge amount of dangerous rabbit holes, I tried electric fencing them off to keep the ponies safe but have a fence trasher who despite it being energised just pulls it down, so have filled them in the best that I can but obviously the rabbits just make new holes! I can just about keep on top of the bottom paddock hole issue but the stupid ponies keep escaping up to the top paddock where the holes are untouched and I am so scared that they will break a leg! I am just wondering what is the best way to try and control them a little? thank you x
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Take some bottles up there, the glass one or jars, break the bottles and put it down the holes. Then fill the holes with top soil.

Put bricks down the hole then top soil
 
I fill mine with poo when poo picking! Some of them do get re-dug but I just keep filling them in until they give up! You need to really compact the poo in the hole and re-fill as needed but seems to work for us.

Cheap and reduces the size of the poo pile too....
 
My friend culls rabbits to stop this happening in a local historic house's grounds, dont feel bad, wild rabbits dont live long, horrible as that sounds,
Kill a few rabbits (when there are millions of them) or have to PTS one of your horses.
 
Sidney said:
I fill mine with poo when poo picking! Some of them do get re-dug but I just keep filling them in until they give up! You need to really compact the poo in the hole and re-fill as needed but seems to work for us.

Cheap and reduces the size of the poo pile too....
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Thank you all, I have actually been filling the holes with poo when I poo pick which is great as saves me having a big pile that I later need to get rid of! Think once I have filled the majority I should be able to keep on top of the little blighters! hopefully they will get fed up and move elsewhere! I will chat to the paddock owner at some point this weekend to see if I can get someone up there to shoot a few, trouble is its quite an open field, only hedge on one side and he did say that he would worry about the shots going off somewhere they shouldnt, dont want a load of dead sheep too :)
 
I've struggled with this. I have an area in ones of my paddock which is a bunny haven. I have had pest control out and also bull dozed it but the darn bunnies come back and make new holes. Tried everything so think I'm going to have to make a better fence so that the horses can't get in.
 
Lottiedots said:
I've struggled with this. I have an area in ones of my paddock which is a bunny haven. I have had pest control out and also bull dozed it but the darn bunnies come back and make new holes. Tried everything so think I'm going to have to make a better fence so that the horses can't get in.
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I have had to encircle our land in electric rabbit netting to stop the bunnies moving back in from outside our property. We have about a dozen 50m nets powered by a mains energiser. It's been a real pain to set up but does now work quite effectively. I have to spray the fenceline with roundup a few times a year to keep the vegetation off the nets.

I was losing the battle with the bunnies before I did this.
 
I used to have a problem with rabbits coming into my garden at home. Then one day cat caught one and killed it....they never came into my garden again it was as if word got out, poor bunnies. At the yard YO knows a guy who is training a hawk... He comes and gets rid of ours for free... Not a nice thought but it does get rid of the dreaded holes.
 
Hi if you need help with your rabbits or any vermin problems, this a free Service, go to my site http://www.freeverminshooting.co.uk,and leave me a message and I will get back to you asp.
 
katymay said:
I am renting a paddock just down the road from my house, which is perfect, current owners really laid back about the whole thing and just let me do as I please! field is currently split in two which the ponies happily trashing the bottom paddock so I can save the top for spring / summer. when I took on the paddock it hadn't been used apart from sheep so was somewhat neglected, we strengthened original fencing etc and upon walking around have noticed a huge amount of dangerous rabbit holes, I tried electric fencing them off to keep the ponies safe but have a fence trasher who despite it being energised just pulls it down, so have filled them in the best that I can but obviously the rabbits just make new holes! I can just about keep on top of the bottom paddock hole issue but the stupid ponies keep escaping up to the top paddock where the holes are untouched and I am so scared that they will break a leg! I am just wondering what is the best way to try and control them a little? thank you x
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We get a pest controller and then fill then in asap and put glass way down the hole and cover with soil
 
I would personally look for a local fella Who have a air rifle, make sure he is a responsible person and you can trust him , maybe even somebody you know or someone else who Knows him etc. you also have to make sure with land owner That it’s OK, The more you can get rid of in The winter months The less you will have in the Summer, if you do decide To find someone do not pay for this Service because they are many of decent men out there who does this as an hobby and would jump at the chance. has for now with the rabbit holes I would just get some tires and put them around the rabbit holes this is what most people do.Anyway I hope I have been some help to you and I wish you the best of luck.
 
I wondered why I was getting 'likes' for such an old post. Anyway - a quick update - I still have the horse mentioned above, so I will suggest that if anyone is struggling to find the right horse for them, that they get the local 'rabbit man' in. You never know what local contacts they could have! :D
 
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