Rabbits as Sacrificial Loss Prevention

[AB Gamebird Farmer]

I hope my creepy title caught your attention.

Back story:
Since I am not a millionaire i didn't feel like buying hundreds of feet of chain link wire to build my pheasant, chicken and turkey enclosures. I used poultry wire which is real good for keeping poultry in.... while predators kill them.

options:
a) replace all chicken wire with some kinda predator proof wire..... pfff not gonna happen.
b) set traps for the selfish predators around my poultry infrastructure..... mmm they neighbour just bought a $1600.00 puppy so maybe not.
c) hunt and kill local predators...... I have a job, aint nobody got time for that.
d) breed rabbits and release many many of them around my poultry infrastructure in hopes that a predator choses to eat them rather than tear through the wire and eat my birds..... bingo, option d) it is!

so far the rabbits I have released remain within about 50 yards of my chicken coop. it is rather funny to watch them when they are being chased by both dumb dogs and rambunctious teenagers. the rabbits act like there is an invisible wall in a 50 yard radius of the chicken coop. Mind you, I have only released unwanted male rabbits thus far.

in the long term i'll be breeding my rabbits to be as slow and dumb as possible,

so, will this work? will the predators spare my birds and eat the rabbits I so graciously offer them?

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Yes...bring all the predators to your yard....you'll become a predator hotspot and nothing will be safe. I have a couple loose bunnies...certainly not for feeding predators.

Wait for catch and release traps to come on sale at Peavey Mart or a similar store and purchase several. The traps do their job and since you're short on time...they can do the work for you. You will never get rid of all the predators. Catch and release traps are probably your best line of defense outside of having a secure coop. And possibly a run. You could get an electric poultry fence and place it outside the perimeter of your infrastructure.

If you knew you needed proper wire to protect your birds in the first place...why would you use a lesser wire? Birds, the feed and your time are not cheap. Why go to the trouble of getting birds if you're not going protect them. Protect your investment. What's more expensive...using the correct fencing? Or losing your birds, your money, your time and your patience? The correct wire lasts a long time. It's not that expensive when on sale.

 

[GGBEAR]

Lol could turn into like the local McDonalds for predators then
Dine in or take out????

 

[Pork Pie]

It could prove to make your plot even more attractive to local predators, once word gets round

 

[GGBEAR]

Wow so like a predator hotspot

 

[kwhites634]

it sucks that you are likely correct. but coyote pelts are worth about $100 each these days so i mean, you win some, you loose some.

There's a lot I'd like to say about what you're doing, but I don't want to get banned

 

[Chickassan]

Your first options would work much better than this rabbit scheme. Wire isn't that expensive if you get it from the right places ebay is very cheap.Traps also an option use live catch or tell your neighbor to watch the pup while you are trapping. Hunting predators you have time, you appear to be a hunter anyway in your leisure time so why not just change targets for a bit.The rabbits are not a good plan for your birds or for them.

 

[lcertuche]

Predators love a little rabbit with their chicken dinners.

 

[Flashpoint]

I believe the original post has fulfilled it's intended purpose. It has certainly generated responses that are counter to AB's plan of "sacrificial bunnies". Most folks want to protect their chicken buddies/investment but not necessarily at the expense of the lives of others. It's one thing to kill or trap a predator to protect your flock. It's another to create a plan that sets up a victim vs predator scenario - and one that is abhorrent to many. IMO, this is a "gotcha thread".

 

[jeria]

yeah I can buy hardware cloth, I use it for the floor of my breeder rabbit cages so that their poop falls through it to the ground.

it is about $12.50 canadian for a 2'x5' role or around $15.00 canadian for a 3'x5' role.

how much is hardware cloth where you live?

order 50 foot rolls on Amazon or EBay. much cheaper per foot. They also come in different heights and wire weight.