It's  field trial time and you check out your rabbit population and realize things are not looking good. You begin wondering if you should cancel your field trial for lack of game and you wonder about  the future of your club.  This is how it was for Pine Hill Beagle Club only a short time ago. Dedicated club members decided they needed to be more aggressive in addressing the rabbit population problem. There were holes in the fencing and the cover had grown too deep.

Over and last several years. The club has been busy rebuilding their road, refencing the grounds, and most importantly improving the rabbit habitat.  Many articles have been published and are available for free on the internet about managing the cover on club grounds.  State Conservation Departments have detailed information as to the best way to maintain habitat suitable for cottontail/hare survival and propagation. Unfortunately, reading and knowing the information does little to get the job done.  A few guys, a chainsaw and some hedge clippers are valuable tools, but only can get so much done when you are dealing with a 50 acre or larger enclosure. 

At a time when club members are busy with other obligations, heavy machinery can be the best support to help maintain club grounds.  To maintain a pen, you need to clear a certain percentage of cover every year. So that over five to eight years the entire pen stays conditioned.  It is a n ongoing job to prevent the cover from getting to tall to be suitable for rabbits.

For the past four years. Pine Hill Beagle club in Guilderland, New York, has hired Charlie Flexer with his brush clearing  machine, a CAT 297c High-Low Two Speed for the sole purpose of improving the cover. Even if you could get an army of helpers, you could not get the amount accomplished in multiple work parties, which a CAT 297 does in a day or two.  The club has found that the money spent on the mulching machine has been the best investment in managing the rabbit population and habitat.

The machine has 3 head attachments: one mulching head with huge carbide steel teeth, one sheering tool capable of cutting trees up to 15 inches thick, and one Harley Rake used for soil planting preparation.

Flexer’s approach is not just cut everything to the ground and leave, but rather to clear overgrown areas, prepare the soil in some areas to plant feed strips, and to use his sheering tool to cut large trees and make brush piles as well. Flexer’s approach is tho have “variety” in cover management. In the four years the club has been working with Flexer, Pine Hill has seen a big increase in the rabbit population. Combined with this work and the club’s own initiatives such as a new fenceFlexer said to mow feed strips , a hot wire, slashoffs for winter cover, and a winter feeding program, Pine Hill has seen an increase in populations and mature rabbits, proving rabbits are surviving longer.

Flexer said to mow feed strips twice a year to maintain the low cover and keep weeds and other plants from taking over the feed plots, Young rabbits benefit greatly from the succulent forbs found in managed alfalfa and clover feed plots, They also provide low summertime cover that is green to the ground. This creates excellent nesting and hiding places as well for the rabbit population.  The rabbits develpp quickl;y and in a healthy manner. These green plants provide nearly all the water a cottontail needs Flexer planted the prepared feed strips and discussed with the club the best time of year for cutting and managing the feed strips. 

Terrain varies around the country. Some clubs have no problem with rabbit populations while others have a constant struggle due to many factors. A Maintenance plan for any club is key. It’s the constant efforts of the club members and many small projects that help to maintain a consistently productive club grounds. Managing habitat for rabbits is high on the list of priorities for any club. Awareness of their general biology, habitat requirements and best management practices are important considerations that Flexer was able to incorporate into the management plan for Pine Hill Beagle Club.

A Real Time Saver

The shearing attachment for the CAT 297c High-Low Two Speed can shear trees up to 15” . The machine can shear the tree and then carry to create brush piles as suitable locations. The tree doesn’t even fall to the ground. So if you have trees near fencing or other obsticles  this attachment is invaluable and a safer option as compared to dropping trees with a chain saw. 

Did You Know?

For a food plot to reseed itself,  you need to mow to control weeds once the growth is established. Allow the clover flower to seed out.  so it can reseed in the spring. If there is too much competition from the weeds, the seeds will not germinate.  Every spring you can also support this natural reseeding by broadcasting additional wildlife seed mix to the area. This will result in a sustainable food  plot for regular feeding habits.

For a new food plot, plant seed mix from May to July, disking the selected area to the ground, adjusting the ph level to 6.2 and harrowing the area to create a flat planting surface.  This will help keep out other weeds. Seeds should be evenly dispersed over the area then covered lightly. Use about 25 lbs. of seed mix per half acre.  They should not be planted too deep because the seeds are small.  To maintain a proper ph add lime every two or three years. 

To avoid over grazing , have more than one food plot in the enclosure.  It’s better to have many small food plots spread out rather than one large area.