Veg patch and wild bunnies - not a good combination?

Jue_xx

We will be moving into our new house in the next few weeks, and it has a large garden - big enough for the vegetable patch I've always wanted! Very excited, I'm busy planning it already. BUT...

The vendors have told us that there is a rabbit burrow underneath the conifers at the bottom of the garden, and they come out at night and eat the grass. Sounds like the best type of rabbits to have - ones that look after themselves! The kids are thrilled.

However, I am thinking that perhaps wild bunnies might not be compatible with a vegetable patch! I foresee trouble ahead...

We have plans to remove the conifers anyway, as they are masive and block out a lot of sunlight. DH has said that we should dig out the burrow at the same time. Would they come back if we did this, or would it be better to invest in a large roll of chicken wire to fence off the veg patch? The kids would be gutted if we got rid of the bunnies, but I have my cabbages to think of!

What do you think we should do?

Davesnave

If the conifers are going anyway, the felling activity in that area of the garden may well encourage the bunnies to leave, but of course this depends on how 'big' the garden is, what lies beyond etc.

Regardless of the variables above, I think I'd just go carefully at first and see what happens. When we moved here, I was aware of bunnies in our fields and assumed they'd come into the garden, but so far, touch wood, they've stayed where they belong. It probably helps that we have ferrets, which are walked along the garden boundaries occasionally, but there's only the two of them and they don't smell that much!

McKneff

oooohhhh lucky lucky you.

chicken wire, live and let live,

Jue_xx

It's a difficult one - even I'm quite excited about having our own free-range bunnies, as there is no wild-life at all where we live at the moment. All we seem to get is the neighbours' cats, and we can go from one week to the next without seeing so much as a bird in our garden.

BUT.. it was the garden that attracted us to the new house, because room for a veg patch was high on our list of priorities! I'm going to site it quite close to the house, which would be well away from the conifers, but I'm sure they would be able to smell juicy carrots from miles away!

I think chicken wire might be the way forward, but I have heard that they might even burrow under that! How deep underground would it need to go?

Lotus-eater

Bunnies can devastate a veg patch very quickly, depends how big your garden is and as Dave says, what is beyond the borders of it.

http://kitchengarden.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2561

I would be inclined to use them as a source of wild meat, taking one every now and again, depends how big the warren is really.

Davesnave

Chicken wire to deter bunnies needs to go about 10cm under the soil, and it is better if you then turn it outwards towards the potential offenders, so allow about 30 cm in total underground. Above ground, about 80-90cm is enough to stop them jumping over, but netting should be of small mesh size to stop them squeezing through.

Here's a PDF that covers this & more or less agree with the above!

http://frontpage.woodland-trust.org.uk/communitywoodlandnetwork/publications/documents/Spec%203-09.pdf

Jue_xx

Hmm. Just read the kitchen garden forum, and my views on cute fluffy bunnies are now changing fast. I'll have to spend a few nights watching them when we move in and see how many there are. Perhaps felling the conifers will shift them. Over the back fence is a primary school and associated playing fields, so I don't know whether there is enough there to entice them away permanently. Are they likely to come back when the conifers have gone?

The conifers are not planted as a hedge, there are about 5 or 6 planted in a strange U-shape about 10 feet from the back fence (presumably to screen off the primary school). I've seen the hole to their burrow but I don't know how extensive the warren is yet.

Lotus-eater

Rabbit are easy to clear, just kill them all and fill in the warren, easy to keep them from coming back as well.

If you mean by coming back, will they get into my garden again to eat my stuff, that depends on where the nearest warren is, have a walk round and have a look.
You only need one rabbit to devistate young seedlings overnight, so don't think if you only see 2, then they will be OK.

Don't know what you mean by enticing them away, they go where they want and where the best food is. If that happens to be your greens, then that will always win over grass.

RAS

Vegetables plus live rabbits= hungry humans much of the time.
Vegetables plus dead rabbits = supper. yummy.

Jue_xx

RAS wrote: »

Vegetables plus live rabbits= hungry humans much of the time.
Vegetables plus dead rabbits = supper. gummy.

:rotfl:

** Dashes off to Oldstyle Moneysaving board for rabbit recipes **

Rikki

Jue_xx wrote: »

:rotfl:

** Dashes off to Oldstyle Moneysaving board for rabbit recipes **

There are plenty of recipes there and if you need some-one to have the ones left over. Wild rabbits are lovely :drool: so don't go fattening them up home-grown veg.