#26 Building and Managing Rabbit Habitat (Rabbitat) on the Habitat Oasis Project in SE Ohio

Building and managing rabbit habitat or rabbitat is easy and provides benefits for many species of wildlife, not just rabbits. Hardy Brothers, Josh and Jason, are returning 80 acres of strip mined land to native habitat and have partnered with the USDA on an EQIP program to remove and control the invasive sericea lespedeza and autumn olive shrubs while simultaneously building out brush piles to improve rabbit and wildlife numbers in the area.
Creating Rabbitat is easy...
This video explains what is rabbitat, how do you build or create it, and what are the benefits of building and managing rabbitat or rabbit habitat. In addition to providing cover for the rabbits, it also provides exceptional cover for deer as they travel across this otherwise vastly open space.
#Rabbitat #RabbitHabitat #Outdoorgans #OutdoorsIsAlwaysInSeason #Conservation #NativeHabitat #InvasiveSpecies #Ohio #Midwest #HabitatOasisProject #AutumnOlive #HabitatManagement #HabitatPodcast #WiredToHunt #sericealespedeza #2032R #4052R
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[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

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[@markpaytes2071]

Love to see what you are doing and creating! I'm a rabbit hunter and your info on salt not many people know. I've salted a couple farms I hunt and witnessed the population grow tremendously. Keep up the good work

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

@@markpaytes2071 thanks for the comments. We are having a great time putting in the work and see the fruits of our labor. I’m in the woods now, taking a break from cutting out more invasive autumn olive and barberry.

[@americansfirst1095]

thanks for the video. SE Ohio here too. Raised and released Bobwhite quail for several years. Finally gave up, not much success. Haven't heard grouse for almost 10 years. Still see Woodcock every once in a while. Cats and dogs are a huge problem.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

@@americansfirst1095 I see an occasional woodcock, but not too often.

[@americansfirst1095]

@@HardyBrothersOutdoors .....I had access and full rein to neighbors unused 400 acres for almost 20 years. It was a bird sanctuary. Owls, woodcocks, pileated woodpeckers, turkey....you name it. I tended it up until he died about 4 years ago. His offspring whom never stepped foot on the place have destroyed it by logging and Im no longer welcome. I still manage about 100 of my own. Your video has inspired me to get back on it, on my own place. Cats are a huge problem, I heard that a guy trapped almost 45 within 60 days in the same spot. Thanks for what you do.

[@archerystrong]

Excellent video!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thank you very much! Couple lessons we’ve learned since. Logs are better than pallets as there are no nails left over when everything rots down. Also we left some autumn olive stumps that weren’t treated well enough to completely kill them and we got some regrowth back within the piles.

[@DECLANBISHOP]

I have 2 holland lops inside free roam. I came here to get ideas for my buddies outside. Ty!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

My daughter has a bunny, not sure of the breed but it was free roaming until it decided to burrow under beds through the carpets... haha... now it is confined to one room that it has already destroyed. Cool creatures... Sunny the Bunny... - Josh

[@DECLANBISHOP]

@@HardyBrothersOutdoors I love that.. and thats why I love them.. I miss having 2 year Olds--> so I got some rabbits.. and now I wonder why I didn't have them my whole life. 47

[@michaeleastham9495]

Natural habitat for a wild life including rabbits and deer bobcats and birds and all kinds of wildlife. Pretty awesome I love it. Mama Z on Dad's profile. Heaven mom together in spirit world helping us all that's what our ancestors do

[@Nancy-wf2dy]

We just were searching for a way to add rabbits to our deer and other wildlife. This is a GREAT video! Thanks for the info. We’ll implement it.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Glad got enjoyed it! Jason

[@artmrosla67]

What a great video to watch!!! What really impressed the hell out of me is how you all practiced situation awareness!!! I really do applaud you for your safety!!! Wishing you many more years of safe and happy hunting!!! Take care Art

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thank you very much for watching and commenting! We are definitely enjoying our time on this project.

[@ButlerMillWorks]

This is an awesome video, thanks for sharing. My wife and I were talking last week about increasing the rabbit habitat on our property so thanks for all the great ideas!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thanks appreciate the comment! Build it and they will come. :-)

[@joshuacruz4046]

Any good results ?

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

The results have been fantastic. We see rabbits every time we are out and we see lots on camera too. We have many more autumn olive to remove and will continue to build out more piles. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@kristinskrove7119]

Thank you for doing this!!!!

[@NHWildlife]

Great video! I'll be adding more brush piles to my land this year.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Deer have loved them too. Definitely a great improvement to our habitat.

[@degmsp9529]

i love the rabbitat!!! rabbits are the best

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Saw lots of good results from it.

[@thfd335]

Great video. I have been looking for info on this. Awesome info. Ill be adding your techniques to my management efforts. thank you for your time and efforts

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thanks for watching and commenting. Good luck with your efforts, we see lots of rabbits. Jason

[@Dallasakers]

Cool!!!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Glad you liked it!

[@mking3219]

Great job!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thanks, glad you liked it.

[@scottmidlam9439]

Nice work

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

We’ve seen a huge increase in the rabbit population. Has worked out well.

[@denisebedford4641]

Glad I found your channel today! I've subscribed. This is a great effort. Can we take the same approach to reclaim brown sites in urban areas? It could be a great way to bring the environment back to neighborhoods and engage kids and seniors. What I love about the knowledge economy is that it exposes so many new opportunities for ideas and out-of-the-box solutions like this project. We have foxes, rabbits, deer, groundhogs, possums, etc. But I can do much more to support them where I live. Thank you!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Hi Denise, we are glad you found this video useful. I'm sure this sort of approach could be beneficial in a brownfield situation provided there isn't much trash or that sort of thing in the area... the brush piles could result in more habitat for rodents vs. the desired species. Sounds like you have a good mix of wildlife in the area, which is great. Let us know if you have any questions and we will do our best to help! - Josh

[@Nancy-wf2dy]

I’ve subscribed to your videos. Just checking for more!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Great! Check out the Habitat Oasis Playlist... it will have more related to the habitat improvements we are working towards.

[@eriklindhurst5793]

About three years ago, I looked out the window into my backyard and saw a (domesticated) English spot. We suspect that someone got their kid an Easter bunny and then let him go when they found out how much work a rabbit can be. Now he is a spoiled house rabbit. Having said all that, I will make a brush pile in the backyard for the wild rabbits in our area.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Our brush piles have created great habitat for lots of rabbits.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

My daughter now has a pet bunny named Sunny and he is pretty cool. Way more personality than I would have suspected. - Josh

[@stacylangford8015]

I was visiting, and an ol wabbit ran out. Planning on some heavy gardening this coming season. I considered bales of hay. Let the rabbits bait the coyote, and reduce the overpopulation of them. Great video! Thanks

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Good luck! thanks for the comment! We hope to thin some coyotes this winter with guns and traps... Has proven harder than we thought... :-)

[@yurabonehed83]

Thank you for this beneficial information. I was going to get rid of this type of material. Now I am going to use this material that I thought was clutter. I want to see more wildlife.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Glad this was helpful. We see lots of rabbits around our brush piles. Jason

[@zachdobbins8786]

Good video!! The only think I’m confused on is I hunt about 3000 acres of reclaimed strip pits in southern Indiana and the only spot we find rabbits there are the spot full of Seresea Lespedeza Glad I seen this video because I was thinking about planting it on my property

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Yes definitely do not plant it. I imagine they may use it for dense cover but they don’t eat it and little to nothing grows amongst it. We are finding that once we mow it down and kill it we are getting lots of native plants back. We do have a video specific to Sericea removal in the Habitat Oasis Playlist. It is our nemesis. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@DAWGnROADIE]

Problem with using pallets, when the wood rots it leaves rusty nails. Those nails are bad news for anything with a hoof, as well as four wheeler tires. (Tractor tiles too, but only in the sidewall.) O have been paid to remove those pallets and magnet sweep for nails in an open pasture. Even after an hour of sweeping I was not confident that we had them all.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

have considered that as well and you are spot on... I figured we would just keep piling on the brush piles but we are likely going to need to move them some as we have autumn olive poking through many of them now... frustrating...

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thanks for watching. I’ve started another channel and moved a lot of my content. Please check it out and subscribe. Hardy Life Outdoors Thanks! Jason

[@OfftoShambala]

I’m doing this on the back end of my yard... I have lots of rabbits already and I want to collect their poop for fertilizer. 🤞 Thanks for sharing this method.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thanks for watching and commenting! Jason

[@jamesmcdonald2980]

👍

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Thanks for watching!

[@johnwright2205]

Can you make living hedge style brush piles for habitat?

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

I'm not entire sure I understand what you mean by a living hedge brush pile... the piles we made have become "live" as birds deposit seeds you get blackberries and brambles and all sorts of grow up through the piles. The deer browse the piles using them for cover and "edge feeding"... I have what you might consider a living hedge which is my overgrown fence line full of autumn olive and it does provide some cover but I don't think thick enough cover to prevent a bobcat or coyote vulnerability. These piles give escape and a dry place to nest. I've seen info that many rabbit babies die from pneumonia if they get wet... for future piles I think I will consider scrap metal roofing squares to help create some additional dry spaces...

[@davidsoloninka7742]

Did the rabbits go into the used culverts/ clay pipes?

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Can’t say for certain but had seen that as an option. I’ve seen other suggestions of using small sheets of roofing metal. We are in the process of moving some of the piles as we have autumn olive growing up thru them. When we do that I’ll check to see if there are any signs of nests in them.

[@gunwork78]

What kind of mineral blocks do you use? Is it the brown Trace mineral?

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Yep, we either use pure salt blocks or the brown mineral blocks. We pick them up from TSC or the local feed store.

[@gunwork78]

Thank you

[@sandridgebeagleclub]

Which do you recommend salt block or mineral block?

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

I’m not sure if one is better than the other. We see lots of rabbits on our mineral sites so there is probably more benefit in a mineral block than pure salt block but I’m not certain.

[@user-zw1xs8qw9y]

i have seen no data that mineral or salt blocks increase rabbit reproduction. any links?

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Sure I’ll get the study link for you. Thought I referenced it in the video. Stay tuned.

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Well, i've spent about 30 minutes looking for the article in which I read that and am having no luck... I know I didn't make it up, but now I'm questioning just where I saw it. I reviewed the DNR and University papers from WI, MI, OH, and MO that I've studied in the past and no mention there. We have rabbits on our mineral all the time, but I'm not finding this reference now... If I recall it was a magazine article not a DNR or university study, but honestly, I'm not sure now. We will continue to provide it as they appear to seek it out, but I suppose I can't say for certain that it actually impacts reproduction rates. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. - Josh

[@sleepersix]

how is the rabbitat doing now?

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Population is strong but we need to get the coyotes in check. Much better than before we started the project. Still fighting invasives like sericea to get better food sources established for the rabbits.

[@damattice23]

You’re helping rabbits so you can shoot them? 🤪

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Lol someday but we’ve actually never hunted