Stu74 Posted September 25, 2011 Report Share Posted September 25, 2011 Well me and mad1 went out on my permission for the first time, i got it in may, absolutely loads of rabbits and loads just dead all over the fields, we had a good night shot around 40, not bad considering we had 2 kids with us who just wanted to shoot there air rifle, can we have a shot now, can we have a shot now. it was mainly just to find out about the peermission and where things were, and we still never got around it all, Does mixi go after so long? is it a seasonal disease? How does it spread, as i have permission just 5 mile down the road will it travel in the wind? It is such a horrible thing to see. I was thinking of going during the day and picking up all the carcasses and bringing them home to burn does anyone think this is a good idea as in some fields there were dead rabbits every 10 metres. Cheers everyone Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoughton Posted September 27, 2011 Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 Well me and mad1 went out on my permission for the first time, i got it in may, absolutely loads of rabbits and loads just dead all over the fields, we had a good night shot around 40, not bad considering we had 2 kids with us who just wanted to shoot there air rifle, can we have a shot now, can we have a shot now. it was mainly just to find out about the peermission and where things were, and we still never got around it all, Does mixi go after so long? is it a seasonal disease? How does it spread, as i have permission just 5 mile down the road will it travel in the wind? It is such a horrible thing to see. I was thinking of going during the day and picking up all the carcasses and bringing them home to burn does anyone think this is a good idea as in some fields there were dead rabbits every 10 metres. Cheers everyone Stu Stu, Firstly I'll point out I'm no expert on the subject! But my thoughts .... I've always noticed increased mixy'd rabbits late summer, early autumn. That certainly sees to be an annual pattern. There is much research that associates the spread of the disease with the rabbit flea which may find it easier to move around at these times due to peaking rabbit populations and warmer climate. This year I noticed it earlier than most years - I wondered if it was due to the rabbits spending more time underground (hence in higher concentrations) for longer periods during the rains of late June and July. Personally I wouldn't recommend picking up the bodies and burning them. I don't think that they present much of a hazard and nature will take care of them. What you will probably notice is that the rabbits shall seem to disappear as if they have all died. But it's more likely (in my experience) that the survivors simply move elsewhere. Surrounded by illness that's what they seem to do. On my shoots I see a pattern of rabbit colonies moving around just like that - their moving may be partly due to crop rotation (ie they move to where the food is!) but also I'm convinced it's due to disease. Don't worry about the rabbits disappearing for too long! Good luck and well done for encouraging youngsters to the sport. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenhunter Posted September 27, 2011 Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 The above post is pretty accurate so I would only add that it is seasonal but usually it is really down to population density. I would put the good spring weather down as the reason this year. Fleas and mosquitoes spread it and it is not zoonotic although I seem to recall one poor chap getting it, or did I dream that one GH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvid wings Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 MYXOMATOSIS causedby a virus spread by a rabbit flea,spylopsyllus coniculi the disease is not transmissible to humans,therfore not zoonotic . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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