6. Rabbit Management 
Vo 1 . 9 , No . 5 
Page 5 
J. m. Bailey, R. J. Siglin 
In an earlier monthly report (July *969) the results of a study of summer 
cover preferences by penned cottontail rabbits was reported. This report deals 
with a study of winter cover preferences. A Latin-square design was used, as 
described for the summer period. Four types of cover were provided: slats, forbs, 
conifers, and brush piles. 
The slat plots consisted of 4-foot-square pieces of snow fence suspended 
horizontally I foot above the ground, with unmowed wild forbs growing underneath. 
Forb plots consisted of a variety of unmowed wild forbs in 4-foot-square plots. 
The conifer plots were single Pfitzer junipers ( Juniperus chinensis pfitzeriana ) 
which covered a circle about 4 feet in diameter. Brush piles were constructed of 
10 wooden posts, each 8' X 4" X 4". The posts were laid parallel to one another, 
in tiers, to form an 8-foot-long pile with triangu1ar-shaped ends. A rabbit could 
crawl into the 4- X 4-inch spaces between the posts. Each pile of posts was 
covered with cuttings from apple trees. Except for a narrow strip along the 
enclosing fence, the area outside the plots was mowed in the fall. 
Four to five rabbits were kept in the pen and periodic observations were made 
during December, January, and February. The following number of rabbit observations 
were made in each cover type: slats-52, forbs-l9» conifers-43, and brush piles-7. 
All the above values, except that for conifers, were significantly different from 
an expected value of 32.5 observations, using the Chi-square test. 
Cover use varied with time (Table 4) and the use of each type is summarized 
as foilows: 
Outside . -- Although the area outside the cover plots was not considered one 
of the test plots, rabbit-observations in this area are worth mentioning. In 
general, rabbit use of cover outside the plots was correlated with temperature. 
December was the warmest month and 55 percent of the rabbit-observations occurred 
outside the plots. The number of rabbits observed outside the cover plots declined 
drastically with the onset of colder weather in January and February. A warm spell 
during the second week of February was correlated with five observations of rabbits 
outside the plots. 
Forbs . -- Of all the cover types, forbs provided the least concealment. Forbs 
were used as much or more than any other cover during December. They received 
continued use in January, but little use in February. This decline in use was 
probably due to a progressive deterioration of cover in the forb plots. 
Slats . -- Use of slats in December equalled that of forbs. However, the slat 
plots received their greatest use in January, when use of the area outside the 
plots decreased and the cover-value of forb plots began to decline. Use of slats 
declined in February presumably because of a deterioration of the forbs under the 
slats. Compared with the forb plots, the vegetation under the slat plots held up 
for a longer period of time, and the slats themselves provided additional over¬ 
head concealment for the rabbits. 
Conifers . -- Conifers were apparently preferred only after the cover in the 
