Damage to pastures by the Tasmanian native hen, Tribonyx mortierii

Abstract

Exclosure trials over 2+ years showed that grazing by native hens and rabbits on an established pasture caused a sharp check to spring growth and a subsequent decline in height. Counts of faeces showed that although grazing by native hens was fairly even throughout the year, a considerable increase in grazing by rabbits coincided, two years running, with this check of growth and decline in pasture height. It is concluded that rabbits were doing more damage than native hens.