Bait material for poisoning rabbits. I. Studies on the acceptance of bait materials by caged rabbits.

Abstract

Two groups of bait material were tested to see which were accepted most readily by caged wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.). Of those materials with a high water content (roots and fruits) carrot was preferred to apple, pear, thistle root, turnip, swede, parsnip, or pumpkin; among the drier materials (grains) oats and barley were preferred to wheat, cracked maize, prepared rabbit-feed pellets, and subterranean clover seed. Soaking the grain before presentation gave inconclusive results and moreover the moist material makes mechanical distribution of bait difficult.