Digging out rabbits

As a relative newcomer to ferreting alone, digging has been quite an experience. My struggle has been in getting the rabbit out quickly — any tips?

Like much in life, experience will always be better than simply watching a Youtube video or reading a book. Once you have located your ferret and dug down, your work has only started. The rabbits may be in several positions and, assuming your digging is spot on, you should be just in front of the rabbit — or the position where your ferret would have been.

In an ideal world, it would be a case of reaching down and picking up the bunny, but it isn’t always that simple. The most common problem is the animal balling up tightly in a dead end. The rabbit has cultivated this as a defence mechanism and it can be really hard to get a purchase on its rear quarters to pull it out.

You want to be able to grab a leg or the whole rear quarters if your hands are large and strong enough. If this is the case, gently work your fingers underneath its legs and wait for it to break its vacuum, which it will. Once you have a leg, the rest should be relatively straightforward.

Always remember to check the hole again, as occasionally a few rabbits can be balled up together. Sometimes they can move down and you may have to widen the initial opening a bit more to fit your shoulders in. Good luck. SW