How high will wild rabbits jump?
 

We seldom have wild rabbits around here but we have recently started seeing a few. I had to put chicken wire around my fruit trees and gardens to keep them from gnawing and eating the vegetables and tree bark. I have one section of garden left to enclose to keep them out, but ran out of chicken wire and there is no money in the budget to buy even one roll. I have a couple of alternatives that I can use to make a temporary barrier around this one area but I need someone to tell me how high wild rabbits will jump. They are small brown cotton tails, NOT jackrabbits. I really need to get my broccoli, kohlrabi, kale and everything else out this next coming week.

Can someone with experience tell me how high I need my barrier to be so the rabbits won't jump over the top and eat my broccoli? 2 ft.? 3 ft? Will they be able to smell the broccoli plants from behind the barrier?

I'd want at least 3 ft.

I don't know the answer to your question, but the thread title made me LOL.
It sounds like a trick question :grin:

Think deer fence and make sure you angle the fencing away from the garden. \__/ That way the bunnies who try to jump the barrier are more likely to hit the top of the barrier and not make it inside. I would also suggest at least 3 feet of barrier. Do you a good will or somplace you can get cheap soft netting from? Anything will do depending on the size you are trying to enclose.
You can hide the items behind something, but the bun bun's will still smell the muchies on the other side and try to get them.

3 foot plus. Depends on how hungry they are.

My friend says 22 1/4 inches.

When I was a kid there was a rabbit in the yard one evening, grazing right beside a long straight garden hose. My dad eased out and got a hold of the hose and gave it a yank. The rabbit went straight up, with his little back feet kicking down once in a while. I swear he was well over 3 feet high when he topped out.

As soon as you get your fence high enough, they will dig under it. Enjoy some rabbit stew.

a good pellet rifle and you have stew

I tried Chicken Wire if they found a spot to push under they would.

Don't know how high they will jump but seen one go up a tree and jump to throw my Dogs off.

big rockpile

It all depends on where "around here" really is.:bouncy:

East Texas.

Thanks to everyone for their replies, I'll try about 3 ft.

They haven't dug under the other areas where I put chicken wire.

I'd agree - 3' is about right. Mind you, they can can jump-combined-with-scramble a lot higher, but they'll only do that when escaping a chase. If they're not under pressure, they'll dig under your fence instead.

rabbits with shot in their butts do not jump

I'm not going to sit up all night with a .22 waiting for rabbits. I have a husband and children and generally enjoy sleeping at night. It would be easier for me to put up a barrier.

The wascally wabbits near me don't wait for night time to eat.

The 410 with birdshot eases the damage, but 3' of fence helps.

My fence is 7 feet, but it is also intended to keep out the deer.

Bunnies aren't the only hungry critters that will destroy a garden.

I can tell you what worked around my Goji bushes. I placed a 3' high small-hole chicken fence, stobbed to the ground. I also was fortunate enough to have had some red clover growing around that area, which those rabbits LOVED! My Goji bushes were never touched.

On the orchard side of our garden, the little cottontails almost demolished one of our comfrey plants before it had a chance to grow. I put a cage "over" it until it had gained enough growth so that I didn't have to worry about a leaf or two disappearing. This worked well too.

The other thing I did was permit my oldest dog to enter the orchard/garden with me whenever I was in there. She had several very tasty meals!

Our chee hwah hwah simply stood and watched the rabbits. Looked at me, looked at the rabbits, looked at me, looked at the rabbits... sigh. But he's a good boy so I can't complain.

Must be cousin to my che hooe hooe. DH calls those bun buns: boxin bunnies

We have lots of cottontails where we live and I have seen a couple jump straight up as high as the hood of our Ford Ranger 4X4. Those bunnies must have been wound really tight to get that high! Three feet sounds about right. A friend of mine puts a chicken wire "cap" over anything she wants to keep safe. Think of a beefed up tomato cage with a chicken wire cover. Good luck and maybe happy hunting!

If there is something over there that they want to eat and they can stand on their hind feet and stick their nose over the top, they will jump. Otherwise they will try to dig under.