So I'm reading "the clever coyote" by Stan Young, and few studies listed of coyote stomach contents list rabbit as the top food consumed. Sheep/goat and carion where next.
Why then is there no commercial rabbit baits? Or am I missing something?

I think there is a commercial bait on the market that is rabbit. Just because it's the most common food doesnt make it the most attractive bait. I will go to greater length to get shrimp or steak but I eat more hamburgers than those two put together if you get my point.

Are you talking about wild rabbits or commercially grown? For small quantities of bait maybe wild would be ok but a lot of volume might be cost prohibitive.

haha well said - I'll 2nd that!

Forgot to add... easy pickings around here to find roadkill rabbits if you wanted to...

Here too. We had some for dinner the other night.

Poor bait.No fat in a wild snowshoe hare.Thus very little smell when frozen.

Robbie Gilbert and Trapping Time TV sells a rabbit based predator bait Pure Hop. I won a jar in a benefit auction a couple years ago. Only thing I've caught using it was grinners go figure..lol

http://trappingtimetv.net/product/pure-hop/

I think a small chunk of rabbit fur down a dirthole helps. Add your choice of bait too.

Cold in Arkansas is probably as scarce as fur on an animal.
I'll bet you a dime to a dollar that varying hares are non existant there too.

In my area of central Arkansas we do have rabbits. We even have a rabbit hunting season.
Arkansas cold is swimming weather for Boco ..

The study was on coyote stomachs from 17 different states. Rabbits contained 33% of the volume of the contents. The study was started in 1931.
Another study in 1919-1923 checked @30,000 stomachs. @8,000 showed rabbit, @7,000 showed sheep/goat. Higher percentage of the rabbit/sheep/goats were eaten from Aug-Oct.
Outdated ? Still interesting

That study is quite old and you have to think of the habitat that existed in that time. Farms were smaller and thick fence rows and fallow fields were common. The rabbit population per acre was likely much higher than today. Also, at that time the whitetail deer population in North America was extremely low. Many states did not have seasons or very limited seasons. Sheep were a much more commonly kept livestock species both east and west due to a strong wool market. Hardly any sheep in KY anymore and we were a major producer pre WW-II. Every bit of coyote scat I find in KY, no matter what part or what season contains deer hair. They also will eat any goat or sheep they can get. Sure they eat a ton of rodents, and even bugs and fruit, but ungulates are what they prefer it seems.

^^^^good points.

I do need to check for more recent studies and compare

I trapped in Arkansas for many years and they have a variety of prey species for predators. Avg temps in Jan. and Feb were in the mid 40's during my weeks of trapping there. Some colder temps did occur as did lots of rain at times.

The wild feral hog population was on the rise when I was there in the 90's to the early 2000's. I am sure they are much more populated today. They would be a good opportunity for coyotes and cats. Predators evolve to the available food sources when needed no doubt. That is just how most wildlife survives.

I keep an open mind when reading stomach content sampling results. This many times is only a snapshot in time of the current diet habits of a specific specie in an area or geographical region.

I examine the stomach contents of each fox, coyote and cat that I trap. I cut the glands out so it doesn't take much longer to do that process so I got in the habit of checking them all the time. Very interesting as to what they have eaten,how they eat ( fast as they can it seems ), the general terrain area where they killed the prey due to all the debris found stuck to the meat when they tear a bite and swallow.

They don't chew their kill much I found in most sampling cases. You also get an idea when they had eaten last due to the condition of the digestion of the tissue.

The part of Arkansas that I trapped for 11 years had a good turkey, squirrel, quail, vole and rabbit population in the areas that I trapped. Not near as many whitetail deer as I have seen in other states I have trapped. That may have changed now.

There was what I would deem a healthy rabbit population both cottontails and swamp rabbits. The first swamp rabbit I saw had me puzzled as to what I was seeing. I was removing an otter from a drowner set up at the bottom of a slide along a slew I was working for beaver control.

I was startled when one took off jumping out very close to where I was standing on the lower bank in some water. It was squatted obviously in the heavy grass near me and jumped out about 6 ft. or more into the water and swam very quickly ahead of me along the bank.

I thought it may have been a muskrat at first until I saw the ears sticking up in the water wake it was making swimming away from me. In a split second I jumped a little when I heard and saw the grasses move close to me.

There are cottonmouths all around on the warmer days in Arkansas particularly around beaver dams, huts and bank dens. You need to be aware of these buggers especially when you aren't use to them being around.

That rabbit swam about 5 yards or so and proceeded to dive under the water to reappear some distance away then swam under some roots ahead where a tree had been washed out that was close to the bank.

I would snare several rabbits in cat snares particularly along streams, rivers and swamp areas. Also caught several in beaver traps set in the water both in footholds and conibears. It was a surprise to find a 4-5 lb. rabbit on the bottom of a drowner rig.

These rabbits would be 2-3x the size of our Eastern cottontails they would make a good meal for any predator.

Sorry for the story time. This topic brought back some experiences from close to 30 yrs ago.

Bob. Great experience.

Thanks for sharing that, Bob.