ducks or chickens in rabbit colony pen

I had some ducks last year in a 20'x30' pen attached to a 7'x7'shed. When the ground froze I moved my over crowded rabbits into it since it was vacant and spacious. I have found a nice market for the rabbits and want to continue with them. I've read that chickens happily consume rabbit pop and some pen chicken under wire pens with rabbits for that reason. I was thinking of adding a few chickens for eggs, but haven't come across anyone who keeps them all togather. I really perfer keeping ducks but I'm not sure if the ducks would enjoy the rabbit droppings as much. Of course I am not expecting them to keep it clean, I understand I still have to maintain a clean pen.

Does anyone have any ideas or even partial ideas????

I've overwintered my rabbits in cages in my goose house several times. There have been no problems. Since the pop-hole is open all day long, my chickens (who have their own house so the geese can't harass them) wandered in and out and scratched around under the cages. It's not so good for the rabbits if the chickens can sit on top of the cages, however, since they will poop and could, possibly, transmit certain diseases/parasites. While many nasties are species specific, it is likely a good idea to exclude the chickens from the top of the cages.

I kept rabbits and chickens together in a large pen with no ill effects, aside from the occasional escaped rabbit because the pen was designed for chickens, not rabbits, LOL.

However, I did not breed in this set-up. The fence wire was too large for kits, and I was worried the chickens might try to hurt the babies when they emerged. It might work out fine...but maybe the best thing to do would be to keep your breeding does in cages and use the general area for grow out. (That was essentially what I was doing.)

I would not keep chickens and rabbits (in cages) together in a smallish enclosed area such as the shed you describe. Chickens are SO dusty, it's bound to cause respiratory issues. Even in a completely open area, some of my rabbits took issue with the dust the chickens caused.

Ive had bad outcomes of having chickens with rabbits. Like maggie said they can spread disease into the rabbit. Because they could get ontop if my cages my rabbits got coccidia because the chickens would eat the poop, and then poop ontop of the rabbits cages.

They are also very dusty and i didnt like that. I no long have chickens for that reason. I dont want to risk any sicknesses again. If i ever get chickens again im going to be housing them outside.

I am not thinkin' the ducks would enjoy the rabbit droppings as chickens may. I actually dont think they would even eat them (but I could be wrong). In my experience, ducks are not the scroungers that chickens are and need a more nutrient balanced diet than chickens as well thats why it isnt even advisable to give ducks chicken feed without a supplement.
As far as chickens go... I have no experience there and cant offer an opinion either way. But ducks are less "dusty" than chickens, even when they feather out and also they carry far less disease than chickens, too.

PulpFaction":2hslk74a said:

I kept rabbits and chickens together in a large pen with no ill effects, aside from the occasional escaped rabbit because the pen was designed for chickens, not rabbits, LOL.

However, I did not breed in this set-up. The fence wire was too large for kits, and I was worried the chickens might try to hurt the babies when they emerged. It might work out fine...but maybe the best thing to do would be to keep your breeding does in cages and use the general area for grow out. (That was essentially what I was doing.)

I would not keep chickens and rabbits (in cages) together in a smallish enclosed area such as the shed you describe. Chickens are SO dusty, it's bound to cause respiratory issues. Even in a completely open area, some of my rabbits took issue with the dust the chickens caused.

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see I'm not sure if I would allow the chickens in the shed. I would really prefer to have ducks though, I find them much less aggressive, and much cleaner.<br /><br />__________ Sat Dec 18, 2010 7:48 pm __________<br /><br />

Jesse L":2hslk74a said:

Ive had bad outcomes of having chickens with rabbits. Like maggie said they can spread disease into the rabbit. Because they could get ontop if my cages my rabbits got coccidia because the chickens would eat the poop, and then poop ontop of the rabbits cages.

They are also very dusty and i didnt like that. I no long have chickens for that reason. I dont want to risk any sicknesses again. If i ever get chickens again im going to be housing them outside.

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See I was wanting to incubate my own eggs like I have in the past, and with no existing infected birds I would hope that would drastically lower the chance of illness.

Oh and my rabbits won't be in cages

I don't know how well it would work having rabbits and either ducks or chickens mingling on the same floor. I believe KSALguy (he posts mostly on HT) has a combined colony but it is outside and the rabbits can dig their burrows. If you decide to try them all in together, I suggest you have a fall-back plan in mind, just in case.

MaggieJ":10v0pbrt said:

I don't know how well it would work having rabbits and either ducks or chickens mingling on the same floor. I believe KSALguy (he posts mostly on HT) has a combined colony but it is outside and the rabbits can dig their burrows. If you decide to try them all in together, I suggest you have a fall-back plan in mind, just in case.

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My pens are outdoors too, and the rabbits would have the shed and breeding shelves to themselves.

Coccidia is species specific. If the rabbits had coccidia, it would not have been from the chickens directly, but I'm sure if the chickens roosted on top of the cages it could have had other negative affects on the rabbits health.

I guess I was thinking of a colony set-up. If you're raising your rabbits in cages, I think a few ducks would be ok to try. I agree with Maggie that they might not do as much work scratching through the rabbit poo. Chickens don't actually eat rabbit poo, they just scratch through it and stir it up looking for other good stuff, and consequently keep it aired out and dry.

If you have good circulation in your shed, it might be worthwhile to try a few ducks and a chicken or two just for the scratching benefits if the ducks don't cut it. Clip or pinion the birds so they don't roost on top of cages, and watch the rabbits carefully for runny noses or eyes, or congestion. If that happens, you might have to build alternative housing and keep the birds out of the shed.

We are in a colony not cages

I have some concerns about ducks with rabbits in a colony. Mainly, their poo is messier and might get stuck to the rabbit's feet worse. Also, I wonder if the rabbits would try to drink the messy duck water, and how would you keep the ducks out of the rabbit water? Clean water is one of the most important parts of keeping the buns going.

But I don't see what it would hurt to try maybe a trio at first and go from there.