Rabbit Living with chickens?

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flemish1024

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Hello! This spring I am going to purchase a young Flemish Giant. I am planing for it to live with my chickens in their large outdoor coop and in their secure indoor house. I was hoping to get advice on how to make this transition smooth for the rabbit. Also the winter tempatures can get as low as 30 degrees at night and the summer as hot hot as 110. Is ice-packs and a heat-lamp enough? on super hot days I can bring it in the house, but I want it to primaraly live outside. This is my first rabbit and I want to do it right. Thank you for your help!

-G
 
My outdoor rabbits were fine in -20 f degree weather all last winter without any heat lamps.
They just had hay or straw stuffed bunny beds off-wire, and shelter from wind and snow.
110 f degrees, however, could be dangerous.
It's humid here in PA, and I know my buns really appreciate the rabbitry fan if it goes up over 80 f.
If you put your general location in your profile, other breeders who share a climate should be able to help describe how they handle the temps.
 
No heat lamp will be required for your winter temperatures

I do not recommend letting your rabbit come into contact with chicken feces

Make sure the floor and walls of any enclosure are secure and not made of chicken wire - rabbits can chew and scratch right through this mesh and have a 3 foot tunnel dug in less than an hour
 
Dood":38tn6y3j said:
No heat lamp will be required for your winter temperatures

I do not recommend letting your rabbit come into contact with chicken feces

Make sure the floor and walls of any enclosure are secure and not made of chicken wire - rabbits can chew and scratch right through this mesh and have a 3 foot tunnel dug in less than an hour
Click to expand...


First thing I thought of when reading the thread title , rabbits & filth just don't go together.

filth = sick and sick = dead

I'd look for another housing option .... since you don't plan on getting it until spring , you have plenty of time to figure it out.
 
Weather isn't the issue so much as diseases. Rabbits can get cocci and salmonella from chicken poop and chickens aren't at all careful about where or what they poop on. It's honestly a gross situation for your rabbit who would get pelted with poop any time it went anywhere near the roosting chickens. Chickens also aren't super friendly to rabbits. They will peck and bully the crap out of them as they might see them as threats. Plus there's all the feather dust in the air which is eventually going to make bunny sick if the poop don't. Chickens are just super messy animals who make horrible home fellows to rabbits.
 
I keep rabbits above my chickens, but -- while they do deal with dust from the chickens -- they don't ever touch the floor of the rabbitry or coop except by accident.
 
Thank you everyone for your advice! My coop is kept very clean and is also has a super big indoor area. Where they roost and where the rabbit would live is not close to each other. I have bantam hens and one large but very friendly hen. I also have one very tiny rooster but he won't be a problem (he thinks that he is a lap dog). So pecking is not my concern. I currently have 5 small chickens living in an 8 foot by 8 foot indoor area and a 20 by 30 foot outdoor area. It would not need to inhale dust because I keep it clean and they are by no means over crowded.

I have not decided on anything for certain yet, so I'm just throwing ideas out there. This is all theoretical.
It would sleep on the other side of the coop than the roost, but would it sleep in a dog crate or wooden box similar to a dog house? As I said I am new to this. What would it be the most comfortable sleeping in? Also would it need to filled with straw or just a layar under it's feet? Thanks again!
 
Miss M":37du0m2d said:
I keep rabbits above my chickens, but -- while they do deal with dust from the chickens -- they don't ever touch the floor of the rabbitry or coop except by accident.
Click to expand...

they don't deal with anywhere near as much dust in hanging cages as the dust settles on the ground (I do the same setup as chickens keep bunny manure dry by turning it frequently until I can collect it). A rabbit on the ground would get covered in the dust just by trying to walk and yeah that link - I'm aware that person managed it but they also obsessively clean their coops too (they are being recorded all the time after all). Most people don't as it's not necessary to clean chicken pens that often (it is also detrimental to costs to constantly put down clean shavings like that - she gets paid for her cams so likely has this cost covered at least). Many people might go into it planning to do that but very few folks are actually capable of it. You will also notice she doesn't have any roosters... if you have a roo, then I would seriously not put a rabbit in with them since they can either be very protective of their hens and attack it. Ir best case scenario, accept it as part of the flock but attack it in attempts to mate with it...
 
As someone who has chickens, let me just say that the minute you add a new structure to a coop, the chickens WILL see it as a new place to roost. Your rabbit cage/box will get pooped on. And if you make it closed up enough to keep your rabbit clean, then you face the issue of it being too warm for the rabbit.

If I had no choice but to add a rabbit cage to my chicken area, I would add a wire cage to my covered run area, not the enclosed coop. The cage would be a few feet off the ground, and it would have a slanted top of some type to prevent roosting on it. This would reduce dust issues, heat issues, and give more fresh air. If it was going to be very cold, I would add some tarps.

You posted about the bun "sleeping" in a cage/pen. Where will it be the rest of the time? I hope it won't have the run of the coop.
 
I have raised rabbits in a chicken coop, it was a large , well ventilated coop- the cages were hanging, the cages had a metal roof that extended well beyond the cage and feeders. -- it worked just fine. -- but as mentioned above, - rabbits should never come into contact with chicken poop. - if you allow your rabbit to have any contact with chicken poop, you and your rabbit will eventually have a sad experience.

SF Bay, - around SF the temps are not much of a problem, but-- if you live very much north of the bridge, like Novato for example, you will have to provide some cooling for rabbits.
 
michaels4gardens":1skxn1zh said:
SF Bay, - around SF the temps are not much of a problem, but-- if you live very much north of the bridge, like Novato for example, you will have to provide some cooling for rabbits.
Click to expand...

I can bring it in my house on afternoons over 90 degrees. I read that it was best to let them have the run of the coop with the chickens so they can have room to hop around. The tiny rooster spends his day outside of the coop because when I open the gate he flies out over my head, so he will not bother her. He is not even the top of the pecking order. The leader is a large hen but she doesn't mind new comers as I have a system that I use for chickens to make the transition smooth.

IF I end up getting a rabbit to live with my chickens (because I am not sure yet) I would put wire so it can not dig out, is there any other escape blocks that I need to do? It can eat through chicken wire?
 
So, the rabbit will be exposed to chicken poop. I hate to put it this way, but be prepared to lose it. When rabbits get sick, they either hide it until it's too late, or they get sick fast and die. Like in a day. So, it's really hard to say, "Well, I will just watch and see if it gets sick and then treat it." I am not trying to be harsh, but please re-read most of the posts above and reconsider this plan.

Also, as a side note, I am assuming the chicken run is just dirt. Yes, a rabbit will dig. It can destroy chicken wire. If that is what is enclosing your run, your chickens run the risk of getting out, and predators getting in.

Oh, one more thing. If you plan on bringing the bun inside when it's hot, make sure you're checking the temps at the coop, and not the general weather temp. Coops can get hot, depending on how they are built and ventilated.
 
Humid conditions seem to be most problematic in regards to disease.

Rabbits absolutely can destroy chicken wire. Mine go right through it. I had to line the entire bottom of my aviary with hardware cloth to keep escaped buns in, since the cages hang in the aviary.

Bringing a rabbit from hot weather into air conditioning could cause respiratory distress.
With rabbits, anything that may cause stress, distress, or harm also may cause death.
 
I agree that it should not live with the chickens. But I still want a rabbit and I think that it is cruel to keep rabbits in a small hutch inside where they can not act like rabbits. Does anyone have advice on securing an outdoor enclosure for it to live in? Also what is the best housing option to sleep in keeping in mind that it will be outside excluding the hot days in the summer (I would bring it in in the morning before it got hot to prevent shock from the temp. change). <br /><br /> __________ Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:42 pm __________ <br /><br /> How deep should the fencing go in the ground for a rabbit that big? What kind of fencing should it be? Can it get through chain link?
 
Well, I can't have my rabbits outside when I'm not at home anyway, due to predators, but they are fine in their big 2-3 level hutches with some places to hide in.

So I didn't do much special with the fences, no need, just put boards at the bottom to close the gaps. One side of the property is a small stream, there is nothing. Only my future vegetable garden has a concret base. They do dig, but not with to purpose to go under the fence, that happend only by accident twice in 4 years, but wasn't a problems since they are quite easily herded back. I let them dig as much as they want, as long it's not too close to the fence. They love their holes in summer. Also, I like when they have such safe spots to flee to if need be. They have about 300m² to turn over. When they start a hole near the fence I just drop a big stone in it.

When you keep an eye on where your rabbits dig it should be ok- maybe put broad boards or concrete tiles inside of the fence.

See the boards at the base of the fence?
 

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Thank you very much! What kind of wire did you use? I am worried about her destroying the fence. <br /><br /> __________ Sun Jan 10, 2016 7:14 pm __________ <br /><br /> I have a design plan for it and want to get started building it. Is 2X4 wire fine? It appears that that is what you used.

<img src="http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/400/19/19c1cc78-6fcb-47d7-9194-30be344ea752_400.jpg" alt="Everbilt 4 ft. x 50 ft. 14-Gauge Galvanized Steel Welded Wire"/>

Thanks!
 

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