Rabbits and Chickens

[wolfsnaps]

Hi. New to the forum. I am considering raising meat rabbits and chickens. Could I keep them together? Couldn't find answer anywhere???

I am not rich, far from it. I am looking at possiblely buying a shed and seperating it, one side for chickens and one side for rabbits. I don't want to invest too much just yet as I don't know if this is something I am going to want to do. If it is, I can eventually get a second shed and seperate them. I would really like to do both.

Any health issues I should be worried about zoonotic wise? Anyone else do this?

Very new and reading like crazy so I apologize for sounding ignorant.

Thanks

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Wolf!

Welcome to RT! Your biggest worry as far as I know would be the rabbits getting coccidia from the chickens' droppings. As long as you house the rabbits well above the ground, and cover the tops of the hutches to prevent the chickens from soiling the cages, you shouldn't have a problem. Instead of dividing the shed, the chickens can just run around under the cages where they will gladly eat any dropped grains or pellets.

Personally, I would be dampen the bedding before cleaning it out to minimize the dust from the chickens' possibly coccidia-laden droppings.

 

[wolfsnaps]

Thanks for the reply. I will post whatever I end up doing but as of right now I am thinking of making sheves on one side for the rabbits cages. I would cover them so chickens can't just stand over top of them and poop (gross). I think my biggest obstacle other than money is to get my hubby on board. Once he sees I can do this, I would like to expand. But you know, baby steps.

I look forward to this forum and getting to know everyone. And pick your brains

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

Hi Wolf!

Welcome to RT! Your biggest worry as far as I know would be the rabbits getting coccidia from the chickens' droppings. As long as you house the rabbits well above the ground, and cover the tops of the hutches to prevent the chickens from soiling the cages, you shouldn't have a problem. Instead of dividing the shed, the chickens can just run around under the cages where they will gladly eat any dropped grains or pellets.

Personally, I would be dampen the bedding before cleaning it out to minimize the dust from the chickens' possibly coccidia-laden droppings.

I agree with Mamasheepdog. Thats my only worry also.

Also Welcome to the forum!

 

[PulpFaction]

I actually disagree. The biggest danger is NOT cocci, IMO, as coccidia is species specific. (This seems to be a hotly debated topic, but to each their own.)

What I have found through trial and error is a far bigger problem with general hygiene and dust, as rabbits are very sensitive to respiratory issues and chickens LOVE to scritch and scratch and kick up dust, and produce a lot of their own dust in the form of dander. I enjoyed having the yard chickens beneath my outdoor hutches, and indeed they were fed entirely off of the waste and bugs produced by the rabbits, but I will NEVER allow poultry inside a rabbit barn again.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Excellent points about hygiene and general dustiness. Would you have them as "yard chickens beneath my outdoor hutches" again? Wolf's chickens are going to need a run so a better plan would probably be to put the cages outdoors since they will need roofs anyway to keep the chickens off. I have friends that raise in that way, and they haven't had any problems.

 

[PulpFaction]

If I had some way to contain the chickens in the area around my outdoor hutches, I absolutely would do it again. However, they're going in their own little coops this spring so I won't have to worry about them getting into my plants or barn.

I think a run with the hutches inside sounds like a good scenario to me. I really, really liked the symbiotic relationship between the rabbits and the chickens (I literally never had to buy feed for the chooks) and I think that as long as the rabbits are high enough off the ground the dust isn't an issue in the open air environment.

 

[DANIEL77]

I have semi free range chickens and rabbits, which are housed in a different building (horse barn) where they have open air under large roof. As soon as I let the chickens out in the daytime, they head strait for the rabbit cages and begin cleaning up all the spilled pellets and loose pulled grasses that have fallen through the cages. Works out very well for me, although I would also worry about the dust issue if they were all in a small enclosed space.

 

[hismatthew]

I think the rabbit/chicken combo is absolutely awesome is done correctly. They are a good match. I kept cages up and the layers were underneath on a dirt floor. We had a 12x16' area with 12 hens. If you keep fresh straw down and turn it up every so often, the chickens turn in all the waste and essentially compost everything. Then we dig out the bedding every month or two and longer in the winter. The big thing is keeping the chickens off the cages as was mentioned. The chickens controlled all the pests - mice, flies, spiders. Once they left, we had problems.

 

[hismatthew]

One thing to mention, make sure you get a pan to go underneath a mama's pen before she kindles! The blood from the birth will attract the chickens. They pecked through our cage when a mother gave birth on the wire. It was a horrible experience. After the babies are cleaned up and naturally leaving the nest box, the chickens aren't a problem, just the blood from the birth.