Just getting started (finally!)

[Cattle Cait]

Pepper has officially moved out of her crate, partially because she learned how to unlatch it and let herself out now, and also because I can't catch her. The Border Collie and I herded her into a pen I had set up outside and she lives with her new boyfriend, a Buckeye rooster.

Questions!

Will she go to bed at night like the chicken? I ask because we close the door to the rooster's house at night to keep predators out and don't know if I'll have to chase her every night to get her in.

I'm getting a new doe in two weeks as well as a buck. How should I acclimate them so they all will get along? Pepper just turned senior age (8 months) and so did the new doe.

If I leave the rooster in there will he eat any new baby bunnies?

 

[akane]

Rabbits are partially nocturnal unlike chickens. They can see in the dark and will continue to hop around outside eating. Darkness really means very little to them whereas chickens can't see in the dark and immediately try to find a safe place to sleep at sunset. You might be able to train the rabbits to go in the building at a certain time by refilling the rabbit pellets, hay, and offering treats then.

If you can build a pen inside the pen to put the new doe in so they can see each other through a divider. The buck should not be a problem. The does might charge him but the bucks just fail to react except to try to mount them so not knowing what to do about that the does usually hop off and ignore him. When you add a second mature doe be prepared for boxing matches. They will jump in the air and kick at each other trying to knock each other down and usually there is some chasing. That doesn't mean they won't get along and often it doesn't lead to injury but you want to make sure it isn't escalating in to biting and balling up which can cause injury.

 

[curlysue]

Chickens will eat almost anything.i wouldnt leave him in with bunnies.

 

[Anntann]

I had chickens in with the angora colony and they were fine, BUT!!! I had an enclosed nest tunnel. The does put the kits at the end of a 3' long tunnel...chickens couldn't get anywhere near them. by the time the kits came out of hte tunnel, they were big enough that the chickens left them alone...

Not sure I'd do that again tho. It's risky since chickens will indeed eat ANYTHING. And any sign of blood (even a nicked ear) on a rabbit and they'll attack it. (red to a chicken = attack spot)

 

[Pickles]

Rabbits... They can see in the dark and will continue to hop around outside eating. Darkness really means very little to them...

Im sure people have different opinions about this... but my rabbit vet has actually told me quite the opposite. Rabbits eyesight is no better than a humans when it comes to seeing in the dark, however, like humans they can see in partial light (like by the light of the moon). Their eyes are not the same as cats or other "nocturnal" animals. In fact, (according to my rabbit vet) their nocturnal nature comes out of "survival instincts" as they are prey animals and most of their predators (with exception of a few) are day hunters. At night, they use their incredible sense of hearing to guide them and protect them against predators, not their eyes.

 

[sammysue63]

I am not sure on this so please correct me if I'm wrong because I would also like to know for sure, but I was told not to house rabbits and chickens together because of the sharing of disease and lice. Does anyone know if this is fact or ficton?

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I am not sure on this so please correct me if I'm wrong because I would also like to know for sure, but I was told not to house rabbits and chickens together because of the sharing of disease and lice. Does anyone know if this is fact or ficton?

Rabbits can definitely get sick if they come in contact with chicken poo. As long your setup makes the chickens stay the ground and the rabbits up in wire cages, it would be ok. But, if the chicken roost on the cages or the rabbits are on the ground with the chickens, they can get sick. At least, that is what I have been told.

:gossip:

 

[eco2pia]

I don't think I would house rabbits and chickens loose on the same ground.

Rabbits in hutches above ground with chickens under is a super ideal set up though, the chickens clean up what falls from the rabbit cages. Some day I will construct a run ringed with hutches all facing out, so that I can reach the rabbits from outside the chicken run...It will have a roof over the whole thing, keeping the chicken run dry from our eternal rains, and I will be able to stand up in the middle to rake it out...sigh, dreams and dreams...lol.