Predators !?

[Maybur]

Hey all, I’ve just recently gotten some bunnies and I’m just trying to figure things out. I’m feeding them producers pride pellets and orchard grass. We live on a large property but most of the shade is behind my house. I’d like to keep the rabbits there so they can be shaded but I’m afraid their food (or themselves) will attract coyotes, snakes, or rats. We have lots of kids running around and I don’t want to deal with that.

So my question is will they attract these predators, even if their cages are raised off of the ground? Would I be better to keep them away from the house?

Please let me know! Thank you!

 

[Martlet]

Hey all, I’ve just recently gotten some bunnies and I’m just trying to figure things out. I’m feeding them producers pride pellets and orchard grass. We live on a large property but most of the shade is behind my house. I’d like to keep the rabbits there so they can be shaded but I’m afraid their food (or themselves) will attract coyotes, snakes, or rats. We have lots of kids running around and I don’t want to deal with that.

So my question is will they attract these predators, even if their cages are raised off of the ground? Would I be better to keep them away from the house?

Please let me know! Thank you!

Rabbits, like most farm animals, will attract predators. What ages are the kids? We have everything at our house and have no issues with the kids.

You'll want to plan for predators regardless of where your rabbits are. Rats are pests. We get rid of rats at the first sign of them, typically. Coyotes come and go, have never bothered the kids they just snag the occasional chicken if they have the opportunity. We don't have snakes, but we have bears. Bears can tear crap up but I have less problem with them if I keep the food secure and if things are closer to the house they are more deterred.

 

[tambayo]

Human activity itself creates concentrated food sources that attract selfinviting "guests".

Rats will be primarily interested in the pellets over hay or young kits. Select for thriving on hay/greens and feed the pellet 1-2 times per day in either X per weight or no more then they'll finish in 15 minutes or so. No pellets to steal or scavenge from under the cages. Add to that solid feed bins they can't get into and no hiding places and they won't like your place much.
Bigger predators can come for the bunnies themselves, so fences and possibly electric to make them unhappy about trying. For them first time lucky is never ending fight, so over build from the start, you want them to learn quitting not persistance.

Snakes need a certain size hole and usually close to the ground along with cover to travel along. So paving or a strip of very short gras as a barrier and think about what size mesh your fence needs to be down low.

 

[Preitler]

Can't say much about about the bigger predators, here we have just foxes and marten, and although they are around I don't feel them, apart from that one mangy fox I shot in one of the hutches. I keep an eye open, wildlife camera placed, and the radio running when the herd is out grazing, but other than there are very little mice and rats around, so little that I worry the snakes don't get enough - the snakes here are harmless and an actual asset.

There is no rat population to speak of, but sometimes single ones came wandering by and did kill some kits, but that problem is usually solved quickly with snap traps (I built me a Rat Snap Trap From Hell), As has been said, rabbits are way better to clean off their pellet or grain food than chicken and don't really attract rats when fed hay and forage for the rest of the day.

 

[Firedanc7]

Hey all, I’ve just recently gotten some bunnies and I’m just trying to figure things out. I’m feeding them producers pride pellets and orchard grass. We live on a large property but most of the shade is behind my house. I’d like to keep the rabbits there so they can be shaded but I’m afraid their food (or themselves) will attract coyotes, snakes, or rats. We have lots of kids running around and I don’t want to deal with that.

So my question is will they attract these predators, even if their cages are raised off of the ground? Would I be better to keep them away from the house?

Please let me know! Thank you!

I live in a very rural area and my first year raising rabbits, in cages off the ground, wild dogs came in the night and chewed their feet off. I had a very unexpected cull day. It was bad. I e since covered them with a carport that I have walled as well.

Shade is needed. That was my second thing to learn!! Lost a couple from the heat. My set up is behind the garage, which offers some sun. So before the carport, I used shade clothe, which helped enormously with the heat. Be careful of both.

 

[Her Farmstead Rabbitry]

I live in a very rural area and my first year raising rabbits, in cages off the ground, wild dogs came in the night and chewed their feet off. I had a very unexpected cull day. It was bad. I e since covered them with a carport that I have walled as well.

Shade is needed. That was my second thing to learn!! Lost a couple from the heat. My set up is behind the garage, which offers some sun. So before the carport, I used shade clothe, which helped enormously with the heat. Be careful of both.

I have my rabbits in an outdoor cage that is on the edge of the woods. We have had coyotes close and nothing has ever messed with my rabbits. Summer is definitely a problem, you will need them to be in shade.

 

[eco2pia]

I can confirm, dogs will chew off a rabbits feet. Rats will kill a whole litter of kits, and eat hardly any of them. Raccoons will grab a rabbit thru a cage if they can, and eat them alive against the wire. It does not matter how close they are to the house, or really even where you live, city vs country. It matters how inaccessible you make them. Hardware cloth, sturdy solid construction, and a double floor 3 inches apart, or an enclosed rabbitry to keep out dogs...kind of the only way to go. They are tasty and sadly everything wants a bite.