Rabbit proximity to poultry?

[MNBobcat]

Hi All,

I'm going to start raising both chickens (for eggs) and Rabbits (for meat) this spring. I'm a total newbie but am reading a lot to learn as much as I can.

If I were to build a chicken coop and have chickens on one side and rabbits on the other...would one get sick from the other? I know birds can have things your pets can catch.

 

[MaggieJ]

It should not be a problem, provided there is adequate ventilation. Most parasites etc. are species specific... so chicken coccidiosis, for instance, will not be picked up by rabbits. One problem that chickens do cause, however, is dust. It might be best to have a solid divider between the two halves rather than just wire. This is less of a problem if your chickens free-range, because they will spend less time in the coop.

 

[eco2pia]

I agree the issues would be ventilation and not letting the birds be able to poop on the rabbits.

My favorite plan would include a large wire enclosed and roofed chicken run with attached seperate coop, with hutches in the run only--chickens would use the space under the hutches and clean up any spilled feed. The down side would be stepping in chicken manure when you went to feed the rabbits, but if you set them along the sides that could probably be designed around.

Also google "polyface farm raken house" it may give you ideas.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

When my chickens free ranged in the rabbit area, there wasn't as much chicken manure as I thought there would be-- but the problem WAS chickens roosting on top of the cages, THAT is a no-no. I had one hen that liked to get inside empty rabbit cages to lay her eggs... One day, i did find an egg next to a litter---
The rabbits I had running loose in the poultry yard were quite happy and healthy- they did not seem to be affected by anything the chickens may have been carrying (chickens flew over the fence every morning to range in the woods and fields)

 

[Anntann]

As long as you manage to keep your waterer clean, and the feed areas clean of manure..and not soggy...you shouldn't have any problems with anything. Plenty of people keep free range chickens around rabbits. And the rabbits that are in colonies would be high risk if the rabbits could actually catch anything from birds.

 

[MNBobcat]

Thanks for the great info! Glad to hear they can mostly coexist. They would be separated but in the same general area. Now I need to figure out where on my property I want to put them.