Rabbits and chickens

[Mckatie]

I have a guy that wants to know:

1) if he can put his rabbit cage in his chicken yard.

2) can he let his rabbit out to run in the chicken yard with the chickens during the day?

He wants to buy a 8week old New Zealand or Rex buck for his wife for a pet. My choice. He just wants a nice rabbit. Easy to handle, not a biter. I've never had my rabbits with chickens myself. Will it depend on the height of the cage?

What are your thoughts on this? Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge. KT

 

[olhippityhop]

I briefly kept chickens and rabbits in the same run. The chickens loved getting on top of the cages and they'd poop. If the chickens can't get on top of the cages, it's probably fine. Personally, I wouldn't allow rabbits to be in direct contact with chickens, I worry about Coccidiosis. Also, chickens can be viscous little velociraptors.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Chickens can meaner than people think, I highly advise against letting the rabbit out physically with them, especially when they're that young

 

[Mckatie]

Chickens can meaner than people think, I highly advise against letting the rabbit out physically with them, especially when they're that young

Even older rabbits could get their eyes poked out. I, myself wouldn't necessarily want them together. However, I felt I should ask,because I could be projecting my own fears and prejudice. I simply told him I did not know.

Thank you @olhippityhop , and @RabbitsOfTheCreek for sharing your thoughts on this. I might sell him an older rabbit since he would rather have one earlier than June 30th. I have a 3.5 month old boy that is super sweet. I will think on this. Thank you both again.

 

[Bekah-n-Tennessee]

I have a guy that wants to know:

1) if he can put his rabbit cage in his chicken yard.

2) can he let his rabbit out to run in the chicken yard with the chickens during the day?

He wants to buy a 8week old New Zealand or Rex buck for his wife for a pet. My choice. He just wants a nice rabbit. Easy to handle, not a biter. I've never had my rabbits with chickens myself. Will it depend on the height of the cage?

What are your thoughts on this? Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge. KT

Racken house...it's a thing. I don't believe there's an issue housing a rabbit cage/hutch in with chickens in and of itself as long as there is plenty of ventilation and minimal dust (Although chickens are very dusty and maybe use hemp in coop versus pine shavings to cut down on that - did he clarify whether the rabbit would be housed in coop or run?) I think the important thing is to make sure the chickens cannot get on top of the cage/hutch due to them soiling the rabbit and his food/water. Chickens absolutely love to scratch and pick through rabbit poop and excess hay so that'd be good to have an open bottom on cage/hutch rather than a tray.

I would not, however, allow the rabbit down on that ground or to intermingle with the chickens. Coccidia as well as salmonella is a risk to the bun even if the chickens aren't mean to the bun. But chickens can be jerks, no doubt.

 

[LaddaFanto]

I keep my rabbits in wire cages atop sawhorses in my chicken run. The rabbits are along the sides of the arched run so there's not really any space for a chicken to get atop them. The chickens *love* scratching underneath the cages for rabbit poop, hay, any feed that drops, bits of greens, etc. Everybody gets excited when I come around with a bucket of greens! Keeps the chickens busy (and not pecking at each other so much), cost of chicken feed has gone down (since they eat whatever drops), their scratching at the hay spreads it around the run, keeping it from getting muddy, and best of all -- again, because of the scratching, no poop smell or flies! I don't lose that precious fertilizer, though -- about once every two or three months I rake the loose stuff on top aside and dig up 1-2" of the dirt in the run and toss it in the compost mound to apply to my garden.

Haven't had any issues with negative interactions between the two species. I don't let the rabbits out of their cages, and the chickens can't easily reach the bottom of the cages (they're on 30" sawhorses), so there's no idle pecking. The critters alert each other to threats -- neat to see all the bunny ears pop up when a chicken spies a hawk and makes alert noises, or the chickens to start bok-bok-bokking when a rabbit starts thumping. The worst that happens is the rabbits will pee on the chickens, which just rolls right off the chicken feathers (they don't even seem to notice).

 

[judymac]

I have chickens in my rabbit barn, and have done so for more than forty years. BUT, chickens do love to roost on the chicken pens. I used plywood to cover the tops of all the bunny pens so the chickens couldn't poop on the rabbits. Also, poultry carry diseases like coccidiosis which the rabbits can get, so I don't let rabbits and chickens share the same run space, and you definitely don't want them sharing water sources. You can use a portable rabbit tractor (just a small portable pen that goes on the ground with wider wire spacing to allow the rabbit access to the grass) to let the rabbits out in the lawn (away from the poultry) to graze for a bit if that's the goal, but only if the RHD rabbit disease in not in your area (the wild rabbits can transmit this deadly disease).

 

[ScottR]

I briefly kept chickens and rabbits in the same run. The chickens loved getting on top of the cages and they'd poop. If the chickens can't get on top of the cages, it's probably fine. Personally, I wouldn't allow rabbits to be in direct contact with chickens, I worry about Coccidiosis. Also, chickens can be viscous little velociraptors.

I've had my rabbit cages suspended 3 feet over the chicken run for a year now and haven't had any problems. The roof is 6" above the top of the cages, so there is no room for the chickens to get up there. The chickens love going through the bunny berries for worms and bugs, plus snag any dandelion leaves that the rabbits drop. I haven't actually asked my rabbits, but I think they are entertained by all the chickens down below. As olhippityhop mentioned, the key thing is to be sure the chickens can't get on top of the cages, or be able to peck at the rabbits from the side. Daniel Salatin shows a photo where all their chickens are wintered in a hoophouse on the floor, while the rabbits are in cages above the floor. I think it's a great way to utilize protected space and covered areas, especially for those of us keeping both animals on a city lot. With wood chips on the floor of the chicken/rabbit run, there is no smell, and I have a convenient way to compost my woodchips before they get put on the raised beds in the fall.

 

[Mckatie]

Thank you all for answering! I will pass on the info!

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Racken house...it's a thing. I don't believe there's an issue housing a rabbit cage/hutch in with chickens in and of itself as long as there is plenty of ventilation and minimal dust (Although chickens are very dusty and maybe use hemp in coop versus pine shavings to cut down on that - did he clarify whether the rabbit would be housed in coop or run?) I think the important thing is to make sure the chickens cannot get on top of the cage/hutch due to them soiling the rabbit and his food/water. Chickens absolutely love to scratch and pick through rabbit poop and excess hay so that'd be good to have an open bottom on cage/hutch rather than a tray.

I would not, however, allow the rabbit down on that ground or to intermingle with the chickens. Coccidia as well as salmonella is a risk to the bun even if the chickens aren't mean to the bun. But chickens can be jerks, no doubt.

I believe chicken ****, can be transferred Rabbits

 

[Skai]

About six months ago I built a place for both my rabbits and chickens. I keep my rabbits in high cages on one side and my chickens have the whole floor area and a large outdoor run. The floor is deep cypress mulch which the chickens keep stirred up. The rabbit droppings are constantly being turned over and I haven't had to remove any. No more mounds of poop and there is no smell at all. I think at this rate I'll probably have to clean out the lovely compost and replace the mulch once a year. This has made my life so much easier. I now have time for a second cup of coffee in the morning.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

About six months ago I built a place for both my rabbits and chickens. I keep my rabbits in high cages on one side and my chickens have the whole floor area and a large outdoor run. The floor is deep cypress mulch which the chickens keep stirred up. The rabbit droppings are constantly being turned over and I haven't had to remove any. No more mounds of poop and there is no smell at all. I think at this rate I'll probably have to clean out the lovely compost and replace the mulch once a year. This has made my life so much easier. I now have time for a second cup of coffee in the morning.

I just added 4-45 gallon drums of rabbit poop to my two new raised beds , 4 drums each. The beds are 3’x16’x10” high.

 

[eco2pia]

I have had rabbits over chickens for years, it is a match made in heaven. The chickens cannot access the tops of my cages or any rabbit food or water.

HOWEVER, when I thought I would let a rabbit run around with the chickens for exercise years ago, the RABBIT chased the chickens around. She thought it was HILARIOUS to terrify them by charging, and I was afraid the chickens would injure themselves trying to get away, so I never repeated the experiment.

I have since heard the coccidiosis point, and prefer to let rabbits have access to the ground in their own exercise pens, over grass.

 

[Mckatie]

About six months ago I built a place for both my rabbits and chickens. I keep my rabbits in high cages on one side and my chickens have the whole floor area and a large outdoor run. The floor is deep cypress mulch which the chickens keep stirred up. The rabbit droppings are constantly being turned over and I haven't had to remove any. No more mounds of poop and there is no smell at all. I think at this rate I'll probably have to clean out the lovely compost and replace the mulch once a year. This has made my life so much easier. I now have time for a second cup of coffee in the morning.

Coffee is never under rated at my house..