Keeping rabbits and chickens together!?!

[PrimroseMom1]

I have been reading up on breeding rabbits and I am confused by the final statement here. I have read that if siblings both have good qualities you want to bring out it is ok to breed siblings. Or it is ok to breed mother to son and father to daughter. I understand this to be inbreeding. I have also read that you do need to bring in another bloodline, you can't just keep inbreeding. So in what generation does the new bloodline need to come in? I have sibling giant chins that I have not yet breed but I am planning on doing so in May of 2014 It's so confusing trying to learn the right way to do things when it comes to genetics

On the "what rabbits do you have" thread there are a couple of experts that can explain inbreeding in detail. They can be related, but if they are running loose you cannot control who is breeding with who. Good breeding is well controlled and thought out. Chocolate Mouse and Bunnylady are breeders that know a lot on this subject.

 

[Audrey2003]

hi i have not got chickens yet but DO NOT put them in the same cage as the chickens because they will peak the bunnies to there doom and the bunnies will not enjoy it at all and letting them run free with chickens really depends on how much space you have in your backyard if its really small dont let them out TOGETHER but if it is quite a big space it should be ok with happy chickens and bunnies hoped that helped u

 

[andi6429]

Thanks for all the info! I found this thread because my Flemish giant has bonded with my 3 ducks and hen. They are freeroaming in the yard (fenced) during the day and I bring the bun in at night. The past two nights the bun has been found nestled in the coop with the birds. I brought him into the house both times because I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for him to be in there. I think I will continue to bring him in at night and they can hang out during the day. The weirdest "flock" ever lol. And for the person that says yard rabbits cannot be handled...they can most definitely! All our buns have been "yard" rabbits one of whom would not come in at all. They were all very friendly especially if you had treats.

 

[MontanaFam]

We have our two Flemish Giants in the same area as our 6 pullets. They have always been in together and seem to just get along peachy. they war side by side and snuggle up when it gets chilly. The rabbits have their own hutch they can go into and of course the pullets have their hen house. They like to invade each others space, but once it gets dark, they head to their own area for the night. Our only problem so far is keeping the giants from hopping into the nesting boxes. We don't want them in there because they are so big that they crush anything, but we haven't figured out a way to keep them out of the henhouse.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

I have been increasing my bunnies' area. One day I threw together this little ramp. I open it in the morning and close it at night. My granddaughter and I made the hutch out of an old chicken run a while back. They love going on and out their hutch and there is no doubt it really matters to them to be able to hop on dirt. They have become even friendlier with the freedom. My question is how to get them in the hutch at night if I give them full range in the chicken yard.

 

[kruegerfarms]

Thanks for all the good information everyone! I wasn't sure if it was okay or not until I came across this post. Looks like we will be building a rabbit hutch and run in our future!

 

[itzheather11]

Can the rabbits and chickens sleep next to each other ?? X

 

[texasnana]

I need a really good website like this one to reference for rabbit questions. Does anyone know of one? Thanks.

 

[sunnyboyschicks]

I have 10 chickens (5 full size and 5 bantams) and a rabbit who share an outdoor fully enclosed run. The chickens can go up a ramp to their indoor area, and I have a two-story rabbit hutch where the bunny can retreat if he chooses.

They all spend most of their time together and no one bothers anyone else.

I have one white bantam that pecks at the bunny's back once in a while, but bunny is hardly phased by it.

So while everyone is happy, I plan to keep things as is.

 

[sunnyboyschicks]

Oh, and I should add, that at night, I close off the small chicken door so the girls are safe inside, and I close up the bunny in his hutch, so they don't sleep together at all.