Aggressive rabbits attacking chickens

[Jenni Hen]

I've a friend who's kept poultry all his life. Yesterday he told me about something surprising and disturbing.

His friend told him that the two RIR roosters had flown out of their pen. My friend went to investigate; and saw aggressive rabbits in it. They had the hens herded up and were attacking them, biting them and pulling out feathers. It happened again and now his hens won't go out.

I'd have found this hard to believe except that my sister has recently had extreme problems with rabbits on the allotments; no-one can find a way of keeping them off the veg- they just chew through everything and eat all the veg. including pulling out the root crops to eat.

I wondered if anyone else has heard of rabbits attacking chickens? Or of unusually destructive rabbit behaviour?

This is in the North of England (Lancashire-Yorkshire border and County Durham)

 

[andele]

Yes, rabbits can attack chickens, and their behavior can be quite destructive. I have heard of instances where rabbits have killed chickens by biting their throats or backs, as well as cases where they have eaten the chicken's eggs. In addition, rabbits can damage chicken coops and other property in their quest for food. While this type of behavior is not common, it is not unheard of, and I would recommend taking steps to protect your chickens if you are concerned about rabbit attacks. There are a number of ways to do this, including keeping the chickens in a secure coop and/or enclosed run, and/or installing a fence around the property. I haven't heard about this problem in North of England but heard in common.

 

[Jenni Hen]

Thank you very much, Andele. That's helpful even if not what we'd like to be the case!
The hens are housed in what used to be the large chicken sheds of a poultry farm, so their indoor housing is secure and it is quite roomy. Each section has its own pop door to an outdoor run that is fenced. My friend built a stronger fence that he thought would keep out the rabbits but they found another way in!
I'll warn him about how vicious the attacks can be and that he needs to check the pop-hole doors and anywhere in the sheds where rabbits might break in. He's retired from proper poultry farming and now can enjoy his chickens as a hobby but he still has an egg round so he can't afford to lose any eggs.

 

[mowin]

Domestic rabbits, absolutely. Wild ones, I'm skeptical.

 

[Jenni Hen]

Domestic rabbits, absolutely. Wild ones, I'm skeptical.

I'm told that that they were the wild brown ones. I don't know what you mean by, 'skeptical'.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I've a friend who's kept poultry all his life. Yesterday he told me about something surprising and disturbing.

His friend told him that the two RIR roosters had flown out of their pen. My friend went to investigate; and saw aggressive rabbits in it. They had the hens herded up and were attacking them, biting them and pulling out feathers. It happened again and now his hens won't go out.

I'd have found this hard to believe except that my sister has recently had extreme problems with rabbits on the allotments; no-one can find a way of keeping them off the veg- they just chew through everything and eat all the veg. including pulling out the root crops to eat.

I wondered if anyone else has heard of rabbits attacking chickens? Or of unusually destructive rabbit behaviour?

This is in the North of England (Lancashire-Yorkshire border and County Durham)

this is very interesting. Rabbits are not naturally aggressive animals, but will be in defence/fear.
They can also be incredibly territorial. So my guess is that they live extremely close and got stuck in the pen/spooked by the chickens.
I would reinforce the pen as best as I can, and ensure there's a mesh skirt so that the rabbits cannot dig under.
I'd also look around the property for where the rabbits may be living, and look into ways to deter them from the property.

 

[Jenni Hen]

this is very interesting. Rabbits are not naturally aggressive animals, but will be in defence/fear.
They can also be incredibly territorial. So my guess is that they live extremely close and got stuck in the pen/spooked by the chickens.
I would reinforce the pen as best as I can, and ensure there's a mesh skirt so that the rabbits cannot dig under.
I'd also look around the property for where the rabbits may be living, and look into ways to deter them from the property.

That's a helpful idea, thank you. This used to be a working, mixed farm with a lot of poultry - 35k I think - housed in several long sheds.
I understand that one of the sheds has recently been sold off and demolished by the new owner, and my friend thinks that's how the rabbits found a way in. His father had the farm before him and he's used to it being properly secure but now with new people around it might not be the same.
I think this fits with your suggestion, because, if any neighbouring rabbits discovered a new place for themselves, then by what you say they would feel territorial about it. This might seem extra-important to them after the dry summer when nothing has grown as normal. Then, when the chickens appeared, from the rabbits' p.o.v. the chickens would be the intruders.
I don't think there was any suggestion of the rabbits being stuck or cornered in the pen.
My friend said he'd made a sturdier fence straight away but the rabbits got in again and the improved fence only made it harder for the chickens to escape! I can definitely mention the mesh skirt idea. The rest might be more of a subject for discussion with the new person who's altered things.

 

[mowin]

I'm told that that they were the wild brown ones. I don't know what you mean by, 'skeptical'.

I mean I'm not quite buying it. Just can't see wild rabbits as aggressors. Are we talking cottontail, jackrabbits, snowshoe?
Cottontail, I'd have to see it with my own eyes to believe it. No experience with jackrabbit and limited with snowshoe.

 

[Jenni Hen]

That's the point - those who saw what was happening were gobsmacked! No-one's ever heard the like. That's why I offered to post in this very helpful forum which has a large membership, just in case anyone else had ever come across such a thing.

I only know about little brown wild rabbits, sorry. I've never heard of the sorts that you mention. I've googled in vain to try and find an image. We only have that sort so we just call them wild rabbits.
Beloved Bird's point about them being territorial would fit but tbh I'm also wondering if it could be a case of substance misuse.... it's not that far from a run-down area where dodgy dealings take place...suppose someone sought a secluded corner, out of town and discarded illicit stuff that eventually got absorbed into the grass?? Is that far-fetched? or might animals be affected like that?

 

[BelovedBirds]

That's the point - those who saw what was happening were gobsmacked! No-one's ever heard the like. That's why I offered to post in this very helpful forum which has a large membership, just in case anyone else had ever come across such a thing.

I only know about little brown wild rabbits, sorry. I've never heard of the sorts that you mention. I've googled in vain to try and find an image. We only have that sort so we just call them wild rabbits.
Beloved Bird's point about them being territorial would fit but tbh I'm also wondering if it could be a case of substance misuse.... it's not that far from a run-down area where dodgy dealings take place...suppose someone sought a secluded corner, out of town and discarded illicit stuff that eventually got absorbed into the grass?? Is that far-fetched? or might animals be affected like that?

There's always the possibilty that they could be affected by something, perhaps illness, even. That has been known to drive animals insane and cause even prey animals to visciously attack- but I don't see that as a likely possibility here.
It seems like some kind of natural behavioural phenomenon.
How much of it was witnessed?
If only there were CCTV or wildlife cams, seeing the behaviour would be extremely interesting. If it were me, I would put a recording device up and see exactly whats going on.