Can I put a rabbit in my coop/run with the chickens?

[Batty about Banties]

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Hmm ok I'll try it and just see what happens. Thanks

 

[muddipuppy]

How about bunnies and goats?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I've also heard that some bunnies will kill and eat chicks and adult birds ( which isn't really suprising since they will also cannibalize each other). But lots of people keep them together without issue. Good luck.

 

[Celtic Chick]

I have had my chickens and rabbits running around together for the past 8 years. They all get along fine. The rabbits & banties hang out in the coop mostly during the day (in the winter), and at night when the chickens are roosting, the rabbits come out & run around in the covered run area which is about 20' x 20'. In the summer, they all run around everywhere together.
I have welded wire on the floor everywhere to prevent the rabbits from digging out or predators from digging in. I haven't had any problems yet, and I have had 4 rabbits with 8 chickens, but it is now currently 2 rabbits. I had a Rex, a Dutch and 2 mutts which were bigger than the Dutch but smaller than the Rex.

 

[Celtic Chick]

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I would get 2 rabbits to keep each other company, just be sure to get two of the same sex or have one fixed. I had 2 girls & 2 boys, the boys were fixed. Rabbits are very social creatures and can get bored very quickly, causing semi-destructive behavior like chewing & digging. Having more than one can alleviate this problem.

 

[Cindilou]

If my run has .5 inch construction mesh going down a foot beneath the soil is that enough to keep a bunny from getting through? Or are they just super diggers?

 

[Celtic Chick]

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Nope. They are super diggers. They live in communities and dig tunnels/burrows that will go below the frost line & deeper.

 

[Cindilou]

That's true. So is it just a-toss them into the run with food and bunny activity items and hope they don't get out-type thing or do people place wire meshing really far down to keep them in?

This is just interesting. I've always wanted a rabbit or two since I was a kid but never was able to get one and find it neat that there is a possibility of rabbits living in with chickens.

Thanks

 

[Celtic Chick]

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I put welded wire on the floor so they can't dig out, or have anything dig in.

 

[Hhoky]

I've kept rabbits for years. Cage kept, free range in run, outdoors, indoors (Doggy door trained and everything) This is my first year keeping chickens tho. However I'm raising em together.

Rabbits are not carnivorous and will not eat chickens. (Amazingly I see that crap online everywhere

) They do eat their own young 1. if there is something wrong with it, to keep their next clean since they are prey animals, and 2 if a mom is new or bad she might nibble off their feet, ears etc which I believe is just a getting carried away with the umbilical cord/placenta issue.

We have a re-purposed wood shed on a concrete slab we are using as our mini barn. We lined the inside of the 2x4 frame covered in lap board shed with 1/2 " 3' high plywood all the way around. Deepish straw litter on the floor, covered litter box for the rabbits, a long covered "tunnel" box along one side and well as a couple shelves put 1 foot and 2 foot high for climbing, crawling, jumping off of and playing on. The rabbits are happy as can be. The chickens free range during the day, with the mini barn door open so they can access food and water whenever they want. Roosts are up high in the min barn, at 6' and 4' with their food and nesting buckets at 4'.

Communal water dish with a frozen 2 liter bottle of water attached to a rabbit nipple that drips a bit into the water dish. Wouldn't you know it the chickens use the water bottle more than the rabbits.

rabbit food hopper and hay holder are down on the floor level (attached to the wall up about 4 inches), with the chicken food dish up at 4' cus Oh yes, rabbits love that chicken food.

I will let you know when the rabbits breed how that all goes, but I believe it should be fine, we shall see. The real key is giving each group their own space in the shared space. The chickens don't really like the long tunnel box (made of recycled long cabinet doors with a flip open top) although I have caught one of our hens and one of our bunnies napping together in there.

Currently we have 9 chickens 4 months old (8 definite hens and 1 possible rooster) and 3 Does and a Buck 5 1/2 months old. And, if my superior human brain didn't tell me better, I would swear my Buck and possible Rooster talk and share guard duty.

I say give it a shot, if they are all young enough imprinting "flock" behavior is easy, which allows co-habitation for life.