chickens and bunnies - can they live together?

[zumachicks]

hi - i have three hens in a 12X6 coop...they love it...NOW, i have two small bunnies...can they live together??? this would be ideal...there is alot more room to run around for the bunnies, but not sure...any advice is appreciated!

 

[littlelemon]

I have been wondering the same thing. We let our rabbit run outside during the day (he lives in an outdoor hutch), and he loves to go in the yard with the chickens. I have read that rabbits are social, and I think he just wants some company! I would love it if he would eventually go in the coop to sleep, especially during the winter. I would have to train him to go into the coop before I lock it up for the night though, and I don't know how I would go about doing that.

Someone told me that in the SW a lot of people will keep rabbits and chickens together, but I don't really know the validity of that statement.

 

[zumachicks]

i hope someone answers us!!!!!

 

[zumachicks]

i hope someone answers us!!!!!

 

[wendy]

if you go to www.hencam.com she has a bunny in with her chickens. i believe she has a rabbit hutch for the bunny to go into at night. but it works for her. i am sure you can send her a message about it and she will answer. i have sent her a message when first starting with chickens and she answered my withing a day or day 1/2.

good luck! i dont have any bunnies, we have wild rabbits, about 6 -8 that stay around here.


wendy

 

[rizq]

I have my young rabbits in with our bantams. They get along fine, for the most part. If the bunnies get in the chicken feeder while a chicken is near, they will get pecked, but neither the chickens or the rabbits seem to cause the other any real harm.

 

[mrsengeseth]

Quote:
I was going to suggest the same site.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Rabbits have been severely injured and killed by roosters, when housed together. I haven't heard of that happening when housed with just hens. I'm sure it would work the best with nice, sweet natured hens and the worst if you had a mean hen or two.

The only other thing, would be to try to keep the rabbits out of the chicken feed, as I think the extra calcium would be bad for them.

 

[rizq]

Mine are in with our banties, the rooster doesn't seem to bother them any more than the hen. Since they are in with the little chickens, I use a plastic chick feeder for the feed. The rabbits can't get their noses far enough in to get much (they are a large rabbit breed, mature to about 10 pounds).

I have heard of lots of people who keep their rabbit colonies in their chicken coops. Never heard of any problems with roosters, but I would imagine it could happen. Most trouble I've heard of (first hand ... again, not saying a rooster can't or won't seriously injure a rabbit ... not arguing, lol) is the chickens getting into the nest boxes and eating the rabbit kits ... that is a big part of the reason why when the chickens moved in, my breeders moved out. It was also too crowded in the pen, so somebody had to go anyway, lol.

When I first put the chickens in with the rabbits (2 groups of them, 1 group with a rooster are about 3 years old, the others are 4 mo cockerels and pullets) they were scared of the rabbits. Now they pick on them, but just a peck here or there. The rabbits have places to get away from the chickens, and the chickens can get away from the rabbits. I don't think any would hang around long enough to let the chickens hurt them too badly.

 

[bunnychicken]

what the chickens/4/ one peks named salvesta,one named tweety , nother mino , and beeps
haha i need to get a nother cage for the bunnys