Cotton-tailed Rabbits Might Be Attacking Chickens

[centrarchid]

I have a lot of adult wild rabbits running about. So far none have come off with young that have survived in the roughly 1 acre core that contains the penned birds. Periodically, I have seen chickens flush and fly a bit acting like they where attacked by something that does not chase them. About 1730 I was able to confirm ID of rabbit flushing about 30 juvenile chickens. A couple hours later I had a hen similarly pushed out of brush in same are. A rabbit was common to both events.

I have had a rabbit coming at me when I was messing with its nest and seen another get into it with a snake a few years back. This is interesting.

 

[Ducksandchickens]

I have a lot of adult wild rabbits running about. So far none have come off with young that have survived in the roughly 1 acre core that contains the penned birds. Periodically, I have seen chickens flush and fly a bit acting like they where attacked by something that does not chase them. About 1730 I was able to confirm ID of rabbit flushing about 30 juvenile chickens. A couple hours later I had a hen similarly pushed out of brush in same are. A rabbit was common to both events.

I have had a rabbit coming at me when I was messing with its nest and seen another get into it with a snake a few years back. This is interesting.

The rabbits near my house are scared of my chickens. I’m not sure a rabbit could Take chickens

 

[sawilliams]

That is interesting. Maybe a territory issue?

 

[llombardo]

Both chickens and rabbits are on the skittish side. Any sudden movement and certain sounds will cause them to move about in a darting frenzied way. So I think they might be scaring each other.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I had the opposite happen where my chickens attacked a rabbit. One was getting into my second run while it was in process of being reinforced. Hubby went to chase it out one night and it ended up darting through an open door into the first run and then got trapped in a corner. Two of my hens ran over and tore off chunks of the rabbit's tail fur and hubby had to shoo them away in order to chase the rabbit back out.

 

[centrarchid]

I think the rabbits are protecting nest bound young. They are familiar with chickens to the extreme and routinely go into pens at night to steal food. The rabbit also fight hard enough to knock hair tufts off each other.

 

[llombardo]

I think the rabbits are protecting nest bound young. They are familiar with chickens to the extreme and routinely go into pens at night to steal food. The rabbit also fight hard enough to knock hair tufts off each other.

I have had rabbits have their babies in the middle of my yard with 7 dogs. A complete nightmare. Mom only came once a day to feed, other then that they stay away from the nest so they don't attract predators. They are nearby but not on the nest.

 

[Chickassan]

Rabbits most certainly will attack chickens, iv'e never seen a female do it "not saying it dosen't happen" but cottontails here haven't displayed that. Males on the other hand have no issues at all about charging a chicken, even the rooster is a target.

 

[RWise]

I have cotton tails here, my dogs take care of them.

 

[centrarchid]

It is the female rabbits doing it here and they are doing it only in very restricted areas. The chickens quickly figured out where the rabbits get rued and where they do not. I have a hard time sexing rabbits unless the females just pulled their hair to line a nest. They are otherwise very hard to tell apart but males appear to move around a lot while females hardly go more than 100 feet from their nest. The small herds of a few to several rabbits all seem to be rabbits that know each other.