I know this is for poultry, but does anyone know anything about bunnies as pets?

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

I know this site is for poultry, so.. sorry, but I didn't know where else to post this...

I have been thinking about getting one or two bunnies as pets, not meat or fur. They would live outside 24/7, 365 days a year (being indoor is not an option for me). One breed I've been thinking about is the Silver Fox; because I have heard that they are friendly and do well outside. Should I get males or females? Which breeds do you guys have/would recommend for friendliness and hardiness to the outdoors? I want to make sure I get a breed that would be comfortable living outside all year. I live in North Idaho, so I get all 4 seasons here; winter is cold and snowy, spring is rainy, summer is hot. Additional to the breed is the living space. I know that they will need a large area, as bunnies are active animals, with lots of shade, a "coop" for sleeping, but what else? I have plenty of space with lots of grass for them to graze about in, I just have to make an enclosure for them. Can bunnies jump over walls? I have very rocky soil here, so will that discourage them from digging under to get out? I have 4ft fencing that I could easily make a very, very large enclosure for them, but I wouldn't want them escaping over or under it. Also, what do they eat? Do they need anything beyond hay and fresh water?

And this next one might be a no brainer, but bunnies can't live with chickens, can they? I have a run that my 9 hens live in, which is 301.438, plus another extension that they are allowed into daily, which is about the same size as the run. Having them live together would be nice, since I already have a tall walled run and I can make a bunny hutch under my raised coop.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There are lots of hare and rabbit people here. You'll get help. I raised rabbits but I don't know enough to give advice about raising year-round in Idaho so I'm sure others will chime in.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

There are lots of hare and rabbit people here. You'll get help. I raised rabbits but I don't know enough to give advice about raising year-round in Idaho so I'm sure others will chime in.

Glad to hear that there are other rabbit owners here! Thanks for the comment!

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I know this site is for poultry, so.. sorry, but I didn't know where else to post this...

I have been thinking about getting one or two bunnies as pets, not meat or fur. They would live outside 24/7, 365 days a year (being indoor is not an option for me). One breed I've been thinking about is the Silver Fox; because I have heard that they are friendly and do well outside. Should I get males or females? Which breeds do you guys have/would recommend for friendliness and hardiness to the outdoors? I want to make sure I get a breed that would be comfortable living outside all year. I live in North Idaho, so I get all 4 seasons here; winter is cold and snowy, spring is rainy, summer is hot. Additional to the breed is the living space. I know that they will need a large area, as bunnies are active animals, with lots of shade, a "coop" for sleeping, but what else? I have plenty of space with lots of grass for them to graze about in, I just have to make an enclosure for them. Can bunnies jump over walls? I have very rocky soil here, so will that discourage them from digging under to get out? I have 4ft fencing that I could easily make a very, very large enclosure for them, but I wouldn't want them escaping over or under it. Also, what do they eat? Do they need anything beyond hay and fresh water?

And this next one might be a no brainer, but bunnies can't live with chickens, can they? I have a run that my 9 hens live in, which is 301.438, plus another extension that they are allowed into daily, which is about the same size as the run. Having them live together would be nice, since I already have a tall walled run and I can make a bunny hutch under my raised coop.

I have raised rabbits in the past, and was going to get another but cant find any for sale near me, and the breeder i know doesnt have any a few litters didnt take.

Ive always had rex and planned to again. They lived outdoors. In Wisconsin. We used off ground hutches but they gor supervised grass time. Dig the fencing into the ground some. Predators will dig.

And good luck

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

To add ive always liked females personally they dont spray and i only ever handled and owned females.
My sister had a male and he was territorial.

They also need timothy hay or orchard grass and a litter box, i reccomend pine pellets for litter. I was reccomended to use that by others on here.

Lops are great breeds to, satins can be a bit mean. Ive never seen or held a silver fox

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

Ahem... not an expert, but... I've actually had rabbits, in a colony-type setup. And did a lot of research before getting them. And learned a ton from the ones I had (what I would change for myself) Sooo.... this is going to be not a short reply here...
Keeping in mind, this isn't a "you can only do it this way" thing. This is based off my experiences from the past.

So, pet rabbits (meat, fur, show, and pet) are all descended from European rabbits. And they dig. A. Lot. Tiny little paw sized holes on the ground, or full blown tunnels that a human can cave in without knowing it's there.
You will 100% need to have a dig-proof area for them. You do not want them getting loose.

Somebody's pet rabbit (literally not mine) got loose and ended up digging up my mom's lawn. Tripping hazards everywhere. Bare spots everywhere. That poor rabbit was just happy to not be stuck in a tiny cage in the heat and was having the time of his life, not being caught for many weeks.
(Oh and yes, rabbits dig through gravel.)

By "dig proof", I do not mean the same as trying to keep a predator from digging into a chicken run. Rabbits will dig anywhere, and they can unintentionally dig out of a fence.
(I feel it's important that they have areas to dig, as long as they can't dig out.)
Mine had buried chainlink fencing. The ends were secured so there weren't gaps at the sides or corners of the rabbit run. They could dig, and could even create tunnels if there's enough compacted soil above the buried fencing. But they couldn't dig out. (I don't know if really small rabbits can dig through a gap the size of chainlink wire. Mice and rats can 100%.)
The perimeter fence was a mix of chainlink dog kennel panels, 2"x4" wire, and solid walls. 6' tall minimum. I personally would not trust a rabbit to stay inside 4' tall fencing. I've seen them jump 3' easy.

Their teeth are always growing. They have to have safe things to chew on. If their teeth get too long, or stop lining up, you need to get them help. I've never had to do that since they had plenty to grind down their teeth (and nails) naturally. But my local vets don't take care of most animals, even if I needed help.

They're social. They cannot be alone. In rare situations, a social species might have to be alone if it can't get along with it's own kind. If an adult rabbit has always been alone, it might not get along with another rabbit.
Generally 2 is the bare minimum, but usually with social/herd/flock animals 3 is better (if one dies, you have 2 left until you can find another one or two to integrate in the group.)

As long as they have a safe place to keep warm and dry, out of the wind and wet, they do amazing in any cold we can survive in. But they do very poorly in the heat. Digging can help them find cooler places to lay (dogs and chickens do this, as well.) They need good shade and ventilation.

Outdoors, water bottles are problematic. You can use them, but they can fail without you knowing it (leak til they drain, stop letting water out, freeze in the cold, heat up in the summer). If you choose to use water bottles, I highly recommend still using open water dishes as a backup and clean them daily. Metal ones in the shade should do just fine (metal no-tip dog water dish, for example. Can't chew it. But if it's in the sun in summer, it'll get very hot.)

I mentioned mine were in a colony. They were on the ground. If you choose to do a wire cage, make sure they can get off the wire so they don't hurt their feet. (A bucket or board they can lay in/on, for example.)

Hay, roughage, is very important. They don't really need alfalfa hay, but they can eat it. I tried to keep mine mostly on grass hay (the type we feed horses, goats, etc.) They do waste food if you don't have it set up right. If they pee on it, they aren't eating it.
I also gave mine pellets so they'd get nutrition they were missing from the hay (and rabbit safe "weeds"/plants/veggies/grass trimmings.)
You can look up what types of other things they can eat. Certain foods have too much sugar, and other foods don't have enough nutrition for them to be worth feeding.

I provided many places for mine to hide and jump on. We had a few plastic dog houses, so I separated the top and bottom and so each house became 2 large hides. (Really just to bolt in or avoid rain. They'd be hot in the summer.)

Rabbits are REALLY fun. But more work than they look like. I'd get them again in the future.

Last I read (a decade ago, wow) the internet generalization of how much space was minimum for 1 rabbit was 6'x8', or 3 hops by 4 hops. Bigger rabbits take larger hops. But small rabbits are plenty active and fast.

I assume approximately 10'x10' or 8'x12' should be fine for 2-3 rabbits, full time? Unless they don't get along. (Some animals just want more space.)