Keeping rabbits and chickens together?

[denasfarm]

I started this post two years ago and have had rabbits with my chickens since. First of All I have very LARGE pens and the chickens are rotated out daily for free range on 3 acres. I only let one rabbit sex out at a time so I dont have accidents and they go in with different groups so there isnt fighting. Bred females are not let out. I feel they are happier with the exercise just like our house rabbit gets excited when we let her out to play. We have not had a problem with mites, lice, fleas or cannibalism.
I have also mixed the rabbits with the goats and turkeys and it worked well too, other than one male rabbit thinking he should breed with the goats instead of the rabbits. I do Not have them with the geese since the geese prefer to be segregated. Maybe it doesnt work for everyone but It works for us.

 

[arabianequine]

I don't see how it would be inhumane to let them roam free....no different than a wild rabbit or free ranging your chickens.

 

[ack123]

Quote:
letting them rum loose with no boundaries is inhumane since they can be picked off by predators, or killed by the weather. No good rabbit breeder, or pet owner lets their rabbits or any animal run loose like that. Some animals, like chickens, can be trained to stay in the yard, but a rabbit can't. They are also domestic and can't fend for themselves like the wild ones can. They are not wild rabbits and should never be turned loose. Most domestic rabbits lack the instinct the wild one shave to escape from a predator. If you read my comment above I also said that they can form breeding populations that can displace local wildlife, provided they survive long enough to breed. Which is also not good. Don't believe me google it. There is plenty of stuff on the net where rescues have stepped in to take feral populations when things got out of control, and the owners were raided, arrested and convicted of AC for turning their animals loose. Some cities have also stepped in to inhumanely kill the rabbits because of people turning their pets loose, and they were allowed to breed. Chicago is one that comes to mind. if I remember correctly they had to kill off a bunch of ferals a few years ago. There is a university somewhere(don't remember the name) that is also going to exterminate theirs. Rescues and breeders also take in plenty of rabbits that are set free by their owners every year. Albeit on the farm, city, or side of the road. The reason being nine times out of ten the rabbit will not survive.

Also they can pick up parasites. And its also illegal in most states to set your animals free. I have picked up a couple of 'freed' rabbits that were not in very good shape when I got them.

Letting them roam free is also not proper free ranging. Go to the usda website and it defines what free ranging is. Properly done is when the animals are placed in tractors/pens, and are allowed to eat and do what they please. They are protected from predators and the elements. Turning them loose is not free ranging. All you are doing then is setting animal free that cannot fend for itself.

 

[ack123]

This is what can happen when you turn your bunnies loose. These were lucky enough to survive long enough to breed. And boy did they ever!

http://www.timescolonist.com/life/U...bate their numbers heights/2954234/story.html

 

[First To Hatch]

I think it depends on your rabbits. We used to have a doe that would rip the feathers off the hens for nesting material even though she was given hay to use for it. As far as free ranging them we used to that with some fryers I had they would go out and roam then go back inside at dusk...but this was in a different country where theres no wild populations or anything.

I say this in many threads people make up requirements like 1 square foot for that and 2 square feet for that but in the end its whatever the animal wants and its personality.

Thanks
Shokri

 

[Billy-jean]

I've always had 1 flemish rabbit that lives with my hens, she's free to go wherever she wants in the run/coop. she has 2 doghouses outside in the run (the run is a small yard, it's huge) and she can escape the weather or anything that might startle her when she's out there..when she's in, at night , I lock eveyone up inside the coop and she has her side to herself. It's always worked out great. I would never ever let my pet rabbit out of the run, I would fear her getting away,or finding herself to the road ect. But it's always worked well for me, most likely because we only have 6 silkie hens, and it's a small scale next to other people's numbers. everyone has to try out things and figure out what works for them,and be in the best interest of the animal.

 

[stone_family3]

I keep my rabbit with my chickens, only problem I had was a stray domesticated rabbit breed through the run. Now I have five rabbits instead

So far so good, the chickens leave the her alone and she steals their produce.

 

[thekid]

somebody on this fourm saved a meat rabbit and it lived 10 years with his chickens.

 

[Billy-jean]

Quote:
oh,,that is so my style! my Rabbits are always saved from meat farms!

that's why I only have 1 flemish giant
at a time..I don't raise them for production,just pets.

 

[Billy-jean]

Quote:
lol,I had that happen this summer. my mini/mix bred with my flemish giant through the darn fencing. I'm not kidding. but unfortunately her litter of 6 died. (understandably) but you cannot underestimate the mating of a rabbit!! LOL!
My flemmie actually gave birth in the hens coop,.it was quite adorable, but terribly sad when they all died. The mix of size and breed difference was to blame , also, the fact that she never fed her young in the production line where I got her from.