Ok SO i'm doing very well with almost free range chickens

[Clay In Iowa]

They are confined to 7,000 square feet for their own protection.

Now I'm considering adding some meat rabbits into the mix. Anyone have experience with grass fed (ranged?) rabbits? And how they get along with chickens.

Clay

 

[Akane]

I've heard it's a great system if you can make it work but your biggest problem is escape. A european rabbit can dig an 8' tunnel in dirt. They'll eventually get through gravel too. That leaves lots of opportunity for escape without buried wire, skirting, and encouraging them to dig their nest tunnels in the middle of the enclosure. The other problem is they will have their kits underground where you can't do anything about them. Catching specific rabbits to butcher and separate genders so you don't become over run is difficult. I prefer my colony where they can't dig. We lined the floor of a building with chicken wire (will rust too quickly outdoors) and give them fake tunnels and boxes to nest in. That way I can remove all the hiding places and then funnel them all in to a pen where we catch the ones we want.

 

[KellyHM]

Rabbits will eat the feathers right off of the chickens...pluck them bald. Don't ask me why, but they do.

 

[d1]

never done it myself,however a friend from Church has chickens and rabbits running together in a 40 yrd x 40 yrd fenced area and they seem to get along fine when he goes out to feed they ALL come running

 

[stuckinthecity]

Quote:

I REALLY like your system. If I ever do rabbits, that's probably what my set up will be like! I hate the idea of keeping the rabbits in cages like most people do.