Rabbit... Can they eat chicken feed????

[CritterBazaar]

Everyone has different experiences and thats what makes this such a great site. I have had rabbits running loose with chickens and eating the chicken feed with no problem. In fact a number of breeders keep chickens as do I to keep the flys and bugs down. What is important though if you do let them run together is to have a source of fresh water for the rabbit that the chickens cannot poop in. Also give the rabbit fresh hay (not alfalfa) occassionally and this will help keep its digestive tract regulated. Again, I have had no issues but that is not to say you wont. Some rabbits are sturdier than others and some are not..

 

[geepy]

I've got a Big walk in pen and my rabbits, special chickens (not the ones I want free ranging) are all together. I have also had quail and guineas in the same pen. My little dwarf bunny just past at the age of ten. Never had any problems I make sure everybody is wormed. To each there own I guess.

 

[geepy]

Oh, and they all share each others feed.

 

[CritterBazaar]

Geepy - same here I have had peacocks, turkeys, ducks, etc. with my free range rabbits. A 10 year old dwarf I think you beat my record for a dwarf living....

 

[geepy]

She was a great little bunny too. She would have been with us longer but one of the other bunnies sctrach her and she got an abcess near her spine (we cleaned it and everything) and it put pressure on the spine and her back legs were paralized and the vet said (and we agreed), the best was euthenizia.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Yup, rabbits and chicken poop do not mix.

When breeders keep chickens and rabbit together, the rabbits are in raised cages with something like plywood on top so the poop does not come in contact the the rabbits. The chickens scratch underneath the cages. Mine are 2 1/2 feet off the ground. IMO, the favorite chicken of rabbit breeders is the silkie. They can't fly up onto the cages (so no top protection is needed to keep poop away from rabbits) and they typically don't jump high enough to pick at and kill kits born on the wire.

A rabbit kept on chicken feed compared to a rabbit kept on high quality rabbit feed will look very different sitting next to each other. The question is do you want to risk death and overall health and condition of your rabbit by keeping it (on the ground) with chickens? If you've got a raised coop set up, that could work but I do not recommend feeding your rabbit chicken food and/or scratch).

 

[RabbitMage]

As a rabbit breeder, I would never allow this. I know there are some breeders who do but they usually take the precautions listed in other posts-no chicken feed for the buns, covering the cages, etc.

The main ingredient in a rabbit's diet should always always always be hay. Most rabbit pellets contain alfalfa hay as the first ingredient, but some other kinds of hays are used in lower protein formula. Grains, especially corn, should be kept to a bare minimum. Rabbits do not need animal protein and it may actually make them ill, and their feed should not be medicated.

I'm sure you can see why chicken feed is usually a bad idea for rabbits. If the feed doesn't kill them, there is a risk of coccidia and possibly other parasites. And of course picking/pecking or bites/kicks from the rabbit. In my opinion, it's just an all around bad idea.

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
While I agree with *most* of what you posted, this is incorrect. ALL coccidia are host specific-they do NOT cross different species.

A LOT of people say the same thing about coccidia, and it's just not true. Each specie has it's own (nearly ALWAYS present) coccidia.

While some creatures contribute towards ideal conditions for the build up of excessive coccidia (like ducks, for example), they do not actually CAUSE coccidiosis.

 

[CherokeeFlats]

I would have to say also that as I rabbit breeder I would never let the chickens and rabbits come in contact with eachother!!! We have some RIR pullets growing in cages in the rabbitry BUT once we are done with the cages and the pullets go in with the main flock, those cages are SCRUBBED with bleach/water solution, then doused with vanodine and sat in the sun for a few hrs!!!


I have a friend that has a bantam just runnin loose in her rabbitry shed... I tried to tell her that it's not good for the rabbits or the chicken if a bun decide the toes look yummy from below!!!

She didnt listen... so, she'll have to find out!!

Also, rabbit feed can contain some ingredients that are harmful to chickens and vise versa....

Species of any kind should never be mixed.... to dangerous and I for one am not willing to try it...

 

[fytnfyr]

Well, I've gotta say, I have about a dozen each of Flemish Giant rabbits and mixed hens (mostly Buckeye's). They all "free range" in the backyard and the rabbits seem to prefer the chicken feed over their own. We supply plenty of hay and they still go over to the chicken feed. The chickens and the rabbits were eating ALL the food....dog food too (yep the dog's are out with them and have never harmed any animals) and the rabbit food. The dogs are black labs by the way.

Probably for another thread, but I found that if I bring home a new animal (chicken, rabbit, whatever) if I keep it caged for about a week and allow the dogs to get used to the sight and scent of the animal, they don't bother them once they're out and free ranging.

I bought an automatic chicken feeder to fix the "problem" and the rabbits figured it out faster than the chickens did. Raised it up and they still get to it.....now I'm gonna try putting a small roost in front that the rabbits won't be able to stand on, but I don't think that'll cure the problem either...they're pretty crafty. I'm not too concerned. I eventually bought an automatic dog feeder to keep the chickens out of that.....we'll see if that works....I think it will, it's raised off the ground so I don't think they'll be able to access it.

We eat the rabbits but use the chickens only for eggs.....never had any problems with illness, flavor, or otherwise.

The rabbits and the cats (outdoor assassins) also tend to periodically go into the chicken coop for a nap.....it's actually pretty cool how they all get along.

I'm not into miniature factory farming so I'll do what I can, but I'm not gonna sweat it if they keep sharing their food.

This may not be what a "vet" recommends, but since they've never gotten sick, it seems they know what they can and can't/shouldn't eat.

So far, so good.