Rabbit living with Chickens?

[ChickMomma]

So long story short, I hope! I work at a feed store and a lady came in with a very tame rabbit that her kids have lost interest in. Normally we tell people they can post on our message board in the store but we dont sell previously owned animals due to disease and such. But this rabbit was soooo tame and cute I offered to take it home. Read BIG SUCKER! So I want to know can it live in the pen with my chickens? I have six chickens in a 12 by 12 pen. I was thinking of putting a old doghouse in the pen with my chickens and closing the opening up so that the rabbit will fit but not the chickens. Any other tips or advise would be greatly appreciated. I have started to do research online but I would like the cliff notes version! Can I also put their poop on the garden?
Susanne

 

[MandyH]

Here's my 2 cents. We have 3 BIG rabbits that live in the fenced in back yard with about 60 various chickens, ducks and guineas. They eat with the chickens and get along GREAT. The ONLY thing is that they will dig, dig, dig. It isn't anything for them to dig a hole in one night and be sitting under my truck in the morning. Now so far none of the chickens have followed them out, but technically something could come in that same hole. Mine are super tame too. When they get out all I have to do is rattle a plastic grocery store bag and they will run and follow me back in the fence. They LOVE scraps of any kind.

 

[lurky]

Hmmmmmm......very interesting

what to do......I think i would like a lionhead bunny to live in my chicken coop. I wonder if i just do it.....maybe DH wont notice

 

[2mnypets]

Boy I wish I had some magical answers for you. I think there are some people in the forum that have them together and succeed. Sorry I don't know more.

 

[ChickMomma]

Lurky that depends on how often he visits the coop! My DH just shook his head.

 

[Cara]

I have a Netherland Dwarf and we occasionally let him out to run in the chicken coop. He herds the chickens. My husband finds it hilarious. He likes to gather them in one big group and hold them up, and will run at them and scatter them so he can do it again. One thing I have read about keeping the two together is that it can cause sickness if it is a small coop, from the rabbit hopping around in chicken droppings. Some chickens can be aggressive with small animals too. Mine have killed several wild birds. As long as they don't pick on the bunny, and the coop is large and secure, I don't see why not. But then there's the snake problem too... We've shot 2 diamondbacks out from under the rabbit hutch, and I dont want him drawing them into the coop.

 

[Judymae]

We have done the chicken and rabbit thing before. Our only prob was that the rabbits kept digging out. Finally my dogs found the rabbits before I did. We had lots of success with the rabbits and chickens living together. I can't remember a problem. Now my momma duck hatched out 4 babies late this past spring and she wouldn't let the rabbits near her babies. She would run those poor rabbits outta the coop in a heartbeat! My rabbits slept in the bottom of the coop and my chickens of course roosted on a pole. The ducks have a nest in the corner that they prefer.

I would suggest watching the rabbit with the chickens before making any final decisions. Good Luck!!

 

[Rowanm77]

When I first got into poultry I also rescued a cute rabbit at the local farm auction. For lack of a hutch, I put her in with the chickens. Everything was cool until she started digging......and digging, and digging, and digging. Next thing I knew, bunny was in the yard and wouldn't be caught and pigeons were going out the hole via little raccoon hands! I put all kinds of wire screen and boards flat on the ground to keep the wild critters from redigging the holes until I built my real coop and fenced area but the rabbit only lived a week or so in the yard then disappeared. I felt really bad but at least she lived a week longer than if someone bought her from the auction for the stew pot. I now have two more rabbits from auction that I have raised but I built a proper hutch for them. (Most of the wood is chewed up though-rabbits like to chew as much as dig!)

 

[MandyH]

Our rabbits have a hutch about the size of a porch, and for the life of me I can't remember why dh put them in the back yard. I think it was because dd wanted to "see wabbits" and they just have been in the back yard for 6 months. They are really cool rabbits though, if you open the back door to toss scraps out, you have 3 rabbits coming in the kitchen!! LOL! They will also walk up to you and nibble your toes. They also don't mind you picking them up and rubbing their forehead. Lazy animals.