Raising Chicks with Other Animals

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Are there any animals that can be raised in the run with my chickens? Someone told me that it was safe for rabbits to be in the run with them. I have a large run (about 500 sq feet for my birds to run in. I would like to maximize the use of the area for them and others that would get along with them.

 

[NCnarrator]

I've heard that rabbits can be kept with chickens, but I don't think I would do it for a few reasons:

1. Rabbits have extremely powerful legs, and all it would take is one good kick to a chicken for a broken leg or wing, or worse.

2. Rabbits also have very large, very sharp teeth. They will use them if they get backed into a corner and feel threatened (I have unfortunate reason to know), and those teeth do a LOT of damage.

3. Chickens can do a fair bit of damage themselves, what with sharp beaks, powerful wings, and nails attached to strong feet.

The thing is, you might have them together forever and never have a problem (and there are probably people who have), but IF there is a problem, it's going to be a big expensive one.