Rescued rabbits got questions

[hobbyfarmrookie]

I currently have a dwarf buck who lives alone in a hutch. I am rescuing several lionheads this afternnoon to help out a friend who found them abandoned in her apartment building. There are a few babies.

Just wondering can I let my dwarf live with my chickens where the lionheads can have the hutch?

This would only be temporary until I can build them a new hutch.

 

[NoelTate]

I had a pet rabbit and 3 cochin hens that all roamed freely in a small fenced in back yard for a while. They had no problems or anything. I would suggest, though, giving the rabbit some sort of hutch he can get into for shelter and to avoid the chickens. Just be sure he gets plenty of food and that the chickens don't get it all.

 

[chinbunny]

Id do asmauch as possible to get him his own space. The rabbits dietary needs are much different then chickens. They cannot handle the amount of corn there is in the chicken feed. too much protien, very little fiber. Plus the possibility of one species passing coccidia to the other. I wouldn't risk it. Maybe keep him in a carrier of some sort till you can get a cage. Just because some think its Ok to house their rabbits with their chickens does not mean it is. Rabbits also tend to bite and kick at anything they do not understand. Some are very territorial and do not like other animals in their space. They can very easily injure a bird just by biting, or kicking at it. When they bite, most of the time its much worse then that of a cat or a dog.

 

[ducks4you]

If you can arrange the housing as suggested above, you'll LOVE the manure for your garden. Farmers used to house their chickens and rabbits together all winter, then clean the manure and mix it together for their crops. You could get some bales of alfalfa for the rabbits, since they need to chew down their constantly growing teeth, and the stems on the alfalfa will help. Plus, it's harder for the birds to consume. If your birds eat a complete feed, they'll have to have grit to digest the hay, anyway.

 

[chinbunny]

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Ive been raising rabbits for years and have never heard of this. I have also raised poultry too. I would still suggest to get him in his own cage away from the chickens.

 

[ducks4you]

chinbunny, I'll try to find this in one of my sources, an old livestock-keeping book from the early 1900's. Give me at least the weekend. I believe it's good to explore how our predecessors took care of their animals. I think that they knew a thing, or two!

 

[hobbyfarmrookie]

Everyone thanks so much for your comments. I wound up keeping a Doe and her 4 babies and I think I have them all situated and my Buck is not homeless. THings are looking good so far.

 

[chinbunny]

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They might have done it back then because pellets weren't available. Also didn't have a lot of medications in the chicken feeds like they do today. Rabbit and poultry breeders have come a long way since then. I bet they had a lot of losses with their rabbits too.

Op I am glad you got him his own home.