Seriously considering adding meat rabbits to my coop -- Am I crazy?

[ChickensRDinos]

I have a very small urban yard and am attempting to utilize that space in the best possible way in order to grow as much of my own food as possible and live cleanly and sustainably. I currently have 6 hens that live in a two-story coop attached to an approx. 7x10ish (5.5ft tall) run. The run is completely inclosed. The ground is dirt.

I am considering trying my hand at raising meat rabbits as they are one of the few options that I have not tried yet that can happily exist under my current space constraints. I have never had a rabbit before so I am hoping to learn from your experience. I am thinking of starting off with two Californian does and 1 male. I would ideally like the two does to spend most of their time with my hens so that they could also share the run space and get to move around rather than be in a cage on wire all the time. I would only introduce adult rabbits to the hens, not young bunnies as I know chickens are often not kind.

I am thinking about building two rabbit hutches separate from the coop. One that would house the male and the second for breeding and raising baby bunnies. I would also build a rabbit house onto the run for the does to live when they are not currently mothers. Ideally this would access the run but would be their safe place to get away from the chickens and where they would sleep and eat. This could either be in the bottom story of what is currently chicken coop or on the far side of the run. Would they rather be off the ground with a ramp or stay low?

My concerns:

- The meat rabbits are rather large and I have 2 bantam hens so I do not think I can actually make a hole that allows rabbits in and keeps chickens out. Is this a big issue?

- Will the male be lonely? Can he live with another boy or will they fight?

- I know rabbits dig but how well? My run has one row of pavers under it to keep the chickens from digging out (my bantam cochin is very good at this) will this be enough or not even close? I check on the animals every morning and most evenings but I do work long hours and want them to be safe and not tunneling their way to my neighbors golden retriever.

- I am feeding my hens an organic, soy-fee grower mash that is 20% protein (shrimp meal and fish meal). Grit and calcium (oyster shell) are separate from the feed. Will the rabbits want to eat any of this and if so how bad is that? I have read conflicting information - some people say they will be interested in it and others not. I am considering fermenting this feed. Worse in this situation? Better? Doesn't matter?

- I am currently growing fodder for my birds. It is a mix of barley and wheat with a little BOSS thrown in. I am thinking this will also be a nice treat for the rabbits. Is there a sprouting mix that might be better for both?

- Any recommendations on rabbit food? Could this work? http://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/13444/

- What else should I be concerned about?

I would really love your feedback to hear about your successes or failures on keeping chickens and rabbits together or any tips you might have for a meat rabbit noob.

Thank you!!

 

[laurajean23]

I started with meat rabbits, in fact that's all I have up to this point. I'm adding ducks later this month but have no experience mixing rabbits and bird yet so I can't speak to that. Hopefully I can help answer some of your other questions, though.

Male rabbits (Bucks) cannot mix with other males. They must be kept separately. Usually people keep each rabbit (male or female) in it's own cage, but I've heard that sometimes females (does) can live in one larger pen together depending on their personalities.

I do my best to keep my rabbits on pasture in homemade rabbit tractors (think chicken tractor, but for rabbits) and I've found that as soon as a doe becomes a mom for the first time she has a very strong digging instinct. My buck doesn't dig at all but I had to move one doe to a hutch because of the numerous holes she kept making in my yard, and another doe who I just bred for the first time has started digging like crazy. She's about to find herself in the hutch as well. I'm sure the babies will be able to be in the tractor while they wait to get big enough to go to freezer camp. As far as how well they dig... VERY well. Tunnels and escapes. It's not something you want to risk, but if your run is lined with pavers I don't see it being an issue.

I learned a lot about what rabbits diet should consist of from this forum: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/rabbits/211220-feeding-rabbits-naturally.html

A rabbit's natural diet is mostly grass and weeds. It's very hard for rabbits in captivity to get enough grass and weeds to sustain themselves, though. We feed mostly hay, a 1/4-1/2 cup of the same alfalfa pellets you linked to (alfalfa is very rich and too much is not good), pumpkin seeds (high in protein, also from Azure), and occasional BOSS. This is all in addition to whatever pasture they are getting in the pens or what I am bringing to them in the cages.

Barley and wheat fodder is great for rabbits!

If I were to feed a strictly pellet diet and if I could afford it, I would buy Sherwood Forrest brand rabbit food. It's great quality stuff, and is also soy free which is hard to find in a rabbit food. http://www.naturalrabbitfood.com/

I hope that helps! And FYI, I raise Silver Fox rabbits. Really great breed.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Thank you so much for all your great info and taking the time to reply. The digging is what I am most concerned about at this point. Great info on the food. I unfortunately have no pasture area and my yard is too small for tractors but I can do as much fodder as they need.

At what age are you processing your Silver fox rabbits? I have not read about this breed but I will do so now. Are they pretty friendly? Do you tan your hides? I really like the look of the giant flemish and just how silly big they are but I have read that they are not very efficient.

Thank you!!