What animals can live with rabbits?

[Raccoon lady]

I’ve had lots of friends who keep their rabbits with their chickens and had no problems I personally never have though so I don’t know all the care details.

Yeah sometimes my rabbits go in my chicken run so that’s why I was thinking it would maybe work with other animals

 

[Raccoon lady]

Maybe I’ll post this in the caged birds section and see if anyone there has some advice

 

[NatJ]

outside is generally not a great idea for rabbits, I know they can die of heart attacks and similar from hearing predators overnight.

Anything CAN happen, but most rabbits are able to live outside without dying from hearing predators.

I used to raise rabbits for meat. I only ever had one rabbit dies from something like that. Dogs got inside a fence and were tearing open cages and killing rabbits. Some rabbits were killed by the dogs, and one was untouched but dead in the cage (presumed heart attack), but at least a dozen rabbits were alive (traumatized, but alive.) Dogs were seen outside the fence on other occasions, barking and scratching but unable to get in, and no rabbits ever died from that (over several years' time, this amounted to hundreds of rabbits that did NOT have heart attacks from any cause, even when predators were close enough to hear, smell, and see.)

I would be much more worried about whether predators can get into the cage and kill the rabbits, than about whether the rabbits would die from just hearing predators that are unable to get in.

they also overheat quite easily.

That is definitely a consideration. Different climate can make a big difference, and I don't see any mention of where OP lives. Shade and plenty of cool water are enough in some climates, but not in some other climates.

 

[Raccoon lady]

Anything CAN happen, but most rabbits are able to live outside without dying from hearing predators.

I used to raise rabbits for meat. I only ever had one rabbit dies from something like that. Dogs got inside a fence and were tearing open cages and killing rabbits. Some rabbits were killed by the dogs, and one was untouched but dead in the cage (presumed heart attack), but at least a dozen rabbits were alive (traumatized, but alive.) Dogs were seen outside the fence on other occasions, barking and scratching but unable to get in, and no rabbits ever died from that (over several years' time, this amounted to hundreds of rabbits that did NOT have heart attacks from any cause, even when predators were close enough to hear, smell, and see.)

I would be much more worried about whether predators can get into the cage and kill the rabbits, than about whether the rabbits would die from just hearing predators that are unable to get in.


That is definitely a consideration. Different climate can make a big difference, and I don't see any mention of where OP lives. Shade and plenty of cool water are enough in some climates, but not in some other climates.

My rabbits have been outside for over a year now, and yes there actually have been dogs that came, but the structure they live in is very well protected, and now they don’t come. It is weird that someone’s dog was just wandering the neighborhood in the middle of the night.

 

[ShrekDawg]

My rabbits have been outside for over a year now, and yes there actually have been dogs that came, but the structure they live in is very well protected, and now they don’t come. It is weird that someone’s dog was just wandering the neighborhood in the middle of the night.

It might not have been anybody’s dog. Some areas have lots of strays, ferals, dumped dogs, etc.

 

[calicocows]

Thank you for the corrections! /gen

 

[NatJ]

My rabbits have been outside for over a year now, and yes there actually have been dogs that came, but the structure they live in is very well protected, and now they don’t come. It is weird that someone’s dog was just wandering the neighborhood in the middle of the night.

I'm glad you already have dog-proof housing for them!

Dogs wander in the middle of the night for many reasons, including from accidents (dog gets out of a fence and runs off, owner doesn't find/catch it again until a few days later) and owners that just permit it (I used to live in a place where it was common for people to have outdoor pet dogs that were not fenced, tied up, or restrained in any other way. They definitely wandered.)

 

[TexasBlues]

Anything CAN happen, but most rabbits are able to live outside without dying from hearing predators.

I used to raise rabbits for meat. I only ever had one rabbit dies from something like that. Dogs got inside a fence and were tearing open cages and killing rabbits. Some rabbits were killed by the dogs, and one was untouched but dead in the cage (presumed heart attack), but at least a dozen rabbits were alive (traumatized, but alive.) Dogs were seen outside the fence on other occasions, barking and scratching but unable to get in, and no rabbits ever died from that (over several years' time, this amounted to hundreds of rabbits that did NOT have heart attacks from any cause, even when predators were close enough to hear, smell, and see.)

I would be much more worried about whether predators can get into the cage and kill the rabbits, than about whether the rabbits would die from just hearing predators that are unable to get in.


That is definitely a consideration. Different climate can make a big difference, and I don't see any mention of where OP lives. Shade and plenty of cool water are enough in some climates, but not in some other climates.

What do you think about raising rabbits colony style with an artificial warren? It doesn’t seem to be popular for raising rabbits today, but was a big thing for hundreds of years.
My daughter wants some rabbits and I like how my chicken flock free ranges and takes care of themselves. We have a good sized yard surrounded by chain link. I could probably make a warren surrounded by a dog kennel that could be left open or closed if needed.
We have a hybrid here called the TAMUK developed for heat tolerance in Texas among other things. I imagine they would be a good line to start with.

 

[NatJ]

What do you think about raising rabbits colony style with an artificial warren? It doesn’t seem to be popular for raising rabbits today, but was a big thing for hundreds of years.
My daughter wants some rabbits and I like how my chicken flock free ranges and takes care of themselves. We have a good sized yard surrounded by chain link. I could probably make a warren surrounded by a dog kennel that could be left open or closed if needed.
We have a hybrid here called the TAMUK developed for heat tolerance in Texas among other things. I imagine they would be a good line to start with.

People try it sometimes. Usually the first problem is rabbits digging out. I believe @U_Stormcrow has experience there.

The next problem varies: sometimes parasites and/or coccidiosis cause problems (individual cages with wire floors are very good at preventing most of these), sometimes rabbits fight and injure each other or trample young bunnies during the fight, sometimes predators get in and kill the rabbits, sometimes other things go wrong.

As best I can tell, some people do manage to make it work, but I have not yet found anyone talking about success beyond a year or two. That may mean they had no problems but did not bother to tell about their continuing success, or it may mean that something did cause problems and they did not tell about that either. Things like "sold the property and moved" could interrupt the rabbit-keeping situation even if the colony itself was doing fine.

I have not personally tried keeping rabbits in a colony setting. My only experience is with rabbits in individual cages that have wire floors. I find the colony idea attractive, but have never yet had a situation where I thought I could make it work right.

 

[TexasBlues]

Thanks NatJ. I found a group online raising rabbits in a colony and saw some promising set ups. I’m going to slowly start prepping for the rabbits and maybe in the fall get a few.