first time with rabbits

[OCEAN]

A friend of mine has offered me a pair of rabbits. Im pleased about this because ive felt rather sorry for them - regulation size hutch, but tiny run.
I'am lucky i have 5 acres, I hate to see animals cooped up so as i have the space the only limit i will put with is how big an enclosure i can practically build to keep things safe.

They will be living with 6 hens in a 144 sq m run. Ive researched this and introduced slowly should be fine, disease and parasite problems are negligable to none. Run is fox proof. Trust me ive learnt the hardway how to fox proof a run, is also wild rabbit proof. (electric fence) We have a lot. I have buried some more wire around the inside about 12 '' out to stop them digging out easily. The hutch will go, they will have a 6 x 4 ft shed with a sleeping box and assorted shelves and such like, they will come in and out as they wish. What im concerned about is grazing, they have not had access to grass before. im sure grass and general weeds will be perfect but should i leave them to it or restrict grazing for aclimatization. I will of course provide hay. Iam not proposing pellets except maybe in winter. I have learnt with chickens, give them a chance to find their own food, dont over populate and they will do fine if not better, just keep some in stock for a little supplementation and for the winter. Advice appreciated

 

[rachylou]

Firstly, IMO I would keep the hens/chickens seperate from the buns, I heard a horrific story about someone who kept her buns in with chickens. I wont tell you it unless you want to know but trust me it is horrible.
Secondly with regards to grass, if they have not had grass before they will need a very slow introduction to it or it really upset their tummy.

 

[OCEAN]

im intrigued, the only thing that i could think of is a rabbit was attacked by a cockeral, if im wrong tell me what happened. Chickens will live happily along with other animals so long as they are used to them being around and dont consider them a threat. Even our cat, often follows me in to feed the chickens and is pretty much ignored and visa versa. Keep them seperate but visible for a week to each other and they will get on fine. If you google it lots of people keep them together. If there is any cause for concern then i will divide off an area of the paddock.

 

[rachylou]

Obviously it is your choice but I was just saying IMO I would seperate them, you need to remember that animals can 'just turn' so I would not run that risk.
They speak a complelty different language so may find it hard to communicate and start taking it out on each other.
The incident was that one of the chicken/hens suddenly turned on one of the poor rabbits and pecked his eyes out! :shock:

 

[OCEAN]

wow - never heard anything like that before. iam tempted to say they must have been confined. Thats the only way i can see something like that happening. A cockeral can get a bit ratty sometimes, but even then such a concerted attack would be unnusual between any chicken and other animal. Like I say sounds like to many aninals in to small a pen if you ask me. I live in rural kent and chickens roam farm yards in my lane with piglets, geese, ducks, cats, dogs. The odd squabble yes all the time - but nothing like that

 

[BattleKat]

im intrigued, the only thing that i could think of is a rabbit was attacked by a cockeral, if im wrong tell me what happened. Chickens will live happily along with other animals so long as they are used to them being around and dont consider them a threat. Even our cat, often follows me in to feed the chickens and is pretty much ignored and visa versa. Keep them seperate but visible for a week to each other and they will get on fine. If you google it lots of people keep them together. If there is any cause for concern then i will divide off an area of the paddock.

We always shut our hens in if we're free ranging the rabbits now. The chickens have attacked the rabbits in the past, totally out of the blue. The rabbits have also been known to chase the chickens around - which then makes the hens turn on them. Our chickens are fine with dogs in the garden though so I don't think it's safe to say they're ok just because they get along with your cat (this sounds harsh - it's not meant to be!).
oh, and one time one of our rabbits was running full pelt around the garden and accidentally took a chicken out - which caused all of the hens to run towards poor bunny looking for a fight!
Chickens can also get pretty mucky and rabbits are very clean - like to have a corner for poop and that's it.

Personally I just wouldn't house them together.

ETA: forgot to mention even with the rabbits in their huches the chickens sometimes get jealous at feeding time so I can only imagine the havoc that would cause - not to mention how would you feed them separately and make sure they didn't eat each others food?

 

[OCEAN]

well ill take on board the caution, ill section off an area as i say to let them get used to each other - then we will try some supervised association and see how we get on, i dont want my chicken paddock turning into some kind of american prison gang fight situation going on. the switch to grass is more my concern, relations can be managed. As far as muck, you never see much in such a large pen frankly. it disperses fairly quickly. Thats the idea of such large pens - most problems with animals comes from the art of confinement or artificial environments. My husbandry of other animals has taught me, if you can avoid processed feeds do so as much as possible, if you can keep them out rather than in sheds, do so. these applies from everything from pigs, to cows, even dogs. I dont have a dog but mine were always kept outside in suitable accomodation. never had a vets bill. They are not designed to live in central heated homes, lolling around on couches if it can be avoided.

 

[Nicola1]

:wave: I agree with most of what you said in your last post, but make sure your rabbits have some form of shelter as they're prey animals Rabbits can suffer badly in the heat, but also in extreme cold as well so they might need to go in a shed or somewhere else sheltered overnight in the winter

I do think that if a chicken got a forceful kick from a rabbit's back legs (which are very powerful!), or a rabbit got a bad peck with a chicken, it could end in disaster. Personally, I wouldn't keep them together, it is your decision though, you know your animals and it sounds like you will do what's best for them :wave:

In terms of pellets, as long as your rabbits get at least 3 different varieties of veg a day, and unlimited hay, they will only need an eggcup-full of pellets, or none at all if you prefer They have very sensitive digestive systems so make any changes slowly from what your friend has been feeding them, introduce one new veg every few days so you can see if it agrees with them. If they have never been on grass, only put them on for 15 minutes a day at first and build it up slowly

Sorry if I'm telling you things you already know :wave: but I never knew them when I first got a rabbit

 

[OCEAN]

Feeding not an issue - in the summer i dont much - a little just in case for piece of mind. And spread around the pen to keep them busy. That i have no doubt will not be an issue. All the problems you are referring to are back yard run size problems. No i definatly would not keep them together in the typical back yard coup. This is over a 144 sq m - min recommended run space for chickens is 1.2 sq meters. - ive got 6 in 144 sq m.

 

[OCEAN]

Accomodation 6 x 4 ft shed with sleeping box, shelves, toys, , i dont care how big a hutch is - i dnt understand why people buy them. Sheds are often cheaper. If you can find an extra 2 feet over the recommended hutch floor size you can add shelves and ramps, more floor area -a shed is better - could heat quite safely and easily but over heating is more of a worry if animals are inside with sufficient beddding in my experiance. entrance to outside so they can come and go 24.7. ventilation - adjustable

 

[OCEAN]

thanks advice 15 mins a day - should i increas by say 15 mins a day after first week for say another week and then let them graze as much as they like - is rthat a good plan?

 

[fluffiebunnie]

Would love to see piccies of all the bunnies running around :wave:

 

[BattleKat]

Feeding not an issue - in the summer i dont much - a little just in case for piece of mind. And spread around the pen to keep them busy. That i have no doubt will not be an issue. All the problems you are referring to are back yard run size problems. No i definatly would not keep them together in the typical back yard coup. This is over a 144 sq m - min recommended run space for chickens is 1.2 sq meters. - ive got 6 in 144 sq m.

our chickens have free range of the back garden which is around 800sq ft. There's only four of them and we still had the problems with the chickens vs the rabbits.
Obviously if you want to then give it a go because it all depends on the personalities of the animals but I wouldn't write these things off as 'back yard' problems, assuming I keep them in a small pen.
while the muck does dissipate pretty quickly the rabbits still won't like it one bit - especially if it gets on their feet and they have to lick it off (i've read that the bacteria in mammals and birds is very different and therefore this can cause digestive tract problems). Flystrike is also a real problem with rabbits and you'd have to be careful that they kept themselves clean at all times which may be difficult if they're running through poo.