Anyone have any experience raising rabbits and chickens together? I live in a very cold climate (interior Alaska) and have thought about building a combined chicken coop/rabbit hutch so that they can share heat in the winter. I've also thought about combining it with my greenhouse to aid in early spring. I've seen several references to this concept in the archives here, but haven't found any details. Any thoughts? THANKS!

-- Michael Nuckols (nuckolsm@wildak.net), March 12, 2001

Answers

I'm not sure that this is any help to you, but merely something that was a problem in keeping ducks and rabbits together. We had a large fenced enclosure for the ducks, and let the rabbits in to excercise and generally have a better life that way than in a little cage. The rabbits dug extensive warrens (sometimes escaping), and in the spring, ducklings were always wandering/falling down into the holes and I had a devil of a time getting them back out again.

If your animals are going to have outside access, this may be a problem for you without lining under the ground with wire.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 12, 2001.

We had great luck with this. The rabbits were in wire cages up in the eves of the chicken coop, the chickens could not fly up and roost above them. The chickens kept the urine and poop scrathced up, ate any spilt feed (and infant rabbits that fell though the wire :( Keeping the chicken/rabbit house smelling good. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 12, 2001.

This can work for you but please keep the rabbits in wire bottom cages above the chickens and box off the top so that the chickens cannont get on top of the rabbit cages. Chickens will find extra treats from the feed that the rabbits spill or drop and all and all should be a good system. Keep it clean and you should be fine

-- Gary (ggiles@north.nsis.com), March 12, 2001.

Years ago my parents decided to take a break from chickens, after they were gone we cleaned the chicken house out the best we could then let my rabbits in it so they could run. Less than a week later they were both dead, we always thought that maybe you shouldn't put them together, I'm glad to see that isn't the case but still makes me wonder why they suddenly died after being exposed to a place where chickens had lived.

-- Lenore (archambo@winco.net), March 12, 2001.

Joel Salatin in Virginia keeps chickens and rabbits in a hoophouse with a set up as Vicki described. He gets double use out of the space and the chickens benefit from being able to scratch under the cages. The big difference would be in climate--nothing to do but try it. I should think the CO2 levels from the animals would also help your greenhouse plants grow too.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), March 13, 2001.

We've done that,too. The books say that you shouldn't because rabbits are prone to respiratory problems, but ours were fine for all the years we had them together. Maybe it's because we only had a couple dozen chickens and a few rabbits. Gary's right about keeping the chickens off the tops of the cages, and Vicki's right about the chickens scratching around under the cages. Combining them with a greenhouse sounds like a good idea to me.

-- Peg in NW WI (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), March 13, 2001.

I used to have a very large Rabbitry (375 rabbits of all types of varieties raised for all types of reasons). We kept chickens (and we had a lot of those, too) with the rabbits in the following fashion: We put the cages on three of four walls of the barn we built from scrap materials and put the chickens in a wired/fenced area on the fourth wall with straw for bedding in the winter, and just the simple dirt in summer to keep them from overheating. We also cut a hole just large enough for the chickens to walk outdoors in a fenced area outside attached to the barn, in any climate, as long as the climate was not severe, they were free to roam. If the climate was too hot/cold, the hole was closed from the outside (we had added a small door to go into penned in area). We made special "windows" in the rabbitry that would allow for ventilation/protection in summer/winter, as well as small fans, air conditioners, and heaters, as the rabbits are very prone to heat exhaustion. Also, we saved all sizes of "coca-cola" plastic bottles (with labels removed) and filled them 3/4 way with water, and put them in a large chest-type freezer and these were great "air conditioners" for the rabbits. U just placed the bottles inside the cages and let them lie next to them. We also raised worms for bait underneath the rabbit cages from the manure that was there. This was a very profitable and rewarding venture for me that I greatly miss. Sincerely, Traci

-- Traci Rae Davis (krystalgrace61@yahoo.com), March 13, 2001.

I've never done this myself, but most of my rabbit stock came out of a chicken coop. The guy that raises them has several breeds of both rabbits and chickens all in the same building. It isn't much bigger than a regular coop - maybe another 5 foot wide. He lets the bunnies run around with the chickens for exercise in a little completely fenced yard he made. Keeps the domestics happy and the predators mad!!!

Good luck - I know it works, cause I've seen it done!!!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 13, 2001.

I would be afraid of the respiratory problems in the rabbits....I've heard and read where that can really be a problem when you raise them together...

We built a seperate rabbit addition onto our barn last year and are building a chicken enclosure seperately this year....

You might can make them back-to-back or something so they would still be kind of sharing their heat but wouldn't get the dust etc.

good luck!!!!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), March 14, 2001.

Never tried it, but I heard that if chickens were allowed under rabbits cages, they would jump up and peck their toes. carol

-- carol (fchambers@mail.janics.com), March 15, 2001.

Hi Michael: I can't comment on the respiratory problems - just don't know about that. But I agree with all the people who say keep them in the same building; but still separate. From my own experience and my neighbor's I can speak of two reasons that you can't keep them actually in the same pen with much success. The chickens will kill and eat the baby bunnies and will peck at the rabbits eyes which usually led to infection and death. I also think my laying hens didn't lay as well during this experiment because the young rabbits tearing around the pen at 90 to nuthin just kept them upset. Cynthia

-- Cynthia Speer (farmsteader@gvtel.com), March 19, 2001.

Mike, I guess I assumed you'd have rabbits in cages and chickens loose. I wouldn't reccommend having them both loose in the same area- for all the reasons given.

-- Peg in NW WI (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), March 19, 2001.