After testing various arrangements of chickens and rabbits living together I have found it to be a benefit and well worth considering, atleast in my circumstances. I have housed teenage chicks that are fully feathered with the rabbits in their hutch, and I have also housed rabbits in the chicken tractors. Here are my findings and opinions from testing cohousing for over a year.
Housing the teenage chickens with the rabbits has worked so well I plan on continuing the practice as long as I have chicks and rabbits. I am not sure of the exact reasons but the chicks that are housed with the rabbits mature into the tamest chickens I have ever had. They are almost too friendly. They also seem to be more mild mannered. It makes for very managable chickens, and is well worth considering.
I have two theories of why the chicks become so tame. One theory is the closer contact with us when we feed the rabbits and give them fresh greens, which causes the chicks to be more tame. The second theory is closely living with another species causes them to be less concerned of different species. In reality it is probably both.
I have not observed or seen evidence of any fighting between the chickens and the rabbits. They all seem to get along fine, and it makes a great place to put the chicks who don’t need supplemental heat but are small enough to get out of the chicken tractors. I also like to introduce full grown chickens into my flocks to give the new residents a fighting chance when the pecking order gets reestablished.
The one draw back I have found is the young rabbits don’t do well in the chicken tractors. When newborn the rabbits have a tendency to wiggle out of the coop and the under the coop or outside the chicken tractor. When they get older they like to go on excursions outside the protective confines of the chicken tractor. They can squize under small gaps making it very hard to keep them confined. We no longer keep young rabbits in the chicken tractors for these reasons.
So for my final system I let the rabbits live with the chickens inside the chicken tractor for most of the year. When the does get close to giving birth they are moved back to their hutches, which are a safer place to raise their young. When they have weaned their young the does can return to a chicken tractor. When the young rabbits get big enough to prevent frequent escapes they get to graze in a chicken tractor too.
While in the hutches I feed my rabbits weeds I have pulled from the garden every day. This gives me incentive to weed my garden, and it is almost as good as having the rabbits be able to graze in the chicken tractor. It works well, getting two jobs done at once.
For anyone considering cohousing I have a couple recomendations. My chickens and rabbits have been around eachother from birth. I would not put a rabbit into a group of chickens without careful introductions. Chickens can be pretty agrasive, and I don’t know what would happen. I think the best way to make cohousing work is from the begining. When they grow up together they get along.
On a side not my buck rabbit stays with all the young roosters in the original chicken tractor. The young roosters always stay locked up, as it causes havick to have that many roosters running free range. This is the perfect chicken tractor for ranging the rabbits as it is always locked down. All the other chicken tractor residents free range through the day.
Keeping an assortment of roosters lets us pick the best roosters out of the group to eventually be crowned king of his own flock. The others end up as chicken dinner.
I don’t do supplemental heat for my chickens. Living in the south WE really don’t need it. Will rAbbits require heat or not?
If you can raise chickens without supplemental heat you will not need it for rabbits either. My rabbits are more cold tolerant than my chickens, and I don’t use heat for either. Good luck with your rabbits,
Have housed them together before, but this winter had a rabbit chew all flight feathers and tail feathers off my hens. Took me a while to realize it was happening, so I have a funny looking hens. They will be fine once they molt and grow new feathers. Just something to watch for.
Denise
I could see that happening, especially if it was a doe building a nest. I have not co-housed through the winter as the rabbits go back to the hutches once the green grass is gone.
I have never housed rabbits and chickens together. But it sound interesting to do. So how should I safely start with my free range full grown chickens and rabbits full grown to? I soon will be getting some new baby chickens.
The rabbits usually don’t bother the chickens, it is the chickens you have to watch out for. If you are starting with chicks that would work best, just keep an eye on them to make sure they are all getting along.
I’m wanting to buy baby chicks this weekend and am thinking of getting at least two baby bunnies and want to raise them together! Can I just put the bunnies in with the chicks in the same brooder box?
That is how I got started, the best way is for them to grow up together. Keep an eye on them but when young it is rare for them to be aggressive.
I had my chickens and one rabbit together for a few playdates. It really didn’t work out too well. The rabbit kept running into a group of chickens like on purpose and then they would retaliate by pecking at his eyes. No damage but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving them unsupervised.
Yes I am sure it doesn’t work for everyone. My stock was raised together and I never had any problems. We have since moved away from rabbits, but it worked great for us housing them together.
What would you consider too old to introduce rabbits? And how old would you want the rabbits be that you are introducing?
The rabbits I have had were always mild, their age isn’t too important. Chickens however have a tendency to be more aggressive, I would introduce rabbits to the chickens when the chickens are young. I did so when the chicks were fully feathered and moved outside. I would worry about older chickens being aggressive. I never had a problem with this when they were introduced to rabbits when young.
is it harmful for the chickens to have access to the rabbit pellets and if so how did you handle this?
It isn’t something I have looked into but I doubt there would be a problem. I often free range chickens with cattle and chickens have been digging in cow pies since the first chicken and cow met. There isn’t much of a difference in a rabbit turd. I also keep my chickens in chicken tractors, and when accompanied by rabbits they good moved everyday as the rabbits take out all the grass. This will prevent a build up of feces and is better for all the animals getting fresh ground. I am surprised more people don’t graze rabbits. When we kept rabbits 90% of their feed was free.