The Rabbit Adventures
Recently we adopted a rabbit brought to us by our neighbor. One of her friends found the poor creature in the streets, probably deserted by the owners or perhaps having escaped on his own. Here is a picture of the rabbit as he was brought to us:
The rabbit was full of feathers which were are all very long, entangled, and mixed up with dirt probably due to having never been shaved and living in less-than-ideal conditions. To make sure that he is okay, we took the rabbit to a vet who shaved and vaccinated it (by the way, this is where we learned that our rabbit was a male). When we brought it back, we wanted to make a suitable living space for him. We first tried housing it with the chickens but they did not get along well (this apparently works for some people: https://hencam.com/faq/rabbits-and-chickens/). So, we decided to make a run and coop for it next to our chicken run. Here are some pictures of the small coop I built for the rabbit:
The rabbit was full of feathers which were are all very long, entangled, and mixed up with dirt probably due to having never been shaved and living in less-than-ideal conditions. To make sure that he is okay, we took the rabbit to a vet who shaved and vaccinated it (by the way, this is where we learned that our rabbit was a male). When we brought it back, we wanted to make a suitable living space for him. We first tried housing it with the chickens but they did not get along well (this apparently works for some people: https://hencam.com/faq/rabbits-and-chickens/). So, we decided to make a run and coop for it next to our chicken run. Here are some pictures of the small coop I built for the rabbit:
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You can see his run next to the chicken run in this picture:
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Over time we quite got used to the rabbit, which we called ZipZip, literally meaning JumpJump in Turkish. He also started to get along really well with the chickens. They are keeping good company of each other. Chickens were already a flock so the addition of a single rabbit next to them probably did not make much difference for them. But I think having the chickens next to the rabbit gives him some good company. Here they are grazing all in harmony:
Although we currently have a limited experience for keeping rabbit, I can say that it presents some challenges over having chickens. First of all, containing a rabbit is much more difficult! These guys can dig and burrow. So you must make sure that it is not easy for them to escape by digging. We put some concrete under ground surrounding the run to help with that. Also they are able to open up their way by applying physical force to doors, wires, etc. They can also jump. Chickens can fly for sure but we had greater challenges keeping the rabbit contained in the garden. So be careful about that if you also plan to keep rabbits.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our little rabbit adventure. Let us know in the comments if you have suggestions for keeping a healthy, happy rabbit.
Although we currently have a limited experience for keeping rabbit, I can say that it presents some challenges over having chickens. First of all, containing a rabbit is much more difficult! These guys can dig and burrow. So you must make sure that it is not easy for them to escape by digging. We put some concrete under ground surrounding the run to help with that. Also they are able to open up their way by applying physical force to doors, wires, etc. They can also jump. Chickens can fly for sure but we had greater challenges keeping the rabbit contained in the garden. So be careful about that if you also plan to keep rabbits.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our little rabbit adventure. Let us know in the comments if you have suggestions for keeping a healthy, happy rabbit.
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