# "free-ranging" rabbits - newbie question



## ald926 (Nov 22, 2010)

I'm just in the early stages of researching meat rabbits, and this may be a dumb question, I'm not sure... But having no real experience with rabbits, I'm having a hard time picturing their living quarters.  I've checked out some set ups on here, but everything I've seen seems to just have the rabbits in their cages.  Obviously it's not feasible to truly free range them, since preditors would snap them up in a day, but I don't think I could stand just having them live in their cages all the time.  Is it a possible/doable thing to have a run for them, as long as it was preditor proof (sides and top)?  Or is there some reason that it would be negative?  And if it's an option, are there any important considerations to keep in mind?  (i.e., would they need some sort of bedding on the ground, or can they just handle what's there?)

Thanks for any answers, and understanding if these are silly questions...


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## Sydney (Nov 22, 2010)

Im also wondering the same thing, I want to raise meat rabbits but I don't want to house them in cages 
Ive read some people do not raise them on the ground because they could pick up diseases, but with only a few rabbits and clean conditions I don't think this would be a main concern.  I am thinking about raising my rabbits in pens where i rotate them through so they will always have fresh grass.  Also some people use chicken tractor setups for rabbits where they move them around the pasture for fresh grass.  you would have to be careful that the rabbits cant dig out or a animal can't dig in.  having them in a run with plants would definitely cut down on your feed cost and possibly make the meat tastier rabbit?


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## Hooligan Farm (Nov 22, 2010)

Some people do raise on the ground but each on will need their own tractor. Rabbits will fight and its usually till one is dead. So keep that in mind. Mine are in cages but I take them out for their little exercise time.


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## miss_thenorth (Nov 22, 2010)

I had mine in cages for three years.  Now I have them in a dog kennel.  They have shelter, things to play with, and with help, we can move the kennel about every week or so.  They do dig.  Mine have never dug deep enough to escape, about three inches.

Over the winter, i plan on buidling individual tractors for each rabbit.  If the bunns are raised together, and have enough room, they shouldn't fight.  so far, it is going good with the three does in the kennel together, I may just build a tractor for the buck, and see how it goes.  As far as disease is concerned. I have to serioulsy laugh.  Then we should keep our chickens in cages, as well as our pigs, and cows, .....  Please.  Cocci might be a concern, if it is, feed medicated until they are old enough to build up resisitance.  It is my experience that the rabbits are much healthier, not to mention happier this way.


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## ald926 (Nov 23, 2010)

I don't have a problem with keeping them in cages overnight, just would not be willing to keep them in one their whole life...

Would the risk of illness because of keeping them on the ground be due to them hopping around in their own feeces?

Is the fighting a problem (if it is a problem) just involving bucks or between does, too?

My other concern is, we don't necessarily have pasture, per se.  The area we'd be housing the rabbits, and where I would want to put a run (I'm used to raising chickens, so when I think about this, I think about having the building where their cages are for the nighttime/when we're not around, with an attached, fenced in (top and bottom) area that we could just let the rabbits out into for the day to do their thing and then bring them/lure them back in to the building and their cages in the evening.)  So where we would put the run is on the edge of our woods, where there is some grass and lots of big weeds.  So they wouldn't be on nice soft "pasture".  There would be plenty for them to eat out there and fun hopping over sticks & hiding in the weeds & whatnot, but would that be an ok environment for them?

We could probably work something out to have either a tractor or two separate runs so we could move them around some... 

The other thing is that if we do go with meat rabbits, it's looking like it could be one of the more main sources of income and so we'd be looking at a bigger herd than just 3 or 4 does & a buck.


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## Bunnylady (Nov 23, 2010)

Other than predators and the risk of them digging out and escaping, the biggest hazard to rabbits on the ground around here isn't disease, it's parasites. These parasites are common in wild rabbits, and are picked up by pet rabbits that feed in areas where wild rabbits have been. Some of these parasites actively seek out the rabbit host, so no amount of sanitary practices on your part can totally prevent infection. I also know of at least one rabbit disease that is common is some parts of the country, and is carried by mosquitoes, so any outside rabbit would be vulnerable in those areas. 

Every rabbit is born knowing that things that come from above, and anything taller than they are, is a deadly threat. If you are going to keep rabbits outside, they will need some kind of cover where they can hide when they spot a fox, coyote, dog, cat, hawk, owl, snake, - you get the picture. If they are near your chickens, they will probably "spook" at your chickens flapping or jumping up on things, at least until they learn that those birds aren't a threat. 

Wandering around loose isn't really "fun" to them, it's a deadly serious business of keeping their eyes peeled for anything that might try to kill them, and knowing where there is safe cover if they need it. A rabbit that is on the ground must be constantly vigilant, so a certain amount of their energy will go into maintaining that level of alertness. With meat rabbits, this will mean slower growth and tougher meat in your fryers. 

The rabbits don't think "oh, that thing can't get me, there's a fence between it and me," they react just like they would if the fence wasn't there. I have had rabbits that killed themselves jumping around in their cages when a snake crawled through my rabbitry. I have also seen them go totally berserk when a piece of tarpaper on the roof flapped in the wind over them. 

As to fighting, I can only tell you what I have witnessed in my 20+ years of raising rabbits. Some rabbits will get along, some will not. I have sometimes been able to keep unrelated rabbits together, even well past adolescence. Most of the time, that has not been the case - and even siblings can get nasty with each other. You can't even be sure that a doe will tolerate her own daughters past a certain point. Sociability in rabbits seems to be a juvenile trait, outgrowing it seems to be the natural pattern for them (wild rabbits appear to live in groups only when environmental conditions force them to). If there is enough elbow room that each doe has as much space as she feels she needs, there shouldn't be much fighting, but expect the fur to fly while they sort out who gets the choicest places!

Another thing to remember, is that rabbits have been raised on pelleted feeds for something like the last 70 - 80 years (anyone want to guess how many rabbit generations that is?!) Modern domestic rabbits have been more or less engineered to do well on that sort of feeding program. While they certainly _can_ eat more natural food sources, it may take a few generations before they show the kinds of weight gains that one wants to see in animals raised for meat production, when fed a diet that is primarily grass and weeds.


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## CrimsonRose (Nov 24, 2010)

I agree with the parasites... it's aweful! 

I've raised rabbits since I was a little girl... we always used the cages in a barn... I felt bad for the bunnies and wanted them to have room to run around and eat grass....

This past summer every day or so I would take them out and let them all have some free time in the yard to run play and eat grass... as long as I kept them close to the house they were fine... But in mid summer my 3 yr old went to play with the bunnies and left the cage door open... several of them got loose and ran around the yard and brush (where we have a ton of wild rabbits) Everyone of the babies that got loose died with in a few weeks... 

A few got ate up with cutereba (nasty fly maggots that get under the rabbits skin) I had never even heard of these things till I seen maggots eating holes into my babies skin! 

Then 2 others had something that caused them to loose weight rapidly and in the heat of summer they were dead within 2-3 days... 

I had NEVER had an issue with sick rabbits before (other than we purchased a rabbit with snuffles once at a swap meet but he was kept separate from our herd and put down when we found out he was sick) 

But the rabbits that didn't get loose or go around where the wild rabbits were are still doing fine to this day! So all I can figure is they picked up parasites from the wild rabbits... So now I'm much more hesitant to let them run free on the ground...


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