Free Bunnies with cages

[Yael]

We have five cute bunnies - dwarf w/ floppy ears. They are white w/ some light grey and brown markings - so sweet. Three of them are 4 months-old, two of them are 3 months-old. We're in Sebastopol. Come and get them or we'll bring them to you.

Ellen
707.829.8341

[JollyJane]

How do they get along with chickens and would there be enough room for them and 2 chickens in a small back yard and chicken coup in the garage?
Rev Nan Sea Love
phone 545-2322
https://www.YourKindnessMatters.org

Hey Nan
I saw your posting. Rabbits sicken and die if they are confined where they walk in their own feces.
Probably much FASTER if they are in chicken s**t !!!

Also, as they breed and reproduce in 31-32 days, you will soon have a big mess. Even if you have two same sex, one dominates the other, it's their
animal territorial nature.
Best to keep ONE for a pet, so it likes you instead of another rabbit, or a few with each in its own cage, hung up off the ground out of wind and rain.
Collect rabbit manure below (park wheelbarrow in good location below)
Breed when you WANT baby bunnies in 30 days. Wait til Spring is best.

Say hello to my gardens for me!

Regards, Jane

[Vet-To-Pet]

Hi~

If I remember correctly from veterinary school (I don't treat rabbits in my practice), part of a rabbit's nutritional cycle is to eat their own feces (the "first time around") and they receive some nutrition from this second digestion of the food. The second time the feces passes, there is no reason for them to continue to eat it (no further nutrtional value), so it can be removed. As far as walking in their feces, I don't recall that being a health problem, unless, of course, the feces is so high that it's just plain disgusting. If the hutch/living quarters is large enough, they'll usually select an area for their feces, away from their sleeping & eating areas.One of the main problems with rabbit living quarters is that people often use wire bottoms (so the feces can fll through), but you must be very careful about the size of the wire openings, since rabbits can (and DO) get their feet caught in the wire & break their legs or harm their skin---then you have a real problem. I once had a (pet) rabbit who was semi-litter box trained (he used it most of the time..), and I've heard of other people training their rabbits to use cat litter boxes (use shredded paper so they don't eat the cat litter). I'd buy a good book about rabbit care (or search online) to get the true facts about what their needs are regarding food & housing & exercise.
Smiles,
Paula
Vet-To-Pet

Hey Nan
I saw your posting. Rabbits sicken and die if they are confined where they walk in their own feces.
Probably much FASTER if they are in chicken s**t !!!

Also, as they breed and reproduce in 31-32 days, you will soon have a big mess. Even if you have two same sex, one dominates the other, it's their
animal territorial nature.
Best to keep ONE for a pet, so it likes you instead of another rabbit, or a few with each in its own cage, hung up off the ground out of wind and rain.
Collect rabbit manure below (park wheelbarrow in good location below)
Breed when you WANT baby bunnies in 30 days. Wait til Spring is best.

Say hello to my gardens for me!

Regards, Jane

[Erika]

Please be very careful whom you give these bunnies to. I was just made aware of a serious problem with free pets...something that would never cross my mind and I am pretty sure no one else here at WACCO. I was placing an ad in the PD for some kittens that I was looking for homes for. They would not let me list them for free. Apparently free kittens are cheaper (and bigger) than rats at the pet store to feed snakes and such, as would be free bunnies. Also free puppies are used to train fighting dogs...I don't even want to dwell on THAT thought.

Anyway, unfortunately, humans can be really terrible so please...BE CAREFUL!


How do they get along with chickens and would there be enough room for them and 2 chickens in a small back yard and chicken coup in the garage?
Rev Nan Sea Love
phone 545-2322
https://www.YourKindnessMatters.org (https://www.yourkindnessmatters.org/)

[Dynamique]

Years ago, my family raised rabbits as a 4-H project. We used wire cages made from a kit and put together with something called "Glick clips" which were easy to use and safe for the rabbits.

If you use a cage/hutch with a wire bottom, you must use a heavy-duty wire with a tight grid as Vet to Pet mentions below. The type we used was called "hardware cloth" and you can get it at any good livestock supply or hardware store. DO NOT USE CHICKEN WIRE for any part of a rabbit cage! It is not strong enough and the holes are too big.

We never had any issues with the rabbits "recycling" their feces; I had never heard of this issue before.

One benefit of having the rabbits in elevated wire cages is that you can grow earthworms in the feces pile below the cages. This makes fabulous compost with a high nitrogen content.

If you have the rabbits housed on wire, you need to provide them a non-wire surface to park on or else they will develop a nasty sores on their feet and hocks - they are a lot like bedsores and can be tough to heal. Our 4-H project advisor suggested that we use pieces of wallboard (gypsum board) with the paper coating peeled off. (the rabbits really do not need to be snacking on the paper coating!) Do not use a wooden board as they will gnaw on it and get splinters in their tummy - also not good!

In the warm weather, we would freeze water in plastic jugs that had not had caustic substances in them (i.e. bleach, cleansers) and then put the frozen jugs in the cages so the rabbits could cool themselves by lying on them. They are very sensitive to heat and can easily die of heat stroke. Remember, their natural habitat is underground, so you need to keep them out of the sun and the heat. Another good way to cool them down if they get overheated is the rub ice on their ears for a minute or so.

Hope this helps everyone to have happy, healthy bunnies. They are nice pets and an excellent source of low-fat protien for the carnivorous folks.

Kirsten



If I remember correctly from veterinary school (I don't treat rabbits in my practice), part of a rabbit's nutritional cycle is to eat their own feces (the "first time around") and they receive some nutrition from this second digestion of the food. The second time the feces passes, there is no reason for them to continue to eat it (no further nutrtional value), so it can be removed. As far as walking in their feces, I don't recall that being a health problem, unless, of course, the feces is so high that it's just plain disgusting. If the hutch/living quarters is large enough, they'll usually select an area for their feces, away from their sleeping & eating areas.One of the main problems with rabbit living quarters is that people often use wire bottoms (so the feces can fll through), but you must be very careful about the size of the wire openings, since rabbits can (and DO) get their feet caught in the wire & break their legs or harm their skin---then you have a real problem. I once had a (pet) rabbit who was semi-litter box trained (he used it most of the time..), and I've heard of other people training their rabbits to use cat litter boxes (use shredded paper so they don't eat the cat litter). I'd buy a good book about rabbit care (or search online) to get the true facts about what their needs are regarding food & housing & exercise.
Smiles,
Paula
Vet-To-Pet

[JollyJane]

Anyone who wants to see scientific facts about rabbit health issues NATIONWIDE should look on the American Rabbit Breeders Association
site, ARBA.com

Replying to some points: The floor of rabbit cages is called "WELDED WIRE"
in a gauge of 1/2" x 1" Get cages flat or assembled from BASS EQUIPMENT
WESTERN WAREHOUSE in Windsor. Phone # in So County book.
Hardware cloth is aluminum, not steel, and softer, it will not bear weight.

I have raised THOUSANDS of rabbits in cages and never had a single case
of hock sores. These usually happen when feet get WET and unless they
are on the rain, that does not happen on wire. It happens because the cage is DIRTY in one corner and the rabbit walks over there to pee. They are
scent oriented and always pee in the same "territory" that they chose in "their" cage. It also happens on WOOD or in plastic "cat boxes"
They also get diseases if many are in one room from the smells of their
strong urine which gives them respiratory diseases. Look it up on the ARBAm
it's the truth.

It would take six or seven times of cross-breeding animals to start to get
bad genes...but you don't know how many times you are starting with in
the "pet" world!!! In professional breeding, one never "cross breeds"
that is litter mating, brother to sister. This makes all the worst flaws show
up much stronger. (Take a class on genetics to get this process if you
are interested.) All animal breeders (horses, dogs, etc) do however, "line breed" to enhance genetics. That is breeding related animals in genetic lines. THEN they "outcross" the younger stock to totally unrelated animals to strengthen the weaker points.

Rabbits in large areas such as loose around a whole house and yard will be fine, but 5-6 animals in a horse stall will not do well even if you clean it out fairly often. One animal in a clean dry cage can live in great condition for
years. "SANITATION and VENTILATION" were the only two things that a
world conference on rabbits agreed upon universally.

Regarding veganism: It is a religion, which is a belief system. People who
"feels better" that way can enjoy their good feelings. People who need to
attempt to influence others are following a religion, not providing scientific
evidence.

Medical facts:
The leading killer of men in the USA is Prostate Cancer.
It can be prevented by good absorption of ZINC in a natural source. Rabbit
is the highest source of ZINC in the world, excepting oysters which are not
sustainable, and could not serve everyone who needs this prevention.
Also, oysters are bottom-feeders in the ocean and often full of mercury.

Food facts:
Rabbit is higher protein and lower cholesterol and lower fat than chicken.
It can replace chicken recipes almost exactly unless you NEED the chicken
skin or fat, like for soup.
Rabbit manure is TOPS for gardens. Cow manure from regular cows is
full of antibiotics. So is the meat. I have never needed to medicate my
rabbit herd.

Jane Hunnicutt
Published in the PERMACULTURE ACTIVIST quarterly Summer 02
on container gardens and rabbit raising. "Rabbits love ROSES" is
article title. You can order that magazine online, it is the BEST about
raising food in any situation. $25./yr







We have five cute bunnies - dwarf w/ floppy ears. They are white w/ some light grey and brown markings - so sweet. Three of them are 4 months-old, two of them are 3 months-old. We're in Sebastopol. Come and get them or we'll bring them to you.

Ellen
707.829.8341

[moonrise]

Rabbits and chickens generally don't do well living together. It would be hard on both and could easily be unhealthy for both. You'd need separate quarters for rabbits and separate for chickens.

There's some good books available at the feed store about keeping chickens and keeping rabbits also. But not together. If you reed the books you'll understand why they don't do well together - or at least I hope it's clear :)

One of my favorits is called "Chickens in your Backyard". It's pretty practical and covers a lot for a little book. There's a similar one for raising rabbits. If you're interested in rabbit(s) as pets search on line for information about 'house rabbits' and you'll learn much including how to house train them and so on.

Rabbit manure was some of the best fertilizer I ever had but keeping them is a lot of work. They must be kept from rain and winds and freezing temperatures and also they overheat easy and have to be kept cool in the summer. They do best on small guage wire (enough space for the rabbit droppings to drop through) with wood to rest on and they like to have a rabbit box to sleep in. They have to have constant access to clean water also. You want to be sure they aren't being scared by dogs or cats (or chickens) because they stress so easily sometimes it can even kill them. You want to be sure to have them in an area that dogs can't get because it seems there are dogs that will go after them - and even jump up and worm their way into a wire cage to get a rabbit. It's not pleasant and easier to have things secure so it doesn't happen.

To keep our rabbits cool in the summer heat we had a big roof over their pens and used misters to cool the air. It had the added bonus of growing some cucumbers on the outside of the enclosure too.

-Dorothy

[Dark Shadows]

why wouldn't you live with a rabbit again? I love my rabbit, but understand why she doesn't want to be picked up. In the wild, they are never picked up unless something is planning to eat them. Their mothers never remove them from their nest, they stay there till they are big enough to hop out. I think rabbits need each other for companionship, for this reason, I don't believe in keeping them in separate cages. they should be together if they are spayed or of the same sex. They should at least be able to see, smell and touch another rabbit. I suppose this could be done through the bars, but its kind of like visiting someone in prison.


On this issue, I've been responding personally to Nan, a friend of many years and married to Art, a friend of even more years. She suggested I post this publicly so here it is:

" I do hope you're not thinking of keeping rabbits in cages! And they can certainly pick up diseases from being exposed to chicken faeces. Both chickens and rabbits need room to run and play and forage and your backyard really doesn't have that. Both need protection from predators. That's why the House Rabbit Society urges rabbits be kept inside. And for hens, you'd need a coop for night time enclosure.

I lived with a rabbit, Watership Down, and wouldn't do it again. Better to work to stop the trade in rabbits, except for those needing homes where they can live out their lives. That's why veganism is such a powerful concept."

Since I'm here, I ask once again and rather plaintively this time: are there any vegans out there? - Dian

[Barbara]

Regarding the kittens, this is a reason to PREVENT litters in the first place. There are not enough people out there who want kittens/cats compared to the astounding number of kittens born each year.

Barbara