Are rabbits dangerous?

[Chicken.Lytle]

My flock thinks they got an early visit from the Easter Bunny. I'm pretty sure rabbits do not eat chickens or steal their eggs to color & hide in the yard. Are there any other risks from wild rabbits?

 

[galanie]

"like mall walkers in spandex" LOLOLOL that's exactly what they look like!
Since rabbits really are vegetarians, the only danger I know of from them is disease since they can carry rabies and harbor disease ridden fleas and lice.

 

[panner123]

They are only dangerous to your wallet, for they will eat the chicken feed and anything in your garden if you have one. Same thing goes for deer.

 

[wsmith]

Rabbits are devastating on gardens, carry fleas, and torment my dogs, but I don't know about their effect on chickens or other poultry, other than eating their food. When we first moved to our home in Colorado, we planted a garden. We had purchased the cheap plastic netting type fence to "protect" the garden. As soon as we had stuff growing, and was about 2 inches tall, the rabbits attacked. They tore right through the fencing and ate EVERYTHING! Now the garden is fenced with wood and wire, and sits next to our back yard where the dogs play. They have a special bark when there is a rabbit near. translated, it says,"DAD! Quick! get your gun and shoot this nasty hoppy rabbit!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

You need rabbit WIRE for the garden, not plastic netting. I've had a bunny or two in with my chickens for years with no real issue. Our first bunny fell in love with my first silkies--thought they were girls especially for him. Didn't pay them as much mind after he visited the vet (

)

Fun bunny/chicken games include bowling, where the rabbit will bowl through a group of chickens, scattering them until they regroup around the food bowl to plot their revenge.

Birds cannot get rabies, so that worry is pointless. We don't get fleas here, so I cannot weigh in on that being an issue or not. The only disease I know of that is common to both is fowl cholera (snuffles, pasteurella), and that is far more devastating to rabbits than to chickens. Pasteurella is very commonly carried by cats and sometimes dogs.

 

[panner123]

Yup, my fence is buried L shaped in the ground for rabitts and other small veggie eaten critters and 10' tall to keep the deer out. I keep some barn cats in there for the moles and gophers. The cats also help with the birds for the area is to large for a cover.

 

[Mooches]

I had a mom and baby bunnies living under my shed last year with no problems at all.

 

[Celtic Chick]

I have had rabbits living with my chickens for almost a decade with absolutely no problems at all. I also have wild rabbits running around all over the place. The biggest problems I have? Deer & woodchucks eating my trees, bushes & gardens, not the rabbits. And I have a few wild turkeys that love to dust bathe in my pepper plant seedlings. The only thing my rabbits destroy are my cucumber seedlings, which I solve by putting a plastic water bottle over, minus its very top & bottom, forming a mini greenhouse.

 

[Meara]

My bantams will chase any rabbit, squirrel, or wild bird out of the yard or up a tree. Seriously, they are ruthless on the poor squirrels and heaven forbid a robin tried to land in the yard! I have a couple roosters, but come to think of it they were doing that even before I had the roosters. My boss hen would go after them, lots of fun to watch

 

[theFox]

They are highly dangerous to carrots, lettuce, and other "salad fixings".