# How much pasture space per rabbit?



## GreenMomma (Jun 3, 2008)

It seems like I have asked this question once before, but can't find it here so maybe it was on another forum... 

I finally decided which 3 does to keep for breeding and we are culling the rest. As I am looking forward to having fewer rabbits to care for we are also in the midst of planning the rest of our pasture space for the goats and hogs. We are building several small divisions into the pastures for rotational grazing and our goal is to improve those small pasture spaces over the next few years to be able to sustain our critters from the land instead of the feed store.

We are already doing that to a large degree for our rabbits, but I am hand harvesting it and feeding them once a day. As we are planning out our sprinklers for the pastures I just keep having this nagging feeling like I *might* be able to make pastured rabbits work. I would love to- I just can't get my mind wrapped around a couple of things... They both have to do with how much space each rabbit needs.

1st- manure. I can only envision my cute little bunny pastures drowning in turds. I would think that a rotational system would work best, just like the other critters. But how much space and how often to rotate would be the key that I don't have the money or supplies to experiment with much.

2nd- forage. I would like to be able to still provide the grain/seed mix and their free choice minerals with them getting the rest of their feed from the pasture. We currently feed a lot of herbs/weeds, grape vines and mostly blackberry bushes. I can seed with whatever I need to, but most of the areas that I have available are under some tree cover, so it needs to grow with a fair amount of shade. I was thinking I would seed/plant the pastures with what we already feed, plus vetch and clover. Maybe some horse pasture grass, too. 

I don't know how large of an area will feed a rabbit- I have experimented with some goat and hog pastures to find what works for us, but could really use some Cliff's notes and rough guidelines so I don't have any more projects that need to be redone over and over, lol. 

I am unsure of if I would keep the rabbits together or not. Most likely I would allow does to be together when they are not close to kindling or with young kits and only if the does got along well. I would like to lay down fencing wire on the ground, dirt on top of that and then seed and plant.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Well, rabbits do dig, so they might dig out unless you take that into consideration. If you had them out in very much pasture, they'd be hard to catch again, wouldn't they?

Could you do a movable cage sort of like a "rabbit tractor" instead of a "chicken tractor"?


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## a7736100 (Jun 4, 2009)

Well, I can say 150 sq. ft. is not enough for 4 rabbits. They eventually killed everything even with regular pellet diet. The trouble is they dig as well as eat. When they dig the grass cannot grow back. This was without rotation. I once had an overgrown backyard but it went bare. I've removed the rabbits and reseeded. Don't know if I'm going to have free range rabbits again. Maybe if it gets really overgrown.


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## paintpony (Jan 5, 2013)

GreenMomma,

I hope that your plan works for you I can't tell you how much space. I have thought about such a plan. For your paddock, I don't see any need for putting down wire and then putting dirt over it. Just put the wire down over the existing grass (mow it first) and seed down whatever you want in there by broadcasting. Let the fodder grow up through the wire. How do you plan on housing them? Portable shelter or permanent building? Also, how do you plan for aerial predators and such? I ended up using a rabbit tractor for the growouts for part of the year. When it's too hot, I have to park the tractor in the shade up on blocks.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Good luck on your plan, I agree it seems if the pasture idea could be really useful (plus less cleaning and more fun for the buns).
It would be useful to hear how the backyard free range bunnies lived I think, to get more info...


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## GreenMomma (Jun 3, 2008)

I kind of have in mind a dog kennel type set up. Wire fencing on the ground (yeah, I guess I don't need to bury it, huh?) so they can't dig out and things can't dig in. 

Then a long row of some sort of many pens so that I can rotate them. Maybe with little dog doors for gates connecting them. I am thinking I can even use the chain link kennels and wrap the flooring wire along the bottom to keep babies in and rats/snakes out as much as possible. And racoons from reacing their mits in, too. Then I could use the kennel covers so that hawks and ravens don't snack up my buns. 

For shelter I was planning on adorable little dog houses. Or whatever I find on craigslist 

I just think it may be more idealistic in my mind than the expense would actually turn out to be worth, lol. It would be one thing if we had existing dog kennels that we weren't using or some kind of already fenced spaces, but this might be too expensive of a project and I have a feeling that they would eat way more than I think...


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## GreenMomma (Jun 3, 2008)

I did go out this morning to find one of my grow out cages open and 3 missing bunnies. I caught one. The other 2 are sticking close, but are under the baby goat barn. I guess if I can't catch them I will have a free range rabbit experiment on my hands. Luckily I have always shown my LGD the baby buns and told her they are mine, so hopefully she will be kind.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

GreenMomma said:


> I did go out this morning to find one of my grow out cages open and 3 missing bunnies. I caught one. The other 2 are sticking close, but are under the baby goat barn. I guess if I can't catch them I will have a free range rabbit experiment on my hands. Luckily I have always shown my LGD the baby buns and told her they are mine, so hopefully she will be kind.


Oh No! 
I had one that kept getting out, but he was easy to catch. Maybe bait a trap with pellets for them or cold lettuce (mine love cold lettuce).... to trap them...or even put a waterer in there and they will come to it, they are pretty disoriented right now- good luck!


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## GreenMomma (Jun 3, 2008)

a7736100 said:


> Well, I can say 150 sq. ft. is not enough for 4 rabbits. They eventually killed everything even with regular pellet diet. The trouble is they dig as well as eat. When they dig the grass cannot grow back. This was without rotation. I once had an overgrown backyard but it went bare. I've removed the rabbits and reseeded. Don't know if I'm going to have free range rabbits again. Maybe if it gets really overgrown.


Were all 4 rabbits in the same space? How long did it take them to eat through the forage? If I had the wire on the ground so that the grasses can grow through but they can't dig and I rotated them through maybe this would work? Your square footage info is very helpful. 

What did you notice about manure build up?

Maybe I would just need to rotate them through but keep my current rabbit barn set up so that I can pull them off the pastures and put them back in their cages if the forage needs to rest or the weather got too crazy.


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## sn4k3grl (Feb 25, 2014)

Look up Joel Salatin on youtube. He has some of his talks posted. There are some photos of his "rabbit mobiles." I don't know how much space it would take to pasture rabbits (I know hes working with several hundred acres on his farm), but the set up he has them in prevents digging and only allows them to eat the tops of the grass where parasites are less likely to be.
Best Luck!


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

so how did pasture rabbits work out for u?


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## boerboy (Oct 7, 2012)

Curious to hear


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

Test it out very small scale, one rabbit. Then, what will you do for winter?
What about shade and sun and heat?

Digging is terrible, you will have to buy dirt to fill the holes with or you will be tripping over them all the time.

What about predators? Everything loves rabbit.

What about parasites, nesting, snakes, drafts, wet rabbits, not tall enough roof for shade that allows air to pass.

Poo is no issue if you move them daily and have enough space so that by the time you get back to the first location, it has been 30 days or more. But once a day may not be enough! Rabbits eat a lot of green to equal the same amount of nutrition in pellets. You may need to move the cages up to 6 times a day for cages with litters in them. 

Forget 'pasture', think wild, weedy, green jungle of yum. They eat a huge variety of grasses, weeds, shrubs, etc. If you ever had an escaped rabbit, you will see that it doesn't just sit and mow down where it is. They constantly keep moving, eating a little of every rabbit-safe plant. 

You will need to provide mineral and salt licks for them. 

Water can easily get too hot in a water bottle. Crocks easily get gross or dumped. How will you provide clean, cool water?

How will you contain the frail kits? Escape artists, too! 

Rabbits also jump and climb! Yes, climb straight vertical walls! 


There's a million and one things to really study before doing this with more than just one cull rabbit that you can experiment on. Do not put your best, most prized rabbits out to start. Test with dinner/cull rabbits.


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## GreenMomma (Jun 3, 2008)

We are doing a slow-change-hybrid system for now, lol. I currently have all of our does transitioned to dog kennels that have been modified with small grid wire wrapped around the bottoms. They are fully enclosed so that no birds can get in and have stall mats for flooring. They each have a small area over dirt that has wire fencing and I will eventually build boxes with cage flooring so that I can seed some yummy vetch or clover there and they can nibble without killing it.

The new rabbit area is in the shadiest area available, so I don't think heat will be as much of an issue this summer. I have the auto waterers hooked up to 5 gallon and 6.5 gallon buckets for water and one also has a rubber dish of water.

We have a paddock that I am growing pasture grass, vetch and clover in. I cut a bucket full daily and feed to the buns. I am shocked at how quickly they gobble it up.

We are still mulling over the "pastured rabbit" plans and I am still headed in that direction. I just need to make it through a year of having them on the ground to see if I kill them all this way or if they can thrive, before I invest in the pastures. 

Suprisingly enough, the rabbits in the larger enclosures are far easier to catch than rabbits in a 36 x 30 cage. They always come right up to you, climb on your lap, don't mind being petted, etc. They can even be out in the surrounding garden area, hop right up to us and are easy enough to pick up and put right back in their enclosure. It is really odd to me- their personality changes after being moved from the rabbit barn and hanging cages to the rabbit garden area. 

They all have hanging hay feeders that are always fully stocked and covered from the elemments. Dog houses or pvc pipe tubes for shelter or hiding out. 

We have a Pyr for protecting... she loves her buns 

They have been moved for about a month. So far we are thrilled with how it's going. But we have had a drought, so my feelings could change with a deluge. And we have our first kindle due this week, that could be a disaster. Time will tell... But we are hopeful. So far it is about the same amount of work but we have far happier rabbits and happier people watching the rabbits


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

GreenMomma said:


> So far it is about the same amount of work but we have far happier rabbits and happier people watching the rabbits


Mine are on the ground also. I have momma and 4 female kits (now six months old.) They are in a 12 x 25' enclosure, fenced with 1" x 2" wire mesh 36" tall, no top cover. They ate the area down very quickly, now I keep a fresh layer of grass hay over the ground. Momma had her kits in burrow, so I didn't see them or handle them until they were a month old. They are very hard to catch and don't like to be held. Momma is hard to catch also, but likes to be held once caught. She was cage raised and held daily until I got her at 9 months of age.

I have had no issues with the rabbits being on the ground; except for my own neglect of leaving the top of the half door to their pen open when I was feeding them, the day after bringing home a rescued dog. Yep he got in there and killed one so fast i could hardly believe it.

I agree, the buns sure look happy frolicking around in the pen. The one down side is they don't put on weight very fast. The kits were all 2.5 lbs at 70 days. But then again, this is my first batch of rabbits, so I still have alot to learn.


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