Rabbit Pasture Grazing

So, I want to raise Rabbits for Meat, as well as to Sell (Meat/Pelts/Pet).

My only experience with Rabbits was when I was a Kid, for about 2 Years. During that time, we raised our rabbits in cages, hung up in our rabbit barn that we made for them. However, this time, I would like to raise them more naturally, and graze on grass in a pasture. My question here would be, is it best to have one big grazing pasture (divided up between doe/buck), or do rotational grazing, to allow grass time to grow? If doing rotational grazing, how many days would it be recommended to allow the grass to grow, before moving them back? And vice-versa...

I read that you need about 6 square feet, per rabbit, for 1 day of food. If doing rotational grazing, I would assume about 5 days between each pasture area, and back again. Is this enough time for the grass to grow back, before rotating back again?

I also know, that it's best to keep rabbits a bit shaded, and not in direct exposure to sunlight, and it can also fade the coloring of their fur. Any tips on how best to provide this shade, without taking away from sunlight to feed the grass?

I can't speak from experience yet but I'll tell you what my plan is and maybe it will give you some ideas.
I'm planning to make tractors similar to what you'd make for chickens so I can move the rabbits around and they wont over graze one area. I figure this will reduce loss to overhead predation and they will be less likely to dig if they're moved every day or twice a day. You can also give them a good deal of shade with this method by building the tractors with a solid roof.

Yeah. Rabbit Tractors is what I 1st thought about. But the bigger they get, the heavier they are to move, and I don't feel comfortable with several rabbits being cooped up in such a small space. I like the idea with them having more room to run around.

But also, even with a Rabbit Tractor, it is still a chance of them digging out. At least with a bigger area, the fence line can be dug deeper into the ground to prevent escape and/or predators.

That's just my thoughts on it anyways.

We raise our rabbits on pasture.

Ours are housed in wire dog crates that we move around as needed. Anything bigger than that gets too heavy to move for one person ... if you have help, you could probably go with something bigger, which would mean you'd move it less often. Wheels don't work, as the wheels leave an escape hatch between the frame and the ground.

In general, we have to move the rabbits twice a day with this set up. Obviously it depends on the time of year, what's growing, how much rain we've had, and which rabbits are in a particular pen (some just eat more than others). We just keep an eye on them and move them when they've eaten what they're sitting on. Sometimes they can go a day or two on the same spot. On average, we spend about 30 minutes twice a day to scoot the cages over, adjust cage covers for shade, and give them water.

We have tried methods where the rabbits were put into a bigger fenced area, and it didn't work for us. No matter what we did, some enterprising bunny always found a way out. We buried the fence wire, put a wire floor on the area, stretched chicken wire over the top ... nothing. They always got out. We also had a couple of issues with predators, although escapees were by and large the biggest problem.

As for how long it will take the rabbits to eat down the pasture and how long it takes to grow back ... it depends. What kind of plants are growing there? Are there things they won't eat (if so, those things will take over unless you remove them)? How much rain do you get? How much sun? Pasture will generally grow quickly in spring and fall ... summer, not so much.

Have you thought about how you'd move the rabbits from one pasture area to the other? Are you going to have to go into the pen and catch them all? That might be a little time consuming.

Shade is important, and it really has nothing to do with bleaching their fur, although that certainly does happen. Rabbits are very heat sensitive and can die of heatstroke pretty easily. When we had the fenced area, we made them a tent of sort out of tarps. Now we just cover half the crate. We also fill soda bottles, freeze them, and then put them in the crates in the summer. The rabbits lie up against them to stay cool.

I'd be interesting to hear how it goes for you ... if you can figure out a way to keep them from getting out, I'd love to hear about it!

Avalon Laux wrote:But also, even with a Rabbit Tractor, it is still a chance of them digging out. At least with a bigger area, the fence line can be dug deeper into the ground to prevent escape and/or predators.

This was a lesson I had to learn when using a rabbit tractor. First, I had nothing on the bottom and just lined the outside with bricks (rabbits escaped). So I then flipped the tractor over (the top had been covered with chicken wire)- they chewed a hole through the chicken wire bottom. So I had to go to more durable fencing on the bottom, but not so small that they couldn't get the grass and so that their waste wouldn't clog up the fence holes. This worked great- especially with something mobile like a tractor- you want it to be easy to move (my husband and I would each take an end, pick up the tractor rabbits and all, and move to the next spot).

Ferne Reid wrote:
Shade is important, and it really has nothing to do with bleaching their fur, although that certainly does happen. Rabbits are very heat sensitive and can die of heatstroke pretty easily. When we had the fenced area, we made them a tent of sort out of tarps. Now we just cover half the crate. We also fill soda bottles, freeze them, and then put them in the crates in the summer. The rabbits lie up against them to stay cool.

I'd be interesting to hear how it goes for you ... if you can figure out a way to keep them from getting out, I'd love to hear about it!

Sorry if I misworded my post. I know about that they don't do well in heat. We used to do the same thing when I raised rabbits when I was younger. We used 2 liter bottles filled with water and freeze them. So they could cool down a stretch out next to it. As rabbits love to chew on things, we'd save the inside cardboard center of a toilet paper roll, and give to the rabbits. They loved them. They'd toss it up in the air, and play!

I'm currently helping my mom with moving, so I can't get any rabbits of my own yet. I wanted to get some for her, but she is against it.

Erin Blegen wrote:

Avalon Laux wrote:But also, even with a Rabbit Tractor, it is still a chance of them digging out. At least with a bigger area, the fence line can be dug deeper into the ground to prevent escape and/or predators.

This was a lesson I had to learn when using a rabbit tractor. First, I had nothing on the bottom and just lined the outside with bricks (rabbits escaped). So I then flipped the tractor over (the top had been covered with chicken wire)- they chewed a hole through the chicken wire bottom. So I had to go to more durable fencing on the bottom, but not so small that they couldn't get the grass and so that their waste wouldn't clog up the fence holes. This worked great- especially with something mobile like a tractor- you want it to be easy to move (my husband and I would each take an end, pick up the tractor rabbits and all, and move to the next spot).

Yeah. Rabbit Tractors are more easier when it comes to moving the rabbits around. Idk, it just seems too much like a cage for me to be comfortable with it.

If I do go with a Rabbit Tractor though, it would be more of an "A-Frame" with a wood board go across about mid height. That way they got a cozy place to sleep, where they can get up off the ground, when it rains...

I remember a guy when I was a kid who had free ranging rabbits. It seems that rabbits stayed where the food and water was.
He had a outside dog that was rabbit friendly. The dog kept the varmints away.
However, there was not much vegetation around his house due to all the rabbits.

I can only hope this discussion can be resumed after so many years.

I simply want to ask: how did the pasture grazing rabbit idea turn out?

I would love to do it. I don't sit well with rabbits in cages or tractors. The pasture way seems easiest and most humane after a ton of leg work, building infrastructure, has been complete.

Welcome to the forum!

I hope bringing up this older thread will generate some interest.

I feel most folks in this thread seem to like crates and tractors.

Since you are against that idea, how do you plan to get the rabbits to somewhere safe at night?  

Hi Adam,
Welcome to Permies.

I wish I could remember the name, but there was a woman in the midwest who did some experimenting with pasture rabbits. She made wheeled "burrows" that the rabbits could hop up into, from the bottom. The fences were solid on the bottom, because she found they would not try to dig out as much with a solid bottom, as they dug less by the fence than if they could see through it. She had a youtube video or two, but I can't find them right now. Maybe someone else has heard or could find it. It looked like an interesting setup.

**Edit to make my wording more clear.

When thinking about grazing your rabbits, start with the dangers of disease. Tuleramia is a problem in some places, it will kill a rabbit very quick and is also zoonotic i.e you can get sick too. Coccidia is another problem and although supposedly species specific, i do hear of people that have chickens with this that also end up with heir rabbits getting infected. Then add some diseases from biting flies like myx and hemmoragic fever that vaccines don't always fully prevent.
Add to that wild rabbits visiting and honestly i much rather put them indoors somewhere, even before i start thinking about predators and loose dogs/cats.
Also weather patterns are changing and what wants to relocate to your place with it. Between being dependant on what they produce and just being a responsible owner the choice of putting them outdoors or not is one that requires more consideration than emotional feel good reasons.

tamara dutch wrote:When thinking about grazing your rabbits, start with the dangers of disease. Tuleramia is a problem in some places, it will kill a rabbit very quick and is also zoonotic i.e you can get sick too. Coccidia is another problem and although supposedly species specific, i do hear of people that have chickens with this that also end up with heir rabbits getting infected. Then add some diseases from biting flies like myx and hemmoragic fever that vaccines don't always fully prevent.
Add to that wild rabbits visiting and honestly i much rather put them indoors somewhere, even before i start thinking about predators and loose dogs/cats.
Also weather patterns are changing and what wants to relocate to your place with it. Between being dependant on what they produce and just being a responsible owner the choice of putting them outdoors or not is one that requires more consideration than emotional feel good reasons.

I would like to add on to this reply. I am going on 3 years raising meat rabbits. Mine are in suspended cages. Where I live now, there are too many predators and not enough cover and I don't have pasture. We plan to move next year and I am hoping to experiment with rabbit tractors.

One thing to understand about rabbits is that they are prey animals. This is unlike chickens who are both prey and predator. What this means is that security is their highest concern, especially for the does. I am very concerned with the health and well being of the animals I raise. I do wish I could provide more space for them to run around. But I also do not think they are "discontent" as they are in my 36x30 cages with redundant water systems and pellets and hay and fan. I am not making excuses, I do not feel defensive about how I raise my rabbits, I am replying for anyone reading to consider differing POVs.

Disease is also a very real concern. The virus RHDV2 (released in Australia to combat the feral rabbit population) has been detected in the county where I live. And I have lots of wild rabbits on my place. I can truly only keep my rabbits safe in cages off the ground with my German Shepherds protecting the area from the feral dogs and cats and coyotes, etc.  A friend who lives in my area tried a colony setting only to have her rabbits get pasteurella from the wild rabbits. Disease and parasite concerns will vary widely among locations so it is something to check out as you are making your decision.

Editing to include this link to RHDV2 outbreak map.


I am very interested in this thread and in hearing about how people are pasturing or tractoring their rabbits!

Aha! I found it. Her name is Julie Engel.

I liked the idea of skirting on the fence. The most interesting part is watching her begin to move the rabbits. I was hoping to be taken through her whole system but wasn't the object of the video.

We have pet rabbits that managed to chew thru wooden hutches or jump out when the children were tending them. Our dog won't mess with them as he knows they're our pets. The oldest buck which is the dad or grandad of the majority has been patrolling the population. Only once has a baby bunny been hidden well enough to get over 6" long. His daughter raised a batch that escaped at 4 months old. He didn't kill them, but sure chased the first escape artist until it nearly collapsed. Once they were bigger he ignored them. They are completely free range as are the ducks and chickens. They come to the garage to eat rabbit pellets or scrounge around the chicken scraps and feed. The interesting thing is that they all go around in pairs, and kinda hang around the ducks or the rooster. They know the ducks warn of danger before anything else even noticed. We know them by name, and some are quite friendly while others keep their distance. Two have been out for over a year, the other 7 for at least 4 months. They graze in the hay field.
One has had to have it's teeth trimmed. It's the tamest one and didn't hold a grudge. It comes up and sits at my feet.
I've been amazed that the eagles, coyotes, and foxes haven't gotten them, but they must hide well at night. They do have lots of hidey holes around bales, beams, and firewood in the barn. I've lost more ducks killed on the road than by predators, tho the eagles got a duck and a mother hen.
The neighbors enjoy walking, and one drives their dogs down to see our critters.