Wild bunny and pet bunny in the same yard...

We have always had at least 1 wild bunny in our chainlink fenced huge backyard since we moved in 8 years ago. There are wild bunnys all over our neighborhood but ours have their "den" in a stonewall by our garage. Last year we had 2 bigger wild bunnys and one wee baby bunny who scared the heck out of me when I was hoeing out my garden in the spring...he/she was hiding in the tall grass and very nearly was decapitated with my hoe! Luckily I saw movement in the grass and didn't swing, I watched him/her for a good hour just sitting in the sun and even petted him/her a bit. Sweet little guy! I am even offering them timothy hay near their den hole for the winter. So, we are adopting a pet indoor bunny very soon but I would like to let the pet bunny forage in the grass outdoors in a pen for some exercise and sunshine (supervised of course). My question is can my future pet bunny catch anything from the wild bunnys, or should I just set his outdoor pen on the porch and not risk it?

I'm no expert, but I have a couple of thoughts on the subject. I do think a pet bunny could catch fleas, ticks, and maybe even ear mites from wild bunnies. You could treat your pet bunny with Revolution to prevent that, but there may be illness or intestinal parasites that could be transmitted as well. Hopefully, some other members know more about this and can advise you. I would like to know too because I am thinking of building an outdoor run for my rabbits in the spring and although they wouldn't come in direct contact with the wild rabbits, they might be close by. You'll have to consider if they might be in the same grass even if it's at different times.

I think as long as you watch your indoor rabbit and it is in a safe enclosure it should be ok. I would worry about fleas and ticks also , but as long as you buy flea&tick protection you should be fine. When I let my rabbits out in the summer, most of the time they just jump around and dig, I don't think I ever saw mine eat grass , maybe he is just weird XD.

I asked my vet when I first put up my rabbit house for my retarded agouti's that they never used because there was a cotton tail family out there near the rabbit house and he said there was no chance of anything like rabies or things like that. I think he said the only thing to worry about was fleas or ticks or mites since those things were naturally out there and could even be picked up and passed along by our dogs. I personally am not worried when I try again come spring and summer. They will not be sharing the same water or food sources and he didn't seem concerned. My vet is one that is a specialist in rabbits so while I never take what a doctor says 100% he was of the opinion if they were being separated by something solid the buns should be ok (solid like screen walls, etc..)

Vanessa

What country are you in?

They're in the USA, so I imagine the rabbits will be cottontails which I believe makes calici and myxo a non-issue? Or do they carry it but not catch it themselves?

Myxi is spread through biting insects like fleas and mosquitos... I don't know about types of rabbits over there, but I imagine that if they can carry infected fleas they might be able to offload them in your yard. I'm no expert though- over here, all wild rabbits are infection risks.

Aha - location wasn't there earlier...

Calici and myxo are the things rabbits get vaccinated for or have to worry about avoiding in some parts of the world. Calici = Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), also known as rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) or viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD); myxo = myxomatosis. Both are a BIG concern for people in Australia or the UK. Domesticated rabbits are vaccinated for RHD in both countries and in the UK, they're also vaccinated against myxy... however, pet rabbits in Australia can't be vaccinated for myxomatosis because wild rabbits are basically a plague on both farmers and the environment in general - myxy was actually deliberately introduced in Australia as a means of keeping the wild rabbit population somewhat under control; the vaccine is banned for fear of it spreading to the wild rabbits and making more of them immune.

As for the US, RHD is not transmitted by the wild rabbit population and, while there were previously outbreaks amongst domesticated rabbits, it has since been eliminated:

After outbreaks of RHD in 2000, 2001, and 2005 in domesticated rabbits, the United States has eradicated RHD from its rabbit populations. The native species, cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus), black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) and volcano rabbits (Romerolagus diazzi) seem not to be susceptible to the virus.

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(source: Wikipedia)

Myxomatosis does seem to exist here to some degree, however, it's extremely rare - so much so that rabbits aren't vaccinated for it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_haemorrhagic_disease#cite_note-IAS-3

In rabbits of the genus Sylvilagus (cottontail rabbits) living in the Americas, myxomatosis only causes localized skin tumors, but the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is more severely affected.

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(Source: Wikipedia)

June 2010: We have found out about three confirmed cases of Myxomatosis (Myxo) in San Gabriel, California. All three rabbits died.

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(Source: HRS; also indicates that it's a different strain of Myxo in the US, which is why the vaccine in the UK can't be given to prevent Myxo here)

In the United States, myxomatosis is most commonly seen along the Pacific coast. There are several strains of the virus. The virus that is present in the Western USA is referred to as the California strain of myxoma virus and possesses characteristics that differ slightly from other strains. California strains have been known to cause over 99% mortality.

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(Source)

In other words, as far as anyone knows, wild rabbits in the New England states wouldn't potentially have any viruses that could be spread to domesticated rabbits. That said, there's still the concern of parasites (fleas, ticks, mites, etc.).

Thanks for the more detailed analysis Imbrium I couldn't remember the particulars.

Very interesting, thanks

Thank you for all the replies. I'm mostly going to keep him/her on the pourch during "outside time" in the x pen but will allow a bit of on grass play, I'll keep an eye out for pests. My golden retriever could not use flea/tick meds last year as the vet was trying to isolate possible allregies with her and she was tick/flea free the whole summer (though she only goes out for extended outdoor time with me which equals maybe two hours per day).

I did add my location after I posted the original message, we are in MA.

Ok , that sounds good, I wouldn't worry about anything

3willowsbunny said:

Thank you for all the replies. I'm mostly going to keep him/her on the pourch during "outside time" in the x pen but will allow a bit of on grass play, I'll keep an eye out for pests. My golden retriever could not use flea/tick meds last year as the vet was trying to isolate possible allregies with her and she was tick/flea free the whole summer (though she only goes out for extended outdoor time with me which equals maybe two hours per day).

I did add my location after I posted the original message, we are in MA.

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I have used my X pen outside in the grass with Brooke and Lady my lop with no problems and they have not picked up anything. They were just at the vet in December. I also take them out to where my fenced in garden area is where they run free and hop all over the place and run like wild bunnies!

But in November when I set the X pen up outside when it was still warm like in the 70's here in Maryland/DC I had no problems and still saw cottontails in the area and neighbourhood. I don't think that they picked up any ticks or anything. If you are just interested in putting them in an Xpen in the yard to get some sun and excercise, I would do that. The type of X pen I bought has a cover you can buy to block hawks, owls, whatever from seeing your bun and trying to pick them off or you can use it as a bottom cover to protect your carpet or tile if you use it inside the house. I've been doing that since I got them with no problems.

Vanessa

If you're just using an x-pen for supervised playtime in the grass now and then, I see no reason why it would be a problem. A LOT of people (myself included) give their indoor bunnies a chance to play outside when the weather is nice by setting up an x-pen. I love getting fresh air with the bunns and my neighbor enjoys spending time with us in the bunny pen too . I can tell my rabbits really miss their outside time - we're living in an apartment temporarily and I don't trust the grass here to be pesticide and fertilizer free, so they have to stay in.

Personally, I don't use a cover for a few reasons - one, I use 3-4 pens connected to make a really big run and the store-bought covers only fit a single pen arranged in a circle, two, I set up the run in the middle of the front yard where three HUGE trees have the area above the pen very well covered and three, I'm always sitting inside the pen with them. Covers are definitely optional - a removable cover over a portable pen can't replace the need for supervision and isn't needed if you're *right* there the whole time but it can certainly provide some added peace of mind if you're not necessarily devoting your full attention to the bunns (like if you were gardening nearby or something).

Never though about a cover but we do have a red tail hawk that I see around quite a bit. I might be connecting two x pens together so I was thinking probably clothespinning a sheet over the top, that would keep the hawk out at the very least. I will be right with the bun whenever he/she is out in the pen.

I have 5 pet rabbits and 1 young cotton tail rabbit what I did to make sure the pet rabbits wouldn't hurt the cotton tail I caught one pet rabbit and I rubbed the cotton tail on the pet rabbit and so far not a lot of problems

this is a good thread .... thxs for the share