Guinea pigs and rabbits sharing a garden

[slipperandpjsmum]

We have kept gp for some time and love it. A friend is trying to re-home a couple of rabbits. I have always thought its a real no, no to keep the two together. Am I right? We have a large garden which we could divide into areas to keep them apart?

Your thoughts/advice very welcome

As long as they aren't actually in together then I don't see why not.

Rabbits need a fair bit of room though. And alot of looking after, so make sure you think it through.

Good luck :)

Thanks Queen. Do they? More than gps?

I've never kept rabbits (my first experience was being bitten when I was 5 ), but I'd imagine they need more room than pigs and more height because they like to stand on their hind legs to look. GPs only do this is their is food in the offing. They are cute enough without having to play cute unless they want to.

There's a respiratory infection/bacteria that bunnies can carry that will affect a GP (can remember the name but it's Googleable) so check with your friend that they're up-to-date with their innoculations.

If they don't come face-to-face and there's no risk of a squabble, then go for it.
We've got 2 boars and DD helps with the school bunnies. She much prefers the GPs. Much more portable and cuddly.
I don't see the point of rabbits TBH - more to admire in the garden than hold-(though lots of people don't see the point of GPs) but you'd still have to catch them and check twice a day for flystrike and check their teeth and claws.

Is it important to keep them apart because they fight?

I think that a rabbit can do a fair bit of damage to a gp with a kick.

Rabbits cost more, will need jabs, most aren't very keen on cuddles .
My two I had as a child would not be tamed despite hours spent with them. Not all like this obviously.

There are a few recent threads here on rabbits. May be worth giving them a read.

Bonkey is right- a rabbit can kill a GP with a kick or at least cause it some damage.
If a rabbit bullies a GP into a corner, it would come off worse. GP faces are more ground level than rabbits.
If they are kept together (which I see you are not planning) their diet is very different.
GPs need Vit C and more pellets and veg. (IIRC bunnies get an eggcup of pellets, mainly hay/grass)

GPs have basically no defences? They can't scratch with their feeble ickle legs or scratch. They can adminster a bite but can't turn very quickly.
Their main defence is hide.
So that's why we go all soppy and protective over hogs.

Thats been really useful thanks

A friend of mine had a rabbit and a gp together. The rabbit ate the gp's head.

How many rabbits is she rehoming? Does she currently keep them together? My rabbits fight if put together.

at a gp eating rabbit!!!!!!!

See, that's just confirmed to me that all rabbits are evil monsters disguised as cute fluffy bunnies

My Bouncer is an evil monster.

The rabbit ate the GP's head

AAAAAaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhh!

(I know rabbits will eat their own babies - fair enough, I've considered eating my own children on occasions- but to eat a Guinea's head)......nasty!!

Tries to un-read BOE s post.

Ick, pass the eye bleach. I'd expect that perhaps of a ferret, but I didn't realise rabbits were THAT nasty.

Yes, what everyone else has said about keeping them separate due to differing dietary requirements, the risk of bacterial infection for pigs and the risk of serious injury to the guinea pig (seemingly including potential decapitation!)

I think buns need to be neutered, but I'm not a bun expert.

We had a rabbit and a guinea pig when I was a child. They live together and we never had any problem. The rabbit was very protective of the guinea pig which was sweet. He did try to shag him sometimes but the gp didn't seem to mind. My best friend also had a rabbit and a gp together successfully. Hers were both female and ours were both male - don't know if that makes any difference?

If you have the space to keep them totally separate, then you could go for it. Two rabbits need about 44 sq foot in hutch and run space, plus ideally another run on top of that. Mine have 48sq hutch space but free range during the day through the whole garden.

agree, that abbits are much harder work, lot more expensive, not really cuddly, etc. They look cute and cuddly, but they are usually strong minded, often grumpy, stand offish little creatures. Not friendly at all like gps. think cats in comparison to dogs - everything is on THEIR terms.

We have gps and rabbits together in the same garden. If you are able to let them run free in the garden and your garden is bigger than a small yard it should be ok as the gps will not get trapped in small spaces with the rabbits. Our garden is about 40 ft square.

By 40ft square I mean 40ft x 40ft!