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My rabbits are outdoor rabbits. The crows do not act against them.

But when my rabbits (daily) leave their enclosure to roam free in the garden, the crows want to get into the enclosure to steal the rabbits' food.

Crow

The "door" to the enclosure (opened in the morning, and closed in the evening) is an around 30x30cm wooden square with (stable) mesh wire in it. In the beginning I took this square and placed it out of the way, most time on the roof of the enclosure. Then I noticed some crows, that tried to enter the enclosure. So I decided to not take the square away, but instead open it and lean it against the door frame. The rabbits could "dive" through, but the crows could not "walk in". This worked for a couple of month now.

Yesterday in the evening I noticed that the door square lays on the ground, and today in the morning I saw again a crow, that was stalking the rabbit enclosure. It becomes autumn here, so I assume the crows are more hungry than in the summer and search more actively for food.

How could I "defend" the rabbit enclosure against crows? (But the rabbits need to be able to hide there anytime.)

(Today I found a great tit inside the enclosure... it did not find the way out until I helped it...)

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  • Would the rabbits use a door that works like a cat flap? Or maybe a tunnel? (Just throwing a few ideas around.)
    – Stephie
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 6:09
  • @Stephie tunnel sounds a good option to divide rabbits from crows :) rabbits like them, and I hope crows did not... I have to think about the "How"
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 6:54
  • Any updates on the crow situation?
    – Stephie
    Commented Oct 20, 2020 at 4:27
  • @Stephie , I have tried the tunnel, but my bunnies do not like it. They try to press theirself through between tunnel and door-frame. I tried to decrease the door-opening in general, and it works partly. The crows now do not walk in this easy, but if they really want, they do. I managed to sit near a window for some hours, working, and to interrupt them, when I see them. This seems to work, even if they only remember the time table, when I sit near the window ^^
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented Oct 20, 2020 at 10:39

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I would probably construct a tunnel - choose a width that fits your rabbits’ body size. Rabbits’ main axis is horizontal, crows’ vertical, which means that rabbits love tunnels, birds don’t.

Maybe you can find a pipe that fits or construct something out of wood.

If you want to make it extra-uncomfortable for the crows, include a curve or bend, that should keep the crows out. If narrow enough (especially if you have dwarf rabbits) bends will also keep some predators out.

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  • Maybe you have some ideas too for how to close the tunnel over night? This is the point I am thinking about, when imagine the tunnel idea.
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 8:16
  • A trap door? Just like the previous door? I assume the old door was in some kind of guidance or slats?
    – Stephie
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 8:18
  • ah okay... SO you guess to change the door against a tunnel every morning. I will try and make an update then :)
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 8:20
  • Nah, just add the door to one end of the tunnel or somewhere easy to reach for you. Let me see if I can find a picture.
    – Stephie
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 8:21
  • Sorry, didn’t find a good picture. I was imagining something like a portcullis mechanism - obviously without spikes at the bottom. You can incorporate the guiding grooves wherever it fits in your setup. Then you can open / close the passage just like before. Or did I misinterpret your existing construction?
    – Stephie
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 11:09

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