[Daisys Mum]

noticed this morning that several of my apple trees which are in the hen run have had the bark eaten off them at the bottom, I didn't think rabbits would attack mature trees?

[cloddopper]

Rabbits & hares love to chew on them  to help keep their teeth down and to help  bring certain bacteria into their gut.

If they haven't done too much damage , can you fit standard tree guards around the trunk or if the trunk is too big  cut the bottom out of a plastic bucket and slit the side to make one add plenty of chicken wire to the bucket to Keep the away from further up the trunk

OR
Use 1/2 " chicken wire fastened on a triangle of four foot tall sticks hammered it to the ground .

[Daisys Mum]

They have done a fair bit of damage to two of them, we have managed to get tree guards round the smaller ones and chicken wire round the bigger ones.

[cloddopper]

Some times painting a newly chewed bark area with several coats of thick mud helps  protect the tree whilst it gets over the shock of the attack but you still need to put the guards in place afterwards .