Design input for converting a premade shed to a rabbitry

I am thinking of ordering one of those wooden sheds that you can rent to own and having it designed to be my rabbitry. I have looked at a couple designs but they all have the same amenities it will have raised walls so they will be garage height 8ft. The barn style would have a loft area in the back and a taller roof I'm wondering if this would help with keeping the building cooler and better ventilated. I can add windows and am planning on having a house door installed and a screen door for as much airflow as possible. If it doesn't stay cool enough with that and fans I could install a window ac.

Does anyone use one of these types of sheds for rabbits? What has your experience been do you have any helpful advice or things you did or wish you had done when you designed yours? I plan on keeping a small number of English Angora's, Flemish Giants, and meat rabbits. I am wanting to show them all. The buildings Ive been looking at are 10ftx14ft do you think that is large enough?

Thanks. :bunnyhop:

Will you be able to put the shed where there's shade, especially for afternoon? The higher roof should help keep things cooler if you have some sort of ventilation at the top and way for air to come in near the bottom. How big is enough depends on how many rabbits you plan to have and with 3 different breeds, if you're actually breeding all of them, I'd guess that's going to be a lot. Also think about things you need to store and whether they'll be kept in the shed or somewhere else. And how you're going to handle waste. We started with a shed we built and removing the trays for clean-out was awkward. So we made sure when we built the barn to have more room than we thought we'd need in the rabbit area.
Hope that helps and good luck with your rabbits.

I dont have my rabbits in such a structure but do have my chickens in one - it has a window and roof vent but still gets hot in our Ontario, Canada summers and I would worry about ventilation and excess heat which rabbits are very sensitive to. It would be better if one or more sides were open (or covered in wire if predators are a concern) as screen doors and windows really do not allow much air flow

If you get a trio of each breed that's 9 cages and you still need several grow out cages for the babies

I have my meat rabbits in a 10 X 10 section of a barn that has 1/2 high walls and the top section is wire. It has 11 cages for my breeders (2 bucks, 9 does) and is quite crowded and awkward to manuver to clean but I've gotten the knack of it :mrgreen:

There is no room for grow outs in there so they are kept in another 10 X 10 section of the barn and I keep my pellets, hay, bedding, medical kit, records, misc. supplies (nest boxes, spare food & water bowls, etc.) in a third section and in other locations on the property

We have a 10'x12' shed with a loft as our temporary rabbitry. We have small and medium breeds (Netherland Dwarf, Mini Lop, and Czech Frosty) but we have a hard time raising those in such a small space. We have an enclosed trailer that is used for feed and carrier storage, and for anything that doesn't have to be kept in the A/C, so really the only thing in the barn are the rabbits, plus a few things stored in the loft. We have two window A/C units mounted in different walls and a roof vent, plus a small vent fan in a bottom corner. The walls and ceiling are insulated with roll insulation, and the walls are finished with painted plywood. We have to really stay on top of emptying pans to keep the ammonia levels tolerable. I cannot wait to build our "real" barn and move out of such a tight space.

I am hoping to add English Angoras for myself this fall, after we move into bigger quarters. We are just too crowded right now to consider adding another breed.

With the breeds you mentioned and considering the size of cages they would need, I would seriously consider the number of cages you would be able to fit in a 10'x14' shed. Do you realistically think you can accomplish your goals with that number of cages for three breeds? You may be able to do so, but it would require strict culling and knowing your lines to be able to decide which to grow-out an which to get rid of earlier rather than later. That is one of our biggest problems - knowing which rabbits to cull without keeping them as growouts for a while. That takes a lot of cage space dedicated to "wait and sees". You would need to keep a very tight reign on your numbers.

several good comments, -- I also would be concerned about ventilation, and temperature .. poor ventilation manifests in a variety of ways, but-- most people do not figure it out at all, or- only after culling the herd several times for "sniffles" or phantom health, and production issues ,[and other things related to depressed immune systems ] ...

This is our shed. Only 8 x 12 as that's the largest we can put via town rules. We have three stack units in here and probably could put one or two more. Has a window that we put an ac unit in this summer. Has both a front and back door, which we just leave open on mild days. Rusty put a outdoor exercise run on the outside so we can get them some move around time on nice days. Just to note that in the summer when its shut up, you will need to do pans every 2 days, or you will get some ammonia smell. We use pdz and pine pellets in the pans, and its very comfy in there even in the winter. He piped running water and lights, as well as a little cam so we can keep an eye on the new moms when they kindle. Works for us.

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