What's a nestbox full of youngsters called in the winter??

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With these hay racks, you can tamp the hay down in there pretty tight.

The rabbits have to work at it. They must nip pieces of the hay,
getting only what the can cut loose from the matted hay in the rack.
They don't waste much this way.

Not nearly as much waste compared to other methods I've witnessed.

grumpy.
 
I used to use an old chest freezer to keep bags of pellets for the horses away from vermin. People will give them to you if the freezers are not working. I used to put an ad on craigslist and say I will haul away for free. I don't go through enough rabbit feed (Yet!) for it to stay fresh enough, but it works really well if you're using enough feed, very easy to handle and there are lots of different sizes of freezers. Just a thought..
 
I built my storage cabinet to suit the size
of two bags of feed laid end to end.

It holds 14 bags, which I go through about every 10 to 11 days.
Today was a 2-bag day. I filled all of the feeders for the grow outs. Tomorrow, should be only one. The grow-out feeders should be okay.

grumpy.
 
Grumpy,
I would like some more info on your feeder extenders. We are running into the same problem.
 
I used to use an old chest freezer to keep bags of pellets for the horses away from vermin.

Mini Satins,
I am doing that now, I had an none working Box freezer.
I removed the motor, lined it with 4ply plastic sheeting.
It holds about 200 lbs +. It is easy to use a scooper
and feed the rabbits. I also have anothe plastic fifty gal
feed barrel which I now use to hold a few extra bags of feed.
Once they go into the freezer I plan my next trip to the feed store.
I have also nearly completed changing my cages to resemble Grumpy's.
I have made the doors so that they will fold back almost in half, to allow
the entry of a nestbox more easily. They will not fold once the doors are
hooked closed. That Grumpy, he's quite the inventor!
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 
TerriG":3bf1lzba said:
Grumpy,
I would like some more info on your feeder extenders. We are running into the same problem.

TerriG:
I'll try to get some pics of the extenders today. I've got two kinds that I use.

Ottersatin:
Thanks very much for the kind words. I'm always looking for ways to make
rabbit keeping an easier endeavor for the owner. "if it's easier..it's more fun."
 
Great cart and, one I am going to build, well almost. My DH can get free wooden pallets and, broken dollies or pallet jacks. Those will be perfect for building carts, and free to boot. Check with warehouses, most have pallets they can't return or reuse and, ones with a broken runner are usually considered trash, so are free and, they sometimes trash broken pallet jacks and doilies too - free wheels since that is usually not what is broken.
 
squidpop":2qmyx62q said:
To "What is a nestbox called in Winter?" I was going to say Popplecycles! :pancake:

:lol: :lol: I've had a few of those, that's for sure. :lol: :lol:

TerriG":2qmyx62q said:
Thank you grumpy. I appreciate that :D

Here we go: First of all.....this is all "Scraps" that I picked up here and there.
7/16" OSB can be found on any construction site and will gladly be given away.
You just have to ask for the scrap sheeting and it's an easy pick-up.

5/32" Luan underlayment is a little harder to find. But, it's not that expensive
to buy a sheet. I usually have the yard cut the panel in half giving me two 4X4 foot pieces.
If you can locate a cabinet shop in your area, they'll have lots of small scraps for the taking.

Cut the OSB into strips that will "slip-fit" into the feeder edges.
The height is up to you.....the taller they are, the more feed you can hold.
I usually figure the height that I want and add 2 inches to slip down into the feeder.

Set your saw for each step. Cut all pieces at the same time before
changing your set-up for the next step. You'll have stacks of each piece
cut exactly the same as the one before. It's like assembly-line work, boring
but precise.

I use a quarter inch crown air-stapler and "glue" to put all of my rabbit
stuff together. You can change the lengths of the staples to suit the project
you're doing. Most importantly though is make sure you use a good grade
of carpenter's wood-glue. I've banged these things around quite a bit and
have never had one come apart.

Here's the profile on the size feeders I use on most of my doe pens.
I bought some cages that had the 11 1/2" feeders come with them.
I DON'T LIKE THEM!!! They're too big and weaken the front in my opinion.
For my doe pens, I use a 7 1/2" feeder on all of them w/an extender when
the kits begin coming out of the box.
feederextenders118_zps65d19648.jpg


Here's a pic of one in use on the cage itself. It holds about 30 hours worth of feed.
A doe, and a litter of eight will have feed in front of them at all times.
Larger litters should have the feeder filled each day.

SANY0047.jpg


The next one is a "flare" top feeder that goes on my grow-out pens.
I bought all of these cages and the 5 1/2" feeders came with them.
So.........that's what I used. I'm tight and didn't want to buy new feeders.

feederextenders117_zpsde25ebd9.jpg


You'll have to build a "jig" to hold the OSB sides while you put the fronts and backs on.
On these, I made sure they were a "snug" fit sliding into place.
On some, I have to "tap" them to get the extender down against the top.
feederextenders119_zpsa5270717.jpg


You can see that the Luan paneling rests on the top of the feeder.
They work really nice and the rabbits will not run out of feed from one
day to the next. Those fryers need feed in front of them at all times. NO EXCUSES!!
You can give them a good ration of hay about every other day. They'll darned
sure let you know when they want some. Mine get spoiled and beg all the time.

One thing to remember: Don't get frustrated!!! I've done this type of woodworking
for nearly 50 years. All of these little projects are just "dummied-down"
cabinet and furniture making. You'll mess up every so often. Hell's Bell's
I still make mistakes. But that's part of the game. Just keep trying to do
better with each project. AND WATCH OUT FOR YOUR FINGERS!!!!
These power tools are very unforgiving and will eat a portion of you if you offer it.

Hope this helps, thanks for looking.

Grumpy.
 
Yeah, I'm no stranger to power tools. I'm one of those crazy ladies that begs my hubby to buy me power tools :D He just got me a pneumatic stapler this week. I am so excited at all the additional projects I can do!
 
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TerriG":3suqeky9 said:
Yeah, I'm no stranger to power tools. I'm one of those crazy ladies that begs my hubby to buy me power tools :D He just got me a pneumatic stapler this week. I am so excited at all the additional projects I can do!

For DECADES!!! I harped about a "real"-carpenter wouldn't be
caught "DEAD" using one of them new-fangled-contraptions.

With the passage of time.........."shoe-leather" STILL has an unpleasant taste!
Ya know like........Open-mouth........Insert-foot. :x

I'm still not a big fan of framing-nailers...........
BUT....finish nailers and crown staplers are worth their weight in GOLD!!
Those two little items are just AWESOME!!
I will not trim out a house without my finish nailer.

Using the thicknesses of lumber I use today,
I could not drive a nail with a hammer.
Every piece would split wide open. But those shot-nails travel so fast the
wood doesn't know what hit it!! LOL.
Plus them little suckers are so fast, a job flies by.

I can't say enough good things about them.
They've made me a better craftsman.

BTW::: The first time I used a framing nailer, I shot a nail through
the fatty part of my hand between my thumb and index finger.
That smarted!!!

grumpy.
 
grumpy":3pdrggij said:
TerriG":3pdrggij said:
Yeah, I'm no stranger to power tools. I'm one of those crazy ladies that begs my hubby to buy me power tools :D He just got me a pneumatic stapler this week. I am so excited at all the additional projects I can do!

For DECADES!!! I harped about a "real"-carpenter wouldn't be
caught "DEAD" using one of them new-fangled-contraptions.

With the passage of time.........."shoe-leather" STILL has an unpleasant taste!
Ya know like........Open-mouth........Insert-foot. :x

I'm still not a big fan of framing-nailers...........
BUT....finish nailers and crown staplers are worth their weight in GOLD!!
Those two little items are just AWESOME!!
I will not trim out a house without my finish nailer.

Using the thicknesses of lumber I use today,
I could not drive a nail with a hammer.
Every piece would split wide open. But those shot-nails travel so fast the
wood doesn't know what hit it!! LOL.
Plus them little suckers are so fast, a job flies by.

I can't say enough good things about them.
They've made me a better craftsman.

BTW::: The first time I used a framing nailer, I shot a nail through
the fatty part of my hand between my thumb and index finger.
That smarted!!!

grumpy.

YEOUCH! I regularly use my compound miter saw, my jigsaw, my impact driver, my drill, etc. I even got a saw-z-all to use when I was building the rabbit barn. I've used a skill saw and a table saw. I don't like to use those on my own. I am usually cutting pieces of wood that are too big for me to handle on my own when I use those. I had an electric nailer that I used until it died. That is why hubby wanted to get me a pneumatic one. People tell him not to buy me tools. He just looks at them and laughs and tells them that they don't know me :D
 
I can remember my first Sawzall. It was a Milwaukee variable speed my
wife bought for me on my 37th birthday. That was one cool tool. LOL. I couldn't get over the fact how easy it made re-habbing old buildings.

Now, I'd be lost without it. The old one gave up the ghost a few years ago.
I went right back out and bought another. Same brand. That quick-twist
blade changer is handier than a pocket on a shirt.
 
Sadly, I must buy my own tools. But my dad did buy me a new drill last summer. So far, the jigsaw and Dremel do most of the work. I have a miter saw, but my brother somehow locked it up. I keep saying I'm going to take it to get fixed. I don't think one can ever have enough power tools.
 
Okay, hijack back to the first page (although I agree with everyone, power tools are awesome, and Grumpy is a genius with building nifty things)

That entire line of does that come from Gala, that are all sweethearts and pop out an average of 8 kits each litter and are great moms? Why, you've got a batch of good apples there. I vote that the line all gets apple-themed names. Do you still have Gala's dam? She could be Granny Smith. Honeycrisp, Fiji, Anna... there's a lot of girls names in apples, I've discovered after a quick google search. :D
 
Sorry too resurrect an old thread, but I am finally getting to this project. I think I will mock up a set of two with osb and cardboard to make sure I get it right. I need to angle it out to clear slant board gutters. When w mocked up the gutters, we discovered it was really difficult to fill the j feeders on our lower cages. Those are also mainly our grow out cages, so it's a fix for two problems. The only j feeders that I HAVE to fill every day are out grow outs and does with kits.
 
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