small outdoor colony

I have lots of netherlands I want to keep and I've been going over cage logistics without finding a good solution. Then I decided why waste space with individual cages and trying to raise them off the ground when most of my colors are not going to be show quality requiring pedigrees anyway. I think out of my current litter I have 2 black chin and 1 chocolate chin does and then 2 ermine bucks. I have a young blue otter doe and an adult chocolate doe. The chocolate will not breed no matter what I try but she got along fine in a cage with my buck for weeks. I have a broken chin buck carrying sable and self. Maybe I could put 2-3 does and a buck together.

What if I lay down 2 rolls of 30" wire to make 5' across and about 10' long. 3' high with top opening roof sections. Then I can just step into the colony to do stuff. I wonder about feeder and waterer heights at 3' since we like to use chicken items in colonies. I have to decide on a floor to know how high I'd have to raise things up.

if it's in a very sheltered part of the yard with plywood roof do we need any sides that aren't wire? We get feet of snow and subzero temps but the chainlink it would go against has some type of wood barrier rolled down one side and the other side has a structure a few feet away in the neighbor's yard. There are several trees over the area.

How do I keep dirt with wire sanitary? I could get a rubber mat and then throw down bedding but they are pricy so it would have to wait a year anyway. Plywood isn't really cheap enough to lay it down either and I had a MR dig right through the center of a plywood barrier and into the aglime underneath when they were in the stable. Scraping down plain wire is difficult and any bedding will pick up moisture from the earth. I don't think 5x10' is big enough to handle the droppings on straight dirt without it becoming a mess. :?

Any way to raise it off the ground a bit- like a non-moving rabbit tractor? Maybe build some frame for floor wire with 2x4s, put them together to make the colony floor? It would get the buns off the ground, and having it in sections might make it easier to clean out when needed underneath the frames.

We're not talking heavy rabbits here. It might work. If you already have the wire, the 2x4s wouldn't be that pricey.

Hmm. Just thought about walking into it. Maybe make 2 30" wide sections however long and have a walkway in the middle- maybe a paver walk way down the middle. The rabbits couldn't dig through it, they would be offf the ground, and it could be swept off as needed.

I can't get sturdy enough wire sized for ND kits. That's part of my cage logistics problem. I would have to order rolls of wire or whole cages. <br /><br /> __________ Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:05 pm __________ <br /><br /> Is weed barrier thick enough to stop Netherlands but porous enough to let water and urine through? Could it be scraped clean without destroying it? :?

Weed barrier is cloth like. I would think it would be to fragile for scraping and to dense to let much water go through it. What about using some larger gage wire under some hardware cloth? The larger gage wire would act as a support so that the hardware cloth could lay over the top and keep little kits inside while still allowing the leavings to drop through. :shrug:

Sagebrush":2j6xh60w said:

Weed barrier is cloth like. I would think it would be to fragile for scraping and to dense to let much water go through it. What about using some larger gage wire under some hardware cloth? The larger gage wire would act as a support so that the hardware cloth could lay over the top and keep little kits inside while still allowing the leavings to drop through. :shrug:

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You are right , weed barrier is more like cloth and tears very easily. I'd go with something else ....


Hardware cloth I wouldn't recommend either ... I have a 2 hole cage with hardware cloth as its flooring and the only thing I can keep in it is grow outs. Any rabbit 5lbs+ for more than a few days and it tears up their hocks something terrible. I intend to replace the bottom very soon as I'd prefer to use this cage for does with litters as each hole is 48x36.

I haven't bought any weed barrier in awhile but the stuff I had could hardly be cut with scissors much less tear by rabbits. We used a utility knife. It's also all made to let water through.

Akane was talking about having it for her Netherland Dwarfs which shouldn't get over 3 pounds. I would figure that with the larger gage (aka rabbit wire) underneath the hardware cloth, it would support it enough that there would be no sagging in the floor and less likely to cause the sore hocks in her little buns.

The only other thing I can really think of is to take the rabbit wire (1/2 X 1 inch spacing) and doubling that. One facing one way and the other going cross wise to that, tied somehow to keep them from moving and catching toes. That way there it would only have the 1/2 inch spacing to keep tiny kits on the wire and less likely to go through to the ground. It could still be scraped and cleaned with a solution and stiff wire brush.

I have only ever come across the fabric weed barrier. I have used heavy construction plastic to keep weeds out around some plants but even that can be torn up by rabbits teeth and claws.

Sagebrush":3g4owykw said:

Akane was talking about having it for her Netherland Dwarfs which shouldn't get over 3 pounds. I would figure that with the larger gage (aka rabbit wire) underneath the hardware cloth, it would support it enough that there would be no sagging in the floor and less likely to cause the sore hocks in her little buns.

The only other thing I can really think of is to take the rabbit wire (1/2 X 1 inch spacing) and doubling that. One facing one way and the other going cross wise to that, tied somehow to keep them from moving and catching toes. That way there it would only have the 1/2 inch spacing to keep tiny kits on the wire and less likely to go through to the ground. It could still be scraped and cleaned with a solution and stiff wire brush.

I have only ever come across the fabric weed barrier. I have used heavy construction plastic to keep weeds out around some plants but even that can be torn up by rabbits teeth and claws.

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I don't know ... hardware cloth may work for those small buns ..... The issue I have with the material is that the diameter of the wire is so thin that it cuts into their hocks.



Imagine having to clean the droppings out of a cage bottom made of weed barrier .... It'll likely retain some moisture from urine too. High maintenance ..... That is , if it holds up to teeth & claws.

What's the standard material for ND cage bottoms ??

What about bark chippings? I have just created a colony style area, with mesh over a dirt floor. The mesh lets the pee go through, but the bark keeps them off the dirt. Its still new, buns only went in there a month ago, but it seems to be working...