Shelter Help?

Rabbit Talk  Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

baefull.wolfbunnies

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 29, 2015
Messages
232
Reaction score
0
Location
Everett, WA
Hi Everyone

I have been thinking about this for a while, honestly since I began researching meat rabbits back before Thanksgiving 2014. I want to build a shelter for my buns so they are more protected from the elements and still stay outside. My backyard where they are housed gets a lot of wind; sometimes up to gusts of 10 mph it might not sound like much but it concerns me especially with everything being damp most of the time. Being outside they get damp even though only the front and bottom of their hutch are wire. It would also house my every growing supplies of :oops: dollar store :oops: bun supplies including; first aid kit, nail clippers, harnesses, treats, hay etc. My hubby has been having every increasing sinus/nose issues since I am storing the hay in the house (also probably the bunny fur/dander from me holding the rabbits). Being in Washington its the rainy season 95% of the year, so the hay would spoil outside before it could all be used. I would need to do most of the building as Hubby is at work during the day and our weekends are jam packed as it is, I would need the construction to go fairly quickly as I am still in a walking boot because I pulverized a bone in my foot trying to get DaBunnah home.

Currently my buns are in hutches that measure 25 wide x 36 long x 2 or 2.5 ft tall for Amos. Roxie and DaBunnah are sharing a 48 wide x 4 ft long x 2 ft tall (split in half, so each part is 24 wide x 2 ft long x 2 ft tall). Both hutches are resting on cinder blocks to keep them up off the ground. I have a large supply of what most people would call scrap lumber. My husband brings home untreated wood, plywood, mechanical parts, tools, etc that are still in good condition from his work. :eek:fftopic: His bosses have told him it is alright if he does this as it cuts down on their bill for their construction sized recycling bin (doing this he has also saved them several thousand dollars when they needed something that they had previously thrown out that they ended up needing) :oops:

Anyway, my backyard is possibly 1/10th of an acre and already has 5 fruit trees planted; planted last year, as well as an established apple tree and two pine trees. The picture below is of the backyard before we bought the house. Where the ivy is along the back fence is where our trees are, and the two bun hutches are on the corner of the house at the end of the semi circle patio, behind the camera is another rose bush and a blueberry bush.

The green house in the picture has a stainless steel sink set up in it for gardening purposes, I am planning on using it as a freezer camp admittance area; however it get entirely too hot in the "summer" months to be a viable shelter.

My thoughts are an 8 ft long x 6 ft wide x 6 ft tall shelter that would house the two hutches I currently have and at least two other similar sized hutches as grow out pens. I have a small shelf that could be used for organization. There is a corner of the yard behind the camera that could work, but one if not both of the pine trees need to be cut down due to being rotten/already leaning. I could also make more of a square shelter but most of the materials we have are standard size plywood sheets. I would more then likely shingle the shelter but not too sure on that as we do not currently have a supply of shingles sitting around.

Hubby has suggested building it to butt up against the greenhouse as it has a screened vent/door at the bottom on one of the corners that could be used as either a passive heater during winter or to use the greenhouse as a run around area for the buns. If you guys have any ideas that could help me narrow it down I would honestly appreciate it.

:all-ears: :cast:

ISpx2m9vkcv0qv1000000000.jpg
 
BWB, you posted this topic twice. I have removed the duplicate.

Reminder to all members: Please avoid doing this; it makes extra work, especially if people respond to both threads. Thanks!
 
If only I were closer...I love these types of projects.

If you have full sheets of plywood, I would consider an 8'x8' shelter to avoid cutting full sheets. If you have room for it, of course. Maybe pick a spot, and use string and some sticks and stake out the size of the shelter, and live with it a few days. See how having it in that spot will affect access to your yard, your trees, etc.

As far as construction, maybe consider a metal roof. You can pick up the panels at a building supply store, and they are not expensive. They are also easy to install. If it were me, I would re-think the 6 foot tall idea- maybe get 8 foot posts and bury them 12-18 inches. Don't want any tall folks bonking their heads.

Another option to consider is running an electric line out to it. We did that for our chicken coop and shed- and it sure is nice to have lights out there. The wire is pricey, it requires digging a trench, but it's something to think about.

We made this for our supplies and to have a table to take pics:

image.php


It works very well, but I wish I had added another shelf. May still update it.

I would love to follow along with the project. Please keep us updated!
 
Thanks for the suggestions. That table looks pretty cool, however I don't think it would work here, too rainy.

If we had it right next to the greenhouse we could just extend some wires. The greenhouse is wired for lights, heat, and ventalation (as well as being on a pretty hefty breaker) however the breaker is switched off due to the greenhouse windows leaking a fair amount of water.
 
Back
Top