Hi Everyone,
I just joined the forum. I guess that makes me the resident newbie!
I've been reading a lot (few hundred posts) over the last few days. I also ordered "Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, 4th Edition" which won't arrive until Wednesday.
I'm hoping you can help answer some questions. Here in Minnesota it can get down to -20 below zero in the winters and we get hail, freezing rain, etc. I need to figure out what to set up for housing my rabbits. I will likely have about 40 - 50 rabbits (depending on how they multiply) to start with this summer.
We have a lot of predators. Mostly bald eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes and fox. I have to protect the rabbits from predators that can dig under the fence and predators that fly. Our soil here is all sand.
I have 30 acres of land.
I'd prefer not to have to build a building for them if something less costly (and time consuming) is available.
I read that rabbits need to be exposed to the sun for vitamin D and then read that they need to be kept out of the sun? I also read that they need to be kept out of cold winds, etc. So it sounds like straight metal cages wouldn't be great if the rabbits have no way to find shade or get out of the weather.
I'm also confused when I read about people going the colony route and their rabbits tunneling underground when they have babies. What keeps them from going AWOL and tunneling outside of the enclosure and hopping off into the woods? What keeps other critters from tunneling in to eat the rabbits? It seems to me like you would want some kind of floor (even if metal wire) and no tunneling by your rabbits.
My other goal is building my shelter with an eye towards something that is easy to maintain. I wouldn't want to have to go clean every day, for example.
I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts, suggestions, advice and would love to see photos of your set up!
Thanks,
Dave
I just joined the forum. I guess that makes me the resident newbie!
I've been reading a lot (few hundred posts) over the last few days. I also ordered "Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, 4th Edition" which won't arrive until Wednesday.
I'm hoping you can help answer some questions. Here in Minnesota it can get down to -20 below zero in the winters and we get hail, freezing rain, etc. I need to figure out what to set up for housing my rabbits. I will likely have about 40 - 50 rabbits (depending on how they multiply) to start with this summer.
We have a lot of predators. Mostly bald eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes and fox. I have to protect the rabbits from predators that can dig under the fence and predators that fly. Our soil here is all sand.
I have 30 acres of land.
I'd prefer not to have to build a building for them if something less costly (and time consuming) is available.
I read that rabbits need to be exposed to the sun for vitamin D and then read that they need to be kept out of the sun? I also read that they need to be kept out of cold winds, etc. So it sounds like straight metal cages wouldn't be great if the rabbits have no way to find shade or get out of the weather.
I'm also confused when I read about people going the colony route and their rabbits tunneling underground when they have babies. What keeps them from going AWOL and tunneling outside of the enclosure and hopping off into the woods? What keeps other critters from tunneling in to eat the rabbits? It seems to me like you would want some kind of floor (even if metal wire) and no tunneling by your rabbits.
My other goal is building my shelter with an eye towards something that is easy to maintain. I wouldn't want to have to go clean every day, for example.
I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts, suggestions, advice and would love to see photos of your set up!
Thanks,
Dave