suggestions to make my new hutch better

I'm drawing up plans for a 16 X 24 all-purpose carriage shed that will include a space for rabbit cages; I plan on using approx. half the space for rabbits, the rest for tool and garden equipment storage-and possibly firewood. The floor will be cement slab (broom finished), 2x4 walls, with vents on gable ends that can open for hot days and be closed during the cold New England winters. It will be wired for lighting and outlets.

I am taking suggestions-from all of you with experience-for details which will make my rabbitry more efficient, easy to clean and maintain, etc.

I have my eye on some New Zealand browns for meat for my family and perhaps to sell surplus to neighbors; I am going to buy them in April from a family with a registered rabbitry who more or less do the same thing (though they sell plenty for showing). I understand they are dangerous for small children but at some point, our daughter will keep one for a pet.

I will be doing all the slaughtering/butchering.

I think the last time I sat down and figured it, was that I would build (or buy) some 24" X 30" cages (galvanized after welding) and would need approx 5-6, including one buck cage, two does, one or two growers (Sorry I can't recall the exact requirements, as it was the summer last time I looked at my notes).

I will be using pans under the cages so should not have to introduce a lot of water to the area for cleaning purposes. The rabbitry we checked out had a fixed water delivery system but in a cold area was using a temp control device from the (aquarium dept of) pet store. Not sure if it's worth the trouble to plumb water in.

I will gladly fill in more details as I think of them but any advice is good advice at this point, thanks.

Macwhirr

Welcome to RT!

I also raise New Zealands, and love them.

A few thoughts on your plan. First, I would be concerned about a completely closed building during the summer. Rabbits handle cold much better than heat. Any thoughts on windows or doors you can leave open, or maybe fans?

You seem to have a good idea on the number of cages you need, but I am concerned they might be a bit small for a large breed rabbit. The size you listed might be OK for bucks (mine are 30x36), but they are way too small for breeding does. My does are in 30x48 cages, big enough for the doe, a nestbox, kits, and such. Once the kits are weaned, they go to a growout cage (6 ft long), but again, I would think 48 would do. My does can have litters of up to 13 kits, and 30 inches is tiny.

My rabbitry is small, with seven breeders, and while we have water close, we haven't done any special plumbing. During the winter, I take out fresh water three times a day because of the freezing, but it doesn't take too long to swap out frozen crocks.

I look forward to hearing more. It's always fun to start over vicariously through someone else

We have a spigot in the rabbitry area and that is simply awesome. I can attach a hose and hose out pans, wash the cement floor when it gets urinated on, and I can do watering right quick!

If you are enclosing the place then you're going to need shop fans for active ventilation.

I'd worry what kind of rodents and bugs having a woodpile enclosed with the rabbits would bring.

That's my two cents.

The cage is something I really need to nail down more than anything and maybe one of you can simply provide a list; I will be ordering 14 gauge (galvanized-after-weld) wire from Kluberantz and building my own; my starter rabbits will consist of one buck and two New Zealand red does. As I mentioned rabbit meat will become our primary meat source for a family of three plus two grandparents. We would ideally like to sell some of the surplus but don't want to be overwhelmed. Selling enough to pay for their food is our goal. If I recall, the place we visited was slaughtering every 30 days or so; one slaughter produced 75 lbs but that was not every time.
The cage dimensions were what we found on site at the rabbitry we visited; they seemed healthy (they are selling many for show after all) and showed no adverse signs of undue confinement, inhumane treatment. I do see that ARBA recommends a substantially larger cage but I also see that some places sell nothing bigger than a 24X36 and I'm guessing this is intended for a single rabbit.

Where is a good place to locate the slaughtering "rack"?

Are there any precautions I should take around the perimeter of my concrete slab? The critters won't be able to get through the concrete but may be able to chew through wood plates and siding...is landscape cloth applicable in any way?

I will have multiple windows and probably two doors that can be propped open in the heat. However, in the interest of keeping critters out, the doors may end up being "Dutch" style.

Thanks again for taking an interest.

Macwhirr

My cage floors are 14 gauge 1/2x1" wire. Walls and tops are 16g 1x2" wire (cheaper). My does have a 4" line of baby saver wire (a cut strip of floor wire) around the bottom of their cages to prevent kits from getting out. My doe cages (48x30") have two large doors in each, and my buck cages (36x30") have one centered door each. As far as building materials, add j-clips and whatever you need to suspend/frame the cages with.

A decent sized nestbox for a New Zealand doe is going to be about 12x18". That doesn't leave a lot of room for the doe, 6-12 kits, food and water in a smaller cage. For larger meat breeds, I would seriously reconsider a 36" cage for breeding does.

Also keep in mind the need for grow out cages for the period between weaning and processing. A dozen eight week old kits may be cramped in a 36" cage. Also, many breeders breed two does at once, in case of any problems, as it allows for potential fostering of kits. Two grow out cages might be needed.

Not sure what a slaughtering rack is, so no help there. We use .22 CB rounds to dispatch, and hang the bodies to skin, clean and process.

Any additional barrier you can add to slow down predators is a good thing. Hardware cloth is used by many. What kind of predators are you worried about?

As to the heat, add a good thermometer to your shed and keep an eye on internal temps. We add frozen water bottles to the cages when the heat gets bad.

You could mount your nestboxes outside the cages to free up some space. I don't have baby saver wire and to my knowledge haven't lost one kit yet. Though when and if I build new cages I Whould use the baby saver wire. I've noticed this cage dimension question gets asked a lot. And everybody has there own opinions and the great thing about it is there is no wrong answer. My cages are 18"h 18"w 40"L with the nestboxes mounted on the outside. I also have mostly NZ rabbits and they normally have ten or more with no problems. My grow out cages are 5.5' by 2' and 2' tall wooden frames with a 2' by 2' door in the middle. And with 12 or so gets pretty crowded but they will work until I have to build new one's. Like Marinea and EnglishSpot stated watch the summer temps rabbit will die very quickly if overheated! Good luck and welcome to RT Macwhirr

I saw this on Tim Farmer's show, the guy obviously knows what he's doing. The interviewee mentions a 24 X 30 X 18 cage for his New Zealands. I cannot tell from the video whether or not larger cages are used for other purposes but he's got a number of them stacked so evidently they are the same sizes, or appear to be. The stacking idea I think is a good one; I would be interested in others' opinions of this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOUG8OTs2dk

I'd like for rabbit meat to become the primary source of protein for my family, with home-grown chicken for variety, so I'm trying to make the set-up as business-like and efficient as possible.

Also, I've seen several varieties of racks used to wring the rabbit's neck, this being one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNxo7GFEXWw

although the interaction with the child seems a bit creepy, the device (two actually) seems very efficient. <br /><br /> -- Thu Mar 03, 2016 5:52 am -- <br /><br /> I'm trying to figure out ventilation requirements, whether I want to install box fans in the gable ends (one fan, one vent) or some other fixed fan perhaps closer to the animals. I asked Farmtek what they recommended for a 16 X 24 space and they said 4600 cfm summer/1200 winter. Depending on the type of fan, this can easily run to 300-400 dollars, plus the vent, putting the total cost in the neighborhood of 5-600. Does anyone have a sense of whether this sounds like overkill? Am I overthinking things and should just go ahead and build it and later on, see what (smaller) fan I can get away with?

Thanks again.

Dwc77":238679bl said:

You could mount your nestboxes outside the cages to free up some space. I don't have baby saver wire and to my knowledge haven't lost one kit yet. Though when and if I build new cages I Whould use the baby saver wire. I've noticed this cage dimension question gets asked a lot. And everybody has there own opinions and the great thing about it is there is no wrong answer. My cages are 18"h 18"w 40"L with the nestboxes mounted on the outside.

Click to expand...

Yep I started doing this. Leaves more room and the does really like it. Once kits come out of the box though things get crowded. I use 24x36 for my does but am thinking of moving up to 24x48 for mothers.

For your structure, in addition to fans, vents near the ground, along with vents near your roofline will help keep air circulating. Mine are in a large fairly tight barn but I have run into ventilation problems this winter even in a large space.