Minimum amount of space for your rabbits.

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KenoshaRabbits

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Hey guys I was wondering if anyone has any information regarding how much space you need to keep your rabbit cages indoors. I am planning for the future at the moment and trying to figure out what I will need to do. I will be moving to a house in October and would like to raise rabbits. Now I am in the planning things out phase.

I will be keeping my rabbits outdoors for most of the year in southeast Wisconsin. I might need to keep the rabbits indoors for a few days/weeks when it is the coldest outside. Keeping them in the house will not be an option. However, I have a small shed with about 40-50 square feet; and I would probably have 3-6 30"x36" cages to put in there (depending on how many rabbits I'd have at a the moment). Does anyone have a statistic on the minimum amount of square footage I could keep the rabbits in?

The structure probably won't work for extended periods of time (lighting and ventilation issues I would assume). And I will probably end up building a spacious 100 square foot building eventually (next spring). But until then I am trying to figure out if I'd even be able to have rabbits until the spring.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Mike
 
What breed of rabbits? Lionheads need a lot less space than Flemish Giants. And are you going to be breeding during the time the buns are in the restricted space?

My New Zealand bucks are in 30" deep by 36" long cages. My does are in 48" long cages.
 
Marinea":1as2kj5c said:
What breed of rabbits? Lionheads need a lot less space than Flemish Giants. And are you going to be breeding during the time the buns are in the restricted space?

My New Zealand bucks are in 30" deep by 36" long cages. My does are in 48" long cages.
Click to expand...

I will be getting New Zealands or Californians. Whether or not I will be breeding or growing out kits is dependent on whether I purchase 2-3 month old kits or mature rabbits. Most likely I will be buying kits in the fall and will breed in the spring and will have 2 does and a buck.

alforddm":1as2kj5c said:
Here are the minimal cage space requirements. Keep in mind these are minimum cage sizes. Does with larger than average litters and very active rabbits will need more space.

https://www.arba.net/PDFs/CAW.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information regarding the cage size, always good to have the info; especially if I decide to go with a different breed of rabbit.

What I am actually looking for (if such information exists) is not the size of the cages the rabbits are in but the size of the building the cages are located in.

I can probably have a stack of two cages in the shed. (With all the necessary steps so that the rabbits above are not pooping directly onto those bellow. So the issue becomes is it too cramped if roughly half of the shed is taken up by the cages (which have enough space for the rabbit living inside of the individual cages).
 
If you look at ARBA site, bare min space is 1 square foot per pound of body weight. 2x2 cages will fit up to 4lbs in that thought, but it's not a big space for 24/7 confinement. Most have cages bigger than needed, as others have already mentioned theirs. My male cages, 4lbs less are the 2x2 but they get run pen time when weather permits. Over 4 get 24 by 48 inch cage up to about 8lbs. My Rex have 2x6 foot cages. Some are over, some not, but they aren't thriving in smaller caging. Mine are all inside in wire cages.
 
Cramped for you or for the rabbits? As long as the ventilation and planning for waste removal is good, and as you said the rabbits are in decent sized cages, the rabbits won't be cramped.

As far as you being cramped, I can't answer for you. I would lay it out with tape, maybe, in the shed, and see how you feel. We have a 12x22' covered carport (more or less). In that space, we have 4 30x48" doe cages, three 30x36" buck cages, two 30x72" grow out cages, a 3' square rabbit table, and various feed and supply cans and barrels. All are single cages in wooden frames, not stacked. There is room to walk around, but there is no room for more cages.
 
Aisles need to be wide enough to pull out trays for cleaning so at least 32" if your trays are 30x36

Do you plan to store pellets, hay, record books, medicines, exam table, butchering supplies etc... in there? If so you'll need more space

My barn with my breeders is 10x10 - one wall has 6 double stacked 30x36 cages and the other has the door and 4 double stacked 30x36. I have all the supplies mentioned above in there

I have a 10x10 stall that I use colony style for my grow outs and the Bucks cages and a couple extra cages are hung on the wall
 

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