Wanted: Advice on building a rabbit hutch

Ok, So here soon I'm gonna be beginning the process of making quite a few rabbit hutches. I'm planning to get
Gilbert and Bennett 308229B 48-Inch by 50-Foot 1/2-Inch Mesh Hardware Cloth, Miller Manufacturing ACC1 Wire Cage Clips, 1-Pound Bag, Little Giant 5 inch Galvanized Rabbit Feeder AF5SL, I still haven't found any latch to use for a closure. But as far as the ends of the wires go I plan to cut and fold them out so nobody gets hurt and the door (Depending on how I do it) Might be overlapping.. But that all depends on left over wire.. I also need some help along the lines of roofing material.. They will be in a shady closed in pen in with mainly young roosters waiting for slaughter... I was thinking of using the corrugated plastic roofing because I like that it lets some sunshine in.. There will also be yard runs soon so they can get sun and grass.. Oh! I'm using untreated pallets for wood and I think I might build each doe a box out of that as well (I have a lot of free time and love getting craftsy so any advice will be took) Thank you all in advance <br /><br /> -- PMpMon, 23 May 2016 12:05:29 +000005Monday 29, 2016 12:58p.05 -- <br /><br /> I should add that some of them will be on the other side of the fence which is still inside a fenced yard but it contains the hens and other grown ducks/chickens It's really nice back there and the girls that are over there are very happy

Not sure of your plans, but hardware cloth doesn't make a good floor wire- at all. And 1/2" would likely cause problems if used as a floor by not allowing all the poop to fall through with your large breed buns.

If the hutches will be where the chickens can get to them, make sure you slant the roof quite a bit to prevent them from roosting on top of the hutches.

Lastly, be careful with the legs to your hutches. I can't see pallet boards being able to safely hold up even a decent size hutch. Maybe the thicker frame boards, depending on the pallet.

Yeah the legs will be made of the sturdy parts as well as they will probably be tied to the fence. Bigger wire.. So what size then? And I'm doing the cages sort've like the ones you see in the like 9 hole apartment set-ups and stuff like that. I don't know what to use to latch the door shut however. And there will also be some wood covering the top and back. As far as the chickens go, the ones outside the little chick enclosure will have the roofing come down at a 45 degree angle. As for the ones inside the little chick enclosure they're more interested in me and jumping on me and seeing if I have food for them or anything they can eat. They don't try to jump on top of the hutches however I know they are fully capable because they can make it on my shoulder.

I think 1" by 1/2" works better for floors but I Whould say over half the tame rabbits in the world poop through 1/2 by 1/2 wire! I've used old pallet and crate boards at least the 2x4 or bigger one's I like free stuff :lol: And you could just clip the wings on your chickens that should keep them from getting on you rabbit hutch. Good luck

Well clipping would be a pain seeing as there's about 60 of them in the yard.. They don't really wanna get on the hutches.. They're much more interested in the poop under the cages. And yeah 1/2x1/2 wire is what all the cages are and it's rare they get stuck.. The only doe I really have an issues with is the one who eats her hair so her poop comes in two pieces tied together by fur... Looks great, so fun to clean... I'm still unsure of roofing though... Tile?, Shingles?, other?...

I just use tin for the roofs. My grow out pens just have a flat roof and my does are under a lean to that I built off my garage. Any of those choices will work.

I wanna put my grow outs in the front yard. People drive by every Saturday *If I'm not wrong, or close to every* for the Blind Kenny event... So I'd have free advertisement right outside my house. I'd probably say I sold them at the local farmers market that a friend is in charge of. It'd be great business all around I'm thinking about using a tin liftable roof that comes down at a 45 degree angle and under the roof I'll stash stuff like gloves, nest boxes, treat bags, etc. Not feed obviously.. I'm gonna keep that inside in the chick room *We have a closet which is quite big but has 2 brooders and a tub all full of chickens, not to mention the 5 turkeys that just moved out into a huge dog carrier until they can go out. I'll sketch out my rabbit hutch design sometime tonight or tomorrow and take a pic and post it I'm not the best artist ever but you'll definitely understand what I'm doing..

Is your front yard fenced in? How close would the hutch be to the road? We have had members find their buns stolen/missing/"liberated" before. I would also be concerned about roaming predators.

The grow out hutch out front would be completely shaded?

I would enclose three of the four sides including the top. But having rabbits "Liberated" doesn't sound like fun so I guess they'll live in the back yard with the chickens then lol >~<.. Ok, lets see how I explain this. Alright you're looking down the hill from the road. First thing you see is my car and then about 20 or so feet down a small hill is the fence that goes between the chicken coop/shed and the house. The she is like an 8 X 10? and it's one of the horizontal one with two barn like doors *One has a hole with a door for the chickens, ducks & geese to get into the coop. Off the edge of the coop is another fence which isn't a very big space but it holds a small roost for the chickens.. Houses no more than like 10 probably... It also houses the hens that were big enough to go outside but aren't quite old enough for the fermented feed the others eat.. Inside there is also my rabbit hutches.. Know what I'll go take some pictures.. I'll take a bunch of everyone :3 <br /><br /> -- PMpTue, 24 May 2016 18:26:58 +000026Tuesday 29, 2016 12:58p.05 -- <br /><br /> This is where my buns are. I've had to re-staple the wire in the wood ones because the people who made them used hardly any staples during construction >!<. I also got some cute bunny pics. The cages I plan to build would be the size of the solid metal one that's the bottom of the two that are stacked... The top cage hangs off the back about halfway with a dog crate panel to keep her feet from falling through *The cage isn't big enough for a nest box, plus I haven't/won't be breeding her till I have better accommodations.

Babies :3 *Just these two, my man was rushing me.*

The rest of the coop sorta and my hen *because I'm the person who would be like wow that's supposed to be a girl but she looks butch. So I'm gonna go ahead and tell you my man was holding her I don't look that manly lol XD :