Cage Sizes?

So i am planning on getting a holland lop buck and 2 holland lop does. For the does i have figured that i will get cages 24by 18 by 18, for bucks i will get 18by18by18, or something like that fro BASS. I just cant seem to find the right dimensions in my head for a grow out pen, i am raising for pets, show, and brood quality. If someone wants they can ask for some meat ones too. What would you say would be the correct dimensions for a holland lop grow out pen? I would breed the two does in the same day, so i could have a way to foster if needed. I looked up how many kits the does would have and the internet said from2 to 6, is that right?

I keep my does in 24"x24"x18" and bucks in 18"x24"x18". Depending on how many you are growing out, there really isn't a huge need for a large grow out pen for hollands. A litter of four can easily hang out in a 24"x24" until you sell them or decide to keep back and get their own cage. They do not get big quick.

But, to each their own. If you have a premium for space you could go smaller. I think ARBA has a recommendation for breeds and sizes on their website.

I personally don't like the small cages, I think rabbits do better in a larger cage-- even for small breed does I like 24 deep x30 wide x18 high -- I think,,the smaller cages are just too tight for a doe and litter -
For large breed does - I prefer 8 to 12 square foot of floor space [including shelves they can jump up on]--

My large breed does have 24" x 36" cages 36 inches high, with 1 foot wide shelves along the back wall -1 foot off the floor and another shelf at 2 feet off the floor,[ I use Bass sani-nest boxes hung under the cages]-- Before I tried this,- I believed all those people advocating for the larger cages were working on their own emotional issues-- but, I have witnessed a big improvement in overall doe health, weaning weights and numbers, and doe longevity, since building the larger multistory cages. - JMHO

For the babies i was going to pet out i thought about weaning at 4to5 weeks. I have a money limit on cages for now. For show rabbits what age should i wean them at? How should i choose what babies i want to keep for breeding stock or show stock? What size would be best for a weaning cage? A 36by24by18 costs just about 38 dolars would that size work? Do i have to introduce the two litters of rabbits like i would have to with adult rabbits?

Oscar":39fzfxoj said:

For the babies i was going to pet out i thought about weaning at 4to5 weeks.

Click to expand...

Show rabbits or pet quality rabbits, they all need the same amount of time with mom. The does will have them weaned without intervention from you separating them. I take my babies out around 7 weeks and put them in their own cage. But they are drinking and eating pellets and hay by 4 weeks.

As for how to choose which to keep... what are you breeding for; show quality and confirmation, color, cuteness factor? I have seen beautiful colors in hollands that are sucky representations of the breed. If you are breeding for show quality you want rabbits with no DQs or non showable colors, no harlequin or blue points or torted otters, etc... check with the breed standard.

Again, just how long are you expecting to keep the entire litter together? A grow out for Hollands could be 36x24x18. That could be plenty of space or not, depending on the size of your litters and how long you are planning on keeping them there. <br /><br /> -- Wed May 25, 2016 12:14 am -- <br /><br /> The cheapest cages are the ones you build yourself. IMHO.

I dont have the skill, talent, or patients to build my own cages, keep in mind that I'm only 13. At first i only want to breed for pets and breeding stock so i can get the hang of things. Then i might move onto show quality and improving my heard, unless i have a super baby in one of my first litters then i might keep it for jr. showing and maybe a little sr. showing but them it will become breeding stock. Would you say does or bucks are harder to show? What size nest box for my holland does?

Out of curiosity, what are you going to do with any bunnies that don't get sold? Will your rabbitry expand to keep up, or will you wait to breed until the whole litter is sold (even if it takes longer than expected)?

I'm just curious because I'm looking to get rabbits for meat, so if I were to have more rabbits than I can keep indefinitely I can just send them to freezer camp, so it won't impact my breeding schedule as much. But if you're planning on breeding pets, does that mean you will be breeding less often? Or is there really that big of a market for rabbits in your area?

Sorry if my question is off topic, you can just ignore it, I was just curious! Also, if you watch a bunch of YouTube videos on how to build bunny cages, it's really not that hard. Simple tools will get the job done, the only thing that might be a pain (pun intended) is that your hands might cramp or be sore after a bunch of cages. Even if you're young, it shouldn't be too hard, and maybe you can get an adult to help. I remember building a big outdoor cage out of hardware cloth for my two parakeets when I was about your age. My dad helped a bit in terms of making sure I was using the right tools (and not dulling his good ones), and making sharp bends in the wire with a 2x4, but other than that I did it myself. Which meant I could put the doors where and how I wanted, and make the cage in whatever dimensions made me happy. Hope that encourages you a bit!

Oscar":1y9hbpz0 said:

I dont have the skill, talent, or patients to build my own cages, keep in mind that I'm only 13. ..... Would you say does or bucks are harder to show? What size nest box for my holland does?

Click to expand...

Cages, while hard work, are not complicated to build, luckily. I just finished building a 4 hole run, 8 foot long, for my hollands. I didn't manage to escape unscathed, my hand was sore for a day or so, and I got a couple of scratches, but it could have been worse. It was the first time cage building for me and everything went smoothly except for running of out materials and having to run to the store two more times... Wear gloves!

I, personally, have never shown anything. I dunno. I think bucks generally have more even temperaments/seem sweeter.

I bought mine off of Amazon.com, Ware Wood Nesting Box Small. It is 11x9x9.5. It was $9 or so.

-- Thu May 26, 2016 12:09 am --

If you are going to be selling as pets for a couple of years, be ready to either sell the litter all at once or have some for a month or two.. The pet market is not as steady as we might like.

If you are going to have two does and one buck, then you would need at least 5 cages. One for each adult, and one for each gender of kits in litters. Depending on how soon you plan to start keeping kits for your own use or 'grow out' then you would need more than that.

I wasplanning on getting 4 or 5 cages anyways. or could i just use a dog kennel that we have?

Depending on how big the spacing is on the kennel wires, baby hollands are pretty tiny.

I started out keeping my Holland adults in medium size all wire dog crates . They fold down for moving and make everything so easy, interesting to clean though.

it is only wire on the front (about 1by1 inch wire) with holes in the sides. Its a pretty nice sized kennel and we used to fit two full grown big dogs in it with extra space.

If you are planning on keeping one rabbit in it, that sounds fine. No matter the size, I wouldn't recommend any cage for two adult rabbits, even if it seems they get along, one will probably always pester or try to 'dominate' the other. This could result in nasty bites on their backs and even lead to one of the rabbits' deaths.

You can read up on some of the colony threads if you think you want to try and keep your rabbits all together.

well i just wanted to use it for a growout pen