Hi all, Brand new to raising rabbits . I was given a rabbit hutch that a friend used to own. Its basicly a large metal rectangle 24deep x 24 tall x 7 feet long that mounts to a wall. steel tube frame with wire mesh all around. Is anyone familiar with this setup? Pro's...Con's? i will need to build a roof/ lid for it but otherwise its in great shape and the price is great! ( free) . The man I am getting the hutch from said all i had to do was partition a section for the buck and the doe and kits are housed in the rest. Will be raising rabbits for meat, and I have a fairly small yard. 1/4 acre at most
Brand New rabbiteer! , waiting for rabbit hutch
- Thread starter Flint1776
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KenoshaRabbits
Well-known member
Flint1776":fvfsybwk said:
Welcome!
Quick question regarding the cage. By "you need a roof/lip" do you mean the isn't a top to the cage, just a floor and 4 walls? Or do you mean you have a cage with all six sides and you need to build a structure to cover it? Pics would be helpful.
You're off to a good start! Cages are one of the more expensive pieces of equipment, and you got yours for free. As for pros and cons that all depends on what you plan on doing with your rabbits, what breed, etc. Check out the following link for ARBA guidelines on cage space:
https://www.arba.net/PDFs/CAW.pdf
That's a good start to decide how many compartments or "holes" you want to divide the cage into.
As for general unsolicited advice you should put a little planning into your setup before dividing the cage up. For a meat rabbit set-up... you'll need a cage for the buck and cages for each doe (which you should probably make big enough for the doe plus a litter). It is extremely likely you'll also need grow out cages; after 4-8 weeks you'll need to wean the kits from the doe. It is a good idea to separate the kits into cages by gender at this point, all the boys together and all the girls.
It really depends on how big or small you want to get.
Anywho, there's a lot of collective information on this site. I recommend just reading as many articles as you can handle. It is a great way to learn and you'll find the answers to questions you haven't even thought of yet!
Best of luck.
kenosha,
the cage as it is is just four walls and a floor. I do not currebtly have any pics . if it helps its sort of the size of a very large aquarium say 100 gallons . the "roof " would need to be built for it. considering the size of the cage I figured I would go with new zealand whites or another medium sized rabbit. As for starting the herd, I was thinking of just starting with a single buck and doe....and maybe purchasing some little bunnies at a local livestock auction. My last visit I could have gotten 10 bunnies for 30$.....I am only interested in sustainable meat gathering...so im not looking for any of the fancy hutches ..i only want a small operation that can sustain my household and maybe a few extra to give to family.
the cage as it is is just four walls and a floor. I do not currebtly have any pics . if it helps its sort of the size of a very large aquarium say 100 gallons . the "roof " would need to be built for it. considering the size of the cage I figured I would go with new zealand whites or another medium sized rabbit. As for starting the herd, I was thinking of just starting with a single buck and doe....and maybe purchasing some little bunnies at a local livestock auction. My last visit I could have gotten 10 bunnies for 30$.....I am only interested in sustainable meat gathering...so im not looking for any of the fancy hutches ..i only want a small operation that can sustain my household and maybe a few extra to give to family.
KenoshaRabbits
Well-known member
Flint1776":ko7r9ur1 said:
If two rabbits is what works for you then it is a good plan. A lot of people will recommend a trio or more. While having two or more does gives you some room to make mistakes, if you can't use twice meat it might not be worth having that extra breathing room. Only you can decide what is the better option.
As for advice on a minimal set up, it depends on how often you want to breed. You could get a 2x2 cage to keep the buck in and divide the cage into a 3ft section and a 4ft sections. You could breed the doe and keep her in the 3ft section. She can be with the kits until weaning. You can then put the kits in the 4ft section and let them continue to grow out. Then breed the doe again and process the kits as they reach weight.
There are drawbacks to this setup. You can't get lazy on processing the kits, and you might have to have a hard rule of processing them at 12 weeks whether or not they are at your target weight. The closer you get to 12 weeks the more mature the rabbits become and the more hormonal they get. Thus the older the kits get the less likely you can keep them together in 8 square feet. While you might think now, oh I have no trouble doing that; there are quite a few posts on here about people getting behind on processing or wanting to wait an extra few weeks until the rabbits reach 5lbs. You would also need extra cages to save any replacement stock.
Flint1776":ko7r9ur1 said:
I would advise against this setup. You could make a 2ft section and a 5ft section. Or a 2-2-3 partition. You can't really wean the kits in the 2-5 setup. Or you would be pushing it (space-wise) with an entire liter in 6 square feet. But at that is an ethical question on how much space you want to give your grow outs. And depending on the number of kits and how big they are, you could easily find yourself crossing over from a gray area into abuse. (e.g., growing out 4 kits in the cage might be ok, 6 might be pushing it, 12+ kits you shouldn't keep that many in a cage that size).
P.S. I know I broached the subject, but it might not be helpful for this thread to get into a debate on where the ethical line should be drawn.
So ultimately this depends on how often you want to breed and how you feel regarding the amount of space you want to give your rabbits.
Personally I am a softy. I would get a 6 square ft cage for the buck, a 6 square ft cage for the doe and her litter, and divide the 7ft cage in half for grow-outs (a side for the bucks and a side for the does).
