Rabbit Tractors

There was a brief discussion a year ago on this site about rabbit tractors. I am considering doing that and wanted to know what experience others have had.

My goal is not so much to get the rabbits some greens, which I can do by bringing them the results of my weeding, but having them help prepare my planting beds.

One of the problems with the tractors would be digging. If you put mesh screen on the floor it will tend to push down the vegetation so it is not ideal. My idea is to build raised wooden beds so they can't do that. I would make the tractor the same width as the bed so it can be moved back and forth. That way the digging actually helps till the bed before planting and it gets weeded and fertilized.

It is very easy to protect them from the sun and rain with a canopy and shade cloth.

The second problem that was brought up was coccidiousis and other intestinal worm problems. I presume that could be addressed by worming treatments.

Third, there is the issue of the rabbits fighting if together. I am assuming that if they are all females from the same litter, that might not be a problem.

I suppose there could also be a predator problem if the predators are large enough to try to tip over the tractor, (coyotes) but I have a dog that will be on them before thdy can get that far.

Does this address all of the issues? Has anyone tried anything like this? :bunnyhop:

Dark Bunny":2nu89c9j said:

I would make the tractor the same width as the bed so it can be moved back and forth. That way the digging actually helps till the bed before planting and it gets weeded and fertilized.

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Chickens will do this job much better. Rabbits will make holes. And then leave. You can keep them in tractors and not let them make holes, by moving the tractor, but they aren't going to till the bed for you.

Dark Bunny":2nu89c9j said:

The second problem that was brought up was coccidiousis and other intestinal worm problems. I presume that could be addressed by worming treatments.

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Actually, I think a really good rotation would probably be adequate. Daily rotation, with ground given at least a month between visits--do you have that much space?

Dark Bunny":2nu89c9j said:

Third, there is the issue of the rabbits fighting if together. I am assuming that if they are all females from the same litter, that might not be a problem.

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This has not always been my experience--I have had littermates fight before even 3 months. Just depends on the does.

It is an interesting idea, but honestly, if you have limited space tractoring is not a great plan. I have tried it even on a limited daytime-only basis, and I have to say, for me the cons far outweighed the pros. I can bring them the food I want them to eat (weeds) even if it is growing right next to the peas I don't want them to eat, I now have dropping boards and gutters, and the fertilizer collects in a bucket--emptying one 3 gallon bucket each day is far easier than moving a bunny tractor each day, I can put the poo right where I want it. And I don't have to worry about the little Houdinis busting out. How are you going to move a bottomless tractor full of 6 week old kits? Sorry I am not more encouraging.

I also have chickens and move them around in the tractors. I have six tractors currently for meat birds and egg layers. They are made out of hog panels cut to 12 feet long by 4 feet wide and 30 inches tall with mesh screening attached to the panels. The rabbit tractors would be the same size or I would reuse the chicken tractors. When I am in between the meat chicken groups I have tractors sitting idle.

There can be problems with their legs being caught so you have to shoo them away from the back end and be very careful, or have wheels you can put underneath to move it. After a while they get the idea to get out of the way.

Given the size of the tractors, I should not have to move them every day with only six rabbits in each.

You can't put chickens in the garden and plant the same year as the droppings are too hot and there is a contamination issue depending on what you plant. The rabbit droppings are less problematic.

I would not be putting the kits in that young. I would be keeping the litter mates together in a larger pen so they would stay used to one another.

I have a great deal of land, (5 acres). However, the raised bed area would be much smaller, about 10,000 sq feet total. I also have hoop houses where I could employ this method very early in the Spring. (We have very cold winters here).

Well actually, if you are just going to use them to grow out fryers, that isn't nearly so bad. You wont have as big of a concern over pest build up, since the fryers wont be there long enough for a big load to get started in them, and the ground would get a rest between litters. I still doubt you will get much tilling action, but it would be a lovely way to grow out fryers. I have a much more limited area...about .14 ac. or about the size of your raised beds...and a lot of that is not available for tractoring.

I had floors in mine, and moved them empty. I was thinking that if you have to lift one end you may end up with a bunch of bolting rabbits, but if you have a method for keeping it low to the ground and not leaving a big gap, then you should be fine. I would worry only about rats next, but if you aren't putting young litters in, then they won't be a big problem either. Mink/weasels in your area? Feral cats?

Garden Girl did what you're talking about. This shows how she builds the tractors and she would put chickens in this one, but I saw other videos at some point where she had rabbits in them. (I think she keeps angoras.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAzH5P7e ... dded#at=64

Garden Girl's tractors require a lot more time to build than mine and will be subject to deterioration eventually from the wood unless it is painted. Mine are all rust proof metal with PVC pipe on the bottom for dragging. It is not necessary to lift it more than about an inch on one end to drag. I cover the hog fencing with 1/2 mesh all over so nothing can get in. It has worked very well for chickens. I only had one loss when I used chicken wire on the first one and a racoon was able to reach through it to kill a chicken that was sleeping in the corner.

The hog panels will run you about $25 US for each and you will need three per tractor, plus the cost of the mesh. You also have to reinforce the sides. I use two metal shelf brackets. These are also handy for hanging the water and feed but with rabbits I would imagine you would use wall mounted units. I imagine the whole thing would cost over $100 US plus labor. (labour to you folks in the UK).

I am not using them for fryers. I sell the bunnies as pets.

Dark Bunny":24cu9imw said:

I am not using them for fryers. I sell the bunnies as pets.

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Sorry, I made the assumption when you said you had meat chickens and wouldn't be having breeders in there, just juniors.

Rabbits raised in a tractor will not likely be handled much... which is important if you are selling them for pets. People want and expect a pet they can handle easily, and this requires frequent, gentle handling and petting on the part of the breeder. I'm concerned that a lot of these rabbits could end up as isolated and neglected pets because they are not well-socialized and won't meet buyer expectations of a cuddly pet.