HiddenGemRabbitry
New member
I'm going to start breeding Flemish Giants and I decided on the spare stall in my horse barn. As a family, we've decided that we have enough horses (aka no more!), and that leaves us with one extra stall in Upper Bi-Level. There is an outside door we can open in the summer to improve ventilation, along with strategically placed fans to get fresh air in and the smelly air out. The horses' body heat keeps the temperature from dropping too low on cold winter nights, and that particular stall is out of the way of winter drafts. All I'll have to do is give them lots of bedding in the winter.
I'm thinking about using large dog crates (I've had one for my personal Mini-Rex for all 8 years of his life and it works well) but should they be directly on the ground (that's what we call the rubber mats lining the bottom of each stall) or raised? (And if so, how?)
Also, how should I handle waters in the winter? I've heard about water heaters but I don't want to run any risk of fire because this is the horse barn I'm talking about (aka flammable material deluxe). Is there a particular heater that works best for this kind of situation?
Lastly, what kind of bedding should I use for my Giants? We use pellets (which expand into fluffy sawdust) for the horses and obviously won't work for rabbits, and I worry about straw being palatable, although (at least for horses) it is better for birthing stalls because it doesn't suffocate newborn foals by sticking to their wet nostrils. Is the same true for rabbits? I was thinking wood shavings would be best, but I want others' input.
Thanks.
K
I'm thinking about using large dog crates (I've had one for my personal Mini-Rex for all 8 years of his life and it works well) but should they be directly on the ground (that's what we call the rubber mats lining the bottom of each stall) or raised? (And if so, how?)
Also, how should I handle waters in the winter? I've heard about water heaters but I don't want to run any risk of fire because this is the horse barn I'm talking about (aka flammable material deluxe). Is there a particular heater that works best for this kind of situation?
Lastly, what kind of bedding should I use for my Giants? We use pellets (which expand into fluffy sawdust) for the horses and obviously won't work for rabbits, and I worry about straw being palatable, although (at least for horses) it is better for birthing stalls because it doesn't suffocate newborn foals by sticking to their wet nostrils. Is the same true for rabbits? I was thinking wood shavings would be best, but I want others' input.
Thanks.
K