Houseing questions

[chewy352]

I've been researching on and off for awhile now and want to make sure I've got some things straight before taking the plunge. I plan on raising Calis, New Zealands, or a cross for home meat production. All floors would be 1" X 1/2" tops and sides 1" X 2". All cages would be hanging side by side.

1) For a doe with kits min cage size with baby saver can be 24" X 36" X 18"?

2) For a buck a 24" X 24" X 18"?

3) What size for growout pens for one litter?

 

[Dood]

I don't know what the legal requirements are for rabbit cages in Oklahoma by would like to remind you that you'll need 2 to 4 inches of baby saver wire (1/2 inch x 1/2 inch minimum) along the bottom edge of the walls to prevent kits from escaping.

 

[Zass]

I think you might find your cage sizes rather crowded for rabbits that large.

I know everyone does things differently, and not everyone on here will agree with me.

But, I really regret that I spent so much money on cages and hutches that seem too small for my rabbits.

And I'm in the process of phasing out all those smaller pens and replacing them with new 24X48 inch ones with 24 inches of headroom for bucks, does and growouts.

I find that my 36 X 36 X 24 cages are a comfortable size, but since I can't reach the backs to retrieve shy rabbits, I'll be trying to find a way to re-assemble them..

 

[TMTex]

I've been researching on and off for awhile now and want to make sure I've got some things straight before taking the plunge. I plan on raising Calis, New Zealands, or a cross for home meat production. All floors would be 1" X 1/2" tops and sides 1" X 2". All cages would be hanging side by side.

1) For a doe with kits min cage size with baby saver can be 24" X 36" X 18"?

2) For a buck a 24" X 24" X 18"?

3) What size for growout pens for one litter?

That sounds pretty good to me. I primarily raise meat rabbits and my rabbits are in various sized cages or hutches. My cages are 24x24x18 and 30x30x18 hanging stacked. These are for bucks and dry does. The 30x30 are for the larger rabbits.

My hutches are around 28x42x24 and they're for bred does and their litters. Each hutch also has a little 18x18x18 attached den that I use as a nest box. I close the den off when the does are dry.

My intentions are to go to 30x36x18 hanging stacked cages for the bred does and litters. 24x36x18 sounds good too, since it would be easier to reach the back of the cage.

 

[ottersatin]

My cages are all wire for my Satins.
The Bucks are 24X30X18 and the Does are 24X36X18
The size makes it easier for my short arms to reach all
parts of the cage. They are all 1/2 X 1 floors and 1 X 2
sides and top. I do have a few larger holding pens.
It is always advisable to make things easier for yourself!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[chewy352]

Dood: I had said baby saver but thanks for the dimensions. The site I was looking at did not specify how much baby saver wire is on the cages so I will have to check on that.

Zass: Thanks for your suggestion. I too worry about being able to reach a shy or scared rabbit. I think I will measure my arm to see what my max depth should be. I am in the middle of thinking well they're just for meet so keep it cheap and they are a living creature that deserve the best possible living conditions and looking for a happy medium. Thanks.

TMTex: Thanks for the input. I'm thinking I will be useing removable nest boxes so the extra length might be needed depending on my arm length. Where in TX are you? I want to buy my first rabbits from someone in our region so they are already acclimated to our summers.

Everyone: Should my growout pens be bigger than my pregnant doe pens or the same size? I plan on starting with 2 does and one buck so I want to make sure I have plenty of room and plan on having two grow out pens.

 

[Zass]

Yeah, like everyone says, arm reach is really important! Not just for retrieving rabbits, but for cleaning too.

I plan on having two large doors on my 48 inch cages so that I can get to every corner.

Even though all my rabbits are for meat, I've found that I really like watching the rabbits hop and binky. It makes my time spent with them more enjoyable.

I've also found that too much space is just wasted. When I tried a 7X4 foot pen the lazy doe never even began to use that much space! (although it was a nice growout cage for when I had multiple large litters)
A smaller space with more toys, or things to hop up on seemed to be preferred to a larger space with less objects.

 

[skysthelimit]

I've noticed that too. Instead of larger space, mine seem to like hidey holes and things to hop up on. Even in the growout pen, the only ones that seem to run around are the kits/jrs.
Most of my cages are 24x30 or 30x30. I still have a few 24x24 for the rarely active bucks., and 20x30 for single jr woolies. I do find that I can reach the back of the 30x30 stackers that are at head and chest level. The ones on the ground level an above my hear are nearly impossible for me to reach without getting on the ground and putting my head inside, or getting on the step stool. But I run out of room lengthwise if they were 30x24.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

I raise NZ's and Rex. All of our pens are 24 inches deep so that we can reach to the back of each pen. Bucks are in 30" W x 24" H x 24" D. Does are in 48" W x 24" H x 24" D - they also have a 12" x 24" shelf at one end of the pen, 12" off the floor. They love the shelves and use them to get away from the kits. (I use them to judge about when to wean - once the kits are big enough to jump up there with momma, they're about ready to wean.) All of our grow pens are 36" W x 18" H x 24" D. We adjust the number of the rabbits in the grow pens depending on the size of the rabbits. Having just 3 different size pens has simplified things for us.