Mocked up the rabbit shed today....

[Tegan]

I just made a mockup of the rabbit shed. Obviously it's not perfect, and the cages inside are to just give an idea, they'll be suspended from a frame. But it gives an idea of scale and function. The "open" spaces will actually be covered with screen.

 

[Miss M]

Looks great to me, Tegan! Make sure the orientation is such that the sun won't come directly in on the buns, or have something to shade where it would.

My shade is a sophisticated piece of leftover plywood, leaned against the outside of the rabbitry. :? I think you could see it in the last picture I posted.

I love how the screens let the breezes flow through. We had planned to put some 2"x4" wire in the screens for predators, but hadn't gotten around to it.

 

[Saiyuri]

That looks great would love to see pic of it completed when its done ^^

 

[Lastfling]

I like the concept but do have one thought. With screen on four sides weather is going to get to the rabbits if the wind is blowing hard. I would consider at least one solid wall oriented to the prevailing winds to serve as a block. 3 screened sides would still provide a lot of ventilation.

 

[Tegan]

Yeah...looking at it again, and where I intend to put it...I think I'm going to lengthen the sides, make the "front" shorter and make the sides solid walls. So the front and back will still be screen. I'm going to re-mock it up tonight and I'll post another picture. I'll also end up putting the cages on the side wall this way...it will help greatly with shade I think.

 

[toastedoat37]

Ive been playing with outdoor rabbit hutch design recently, we get a lot of rain and wind here but we also get some hot humid weather. What i was thinking after i built a couple hutches with wire only on the bottom and front is maybe wire on the ends also but have panels that i can take on and off with the season.

I was recently in someones rabbit barn that only had one side open, it did not have enough ventilation or light , what i would do in their case is have big wire windows with doors on them that could be opened up. Just and idea,hope it helps.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Have you considered putting the cages in the center of the shed? You could have 2 rows back to back with aisles around them. There will be less chance of them peeing on the walls that way.

 

[toastedoat37]

I like the center of the shed idea and also less chance rain can blow on the rabbits from what ever is open. Just curious, what is the floor gonna be? The rabbit barn i was in the other, day was just nasty and i think rabbit pee soaked into the walls behind the cages was part of the problem. But that barn was really bad,to fix it would have been to take the bunnys out and burn it down

 

[Tegan]

It wont really be big enough to have them in the center I think. I'm trying to make it about 8X10 (could go up to 10x12 with no permit needed) with two rows of 3 30X36x18 cages, so six cages total. Probably will set up up like Miss M's with one row above the other, then a drainage trough at the front of each cage that directs all the waste to a center barrel. I'll probably put plastic on the wall behind them so it can be easily rinsed off. The "trays" under each cage will be smooth plastic angled towards the front, then I can spray and scrape or squeegee them off.

The floor will just be grass...as that way I don't need a permit to build the shed. Eventually I'll probably put crushed limestone down inside. The screen part will have receivers for boards or plastic that will seal it up if needed (Bad storms, winter, etc).

 

[toastedoat37]

sounds like youve got a good plan. Here where i live we can pour concrete with out a permit, even under our portable building as long as our building isnt over 10x12(120sq.ft.)

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Tegan,

my BunnyBarn is 10'x12' (no permit needed), and although it is kind of a tight fit, it is do-able.

This is shortly after it was first built, in its open-air form:



We found that hanging the lower cages from the uppers with chain was a nuisance because urine from the top cages drained down the chains between the dropping boards (which were thankfully not all installed, as you can see in the photo), so another frame was built to both support the dropping boards and hang the lower cages from.

This is later with the removable panels on the ends to block rain/snow:



The top tier of cages are 30" deep, and the bottom ones are 24" deep.

 

[Tegan]

Ok....here's take 2. The cages will go on the side wall (Left side as you face the front). Remember I have to make it look "pretty" and be functional. This isn't the final colors or anything, and it's just a rough idea. The cages will be on their own hanging rack, not attached to the wall in any way....and the back wall will be plastic lined

 

[MaggieJ]

Be sure to consider the predators you may have to deal with. Here we have racccons, coyotes, foxes, owls, hawks etc. and there is no way I would consider screening sufficient protection. I don't know what your situation may be in Iowa, but please give it thought now while you are still in the planning stage. Half-inch hardware cloth, stapled on the inside of the shelter, will defeat most predators... but not bears!

 

[Jessykah]

I agree. That's the first thing that came to my mind, was that I would not use screening. Besides, it's harder to clean. And chicken wire is not good either (I don't even use it for chickens!) Why not try lattice? It's pretty too, and allows plenty of ventilation and filtered sunlight.

 

[toastedoat37]

Is that you in the shed?<br /><br />__________ Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:23 pm __________<br /><br />Half inch hardware cloth is tough and doesnt look bad

 

[Tegan]

Well...we're in the city...and this will be in a fenced back yard. At the most I'll probably have to deal with coons. We have a large dog though and I haven't seen any sign of coon in our yard (Not even when it was all mud before we got grass....)

 

[blenny]

Looking forward to seeing a fellow Iowan complete their hutch!

What part of the state are you in?