2"x2" mesh for NZ Whites?

[bunnybunny]

It looks like the galvanised weld mesh panels in the lengths I want only come in 1"x1" or 2" x 2" sizes. Will the 2"x2" holes be too big for NZ whites? (I'm unlikley to go to smaller breeds in the future as I plan to breed them for meat). I plan to make a large moveable tractor approx 15ft x 5ft x 5ft high (to allow for benches and shelves to increase floor space. This mesh would be used for the whole tractor, including the floor which would lay on the grass with babysaver wire at the bottom of the sides.

Obviously I could get the 1"x1" but it is a lot more expensive so the tractor would need to be much smaller and not big enough for 3 does and a buck. The smaller mesh is also heavier so the tractor would need to be smaller to still enable it to be moved by two people.

 

[ladysown]

yes, 2 x 2 is too big, young rabbits could escape from that easily.

 

[bunnybunny]

I realize babies would escape, so would have baby saver wire all around the edges. How high up the edges would I need to make it to keep young ones from escaping? Once weaned I would remove the babies to another grow out tractor.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:24 am __________<br /><br />If I make the height of the tractor lower, but with a lid so that I can walk in when necessary instead of having to crawl in, how high would I need to make the sides so that the rabbits would not jump out when I go in there? (LOL I am looking at the small mesh wire panel dimensions to try and work out the quickest, easiest and least expensive option).

 

[MaggieJ]

It's not only babies that could escape. Young fryers a month old or even older can squeeze through small spaces. Not only that, 2x2 is an open invitation to weasels, mink, rats and even raccoons that will reach in and grab rabbits.

Your concerns about size and space are one of the reasons rabbit rractors are not more popular. The materials to do it right are just so expensive and because the rabbits are more exposed than rabbits inside a shed or other enclosure, they are more at risk.

 

[ottersatin]

Rabbits are GREAT climbers,
so you would have to put baby saver wire over the whole cage.
Why not just use 1 X 1 wire for the whole cage?
I believe that it would better serve your purpose.
Ottersatin. ldtimer: :bunnyhop:

 

[bunnybunny]

Thanks glad I asked We don't have weasels, mink or racoons in Australia, but we do have rats, feral cats and foxes - only the rats would get through or be able to reach inside a cage this size though. We don't have snow in winter but our summers are quite hot - way too hot to have them inside a shed or barn, they definitely need to be under a big tree for evaporative cooling.

Ottersatin, I was hoping to build a tractor/cage 15ft long x 5ft wide x 5ft high - this is a very heavy gauge weldmesh that would need very little structural support at this size compared to thinner wire. Unfortunately the same dimension in 1" x 1" mesh would be more than double the price and double the weight so impossible to move.

I might have to go back to the idea of woven rabbit wire.

 

[ladysown]

why not make a couple of smaller cages?

 

[bunnybunny]

I could make two smaller cages if I had absolutely no other choice, but would prefer not to for time management reasons (I have multiple separate pens for all my chicken breeds and the time it takes to feed, water, clean etc everyday is quite substantial...given that I will have a tractor for growing out babies and single cages for quarantine etc, I don't want to add to my workload. I spend alot of my time with all my animals on a daily basis and don't mind the time commitment, but if I am sick, or not here occasionally, its an awful lot of responsibility for someone else to take on, added to the fact that my husband has serious medical problems, keeping things simple is important.

Single rabbit size cages is not something I will consider, so if I can't make a tractor large enough I would probably look into setting up an even bigger permanent enclosure (this is not my Plan A at the moment as its really too big a step for what I want to do right now).