AnnClaire":2hb87bni said:
Nice boxes and good idea on the mod ... but they are gonna pee/poop wherever you *don't* want them to! LOL
Right? It's like they try to find the spot I don't want them making messy, "Ah, yes, this will work PERFECTLY." However I think this worked out! See, previously when the tops of the boxes were 1'x2' across the span of the back Hodor's waste would not only go into the next-door pen, it would also slide out the back and completely miss the bucket for catching such deposits. This morning I checked and all waste made it into the bucket! None on the ground outside of his pen! That takes care of one extra step when dumping manure, no more needing to rake it off the floor and shovel into the bucket for transport. :up:
AnnClaire":2hb87bni said:
As for your buns not eating the hay from the hay racks, I notice you are using 1" x 1" mesh rather than the 1" x 2" that I use and wonder if that might have something to do with it? You might try trimming one crossbar from one hayrack space to see if that might get them to using them? I also notice that your hay racks are above the j-feeder whereas I hang mine on the side of the cage away from the j-feeder and lower down.
I actually added the hay feeders back to everyone's pens yesterday and this time put them INSIDE the pens versus outside, and lowered them down next to the feed. I figured once they get used to it down there I may eventually pull it back up above the feeders to reduce waste but so far this is working! I saw Jeri pulling hay from it not long after I re-installed them even though she has plenty of hay in her hidey-hole, and then later D'artagnan. So I'm going to leave them there for awhile and stop filling the hidey-holes with hay so they are forced to check it out and utilize it if they wish. If they still don't seem interested I may go ahead and take your suggestion about the holes and increase the size. Thanks AnnClaire!
AnnClaire":2hb87bni said:
For breeding the doe that might have had a miscarriage, I would suggest you wait the withdrawal time, then breed? So far, I have only needed to dose with a med with a withdrawal time and it happened in the summer when I was not breeding, so didn't actually come into play.
What is the withdrawal time? I did some quick googling and couldn't find anything for rabbits, lots for cattle and swine though.
Prisma":2hb87bni said:
Yay! That's good news. VD can cause the aborting of kits and infertility too...I completely forgot until reading back over the post and catching the doe possibly aborting. With all clear, should see more kids IF that was the problem causing issues. To happy healthy buns n babies
Here's to hoping!!
SarniaTricia":2hb87bni said:
Do you have "hiddy boxes" for all the rabbits?
(they look nest boxes with roofs)
Yes, the does have 2'x1' and the bucks have 1'x1'. I like having the tops to increase surface area of the pens, and it's nice to lounge on to get off the wire. The bottoms are all open (I started with a few with closed bottoms but have since modified that idea) and once the does are getting close to kindle I put a hock-saver / EZ-mat / (dollar tree sink drain mat) under the box before adding straw/hay to help with excess hay loss but still allow breathability and drainage. Since the mats are 1'x1' I'll put two for the does boxes. The boys boxes don't really need anything like that since they aren't kindling in there, lol. In the pictures they have the kitchen sink mat under the boxes with a little hay since at the time I hadn't installed the hay feeders inside yet. D'artagnan's is there now so his mat and hay is gone from the box, but Hodor doesn't have a hay feeder in yet so he's chewing on his bedding. I actually saw him laying half inside, half outside with his big belly getting bisected by the baby-scraper while chomping on hay :lol: Weirdo. The bucks boxes have the baby scraper just in case I have to use a box for a doe, and actually Jeri and her siblings were born in a 1'x1' buck-box. So that helped them not tumble out onto the wire prior to me taking them inside.
I like the boxes 100% of the time for their own sense of security, if a loud noise goes off or a cat comes prowling about they can race into their boxes and feel a little bit safer about life. Plus, Clover practically LIVES in her box, I hardly ever see her outside of it regardless of temperature... she bloody loves that thing, lol. (Old picture with bottom still attached)
