Barn Ideas for over 100 New Zealands

[Rabbitrich]

I'm new to this site and rabbity, I have grown a fast high interest in this. I have been looking for ideas to build by barn and so far I'm leaning towards custom building a metal car port type 20X30 with shade covers mid way up all the way around to help control shade, insulate the roof and have some type of fan system to help with circulation. I would like to get to 100 rabbits by year in and maybe one day get to 300. What would you suggest our do you have any pictures of your barns that can hold this many rabbits. It does not get too cold in Louisiana but the heat is definitely a concern. Please advise.

 

[SixGun]

Metal car port and pole buildings work well, but in Louisiana you'll need to worry about heat, as you are already aware. Insulating a barn and providing adequate ventilation are going to be your priorities.
You can determine the size building you need after you know what size holes you're going to use. 24" x 24" for a NZW production doe is I think within ARBA standards.
Now, when you say you want 100 rabbits, does that mean you want 90 does and 10 bucks, all of producing age? If so, you would be at 300 in 31 days from your first breeding date, or more likely about 450+. A NZW doe in a production facility can produce at least 40 kits a year.
You're in the right place to learn lots. Ask them questions.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I would recommend 24 deep, by 36 long as a cage size for doe and litter. [i assume you are going to raise meat rabbits]
I have worked with 24" by 30" they are a little too tight for large does and large litters. You will need to build the rabbitry in 100% shade [under large trees is best] -- you need a backup plan for extremely hot days IE: an air conditioning system, and or sprinklers on the metal roof. A large rabbitry can be destroyed in a few hours, if temperatures stay above 90 [in the cage area] . Rabbits generate a lot of heat... and does near their kindling date will die first...

 

[michaels4gardens]

I would recommend 24 deep, by 36 long as a cage size for doe and litter. [i assume you are going to raise meat rabbits]
I have worked with 24" by 30" they are a little too tight for large does and large litters. You will need to build the rabbitry in 100% shade [under large trees is best] -- you need a backup plan for extremely hot days IE: an air conditioning system, and or sprinklers on the metal roof. A large rabbitry can be destroyed in a few hours, if temperatures stay above 90 [in the cage area] . Rabbits generate a lot of heat... and does nearing their kindling date will die first...

 

[Rabbitrich]

Very good information!!! I was thinking about have a custom carport looking building and putting insulation in the roof to help control the heat. around the sides have insulted metal covers all the way around. This would allow circulation being it will not be enclosed. I will have commercial grade fans to help with circulation as well. I did not realize how many they could produce to I appreciate that insight for sure. I would like to get over 300 producers but I'm trying to walk into this and go through the learning curve. And yes, Louisiana is very hot so I must plan the heat accordingly! I will look for watering systems on this site, I'd like to hook my water hose up an connect it to pvc piping with nipples in each cage.

 

[michaels4gardens]

Very good information!!! I was thinking about have a custom carport looking building and putting insulation in the roof to help control the heat. around the sides have insulted metal covers all the way around. This would allow circulation being it will not be enclosed. I will have commercial grade fans to help with circulation as well. I did not realize how many they could produce to I appreciate that insight for sure. I would like to get over 300 producers but I'm trying to walk into this and go through the learning curve. And yes, Louisiana is very hot so I must plan the heat accordingly! I will look for watering systems on this site, I'd like to hook my water hose up an connect it to pvc piping with nipples in each cage.

water pressure from the hose is too much, you will need a tank with a float valve at least 3 feet above your cages, that feeds your rabbit watering system.
If you plan to have a large rabbitry, ...I would recommend building your own with an elevated water trough,[with a cover] and a water trough float valve... Over buying one of the small ready-made "float valve tanks". Several times in my rabbit raising history, I have had power/ water outages that lasted for several days... having a 80 gallon tank of water feeding the watering system , prevented a serious problem .

 

[hotzcatz]

We only keep about twenty rabbits around here, although with kits, that number can be over fifty at times.

What we have found useful is keeping the does in a herd. If there's up to a dozen of them in a big hutch (3' x 12'), then they take up less space than if they'd all be in their own hutch and to they can all be fed at one time. However, these are angoras, so there's only a few of them being bred at any particular time.

When in community housing, it's good to keep watch to make sure everybunny goes up to the feeders, if there's a shy one in the bunch that one can lose condition from not getting enough feed.

I get the nipples for the automatic water system from Bass Equipment, but you may be able to source them somewhere near to you.

 

[golden rabbitry]

MISTING SYSTEM 100% RECOMMEND
depending of your floors of course, if the floors are dirt, do it at your own risk. I have a few compost piles for the droppings that make black soil in 2 years. I only have 5 rabbits and they poop a lot so be prepared to have a good cleaning system for those 100. I put shelves in about 6 months ago above my feed tubs and I love them, I keep nesting boxes, ribbons, tattoo kit, everything on those things. Also have a place for a shovel, pitchfork n all that stuff. I also have a fence near by where I hang drying carpet squares after I hose them clean. Remember that fans need a place to stand on hot days so make the isles wide enough to go through with a bucket and additional fans on the sides (one of my biggest regrets). Think about if you would add more cages and if/where you could put extensions. A table would do well over feed containers so you have a place to check nest boxes, tattoo, ect. also if you do use fans make sure to have a place to store the cables so that they don't get peed on or misted if you decide on a misting system. I have a very small rabbit house (8'x12') so fans work but a small swamp cooler on each side sounds like it would work best for you. Make sure that if you do get a rainy week that all the cables n such are sealed safely and that there is no water coming in or that you can tarp parts easily. also make sure to put stepping stones or something that won't mudify in rain by all the entrances to that when it rains it is easy to keep clean.you can use Y splits on the ends of hoses to extend or split a hose. I went alittle far and used the compost for a small spinach garden behind the house for the babies to chew on on hot days.

 

[Kent]

Look at Grumpy's setup and the Cross Roads' Rabbitry setup (site was taken offline so use the Wayback Machine for browsing old pages). Cross Roads and Grumpy provided me with most of the info I got for setting up my rabbitry. And then the other Rabbit Talk guys and gals. And purchase a good rabbit production books. Research, read, Youtube, chat here as much as you can before you start. There is even a University that raises rabbits for hot climates and Grumpy (genius Grumpy) tried them and said they are great producers. They have a little less fur and I think slightly longer bodies but have better heat tolerance and are excellent producers with fast growth rates. (I think it's Alabama or Texas, can't remember now). If you can't find them, let me know.

And use 24x36 cages built back-to-back and side-to-side. height should be 16" to 18". Research the nipples properly. Bad nipples can lead to thirsty rabbits and flooded rabbitries (learnt the hard way). Does your water supply contain a lot of scaling? Filter before going to the nipples to avoid grief. Use a PVC cutter, not hacksaw for the PVC pipes. Use great wire (cheap usually cause grief later) .5" x 1 floor, 2" x 1" sides and top, and 2" high strips of .5" x 1" around the mommy cages to prevent loss of babies. You may find floor nest boxes to be best (Crossroads Rabbitry). Dirt floor below the cages is fine for rabbit. Keep the cages at a height that is comfortable for you and is well above the ground so urine smell is kept down (for the rabbits sake, not yours). Try to avoid stacking if you can. Not usually worth it and it seems as if you have the space. Feed them hay, especially the adults, for many different reasons. Just some of the stuff I wish someone had told me before I started but I caught fast when I came here.

 

[Limebuzz]

I am in Ontario Canada,and I use these porta shelters to house my rabbits. I have 97 breeding does and 6 bucks at the moment. Started out with the 10X20s end to end but didnt give much of a walkway down the center. Last couple I bought were 12' wide. Much more room now. These tent things sure heat up in a hurry, and get pretty cold in the winter. I built plywood ends for mine cause the zippers don't stand up long and a pita in the winter. My cages are all double or triple stacked.