Best hay rack, water system, and nest boxes?

[cowgirl9768]

So I'm revamping my rabbitry and was wondering if you guys could give me links, pictures, or discriptions of your favorite types of nest boxes, hay racks, and water systems.

I am all for creating my own stuff.

Nest boxes.... Do you like wood or metal? Solid of mesh bottoms? Do you make yours? If so how much is the material and how do you do it?

Hay racks.... Open to any ideas

Waterers I use bottles but I am thinking about changing that.

 

[stone soup farm]

I like your question and also am interested in what peoples responses will be.

For watering we have switched to automatic with the 5 gallon bucket, pvc lines and rabbit nipples. Saves sooo much time!

Nest boxes I just bought the standard metal ones. Some old one I got have a thick plastic bottom that is removable and the new ones have compressed cardboard stuff with holes, but need to be replaced between litters. I don't like disposable items, so working on a different option.

 

[luvmybunnys]

The automatic really saves a lot of time. Ive been thinking of switching from wood to metal nest boxes. I feel like they would be much easier to clean and steralize. I dont know about the hay racks. Im excited to see what msd's looks like after she gets her patton.

 

[stone soup farm]

there is another post that is talking about hay racks right now. check it out- post185442.html#p185442

 

[cowgirl9768]

For watering we have switched to automatic with the 5 gallon bucket, pvc lines and rabbit nipples. Saves sooo much time!
.

Did you make this? How much was it approximately? Do you have picture? Does in work with stacked cages?

 

[stone soup farm]

We bought the basic unit at Bass. My husband installed it so he knows better about the details. I think with all the part it cost something like $150-$200 here in California. But it is well worth it. I will see if I have any pictures that include some of the design. I am sure someone else may have pictures too.<br /><br />__________ Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:01 pm __________<br /><br />in the gallery listing there is a water setup. Mine is a bucket but this gives you an idea.- gallery/image_page.php?album_id=8&image_id=1826

 

[cowgirl9768]

Thanks, that looks realy great. Does it drip into a bowl or are there actual tips that they drink out of? What about when it freezes out?

 

[bobqdevon]

I built my own watering system. 200 feet of tubing was $27, valves and tees were $20 for 50 sets, $10 for a 5gal food grade bucket with spin off lid, a fountain pump for $20, $10 for fittings to flow water out and back in to the bucket. Say $5 for a few screws and ties to hold up the tubing. All in all, $100 for a watering system.

Nest boxes I have resorted to building my own, I found the store ones were too small, so I use 1/2" x 1/2" wire from the farm store. Mine fit through the 12" cage door and are big enough for the Flemish giants to use. I line them with cardboard, then a layer of pine bedding, then straw on top.

As for hay feeders, I just get the $7 ones from the pet store. I stopped using the wooden ones as the rabbits like to eat them. The simple wire ones work good, and I tie them to the cages with baling wire to keep them from being knocked off.

Hope that helps.

 

[PSFAngoras]

I have hay slides on the exterior of the cages. I like my set up so that if I don't have the time to go into the cages, I don't have to. My feeders are all J feeders too, so outside fill.

As far as water, I have metal crocks that mount to the sides of the cage. I prefer them to bottles because I can clean them Easily, and if I'm in a hurry I can just take a water can for the plants and fill from the outside of the cages. Also, they do freeze easily, but its just as easy to flip them over and smack them on something to get the ice puck out and refill with warm water. I have to go out three or four times a day, but it only takes few minutes, and my set up is right outside my back door.

My nests are built out of 3/4 inch plywood with a mesh floor to let the urine go through ( kits make an awful mess!), but I've been playing with a new idea. I have been building nests out of cage wire lined with card board. They will be easy to clean, all I have to do is switch out the card board, and they are quicker and easier to build. The only thing I've found that I don't like it that they are very lightweight. This will ultimately be better for the floor of the cage, and for when I need to pull the box to check on kits, but I leave my boxes in year round for the rabbits to have somewhere to hide that is like their own private room. I don't pull hem out of their boxes unless I really need to get to them. It helps them feel more secure that way. However, the light weight of the mesh/ cardboard boxes means that the box itself now becomes a new toy, getting picked up, tossed around, flipped upside down, and chewed on. The does might be better about it, but the prototypes went to the bucks, and they had a hay day with them.

 

[Marinea]

VERY small rabbitry here (for now), so I go simple. Ceramic water crocks for food and water, the TSC hay racks (waiting for MSD's racks), and am making wooden nest boxes with wire bottoms.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Water systems:

In my main BunnyBarn, I have an automatic system. It has a recirculating pond pump and we are planning to build an insulated cabinet around the reservoir bucket to enclose a space heater to keep the water warm when we have freezing temps. Here is a tutorial Grumpy made on making such a system:

post151399.html

In my growout area I do not yet have an automatic system. I use two different methods for water according to cage size.

In large cages I use 2 1/2 gallon buckets with brass stem valves:



They are no longer suspended as in the picture because the stress on the plastic was too great and it started tearing. Now they are on the floor of the cages which allows the rabbits to lay next to them when it is hot.

Edited to add:

*Important*

Air needs to be allowed into the bucket otherwise a vacuum will be created and the water flow will stop. I used a 1" paddle bit to drill a hole in the center of the lid. Window screen is hot glued to the underside to prevent insects and debris from getting into the water.

For smaller cages I use crocks with a bottle upended in them so they fill as the rabbits drink:



gravity-fed-crocks-now-available-in-designer-colors-t6638.html

Nests:

I use the Sani-Nests from BASS equipment. I like their versatility. When the kits are ready to leave the nest, the front can be opened so they can get in and out easily. Since they are wire, they provide good ventilation in the warm months but can be fully lined with cardboard in the winter.

BASS sells waxed liners for them, but I started out by cutting cardboard to fit and secured it with zip ties. Now I have plastic wallboard (as seen in commercial bathrooms) that is cut to fit. I have different sized panels for the sides so I can have more or less ventilation depending on the time of year. It is durable and easy to clean.




I also have some metal nests purchased used from someone at a show, and an as yet unused wooden box won in a raffle.

Hay racks:

I have temporary racks made from 2" x 4" wire. You can see part of one above the creep feeder in the third picture above. I have also made some from the wire that is cut out to make door openings.

post125836.html

I designed a rack to minimize waste and contamination, but it is currently in the patent process. I hope to have them available soon.

 

[Marinea]

MSD, please tell me the name of the kit feeders, and where you got them. The ones in the last picture. Thanks.

Oh, and the 2 1/2 gallon waterers- now that they are on the floor of the cage, how far up do you put the valves? I love that idea for my grow out cage.

 

[cowgirl9768]

What great tips! I have all kinds of ideas now!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

MSD, please tell me the name of the kit feeders, and where you got them. The ones in the last picture. Thanks.

Creep feeder from BASS.

http://www.bassequipment.com/Feeders/Fe ... fault.aspx

Oh, and the 2 1/2 gallon waterers- now that they are on the floor of the cage, how far up do you put the valves?

They are still at the same height. I would prefer that they were raised, but hope to replace them with an auto system, so haven't bothered to change them. I could conceivably put some type of support under the buckets to raise them up. :thinking: Now you've got me thinking... I could sacrifice a couple of buckets and saw them into rings and place them underneath.

*Important*

Air needs to be allowed into the bucket otherwise a vacuum will be created and the water flow will stop. I used a 1" paddle bit to drill a hole in the center of the lid. Window screen is hot glued to the underside to prevent insects and debris from getting into the water.

 

[skysthelimit]

I've been eye balling the creep feeder for some time, kits make such a nasty mess out of fed dishes.

 

[cowgirl9768]

Has anyone tried any of the Combo Feeder by bass?

 

[JessiL]

Do you mean the combo hay rack and pellet feeder, a FineX product? I CANNOT recommend them, I found out that the design makes it very hard for pellets to flow through the system - you will feel forced to manually push them all the way down. And if you are trying to feed more than a single rabbit meal's worth at a time (like for a litter), you won't get as much feed delivered since the last few servings will be stuck all the way at the back. I ended up salvaging the situation by drilling out the rivets that held the "hay" feeder portion and flipping that around and re-riveting to make more standard feeders.

I have half-cylinder wire hay feeders that I don't love, but they get the job done. Nest boxes were made by me out of wood with 1/2" hardware cloth bottoms. I think the wood helps buffer against temperature swings. Cardboard liners can be added when expecting it to be very cold out. And I have a PVC auto watering system designed using grumpy's tutorial (though not with the recirculation; I will be trying out heat tape to prevent freezing this year).

-Jessi