Cleaning and mucking in the winter-How do you guys do it?

[TerriG]

During the summer, we dump trays and muck into the wheelbarrow and then haul it out to the garden. In the winter, this is not working. We either have snow or mud from fall until spring. Last winter, my kids used one of their cheap plastic sled/toboggan but the sides are so short and it made a big mess. This year we were looking at building something, but still trying to finalize plans in our heads.

We just sold an old car topper and are kicking ourselves. We could have taken it apart and used it. It would have been perfect!

Last night we were at Cal-Ranch and saw something that would work. It is more expensive than I really wanted to spend, but I am afraid I would not be a whole lot cheaper to build something. It was something like this (same brand, different price)

http://www.rapala.com/Sport-Sled/Sport% ... tter-sleds

 

[Bad Habit]

I have rubber gloves, and wait until the mess is frozen in the trays, then break it up and carry it to the compost pile. Otherwise I scoop into a 5 gallon bucket and carry it over to dump it.

 

[dayna]

I put 5 gallon buckets and rubber totes under the cage and just pick up the bucket and totes and dump it.

Granted, it doesn't freeze here but I did the same thing in Alaska.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Why not just buy a big cement mixing tub and put it on the toboggan?

Or, to avoid trekking through the muck at all, build a compost bin by the bunnybarn and just skip hauling it at all.

 

[TerriG]

Why not just buy a big cement mixing tub and put it on the toboggan?

You've got my wheels turning. One like this? http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-Larg ... 202086174# I don't think we would even have to put it on the toboggan. I think it would slide well enough. It wouldn't be hard to make it able to be pulled. I need to double check the measurements to make sure it would fit through the barn gate and the compost gate. I think something like that could really work though!

Or, to avoid trekking through the muck at all, build a compost bin by the bunnybarn and just skip hauling it at all.

Unfortunately not an option

 

[Random Rabbit]

In the winter we use the wheelbarrow. DH blows a pathway to the garden with the big blower ... then he can wheel the loads out. We've been fortunate that there has not been a Lot of mud.( so far).

If the weather is terribly bitter cold... we procrastinate a day or two...

In warmer months we have a small manure spreader that hooks to his lawn tractor and then it gets spread in the back fields.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

One like this?

Yes. They come in several sizes, and I am sure any one of them would fit through the gate. The ones at Home Depot are better quality than the ones at Lowes, at least here in CA.

I was thinking you could just pull it too, but if so I would suggest making a frame out of 2" x 2"s or 2" x 4"s and attaching your rope or chain to the frame rather than the tub. Even though they are pretty sturdy, I'm sure the stress would eventually cause the tub to break.

 

[bobqdevon]

I have a 17 cu.ft. garden dump trailer I pull behind the ATV for the solids that I don't send down the gutter system, and for those few cages that we have pans under, that are not on the bucket system. It's a bit cold, and I'm a bit lazy, especially now with building the chicken housing, to rig them up to a bucket system. Maybe in February, after things settle down a bit and I have the chickens out of the garage, I can get the rabbits situated.

 

[Schipperkesue]

I have wire bottomed cages.

When the rabbits were inside the barn I used to hang a plastic bucket on the corner of each cage to catch the urine. On warm days I would remove the urine buckets, dump them, and return them to the cage corners. I had dropping pits under the cages for the poops. Every now and then I would sprinkle peat moss over the droppings to neutralize the odour. (Acidic peat will neutralize ammonia). In the summer when things warmed up I would dig out and wheel away all the droppings to the garden.

Now the rabbits are outside. Every spring I move the rabbits to a new location, rototill the droppings into the soil and make a new garden.

 

[Dood]

I bag it in empty feed bags, spread it around the gardens in the spring and sell it as organic fertilizer

 

[TerriG]

One like this?

Yes. They come in several sizes, and I am sure any one of them would fit through the gate. The ones at Home Depot are better quality than the ones at Lowes, at least here in CA.

I was thinking you could just pull it too, but if so I would suggest making a frame out of 2" x 2"s or 2" x 4"s and attaching your rope or chain to the frame rather than the tub. Even though they are pretty sturdy, I'm sure the stress would eventually cause the tub to break.

Very good idea. Also, that way if the tub cracked or broke, we could just change out the tub and be good as new. I could do 4 of these tubs for the price of one of those sleds!

 

[SatinsRule]

IMHO, no rabbit barn should be without at least one heavy duty muck bucket. Flat-backed farm utility feed buckets are great to have, too.

 

[Hoosier]

We use the mortar tubs and love them. I don't know how well they hold up to sunlight. They are made of fairly thick plastic. Ours slide well even over grass.

 

[big bucks ny]

I say invest in the sled they are built tough. I have one for ice fishing, but I use it for firewood manure hay deer carcases water and anything else I can dream up and still havnt figured out how to break it and usually that's something I'm pretty good at.

 

[TwoAcreDream]

I use the plastic pans in my stacking units. I try to clean as often as
I can because if they get full, they can be a bear to work with.
I wear plastic disposable gloves and move each pan into a BIG storage tote.
Like a rubbermaid or sterilite you can buy most anywhere. Then when
the tote looks about 3/4 full, I drag it out the door and across the
snow to where I want it to go, weather depending. I have used my
appliance dolly which mine is the convertible type. Either upright
or change the handle so it can be flat like a wagon. When I use it
like a wagon, I can move 2 totes at a time. I use a old kitchen
plastic spatula to scrape the pans with. It's usually goes faster
and easier when the liquid part is frozen.
I have a few hanging cages in the chicken coop and when I use those,
the chickens love to scratch underneath them

 

[TerriG]

I got them built today and they seem to pull really well. We did trays and mucked with the wheelbarrow before I built them, so It will be a week or so before we really test them. I built a frame with 2x3's (they happened to be cheaper right now!) and we built 2 tubs/trays. That way one can be hauled out to empty while the fresh one is being filled. Having 2 will make chores faster!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Let us know how they work out on the test run, and be sure to post pics in case anyone wants to copy the idea.

 

[skysthelimit]

I have a wheel barrow too, and make sure when I turned the cages around, that the wheel barrow would fit down each row. The top tiers have slant boards, the bottom cement tubs, with a few stackers.

 

[mystang89]

I use the first option that MSD said with the cement tubs. I fill them half with dirt and when they get filled up with pee and droppings I pick it up and carry it to the compost.

 

[concreteblonde]

Goodness! That's a whole lot of work!

I've got wire cages on wood legs. They get a big enough pile beneath I shovel it out and put it into the garden and feed them some more.

If I could squeeze it out of them I would be a lot happier but it don't work that way. I currently have 14 rabbits. Selling more tomorrow. Guess I need more litters for more poop!