Colony planning . . . many questions

[hoping4better]

So, I've read a lot about this before and lately. Lately, because my plans for a few tractors may be thwarted by the plethora of wild onions. I plan on raising rabbits for meat mainly just for my family, but possibly as a supplement for the guardian dog we'll be getting for our chickens as well. I'm thinking of only 1 buck with 2 or 3 does and letting them do what they do as often as they feel and harvesting at the appropriate times, then replacing the mom's as needed to keep a healthy colony and not deteriorate their health too much (mom=dinner and a young one gets to be a new mommy in a few months).

We live on Tennessee red clay. That's literally all there is out there. To rid the colony area of onions I planned on several layers of cardboard and lasagna composting on top of that. I have plenty of space to grow food for them, but I'd prefer to grow as much as possible in their pen, since anything outside of the pen will be raided by birds, cottontails, chickens, deer, and possibly wild pigs.

So here come the questions.

So, will the red clay be a problem, since it really doesn't drain well?
How much space will be needed for a buck and two does and all the kits from the last five months?
----FYI - I am REALLY concerned about depleting the soil and plants where they will be colonizing. I don't want to have to de-worm and such often if at all.
How deep will they tunnel?
--I planned on putting rocks/concrete blocks below the fence down to about 8-10 inches all the way around. Will this keep them from digging out? If not how deep should I go?
I know rabbits try to be fairly cleanly about their poop. In a colony will they still try to only go in one area?
--I'd like to use it for manure if I can.

I may have more questions as I go, but honestly this is only in the planning stages as I probably won't be able to start anything, but the composting and some planting until spring or early summer.

 

[PulpFaction]

How large of an area are you planning on? They WILL eat everything. Everything. Really, you can write it off for vegetation, but it will be fertile if you choose to move them ever. Really, it sounds like you need a permanent set-up for these guys. I would even compare costs between pouring a concrete slab and setting up sand and gravel layers and just rule out burrowing altogether. Clay doesn't drain, as I'm sure you know, and all it would take is one good thunderstorm to drown whatever nests full of kits you have. Man, you really have it rough as far as an outdoor colony goes! LOL

I would consider a concrete slab and covered kennel with smaller gauge wire around the base to keep bunnies in. Straw bedding. Nest boxes. Just like you would do with an indoor set-up. I think a trio would do just fine in your average 6x12 kennel space if you had lots of hidey holes and kept the youngsters harvested. Set up a large poultry feeder and a big waterer (poultry waters also work great) and you want have to pay them any more attention than you would with tractors. Less really, since they would be safe and secure and have lots of food and water and their tractors wouldn't have to be moved.

 

[hoping4better]

How large of an area are you planning on? They WILL eat everything. Everything. Really, you can write it off for vegetation, but it will be fertile if you choose to move them ever. Really, it sounds like you need a permanent set-up for these guys. I would even compare costs between pouring a concrete slab and setting up sand and gravel layers and just rule out burrowing altogether. Clay doesn't drain, as I'm sure you know, and all it would take is one good thunderstorm to drown whatever nests full of kits you have. Man, you really have it rough as far as an outdoor colony goes! LOL

I would consider a concrete slab and covered kennel with smaller gauge wire around the base to keep bunnies in. Straw bedding. Nest boxes. Just like you would do with an indoor set-up. I think a trio would do just fine in your average 6x12 kennel space if you had lots of hidey holes and kept the youngsters harvested. Set up a large poultry feeder and a big waterer (poultry waters also work great) and you want have to pay them any more attention than you would with tractors. Less really, since they would be safe and secure and have lots of food and water and their tractors wouldn't have to be moved.

I was afraid of that (I know there are several cottontails around here, but I don't think they burrow). Not at all sure what my options are then. I really want things to be as natural for them as possible/reasonable. Concrete is philosophically out of the question for what I want. As far as space, I had originally planned on rotating the tractors over somewhere between a half acre and an acre depending on conditions and how much they ate, but with the wild onions that seems ruled out. The clay seems to rule out a colony, so I guess maybe rabbits aren't an option for me :shrug: I was really hoping.

 

[MaggieJ]

How about a colony in a shed with attached run? Compared to outdoor colonies, they are quite easy to set up and maintain. The rabbits have protection from the elements and from predators. ANY colony is going to end up deficient in forage, so you will have to bring the greens to the buns in any case, since tractors are not a good choice for you.

Please don't conclude that rabbits are not for you, just because you may not be able to have the kind of set-up you first envisioned. There are many, many styles of rabbit husbandry that give the rabbits a good lifestyle and the owners lots of rabbit meat. Explore your options.

 

[hoping4better]

Thanks for the encouragement Maggie. I think I will just have to be a little more creative and patient. I may keep a small colony (pop and two moms)in a very large area with your shed idea and pasture the kits as soon as they're old enough to leave momma. I'll just have to wait until I get the land a little better prepared. I read that organic matter and less acid soil will reduce the wild onion population. Free range grazing chickens may help a bit as well. So rather than a few months I may be looking at a year and a few months. Thank you both for your input!

FYI - In a few months I also plan on raising a couple angoras in a more 'traditional' method for the fur and as pets for the kids. So, maybe that'll hold me until I can get the other plans worked out.

 

[MaggieJ]

Well, stick around in the meantime, Hoping4better! By the time you have the area ready, you'll have learned so much from others that it will go much more smoothly. If you are not yet knowledgeable about weeds that are good for rabbits, this is a good place to learn about that too. Those invasive European weeds are, after all, the natural food of the European rabbit from which our domestic rabbits are descended.

 

[IaJewel]

I disagree that you can write off vegetation. I have kept pens and coloneys for years and never EVER have my rabbits eaten it down to nothing. Not even in the 20x20 pens. Good management and not over populating goes along way. If you want to see how I did it.. the photos and 5 pages of info is at www.pet-rabbit.netfirms.com/housing.htm and www.pet-rabbit.netfirms.com/pen.htm its to much info to go into here.. but YES.. you can do it. This also explains controlled digging, planting for rabbits and more.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

shoot, if you were going to tractor over more than an acre- you can build large pens. bury some horizontal fencing, install the appropriate housing, some feeders, waterers, etc-- while the rabbits are in one pen, new, fresh food can be growing in another- you can be composting waste in the third pen, making the soil improvements as you install pens!! Make 'raised' ground levels by the use of compost, gravel, etc. Install drain lines to prevent flooding-heck, make a pond for the water to drain to- then import some marsh rabbits!!! Look at your soil and other geologic/topographic issues as a challenge, not a detriment!

Clay soils are rich in calcium- planting deep rooted grasses, such as rye, helps break it up and improve tilth/drainage. Get dandelions growing in the area, too. The deep rooted plants help bring nutrition up to the soil surface

 

[IaJewel]

Terry.. It doesn't have to be that hard. I do rotate pens. I have a pen thats now about 8yrs old that Im totally re-vamping this year. Most of the time they just get "rest" You don't have to burry wire so they don't dig. Only does dig and you can control that. I have 20x20 pens and they are all dirt bottoms. The avrage pen is at least 5yrs old and they don't look like the surface of the moon. They are all pretty grassy and good. All but that one that does need a face lift this year. I have chickens in there now evening it up for me. I did try the pond, with a solar water fountain to keep it moving and bugs out of it.. bad.. bad idea.. I learned the hard way. That "pond" is in the old pen and will also be removed this year. I won't do that again. You don't need drainage as if it rains.. it rains.. hutches off the ground large enough to house all the rabbits in that pen and 2 of them is preferred as some just don't want to talk to each other. They will live together, but won't get in close quarters, so 2 off the ground shelters is ideal. I do mow around the edges and rock the gate and corners, the reason is.. this limits digging in those areas. Rock under the hutches also gives them a dry place to lay when its wet and a cool place to lay when its hot. Rabbits also really like to eat the lime gravel. So, although lime "melts" I use that type of gravel in lue of river rock. Hope this helps.. Over the years I have learned more what not to do, then what to do.. its always a work in progress.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I live in what is known as "high swamp" Thats' why I would be inclined to put in some drainage- and i LIKE some sort of horizontal fence, to help keep things OUT--It was posted somewhere on this forum,I think, a video link to a Flemish Giant raiser who just uses rock along the fenceline of her pens. seems the rabbits won't dig through rock-- In this area, rocks tend to sink into the unknown depths of muck...

 

[avdpas77]

My experiences are here: http://rabbittalk.com/the-nestbox-t125-45.html Remember this is only two adult rabbits, a doe and a buck. At any one time there were up to 3 litters at a time in the cage ~9 weeks, ~4.5 weeks, and a nest of newborns.

This was a completely natural setting except for the size. The doe burrowed, and all I included was some large rocks for structure, water, and feed. I fed hay and pellets in a covered feeder.