dropping collection ideas?

[Zinnia]

I need to move my cages to a different shelter. I want this to be a permanent move, so I'm trying to think of all the needs now. My current situation is to scoop or rake out from under the cages. What I would prefer is a simple low-tech system for collecting the droppings w/o the urine. I thought about putting a screen under the pens and letting the pee run through to the ground. Now I'm wondering if I even want anything going on the ground.... still not sure what ground or floor I might use for a new shelter...

What has worked for those of you who are collecting droppings for use or sale?

Thanks!

 

[EnglishSpot]

I use a roofing panal (the one with the waves) that I sling under the cages via bungee cords at an angle. It's easy to sweep out, rinse off, and still contains the hay, urine, and poos. The end drops down into a bucket. It's the handiest thing I've done so far and I think I'm going to expand it into my indoor setup this winter.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

My current situation is to scoop or rake out from under the cages. What I would prefer is a simple low-tech system for collecting the droppings w/o the urine.

I think that letting the droppings fall to the ground and raking them out is the simplest and most effective low tech solution.

I also sell my "bunny berries" and I just (mostly) avoid the pee spots and use that for my own garden. The more often you rake/sweep up the bunny berries, the better since they will stay dry, with the exception of the pee corners.

If you have screens to collect the bunny berries while allowing the urine to flow through you are going to have a system that is just about as labor intensive as having trays. The screens wont be as heavy since the droppings will be dry, but you will still need to pull them out and dump them regularly.

 

[FourRingCircus]

How do you sort the hay out? I have been wondering that for those who do use/sell it often...

 

[MamaSheepdog]

How do you sort the hay out?

Hay is so expensive right now and we have a horse to feed (we had four and are down to one), so I haven't been feeding hay to the rabbits for over a year.

I still use hay and shavings in nests so just use those "contaminated" areas for my own garden.

An alternative option would be to compost the bunny berries and hay and sell it that way if you can't separate it out.

 

[FourRingCircus]

How do you sort the hay out?

Hay is so expensive right now and we have a horse to feed (we had four and are down to one), so I haven't been feeding hay to the rabbits for over a year.

I still use hay and shavings in nests so just use those "contaminated" areas for my own garden.

An alternative option would be to compost the bunny berries and hay and sell it that way if you can't separate it out.

Oh wow, I hadn't picked up on that in any other thread! What type of diet do you feed them? I have access to cheap hay (thankfully... from the field our house was built in), but it's treated with that chemical that can be disastrous to gardens so I have used the BBs sparingly for fear that I would ruin some of the plants with them.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Oh wow, I hadn't picked up on that in any other thread!

Probably because I was too embarrassed to mention it.

What type of diet do you feed them?

Rabbit pellets milled by Templeton Feed.

If I feel that a doe/litter/rabbit needs an extra boost I supplement them with my grain mix- barley, oats, wild bird seed, flax seed, and a bit of Calf Manna.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Free feed pellets here. Little hay.

Looks like I'll need to give some hay to my wool breeds though. Otherwise it's more of a treat, give it every now and then. They eat way too much.

 

[Miss M]

Truckinguy did once upon a time do the screens under his cages to catch the bunny berries, along with a chute and gutter system to collect the urine in a container. There used to be a picture, but it is missing now.

Before that, he would dump his pans onto a screen and let it all drain and dry for a couple of days.

I have no idea what he's doing now.

We had a chute and gutter system for all of our waste. Most rabbits have a stable pee corner, and so you can just collect bunny berries from the chutes where there's no urine.

Now it all just falls to the ground and gets composted by the chickens, along with pine shavings, leaves, and whatever else we stick in there.

 

[skysthelimit]

Free feed pellets here. Little hay.

Looks like I'll need to give some hay to my wool breeds though. Otherwise it's more of a treat, give it every now and then. They eat way too much.

I am finally feeding hay after two years without it. Only because I need to lower my bills, so with hay now cheaper than pellets, I feed it.

Before I gave no hay to my woolers, instead I fed them wild bird seed on their hay days. Between three years with the Jersey Woolies and two with Angoras, I have not lost one to wool block.

But it helps to have non molters.


I bag the hay with the pellets. I make sure the ad says that I feed hay so there will be some organic material, though most of the hay is so big I can rake it off in a big patch right off the trays.