Grow-Out Cage

[AShelBunny]

I wasn't sure if this fits better in "feeding" or "cages".

I have my giant Grow-Out cage, which we made out of wire, and we made our latches and doors. It's a pain in the butt to open and close doors.

That's fine. BUT this last set of grow-outs we seemed to struggle to keep them full of feed and it disturbed their growth rate and I think they were quite stressed out (heat didn't help). One set started pulling out each other's hair!

I want to make a feed system that holds enough that they will never run out, have enough room they can all access it and I don't have to open the door to refill it.

I am looking for inspiration and ideas to make this happen. I also have all the tools to create a gravity water system I just haven't started it and don't know how to do it so I've neglected to do anything with it.

We are scheduled to breed on the 7th and 8th, so I have time to improve the grow-out cage.

Also, I have one doe in my quarantine cage because her cage requires a lot of cleaning from just build-up. What tools do you use to stop the urine build-up (it also was mixed with hair since she's molting). I need to *scrub* it! We used refurbished dog cages and my husband made a wooden base. Design improvements for the build-up corners?

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

If I was building a grow out hutch with a giant feeder for lots of kits I'd work off the PVC pipe extender idea that alot of DIY chicken feeders use. A metal base and above it a big section of PVC pipe going up with a cap for a lid to keep out weather/moisture/etc. The pipe can't be accessed to the rabbits in case they chew at it.

In my experience I always had more trouble with kits digging in the feeder (wasting feed!) than I did with them actually running out of feed. So I would feed pellets only enough they can clean it up quickly. Then load up with hay, forage, etc. That's less of a loss when they play in it and they can keep nibbling at anything that hasn't been peed on.

 

[AShelBunny]

If I was building a grow out hutch with a giant feeder for lots of kits I'd work off the PVC pipe extender idea that alot of DIY chicken feeders use. A metal base and above it a big section of PVC pipe going up with a cap for a lid to keep out weather/moisture/etc. The pipe can't be accessed to the rabbits in case they chew at it.

In my experience I always had more trouble with kits digging in the feeder (wasting feed!) than I did with them actually running out of feed. So I would feed pellets only enough they can clean it up quickly. Then load up with hay, forage, etc. That's less of a loss when they play in it and they can keep nibbling at anything that hasn't been peed on.

They do waste a bunch!!! Under their cage is so much dropped food and I just hope that maybe the chickens eat it?

 

[AShelBunny]

If I was building a grow out hutch with a giant feeder for lots of kits I'd work off the PVC pipe extender idea that alot of DIY chicken feeders use. A metal base and above it a big section of PVC pipe going up with a cap for a lid to keep out weather/moisture/etc. The pipe can't be accessed to the rabbits in case they chew at it.

In my experience I always had more trouble with kits digging in the feeder (wasting feed!) than I did with them actually running out of feed. So I would feed pellets only enough they can clean it up quickly. Then load up with hay, forage, etc. That's less of a loss when they play in it and they can keep nibbling at anything that hasn't been peed on.

Like this?


With a metal base>?

 

[AShelBunny]

CHECK THIS OUT!

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

View attachment 42950

Like this?


With a metal base>?

Sort of like that ya

 

[Phrick]

My giant grow out cage is made from wire shelving - close mesh on bottom and normal width shelving on the sides. I already had a bunch of the 5” j feeders from KW so rather than get a new one I put in 3 in a row down the 30 inch side. Later on I put a divider in the middle so I could separate bucks & does and put 3 on the other side too so all have 3 feeders (when I built it I had 17 grow outs in it at that point). Now I only fill as many of the feeders as I have grow outs for, but having the option to use up to 3 per side is awesome.

It sits in a 1.5” PVC frame so it’s off the ground and I built in a taller section to rest a gravity feed waterer on.

I haven’t used it recently since we hit 100s in May this year but my current kits (born two days ago and more due today) will use it as soon as they wean.

I’ll get pics when I go do chores and add them for ya!

I forgot how much I dismantled to paint the frame so it’s a little hard to see but on both of the short ends there’s room for 3 feeders, each about 3” from the next. I got the kind with covers to help keep wildlife out. And that tall part on the one side, I have a plastic shelf (from one of the home depot units) that I drilled holes in, then use 1/2” electrical conduit pieces through to holes so I can put it between the uprights, the water bucket sits on that.

 

[AShelBunny]

My giant grow out cage is made from wire shelving - close mesh on bottom and normal width shelving on the sides. I already had a bunch of the 5” j feeders from KW so rather than get a new one I put in 3 in a row down the 30 inch side. Later on I put a divider in the middle so I could separate bucks & does and put 3 on the other side too so all have 3 feeders (when I built it I had 17 grow outs in it at that point). Now I only fill as many of the feeders as I have grow outs for, but having the option to use up to 3 per side is awesome.

It sits in a 1.5” PVC frame so it’s off the ground and I built in a taller section to rest a gravity feed waterer on.

I haven’t used it recently since we hit 100s in May this year but my current kits (born two days ago and more due today) will use it as soon as they wean.

I’ll get pics when I go do chores and add them for ya!

I forgot how much I dismantled to paint the frame so it’s a little hard to see but on both of the short ends there’s room for 3 feeders, each about 3” from the next. I got the kind with covers to help keep wildlife out. And that tall part on the one side, I have a plastic shelf (from one of the home depot units) that I drilled holes in, then use 1/2” electrical conduit pieces through to holes so I can put it between the uprights, the water bucket sits on that.

That's beautiful!

How much did the PVC cost you

 

[Phrick]

That's beautiful!

How much did the PVC cost you

WAY more than I thought it would. But we actually found all the shelving to build the cage itself (x2) for only $50 on Marketplace so I felt like I could splurge on the frame. And I really like the relative portability, that alone made me willing to spend more to build it, because some times of the year I can keep them outdoors, but WHERE outdoors has had to change a few times already (eg when our neighbor's tree needed to come down and we moved the whole shebang so that it made his job easier).

Anyway, just the PVC was probably $180 in total, plus the random parts (eg PVC cement and the EMT conduit, hog rings and rebar ties, and later the paint to protect it from UV damage). I had to buy all new PVC for it (I checked Craigslist, Offer Up to see if anyone had leftover parts and nada at that time). A lighter cage could get away with smaller PVC but I probably wouldn't go with less than 1 1/4 - which is still enough cheaper that it would price out probably closer to $120. If you happen to have scrap PVC or you manage to catch someone selling extra on Craigslist or something, that would reduce cost further.

I got the plans here. We made a couple tweaks but 95% followed one of the plans. My son bought the Ideal DIY Cages e-book for me as a gift. It's 120 pages, well worth the price, I've used several of the ideas. https://www.raising-rabbits.com/world-of-raising-rabbits.html