Housing complex almost complete

[Sparky]

I am looking at getting 4 meat rabbits to start, so I built this on Saturday. It became an all day project which was cool with me. My 3 and 7 year old girls went to a roller skating party with their Mom, so that left me and my 5 year old son to spend the day together. I asked if he wanted to build this and yes was the word.

He was about falling asleep while I cut all the lumber to what I figured would work for dimensions, then the next several hours were spent getting the cordless drill with 3" screw just barely started, and my boy Kaden sunk all the screws. He loved it.

I will throw the next 3 cages in once the water line and plumbing supplies, valves, tees etc get here. I was planning on self waterer with a 5 gallon bucket mounted on the back of the "Hutch?" I also gave the measurments to one of the tinners (duct guys) on the job I am working on and he is going to bend me some thicker 22 guage galvanized sheet metal to fit perfect on the center slants, with a double hem bent in on all sides and a 1/2" lip in the front. No sharp edges anywhere. This way I can get a plastic scraper or something to help out with droppings. I think it should work.

What do you guys think? Overkill? I see so many wanted adds on craigslist that I know I could sell this and recoup my cash, but I am leaning more towards building another one down the road. Maybe design something better. This was just wingin it.

 

[curlysue]

Looks good!

 

[Sparky]

Theres a lattice center divider that you cant see from this angle. Can bucks spray across, through the divider and into the cages on the other side? There is about 10" total between cages.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Sparky!

Welcome to the forum!

That looks really nice. Well done! When we built our BunnyBarn, it was a family project too. You will probably be building another before you know it, as you will need room for grow-out cages, and also more cages for raising replacement stock.

Yes, the bucks can spray that far- but some don't spray. My bucks are housed right next to one another and all of my cages are touching on the sides, and my doe cages are back-to-back as well, but I have never had any pee on each other. Now that I have mentioned it, if they start, I will blame you, Sparky! Good thing you are safely in Iowa and I am in CA! :lol:

There was a study done on water consumption and valve placement, and 8" was found to increase consumption. Some people will put another valve at 2" for the kits. I didn't know about the study when we installed ours, so mine are all at 2" and the rabbits are doing fine- but we may redo the system (it is "on the list"), at which point we will install a line at 8".

I started with four rabbits also. I wanted to compare litter sizes between both bucks, so used the older one on both does first. Unfortunately, our second buck died before I could breed him, so my entire herd is from the one sire. My breeder is hundreds of miles away and we haven't been able to meet again since so I can replace him. Unless your breeder is local, I would encourage you to learn by my mistake and breed both bucks right away.

Welcome to the world of rabbits! They are my favorite livestock, and have become an obsession. I am sure you will find them to be a very enjoyable (and tasty!) hobby!

:bunnyhop:

 

[wild1slilfarm]

Looks good, you should post pics of it when you finsh it.
Building rabbit areas with you will be something your son will rember his whole life, I can still remeber helping my grandma build houses for rabbits and other animals.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Looks really good! Two suggestions...1) don't use sheet metal for the slant boards, it will rust out really fast. You could put PolyWall or some other plastic type and that would work better. 2) increase the slant angle if you can, it will help everything roll down better.

 

[Sparky]

Thank you all for your time and advice. OneAcreFarm, I already had the metal bent, so I will use it I guess until it gets all rusty, then switch over to maybe a sheet of plastic like you said. I really like your website too.

 

[Secuono]

You can prime and paint the metal and it will last longer, just like a farm metal roof.

 

[Sparky]

I planned on making a scraper out of plastic and a handle to push any droppings off. Wouldn't that scratch up the finish pretty fast anyway?

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Use a rubber squeegee-- or some facsimile of one, to protect any finished surfaces---

 

[SatinsRule]

If you know how to use a pair of lockwire pliers, you can (and should) lockwire those urine guard to the outside of the cage. They will work better at preventing urine spray and won't be in constant contact with the floor wire inside the cages. Also, when they need to be replaced, it's very fast and simple to replace them.

Also, it might be prudent to put something in the structure to steady the cages if you haven't already done so. If you've ever been on a suspension bridge when it begins to sway, you'll understand why I say that.

I do like the structural aparatus you've built, though.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sparky,

looking at your structure again, I see a few places where waste management may be an issue. Number one and two might not be a problem if your top cages will have clearance on the sides like your bottom one does, but the potential is there.

1. Your upper cross braces intersect with your dropping board in the corners- Murphy's law says that the rabbits will choose those sides as their potty corners and "the place" to toss hay out of their cages. I would raise the cross brace up so you have more clearance.

2. Waste may get trapped next to the lattice, especially in the rear corner- I would scab in a board to prevent that, so you have a straight edge.

3. The back of your dropping board appears to be flush with the structure- urine and waste will collect on the lumber below. A lip off the back would solve that.

Even so, you are better off than I! My 24 hole BunnyBarn has 7 points where waste collects and is hard to access. Six are relatively easy to deal with since they are at the front of the cages, but one is inaccessible unless I crawl underneath the structure squeezing myself between the bottom tier of back to back cages. A few modifications will solve the problems, it is just a matter of getting the Hubs to move my projects further up his "Honey-do list"!

 

[Sparky]

If you know how to use a pair of lockwire pliers, you can (and should) lockwire those urine guard to the outside of the cage. They will work better at preventing urine spray and won't be in constant contact with the floor wire inside the cages. Also, when they need to be replaced, it's very fast and simple to replace them.

Also, it might be prudent to put something in the structure to steady the cages if you haven't already done so. If you've ever been on a suspension bridge when it begins to sway, you'll understand why I say that.

I do like the structural aparatus you've built, though.

Should I just get rid of the urine guard altogether?

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I will make some. Modifications this weekend. I plan on buying a couple animals at the rabbit show in oskaloosa Iowa on June 2nd, so I still have time to make changes.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Thank you all for your time and advice. OneAcreFarm, I already had the metal bent, so I will use it I guess until it gets all rusty, then switch over to maybe a sheet of plastic like you said. I really like your website too.

Sounds like a plan! And thank you!