Ideas for an above ground colony set up?

[akaj9]

My husband and I have acquired an old chicken coop :mrgreen: ....it is approx.4'x4'x4' off the ground 3' It has an access hole for outside, but the area under the Live oaks (shady for our hot summers)is an area that can get wet at certain times of the year, possibly a few days at a time too so I want a colony type environment but up off the ground. We like to recycle and have the use of our old trampoline frame, height is perfect match to the door on the coop....it is a 12' diameter. We will figure out how to enclose the entire area up so the cage would literally be 12 diameter by about 3' in height, I was concidering compartments (nesting boxes) that come down under the frame, more of a feel of being in a hole, with access from the outside edges, would that be do-able or does the nesting area need to be within the other building? In which case I'm afraid my building is small? We are just getting started, our plan is for two does and one buck, for meat... so I am open to suggestions, since you have an idea what we are working with: 4x4x4 building on 3'legs existing (lotsa access), 12'diameter trampoline frame, under the shade and protection of three live oaks, wax myrtle and some pines...what would you do? It has to be raised. Thanks for your time...janine<br /><br />__________ Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:04 pm __________<br /><br />This is my thought process......

 

[JueLee]

That looks impressive, but keeping a raised 12' floor from sagging might be a challenge. And what are you going to do if a bunny you want to catch sits right in the middle of it? You need to be able to access more than just the nest boxes.

Putting the nest boxes underneath the floor like that would work fine, but remember that the does would have to access their nests from above, so, keeping the weather out might be a bit awkward.

Rabbits can handle wet ground, if it's not mud puddles. They'll just spend more time lounging in the dry chicken coop instead of playing in the big pen.

Would it be possible to build the pen on the ground, but dig narrow drainage channels underneath to ensure your rainy days don't produce mud puddles? Or build up the ground a few inches so the water runs off quickly?

If you can put the pen on the ground, then accessing the whole 12' diameter is as easy as walking inside. You can use a ramp to give them access to the chicken coop. You can't use dropped nest boxes in that case, of course.

Or maybe you could build a two level cage. Raised around the outside edge where the nest boxes are, but dropped to the ground in the center, so you can access it. During bad weather, they could simply avoid the low area. The shape would look something like a doughnut rather than a hockey puck. Again with ramps for the rabbits to get up and down.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

JueLee offers a lot of common sense ideas for handling the wet ground, and her points about the sagging wire and lack of easy access are good ones. Imagine if you have an injured animal and have no way to get to it.

I think your trampoline frame might serve you better as a rabbit tractor to be moved around for grazing when the weather permits. I am wary of housing rabbits in damp areas on the ground as well, because we lost a pet mini-rex to mushrooms. She was housed in a 4'x8' aviary that we laid on the ground under our oaks, and one morning she was dead- she'd chewed the caps off of some tiny mushrooms that sprouted suddenly.

Since the coop is 4' high you have a lot of vertical space to work with, so could build shelves to increase their "floor space". Make sure the coop is well ventilated as well to prevent ammonia buildup. You could mount the nests underneath the chicken coop itself, and I would think you only need two since you will be keeping two does. If you cut a small hole in the coop floor, you could build a wire run underneath the coop itself (raised floor) which would give them another 16 square feet and access to open air.

Have fun with your project! I'd love to see pics of your progress, and especially when you get your rabbits. Best of luck!

 

[akaj9]

Access to the ground is doable, 3 seasons...during the summer....it literally could overspill the wetland behind us and leave us with a muddy mess for a week, standing water a few days...Not worth the risk....But I did also think of the donut Idea myself...but rather that the cage itself be a donut with a smaller circle base inside, but open....so you would literall crawl under and then be able to stand back up with door accessing on the inside....But it would take alot of welding....so we are still figuring that out....support also. I really like the simplistic idea of making the bunny holes under the actual coop, instead of in the wired section...way better idea, solves the elements and still allows for that floor to be open! Keep throwing out suggestions...I'm taking them all in....

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Make a square opening in the center, w/ legs for structural support, and weld spokes radiating from that every 4' or so to support the raised floor. Perhaps removable "gates" inside, so the bunnies can't just run circles around you when trying to catch them.

 

[akaj9]

Thats exactly what I was thinking....just circular...Square may be easier...Solves a lot of problems,,,structural support and ability to catch them....as they run in circles :lol: :lol: :lol: upgated the drawing...is the size sufficient for the boxes? 1' high, 2' long, 1' deep....how bout this...hmmmmm/ I'm also seeing looking at it...that if I make the middle section same size as the "cage" width...I could use the "door" as the gates....that will take some thought...any suggestions about new design?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I know you want the trampoline-run to provide as much space as possible- but you still need to be able to reach them if (when!) they plaster themselves against the outside edge. I would lean over the outside edge and measure your arm length to see how far you can reach so you can determine how wide the run could be. Then, if you hinge each side of the inner square and have each one be a "door" they would make great "gates" providing they reach that outside perimeter. Another thought- the inside opening could be an octagon or a 6 sided figure (the name of which escapes me at the moment!), depending on your reach and the ideal length of the "gates".

I've never built a rabbit cage from scratch, so don't know what gauge floor wire will be necessary depending on the span between the braces, but the wider the span, the heavier the floor wire needs to be. So you need to figure out which will be more cost effective: more braces/lighter gauge wire or less braces/heavier wire. Also, you are going to have to weld a similar frame to support the roof wire. The roof wire can be lighter depending on what types of predators you have in your area that might leap or climb onto the top of the pen.

As to your nests, in my mind's eye I had them completely underneath the coop, and was thinking of access from a door on the end... but looking at your plan, I like your idea better- but I would suggest hinging the top (roof) so you can lift that up to check the babies, because otherwise you might have to mess up the bedding used to make the nest in order to find the kits.

 

[JueLee]

Looks great now.

I use nest boxes just about that size, and they work great. Like MamaSheepdog says, opening the boxes from the top works much better.

If you took a wedge-shaped piece out of the run, then you wouldn't have to crawl underneath to get into the middle. Especially when it's wet.

On the other hand, if the cage is narrow enough to reach the inside wall from the outside edge, you probably wouldn't need to get into the middle anyway.