Interested in building a pully system for rabbit cages, has anyone done this?

[Mac Farms]

We started our rabbitry with trays under stackable cages but realized very quickly that that wasn't for us. Next we changed to suspended cages with a slanted guttering system. While this is working, the flies are terrible. So, now we are considering the deep litter option with chickens under the rabbits. Our biggest concern is the labor of clean out a few times a year. We think that if we put the rabbit cages on a pully system and raise them up, then we can do the clean out with a skid steer.

Does anyone have thoughts or advise on this approach? Hoping to settle on a system that works for a while. Thanks in advance!

 

[RabbitDad]

About 100 years ago, I grew up on a ranch, with just about every animal imaginable.
I've never been a morning person but the couple hours spent each morning before school tending to the critters was actually a blessing.
I've never been a people person either so starting each day with my animal friends was great.
It's difficult for some to imagine that cleaning stalls & other "dirty work" was actually therapeutic. Not that I enjoyed the labor, just being in such great company while waking up was hard to beat.
To this day, I still start each day sharing my morning coffee with my dogs & horses. Much of the labor portion has been automated "to save time" but that didn't change my schedule any. I just spend all the time saved socializing with them.
If the time ever comes when you are fortunate enough to truly bond with your animals, regardless of what kind they are, you won't even notice the work required.
As for feeding, watering & cleaning up after them... that can all be automated quite easily. It doesn't require a large investment either.
In doing that you may miss the biggest part. Close interaction with your animals. I can't stress that enough.
Flies are VERY easy to deal with. The first step is to reduce their food source to a minimum. Next is air circulation. Try to avoid blowing air directly on your livestock, but maintaining "wind" over what droppings remain will keep them away.
Finally, those bag style fly traps work excellent! A few of those, strategically placed, out of the wind will take care of the rest.
Those three things will eliminate 95% of your pests.
If you need detailed instructions on automation, let me know.
I've been doing this since The Dead Sea first started showing signs of being sick. I think I've got it pretty well worked out.
Again, don't overlook the greatest benefit of having animals.
Hope this helps.

 

[ladysown]

If your cages were well supported I have a hard time imagining that a pulley system wouldn't work. Might startle the rabbits initially but with a slow steady upwards movement they should be just fine.

 

[Zee-Man]

If you bond your cages together it becomes a simple matter for using pulleys. How much flop and wobble you tolerate determines the complexity. Let's assume no guide rails.

You will need 7 pulleys at a minimum. More can make lifting the load easier but we can look at that later. You will have one pulley at each corner of the bonded cages. At the ceiling or whatever lift point you will have 1 pulley to the end where you will pull on the rope and 2 pulleys on the other end. Your rope is fixed to the ceiling in the back on the pull side and runs down and through the back pulleys, then up the back ceiling pulley forward through the front ceiling pulley then down and through both front cage pulleys then up to the the final ceiling pulley and down to you. Swivels on the ceiling pulleys will reduce drag. The effort will be equally distributed on four points of the load. If you add blocks between the final pulley and yourself you can gain mechanical advantage at the cost of more rope and more pulling strokes.

If you add a guide rail at each end you can reduce the amount of rope you need and the number of pulleys. Of course guide rails will limit the approach of the skid steer. With guide rails you can get down to 4 pulleys. Mount 2 pulleys dead center on the bonded cages. Mount one pulley to the ceiling at each end. Rope starts fixed to the ceiling of the effort end, runs through one cage mounted pulley up to the the far ceiling pulley, back down to the second cage pulley then up to the effort end ceiling pulley. Any inaccuracy of alignment in the guide rails and centering of the cage pulleys will introduce drag into the system. Adding 2 more guide rails can reduce drag. Adding bearings for the guide rails will also reduce drag.

 

[hotzcatz]

If you've got a skid steer, just put the cages on a big rack and move that with the skid steer as one big item.

Or look into block and tackle, that'll move heavier loads. Or a chainfall and a rail system like used in warehouses.

What about hydraulics?

 

[eco2pia]

We started our rabbitry with trays under stackable cages but realized very quickly that that wasn't for us. Next we changed to suspended cages with a slanted guttering system. While this is working, the flies are terrible. So, now we are considering the deep litter option with chickens under the rabbits. Our biggest concern is the labor of clean out a few times a year. We think that if we put the rabbit cages on a pully system and raise them up, then we can do the clean out with a skid steer.

Does anyone have thoughts or advise on this approach? Hoping to settle on a system that works for a while. Thanks in advance!

I have the system you propose, with rabbits over chickens. I promise you there will be no reduction in flies until you just start cleaning up the manure. If, like me, you have limited space and live in town, composting in closed containers is your best bet--think tumblers, worm bins, burying it. Consequently whatever makes cleaning fast and easy for you will work best--I think a rake, a flat floor, and a nearby bucket or wheelbarrow, and building the chore into your day or week is the best option. Also traps and some of those fly predators may help if you have money to throw at the problem. Consistency is really the key to making it easier, don't let it pile up.
If you live in the country, move the manure as far from the house as possible.