Just starting out and have lots of questions

[Big Tom]

I have a few questions that I hope you can help me with. I have an old milk house that has concrete floors with drains and it has tile walls. I'm thinking of hanging 24x36 x18 cages from the ceiling and I'm not sure what the height should be. I would like to have cages with doors on the tops of them as I think that would give me better access to the rabbits. I'm also looking at the Fine X feeders and am not sure what size I should get. These would be for meat rabbits.

So the questions are:

1 Pros and cons of cages with doors on top

2 How low is to low for the bottom of the cages from the floor

3 What size feeders should I buy

Thanks :bunnyhop:

 

[UK-backyardbunnies]

I'm a newbie myself so don't take this as gospel but...

I don't think door position would make a lot of difference. Potentially rabbit could have a larger floor area because you don't need to worry about reaching into each corner. I prefer lifting an animal up to me, rather than "pulling" it across and dragging its bedding with it. But if you got the cage height wrong, leaning over and lifting something is the worst thing you can do to your back. You also need a gap or a fastener to hold the door open.

As for height above the floor, I'd go more with what is a comfortable working height for you. But consider if you can easily sweep or swill underneath the cages without too much faff.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

The beauty of cage height is that there is no right or wrong height, it is what YOU are comfortable with!

The reason I wouldn't want top-opening cages is because I stack mine, so that wouldn't work, but if it works for you then go for it!!

 

[Dood]

I hang nest boxes over the door opening to maximize floor space for a doe and her kits which would not be possible with a door on top, but if you plan to put the box inside I think it would make it easier.

If you plan to let the droppings land on the floor rather than cleaning trays you want the cages to be high enough so you can easily sweep out the wastes.

I don't free feed my does as they would quickly become obese, and fat rabbits dont get pregnant easily, my feeders are 3 inches wide but could easily be smaller as they only need to hold 8 oz of pellets.

 

[Big Tom]

Thanks for the replies. Now I'm wondering if I might want to stack cages instead. I could get 3 times as many cages in if I bought the 3 tiered cages. But then I will have to constantly be cleaning trays. So many decisions to make. :? :? :?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Now I'm wondering if I might want to stack cages instead. I could get 3 times as many cages in if I bought the 3 tiered cages. But then I will have to constantly be cleaning trays.

You can use dropping boards instead of trays. 3 tiers would be too tall for me to maintain without a ladder, but two tiers is easily managed.




I have two styles of top opening pens. It is very easy to access the rabbits.

Slanted top:




Flat top:

 

[Big Tom]

Thanks MS. Are those tops hinged with J clips?

 

[3mina]

Yup, J clips is all that's needed for hinges. Just don't over tighten them.

 

[Big Tom]

Thanks