Warning: Long and picture heavy.
After a lot of reading, most of it here at Rabbit Talk, (Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experience.) here is what I came up with to get myself started in raising rabbits...
Building a shed or barn wasn't something I wanted to do. (For now.) I just took down and hauled off two empty chicken coops, and am enjoying my less-cluttered backyard. Our two-car attached garage is laundry room, workshop, and yard equipment storage, but I managed to move things around to make room for a "bunny buggy".
It isn't perfect, but so far I'm really happy with how it's working out. That's a plastic shower curtain underneath, with a little bit of pine shavings. A daily dumping and hosing off keeps the smell down. Once a week, I can transfer the bunnies to transport cages, roll it out on the driveway and hose the whole thing down, let it dry, and move it back in. The only wood is the cart frame on the bottom. The "poop chutes" are made of architectural PVC sheeting.
The top cages are kind of high, and the bottom cages are kind of low, but I'll manage. The cages are big for my small rabbits. 36x30 and it's hard to reach into the back. I have one rabbit that's been needing to come out once a day (More on that below.) but I'm finding I can coax her into the front were I can grab her without too much chasing her around.
I removed the glass from the overhead door and replaced it with window screen. Between that, the window on the side wall, and a fan to draw in fresh air, it's about the best I can give them over the hot Florida summer, without air conditioning.
To me, setting up a routine is the best way to stay on top of something, and we're falling into one. Clean up, pellets and fresh water every PM, hay in the morning, and a full wash-down on Saturdays.
So here they are...
I originally planned on only Florida Whites for meat, but couldn't resist the Havans that were also available from the same breeders. From what I gather, Havanas are "acceptable" for home meat production? The fur has my wife talking about making slippers for Christmas presents.
The FW buck is probably about ready to fulfill his purpose. everyone else is three or four moths old. All seemed to say "Get that thing out of my face!" to the camera.
Havana Buck (black)
Havana Doe (black)
Florida White Buck
Florida White Doe
My "problem child"... There was a mix-up. I either got the wrong rabbit, or the wrong pedigree. The tattoo doesn't match. It's a long story, but he's supposed to be mailing me the correct papers for this rabbit. On top of that, a few days after we got her, I noticed that she has a foggy right eye. He say it wasn't that way when we left. Returning her isn't an option. It was a nine hour drive, round trip. The eye doesn't seem to bother her. I've been spaying it with Vetericym once a day, and the feed store was supposed to get some Terramycin ointment in tonight. I'm hoping for the best.
If you've made it this far, thanks so much for reading! Any thoughts, comments or suggestions are welcome.
After a lot of reading, most of it here at Rabbit Talk, (Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experience.) here is what I came up with to get myself started in raising rabbits...
Building a shed or barn wasn't something I wanted to do. (For now.) I just took down and hauled off two empty chicken coops, and am enjoying my less-cluttered backyard. Our two-car attached garage is laundry room, workshop, and yard equipment storage, but I managed to move things around to make room for a "bunny buggy".
It isn't perfect, but so far I'm really happy with how it's working out. That's a plastic shower curtain underneath, with a little bit of pine shavings. A daily dumping and hosing off keeps the smell down. Once a week, I can transfer the bunnies to transport cages, roll it out on the driveway and hose the whole thing down, let it dry, and move it back in. The only wood is the cart frame on the bottom. The "poop chutes" are made of architectural PVC sheeting.
The top cages are kind of high, and the bottom cages are kind of low, but I'll manage. The cages are big for my small rabbits. 36x30 and it's hard to reach into the back. I have one rabbit that's been needing to come out once a day (More on that below.) but I'm finding I can coax her into the front were I can grab her without too much chasing her around.
I removed the glass from the overhead door and replaced it with window screen. Between that, the window on the side wall, and a fan to draw in fresh air, it's about the best I can give them over the hot Florida summer, without air conditioning.
To me, setting up a routine is the best way to stay on top of something, and we're falling into one. Clean up, pellets and fresh water every PM, hay in the morning, and a full wash-down on Saturdays.
So here they are...
I originally planned on only Florida Whites for meat, but couldn't resist the Havans that were also available from the same breeders. From what I gather, Havanas are "acceptable" for home meat production? The fur has my wife talking about making slippers for Christmas presents.
The FW buck is probably about ready to fulfill his purpose. everyone else is three or four moths old. All seemed to say "Get that thing out of my face!" to the camera.
Havana Buck (black)
Havana Doe (black)
Florida White Buck
Florida White Doe
My "problem child"... There was a mix-up. I either got the wrong rabbit, or the wrong pedigree. The tattoo doesn't match. It's a long story, but he's supposed to be mailing me the correct papers for this rabbit. On top of that, a few days after we got her, I noticed that she has a foggy right eye. He say it wasn't that way when we left. Returning her isn't an option. It was a nine hour drive, round trip. The eye doesn't seem to bother her. I've been spaying it with Vetericym once a day, and the feed store was supposed to get some Terramycin ointment in tonight. I'm hoping for the best.
If you've made it this far, thanks so much for reading! Any thoughts, comments or suggestions are welcome.
