New corral

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AnnClaire

AnnClaire

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Well, I had always intended to make a wire corral for the babies inside, and I had even managed to get the wire panels cut and put together, but last night, the cardboard corral just wasn't good enough. The oldest are just 6 weeks old, but 2 of them were managing to jump high enough to get a claw over the top edge, and from there, it was just a matter of time before they were out and racing around the living room with the cat in hot pursuit :p

So, middle of the night, I got up and finished putting the tyvek feed bags together (with duct tape) and setting the pen up ... moving the buns and all their "stuff" :cheesysmile:

And this is what they are now housed in ... one litter at 6 weeks and another at 5 weeks:

corral1LargeWebview.jpg


corral2LargeWebview.jpg
 
Really nice! Look at all those lovely babies! Glad you found a way to keep them housed or corralled. Gee, you sure about the cat chasing them? Or would they be chasing the cat? lol.

Again really nice way to house those weaned babies.

Karen
 
Yeah, they have room to zoom around and do binkies! LOL I have 17 in there now ... another 7 next week and another 5 at the end of two weeks :p And, with it so cold outside right now, they will be staying inside a bit longer than if it was warm outside ... so I will be adding one more panel to the pen to square it up and then bringing the tyvek up the sides a bit to keep the mess contained instead of it going all over the living room floor LOL
 
yep, another reason why I want dog ex-pens-- besides making for nice summer grazing, they can be used as growout and play pens for the buns.. The heck with what the dog needs!!!
 
Terry,

These are just panels of 1/2 hardware cloth with j-clips to connect them :p
 
I love the pen. Are all of the little ones English Angoras?
Is that a tort I see? I would love to get my hands on that one. :)
 
Frosted Rabbits":cl2ze0yg said:
yep, another reason why I want dog ex-pens-- besides making for nice summer grazing, they can be used as growout and play pens for the buns.. The heck with what the dog needs!!!
Click to expand...

Terry, if you can build them, go for it. AnneClare's setup that she built would be perfect to let your rabbits get some summer grazing and fresh air. I was fortunate to have my husband build a permanent bunny run outdoors. In a secluded area near the garden. Hidden by two large trees because we do have hawks and falcons (yes in the suburbs) that fly over. Beautiful birds but not nice to rabbits. My husband warns the wild rabbits when hawks and falcons are in the area.

Karen
 
TM the largest ones (including the TWO torts) are 3/4 EA 1/4 Satin (that I am beginning to wonder if she isn't more NZ than Satin???) So, ya got anyone coming anywhere near the Oklahoma Panhandle in Feb or Mar? I would be happy to send you one if you really, really, really wanted one LOL

Karen, yep, that pen will be the first outside pen for the babies, but I do have regular runout pens set up for when they are big enough to go in with the adults during the winter months. In the summer, they would just go straight in with the adult does during the day and be brought in at night for safety reasons LOL Here's a photo of the runout pens for those that haven't seen them yet (all one of you LOL) ... they are fully lined with chain link under 6-8" of soil too.

newpen01.jpg
<br /><br />__________ Sun Jan 13, 2013 11:18 am __________<br /><br />This is the current bunny pile :cheesysmile: There are 14 bunnies in this pile on the beach towel ... one litter is going on 6 weeks, one at 5 weeks and one at 4 weeks LOL Excuse the mess (in and out of the pen :p)

bunnypile1LargeWebview.jpg
 
Love it! :D

Is the net a thick/non-bendable net or is it the construction that keeps it standing? Looks like the one I have but I'm not sure if mine would be sturdy enough to use without a frame.. it's stiffer than chicken wire but way much more bendable than let's say compost-panels (the net-like ones, usually green?)
Not that I could keep even the cutest kit indoor since I'm allergic but I might want to make grazing pens. (It's not like they have enough room as it is.. :lol: )
 
Zab, it is what is commonly referred to as "hardware cloth" which is not very heavy gauge wire. It is actually very easy to bend, but as you surmise, cutting it into panels and using j-clips to join helps with sturdyness.

This stuff comes in 50 foot rolls x 28 inches tall and makes excellent moveable pens. I use cement reinforcement bars cut to 36 inches for corners on the moveable pens ... easy to pound into the soil, easy to pull out when needed. One thing I have found when using for a moveable pen is to leave a bit of slack in it so when a larger rabbit stands up and leans against it (and they will, looking for a way out LOL), the unsteadiness of it (in their mind) will keep them from jumping it.

This was last summer before I built the second chainlink pen ... there is an intermediate age EA and half a dozen 6 week old kits in this shot:

babypen01.jpg


The spring clamps were for holding the shade cloth (king size bed sheet LOL) during the day ... it helped keep the feral cats out and kept them safe from the red tailed hawk that cruised overhead daily :cheesysmile:

The tree branch is from a willow and they all loved the leaves and bark ... and would "hide" out behind the leaves like the EA is doing LOL
 
Ah, it might be the same I used for my pens then :) Mine comes in 1 meter x 25 meter rolls. (still having some trouble with inches and feet xD)

I'll remember this, ing size bed sheets and all :p And that pen looks lovely too. :p
 
What a great little play pen for the bunnies! :clap2: I bet you love it because now you can see through the "walls" unlike when it was a cardboard corral. :p

To make the panels more rigid and prevent snagging of your skin, clothing, and even the Tykek bags, you could put the plastic or galvanized metal edge guards on the exposed wire top and bottom.

http://www.klubertanz.com/images/Klubertanz_Pg17.pdf

One other thing that might be helpful if they tend to reconfigure the pen by pushing on it (which is what happens to my x-pen when dogs are in it) is to cut pieces of cardboard and zip tie them to the inside corners to hold it in the shape you want. I had to use very heavy duty cardboard for the puppies, but standard 1/4" should do the trick for baby buns I would think. :)
 
MSD, Not only do I love being able to see them, they love to be able to see out and it has lessened them trying to climb out LOL ... and the cat absolutely LOVES it :cheesysmile:

As for the snagging ... DUCT TAPE LOL I thought about using pieces of cardboard ... making a sandwich with 2" - 1" - 2" to cap the top and bottom of the panels, but then, the bottom would absorb moisture ... so the duct tape will be used on the bottoms at least.

You do realize that even these babies are demolitionists when it comes to cardboard, riiiiight LOL So far, there has only been one incidence of moving the pen, but I am looking around for something to stop that ... maybe cardboard on the outside corners IDK I'll find something as I am the QUEEN OF RECYCLING :pancake: I was also thinking about making a "tray" out of bathboard with a raised edge and silicone caulking that would hold the bottom in place ... that way, any major spills would be contained (yes, other kits have been known to knock the top of the water jug off and flip the water tray), but then I have the question of where/how to store it when not in use :tomato:

I also have 12 more babies (7 SILVER FOX!!!!) that will eventually be in the pen over the next few weeks ... so I do need to get the last panel in so it is a rectangle instead of the angled front (somehow I mis-counted the panels before putting it together :t_oops:

I know it doesn't look like it, but this is much easier to keep clean than the cardboard corral!!! I just need to tweek it a bit tomorrow.
 
AnnClaire":31mjqvmf said:
You do realize that even these babies are demolitionists when it comes to cardboard, riiiiight LOL
Click to expand...

Oh yes! Puppies too! :lol:

I only used the cardboard at the top where they couldn't reach it or pee on it!
 
I so wish they were pure EA. I would consider a road trip if they were. :) I love the torts. Who knows, maybe Ill decide to breed my REWS and get a pretty little tort. But I'm not to sure the chance would be worth breeding them and then not being able to find homes for them.
 
TM - if you breed REW to REW you will only get REW :D

However, take a look at this gorgeous little lady that I will be getting on Saturday: GHD's Arktos:

http://www.goodharedaze.com/english-angora.html

I will have some colors from this girl!!! But need to get her in a show early March, so won't breed until late February.

I also added the last panel to the pen and got it all set up, so here's some new shots:

newpen03LargeWebview.jpg


newpen01LargeWebview.jpg


And there are 20 babies in this baby pile ... little babies are all tired out after checking out the new digs :p

newpen02LargeWebview.jpg
 
Piles of bunnehs! :p

Isn't it funny that they all pile up in one corner even when they have room to spread out?

Mine do that even when it is hot outside.
 
Amen ... and you can't hardly see any of the 3 week old silver foxes ... they are buried at the bottom of the pile!

I also put up small little hay racks I made from left over cage top wire and they are all eating out of them like they always knew how!! LOL

I even watched a 4 week old go over to the aqua colored towel and pee, then go back to the feed dishes! And then, an hour later, one of the WHITE ones was laying on it ... ah well, so far the only yellow fur is on their feet LOL
 

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