Overnights in the yard?

[BrooksideAcre]

First, I would like to thank all of you for helping us at every turn so far. Almost all of my rabbit questions have been answered here. Thank you.

At the moment, we have 2 NZW Does (7mths) and a NZW/Cali buck(7mths). Doe#1 fell into the first time failure mother category. 8 babes on the wire, no fur, no nest. Lost the 4 of the 5 survivors over the next few days. Though all was lost until doe#2 had 7 beauties in a lovely nest. Fostered the lonely survivor, but it was not meant to be. :weep: Doe #1 was promptly rebred and she seems ok.
Doe #2 and kits are good at 1wk and are off to the races. Plan on rebreeding her ASAP.

I keep them on a diet of 15% pellet(non gmo, organic), alfalfa pellets, an organic oat and barley mix and hay. As well as a once daily large helping of yard greenery.
We are hoping to make rabbits a part of lives by making them a part of our diet...so what they eat is important to us.

We hope to build a grow out pen in the next few weeks so we can take advantage of the"lawn".
I have thoughts on building a tank of a pen but I am still a bit nervous to leave them outside over night.
Any thoughts?

 

[Miss M]

Welcome to RabbitTalk, BrooksideAcre! :welcomewagon:

I'm glad you've found the answers to so many questions already. The back threads of this forum are so informative!

I can't really answer your question, but we have a couple of members who keep their rabbits on pasture. One that comes to mind right off is Ollitos.

Here is a search on the term "pasture", with Ollitos as the author:

search.php?keywords=pasture&terms=all&author=ollitos&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

You should find lots of her pictures in there. If you like what you see, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you sent her a PM.

 

[BrooksideAcre]

Thank you Miss M for both the welcome and the direction. Those photos and threads where helpful.

 

[Miss M]

You're welcome! I'm so glad they helped!

 

[grumpy]

Good luck with your project.

Here's a few suggestions:

"Think" like a varmint. View your situation as they would.
Look for the 'chinks' in your armor/building/pens.
I assure you they will and when they find it, they'll exploit it.

Don't think too harshly of Doe#1. First time mamas are Nervous Nellies.
More often than not, they'll settle down and become good mothers.

Best of luck,

Grumpy.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Welcome to the forum!!!!

I agree, first time does don't always know what to do.

 

[Marinea]

Welcome BrooksideAcre!

I agree with Grumpy- think like a varmint. "I want those bunnies, yum, yum. How can I get to them? Is that hole big enough? Can I tip something over? Can I reach my grimy little paw in there?"

Oh, and remember buns like to dig. So be sure to put wire down so they can't dig out.

 

[Ivory]

Hi BrooksideAcre, welcome to RT.

Think about what predators you may have.

Foxes
Coyotes
Skunks
Raccoons
Weasels
Hawks
Owls
Snakes
Domestic dogs
Domestic cats
Anything else you may know/suspect is in your area.

Then act accordingly.

Foxes climb and dig
Coyotes climb and dig
Skunks climb and dig, they can get through much smaller spaces than you expect
Raccoons climb and dig, and they're very persistent
Weasels think they are God, they can get through the tiniest spaces, anywhere.
Hawks Come from above
Owls Come from above, they're sneakier than you expect
Snakes Are like weasels, they can get anywhere
Domestic dogs Well, they're just a pain
Domestic cats will eat newborn kits if the can get in there.

Rabbits can dig their way out or jump out, baby rabbits can get out through 1 x 2 mesh.

Outdoor pens need a top and a bottom. All mine have 2 x 2 mesh on the bottom which makes them hard to move unless you have more than one person, plus, you have to watch the rabbits feet don`t get trapped. Make sure the bottom wire overlaps the side wire.

The tops of my pens are a combination of 2 x 2 mesh and plywood.

The bottom 12 inches (at least) needs to be either solid or very small mesh, especially if you`re planning on having kits in there.

All wire mesh needs to be good strong solid stuff, don`t be tempted to use chicken wire, its useless. A combination of 2 x 4 mesh covered by chicken wire might work if that`s what happens to be available. I have 2 x 2 covered with chicken wire on some of my pasture pens. Doesn`t look very pretty but it has worked so far.

Tops, lids, doorways etc. need to be hinged and locked, don`t be lured into thinking you can just lay a piece of plywood on top, something will move it.

Don`t forget to think about the weather as well as predators, you will need shade and protection from the wind and rain.

I keep some of my rabbits outside all year round and I`m in Alberta where it gets very hot in summer, very cold in winter and its windy all year round. My outdoor bunnies are always the healthiest, they have the nicest coats, and the nicest temperaments.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

btw, I don`t breed nzw but 7 months sounds a bit young to me, for a first litter.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

btw, I don`t breed nzw but 7 months sounds a bit young to me, for a first litter.

I aim to get all my does pregnant before their first birthday, six months is when I start really looking for "readiness." I'm actually very worried right now because my one doe is a year old and is expecting her first litter! IMO she's old to be kindling for the first time. I think a lot of it depends on breed...giant breeds need more time to mature, for example. Also some bloodlines within a breed are ready earlier than other. What it really boils down to is, is the doe ready?

 

[JAA]

btw, I don`t breed nzw but 7 months sounds a bit young to me, for a first litter.

I breed my NZW at 5.5 months. I know others who do as well. If you wait too long the does have a tendency to get a bit fat and are harder to get bred.

 

[BrooksideAcre]

Build a sturdy, "heavy", well caged run with the weather in mind. Sounsd like a great weekend challenge! I will post pics when completed, (will not be this wkend however).

As for breeding at 6 months. I has having a look at their nails around the almost 6 month mark and thought I would check. One was text book ready the other not so much. So we waited. When I finally bought a pair of nail clippers, two weeks later, I checked. 31 and 32 days later....
I was going on what the breeder had said, her meat does are usually ready by 6 months or so.

I was hoping to avoid pregnant does in the heat of summer but I don't want them to get to overweight waiting for it to cool down. Frozen bottles and fans. The post on heat distress was most helpful.