PVC rabbit "barn" UPDATE: 3 years

[alforddm]

I wanted to share this as it was easy to make and I spent about $80 on it not including the tarp (hubby already had it and I stole it). I didn't include the cost of the cages in that figure just the shelter.

I'm not sure how long it will last since it is untreated PVC but if It lasts a year I'll be happy. It is a bit narrow to walk besides the cages on one side but it keeps the rain and most of the wind off the buns and I can expand it easily which I plan on doing soon. Right now the cages are single stack 4-30x36 and one big 55x60 that I'm going to divide in half soon. The large part is a repurposed dog cage that was given to me. It's an all metal frame so I used it as a base to attach the other cages. The "barn" it's self is anchored to the trees so it doesn't move. The wind did push it a bit before I anchored it. It is about 10x12. I cut all the pieces and glued it all together then used the ropes you see in the picture to bend it. It's all 1" pvc with standard fittings.



Here is an image of the roof.



EDIT: I found this post to update it and noticed the links to the photos were broken so i fixed them.

 

[katiebear]

Looks good...I had pvc cover for my rabbits but the wind took it off..we get some pretty awesome winds here. Monsoon season was all it took to convince hubby that we needed to put up a proper rabbit shelter. Good luck I hope it holds up for you!!
I had mine full out with misters and all before nature decided to show her full force...we were outside in 20 /30mile an hour wind, rain and lightning.... Monsoon storms are really something. :x

 

[ColtonRyan]

If and when you want to make it a little more sturdy, add some cattle panels under the tarp and it should last you quite a while...

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ASC/ASC189/ASC189.pdf

 

[alforddm]

I almost did it with cattle panels. I went with pvc because I would have had to borrow my inlaws trailer for the panels. That and it ended up being a little cheaper.

It's withstood about 30mph gusts so far. We've had a couple of pretty good storms since It went up. That was even before I tied it down. The problem I had with it moving wasn't the gusts it was the 10-15mph steady wind we had from the south all day a couple of days. That scooted it back about a foot. Since I tied it to the trees it hasn't moved at all.

That first big storm we had I just knew I was going to wake up with it flown away and wet rabbits but it hardly moved. It's been up for almost a month now. I'm pretty tickled with it.

 

[Rabbitdog]

What part of the world are you in. Those look like cedar trees, yes?

 

[alforddm]

We live just South of Idabel, OK. Yep, they are Eastern Red Cedar so good wind shields.

 

[cmfarm]

Any problems with rain puddling up on the tarp?

 

[alforddm]

No, rain doesn't puddle. Where the tarp isn't as tight as it could be it still just runs to the ground in between the pipes. We haven't had any snow or ice so I can't comment on those.

 

[JessiL]

My primary rabbit "barn" is a cattle panel hoop structure more or less like the one in the link that ColtonRyan shared. Instead of wood framing, we used odds and ends of galvanized pipe we have around, and a chain link gate scrounged from somewhere. Then we have an insulated tarp from the local army surplus store as a cover (only partial, but it's ok b/c our six rabbit cages all fit under the covered portion with a little space to spare). Then the whole thing is shrouded with either chicken wire or welded wire fencing to prevent raccoons or other medium predators from entering. We found out the hard way when the structure was being used for chickens that the coons could and would just climb in and out.

So far it's lasted two years and shows no sign of aging. It's a little low for my husband to enter, but I'm the primary care-giver and I fit just fine. In absence of a budget that can handle a "proper" barn, I definitely recommend it.

Oh, and we are in northern Nevada where we have blistering hot sunny summers and quite cold winters, sometimes with serious winds. The structure and its contents have held up fine. I put in a patio mister along the center top rib for the hottest days, I put it on an irrigation timer to go off in the middle of the day while I'm at work.

 

[wamplercathy]

How well does that hold up to thunderstorms? We get weird gusts of wind on our property. But it follows a line and we don't put anything in that line any more. Lost 3 trampolines. :x

 

[alforddm]

It broke lol however, my 5 year old admitted that he was "swinging" on it when it broke. He actually broke the T's rather than just popping the pipe out of them. So it definitely wasn't 5 yr old boy proof. Hubby has fixed it for me with a different design but it hasn't weathered any big storms yet.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It broke lol however, my 5 year old admitted that he was "swinging" on it when it broke.

:lol: Little monkey.

Maybe you need to build him his own little jungle gym out of thicker PVC.

 

[alforddm]

This thing is still kicking. It now has "walls" made of T-posts, 6 for the structure. Surprisingly the pvc is still strong despite having been in use for over 3 years. When hubby rebuilt it for me, he put in 45 degree elbows in the roof. I would rather it have kept the arched profile because I thought the pipes would bend inward and they have. I also ended up putting screws in all the joints and when some of them broke, I reinforced them with gorilla tape. That seemed to fix most of the problems and the gorilla tape has last 2 years. I just put a new larger tarp on it a couple of days ago. This new one is reflective and it seems to block heat better than the white one I did have. Because the new tarp is larger, I'm now worried that it will hold rain in a few places where the pipes have bent inward. If that happens, it will bust on me . I didn't think about that aspect when I purchased the larger tarp.

I'm still hoping to get a real rabbit barn one day. :lol:

 

[guardianoasis]

If and when you want to make it a little more sturdy, add some cattle panels under the tarp and it should last you quite a while...

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ASC/ASC189/ASC189.pdf

Ooooooh I might have to look into this more. A good friend of mine uses the carports you can get. I think they are 18' x 21' by something but they are $400 for the good ones and like $250 sometimes at Costco if I'm lucky enough to find them. We wanted to get them for the rabbits we have now but I can't justify spending that when I want to get new racks built that costs about the same.