PVC rabbit tractor, strong enough?

[Secuono]

I've got some CPVC and it's a heck of a lot easier to attach corners, so I was thinking of making tractors out of them.

We have foxes, possibly coons in the area. 10ft 1in tube is EXPENSIVE, so I have to use 1/2 or 3/4in piping. Will that work? I'll be wiring on the pipe every 2in. I'll use 14g 1in wire for the sides, 2x3in for the bottom.

I actually have a few pens made, but they are nothing but wire right now. Wanted to add the frame on the inside to keep them sturdy or remove the tops, add wood/metal instead and reuse the top wire for more pens.

What could I use to keep coons/foxes from messing with the pens on the ground?

 

[OneAcreFarm]

You would need something to weigh them down so they don't get flipped, otherwise it could work....

 

[tfb4me]

use 3 inch pvc or abs pipe as legs to get your cages off the ground. As for the tractor, that sounds like a great idea. I would also use some tent pegs to nail it down to the ground when in use

 

[MaggieJ]

What size is the wire mesh? Raccoons will reach into even 1"x1" and wiggle their fingers to attract the rabbits... Then it grabs one, hem, drags it to the wire and eats whatever it can reach right through the wire. I had this happen with chicks using sturdy wire shelving with spaces only 3/4" apart for the pen.

 

[Secuono]

use 3 inch pvc or abs pipe as legs to get your cages off the ground. As for the tractor, that sounds like a great idea. I would also use some tent pegs to nail it down to the ground when in use

There's no cage, just a tractor.
I'll have to use bricks or spikes, no idea yet how I'll keep the wind or predators from flipping them.

 

[tfb4me]

I would use cages to house the Rabbits and use the tractor for daily exercise. I wouldnt be able to sleep at night knowing my animals are on the ground all night. They can be spooked so easily on the ground. I have a friend that had rabbits outside in a tractor made of plywood. He came out to find 3 dead rabbits with broken necks. Were thinking they got spooked and ran into the wall. Not somthing I would do.Invest in some cages...

 

[Secuono]

What size is the wire mesh? Raccoons will reach into even 1"x1" and wiggle their fingers to attract the rabbits... Then it grabs one, hem, drags it to the wire and eats whatever it can reach right through the wire. I had this happen with chicks using sturdy wire shelving with spaces only 3/4" apart for the pen.

1st is 1x1 walls and top, 2nd is 1x1in walls, 1x2in top and the last is 2x3in. But the 2x3 I'll scrap cus its too small overall. I guess they will be day time use only.

Got 3 rabbits outside now, would have 4, but the guinea pigs are using the dog crate. Its their first day out on grass! Gotta do a deep clean of their cage, they live in the house cus they are strictly spoiled pets.<br /><br />__________ Thu Feb 02, 2012 3:19 pm __________<br /><br />

I would use cages to house the Rabbits and use the tractor for daily exercise. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing my animals are on the ground all night. They can be spooked so easily on the ground. I have a friend that had rabbits outside in a tractor made of plywood. He came out to find 3 dead rabbits with broken necks. Were thinking they got spooked and ran into the wall. Not something I would do.Invest in some cages...

They do live in cages, just wanted them to eat as much grass for as long as possible. 2x8ft really isn't enough for them to stretch their legs. I let my SF buck and HL doe out in the chicken run[separately], it's 12x12ft or so and they love to run, jump and spazz out. =D

The mesh bottom would also limit how they can move in the 2x8ft pen.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

PVC comes in several different gauges- schedule 20, which is very thin and flimsy, schedule 40, and schedule 80. 80 would be the strongest, but Hubs says if you can't afford 1" pipe, you wont be able to afford 80 in 1/2" or 3/4", either. If you use 20, predators will smash right through it. So schedule 40 it is.

Picture an old fashioned canvas tent if you intend to use stakes, and make "guy wires" with hay twine or something and place your stakes a few feet away from the cages.

I would hesitate to leave the general area for long periods of time if they will be out of your view. Rabbits will die of fright very easily, so even if a predator is unable to reach them, you could end up with dead rabbits anyway.

 

[Secuono]

PVC comes in several different gauges- schedule 20, which is very thin and flimsy, schedule 40, and schedule 80. 80 would be the strongest, but Hubs says if you can't afford 1" pipe, you wont be able to afford 80 in 1/2" or 3/4", either. If you use 20, predators will smash right through it. So schedule 40 it is.

Picture an old fashioned canvas tent if you intend to use stakes, and make "guy wires" with hay twine or something and place your stakes a few feet away from the cages.

I would hesitate to leave the general area for long periods of time if they will be out of your view. Rabbits will die of fright very easily, so even if a predator is unable to reach them, you could end up with dead rabbits anyway.

Did you mean 'guide wires'? Yea, that or have pipe down to brace or something. Only stuff I see is w/e Lowes has in the CPVC pipe section. No longer going to use them overnight, unless I can raise up the fence where it's 2ft, but eh.

I've left them in their fairly open pens for hours, only when I'm home. I do check out the window every hour or so out of paranoia that they escaped. Chickens are out there meandering around them and such. Both sides think the other is freakishly weird, lol.

I know rabbits die of heart attacks easily, lost a pet rabbit years ago to the dog barking it into stress and then death while we were out. Then again, the rabbit managed to open the cage door. Back then the dog didn't try to eat them from the inside out, devil dog. :/

Anyway, the wire would not just come apart, wired it all together every 1in, pipe is mainly for more rigidity.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Did you mean 'guide wires'?

Noun, 1. guy wire - a cable, wire, or rope that is used to brace something (especially a tent).

 

[Secuono]

Never heard it that way...Googled and I guess you are right.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

A lot of times people "bastardize" words- either due to a regional accent, or it seems to make more sense. In the latter case, "guide" makes more sense than "guy". An example of a regional accent affecting a word: some people say "bob-wire" but it is barbed wire.

Another example of why a literary education is so important- :mrgreen: the spoken word changes so easily from region to region.

 

[Secuono]

Yea, that's just how our school taught it. They don't teach what most consider old English.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

One does not need to run guy wires out away from the object--If two are used per corner, they can be run right alongside the object being anchored-- Works at fairgrounds with 36x36 foot tents, where one is not permitted to anchor into the fairway asphalt or impinge upon another vendor's space.. Of course, wioth tent stakes, and bottom wire, the stakes can be pressed intot he ground, over the bottom wire-IF thety have that little hook on the,,