Questions about outdoor housing?

[LookAliveSunshine]

So far I've gathered the following tips
-In shaded area
-House down the area under the cage(s)
-Misting their ears
-Frozen 2L bottles
-Gallon/tupperware ice molds
-Cold tile
-Fan
-Ice in water bottles
-Water in crocks
-Shade cloth

If the cage is in the shade, do I still need a shade cloth? I don't think I do, but I thought I'd ask. I don't have an electricity/water source so wondering what I can instead of fans/misters? And with the crocks people use for water, is it a bad idea to have one of those for the rabbit to sit in to cool off? I worry about them messing in it and then drinking from it. My main source of water will be water bottles.

I'm also worried about predators. What do I do about flys/mosquitos? And outdoor cats, raccoons, opossums? I have nothing to hang the cages from, so I'm looking at the cages on a stand. Worried about the cages not being high enough? Or predators opening the door, is there a lock I should be looking into? Or do I need thicker/smaller wire so little hands can't get in? Should I also have a nest box for the rabbits to hide in if something scares them? Or will it just make them hotter? Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Marinea]

If you have a spot picked out, take one day and check the spot every few hours. Does it ever get sun? What time of day? How much sun does it get? The answers to those questions will help you decide on a shade cloth.

A combo of two or three of the cool down items should be fine if you can't use a fan or mister. Just watch the buns during the heat and make adjustments if you notice them hot. I'm not sure about a crock for the buns to sit in- never seen a rabbit do that.

As far as predators, they can be tricky. More than one lock is never a bad thing. Coons especially can be very dextrous. What else you might consider doing is going to depend on your setup. Can you give us more info? Maybe links to the type of cages you're considering. And maybe more info about your land- is it fenced, do you have outside dogs, city or rural?

 

[TMTex]

Good advice, Marinea.

I'd like to add one more item to the "predator" list. We lost two rabbits due to a neighbor's child opening our cages and letting them free when we weren't looking.

 

[LookAliveSunshine]

Camera batteries are dead, but I took a screen print off of Google maps. I live in a travel trailer which is on the concrete slab (before the A marker). The two trees to the left is where I was going to put the cages. There is a small brown shed that has the water tank(?) in it to the left of the trees so I have a shaded area there too. Between the concrete pad and the houses below it is a stream, deep enough that no one can cross it. The only children I've seen is across the stream and they seem to have roosters/chickens 'cuz I hear them all the time. I've seen 2-3 dogs, but that a few months ago. The neighbors across all have fencing too. Just stray cats, and I've only seen an opossum once, never raccoons, but that was on the crossing street. The cages I was looking at was http://www.klubertanz.com/images/Klubertanz_Pg22.pdf the 24x30x18. Looking at NW, Cali, or Rex breeds. Is that size going to be big enough? Another thing I forgot to ask was about rain. What things can help keep the rabbits dry? A roof obviously, but is there something else I can use? I want this to be a project for myself, with out the hubby's help and mass knowledge of tools, lol.

 

[TMTex]

Nice looking area. Nice cage, too. The Californians and NZs are meat type rabbits and are used commercially. They'll be big enough for sure.

I have mostly NZWs and Californians. They seem to tolerate the heat well. I haven't have any meat from them yet, but I'm awaiting my first litters. They're a day overdue, so hopefully very soon.

The meat mutts I'm growing out can tolerate the heat too. They were born and weaned outside, so it makes sense that they can handle it.

Good luck.

 

[Marinea]

Wow, I wasn't expecting that kind of picture

I can't tell from the pic which way is north, so I would still take a look at the spot by the trees every few hours to make sure about the shade.

The cage is a good one. Plenty big enough, assuming you are talking one rabbit per cage (just making sure). With children in the area, I wouldn't take any chances and have a couple of locks on the cages.

As to cover from rain- that's something you need for sure. If you don't want to get too tool involved, maybe some kind of tarp can be stretched through the trees? It would also help with the shade. Not sure it would work, but maybe.

 

[AnnClaire]

Hi Sunshine Welcome to the forum :welcomewagon:

This is my bucklings cage line:



It gets about 4 hours of direct sunlight, but is shaded the rest of the day. It is also backed to the prevailing winter winds, facing south to catch any breeze in the summer.

I used 2 sticks of square tubing with strips of cattle panel wired on top to support the cages. All of it is either wired or zip tied together and wired to 2 ground anchors. It withstood 65pmh winds last night The tarp is also folded silver side out to reflect the sunlight, has 3 bricks wired to one flap and has 1/2"x12"x6/8/10' boards on top with bricks holding the boards down. I also top the cages with feed bags to keep the sharp edges from rubbing/shredding the tarp.

Now I have to go out and button everybunny up again for more storms tonight