hoping4better
Member
I think I am ready to get set-up and get some rabbits soon. I am looking primarily to raise some meat rabbits. I LOVE the idea of letting them "pasture" to some extent, but because of the large number of green onions and many threats from neighborhood dogs and miscellaneous predators, I think my best bet is a hybrid set-up that will give them space, but keep sufficient space between them and predators and protect them at night. I do plan to feed them free choice pellets along with the "grazing" and hand feeding of additional goodies (weeds and garden scraps).
Please let me know what you think of my proposal and give me some direction on sizing and better choices.
What I am thinking is this . . .
I have a small section that is walled on three sides (probably an area about 4' wide by 3-4 feet long). i was going to put a large cage with a couple of nest boxes in there and have a ramp/door that I would open and close every morning and night. This would open up into a "run" that would be fenced in with "field fencing", chicken wire below the soil and up to about 1 foot and several strands of barbed wire where they may squeeze through at about 2', and a couple strands above to discourage dogs from jumping.
Will the 4' by about four foot area be large enough for two nursing does and a buck all the way through weaning and butchering age?
Letting them out and putting them up won't be a problem as we have chickens and it will basically be the same routine. Chase em out and chase em in every day. My kids will also like to be able to see them and spend time with them occasionally.
Will standard field fencing (the kind that gets progressively larger holes as you go up) with the barbed wire strands above and chicken wire (partly buried) be a sufficient fencing solution? How much yard space will they need? In a colony set-up like this, if several frozen 2 liter bottles were placed in the fenced area, will that be sufficient to protect them against our summers in middle Tennessee (zone 6b)?
Please let me know what you think of my proposal and give me some direction on sizing and better choices.
What I am thinking is this . . .
I have a small section that is walled on three sides (probably an area about 4' wide by 3-4 feet long). i was going to put a large cage with a couple of nest boxes in there and have a ramp/door that I would open and close every morning and night. This would open up into a "run" that would be fenced in with "field fencing", chicken wire below the soil and up to about 1 foot and several strands of barbed wire where they may squeeze through at about 2', and a couple strands above to discourage dogs from jumping.
Will the 4' by about four foot area be large enough for two nursing does and a buck all the way through weaning and butchering age?
Letting them out and putting them up won't be a problem as we have chickens and it will basically be the same routine. Chase em out and chase em in every day. My kids will also like to be able to see them and spend time with them occasionally.
Will standard field fencing (the kind that gets progressively larger holes as you go up) with the barbed wire strands above and chicken wire (partly buried) be a sufficient fencing solution? How much yard space will they need? In a colony set-up like this, if several frozen 2 liter bottles were placed in the fenced area, will that be sufficient to protect them against our summers in middle Tennessee (zone 6b)?