Rabbit Shed

[PMcNemar]

I'm wanting to have a shed in the yard to house the rabbit cages, accessories, and feed. I know it needs windows for light and good ventilation. From what I've seen there aren't very many really good buildings. The wooden ones come with windows, or some of them do, but they have wooden flooring, which might stink after a while. The vinyl and metal buildings don't seem to come with windows, good vents, or floors, and I would think they would get way too hot in the summer and way too cold in the winter.

So I'm thinking a good, roomy, wooden shed with good working windows might just be my best option. Does this sound about right? Does anyone have any other suggestions or even links to good buildings that I could use for my rabbits when I get them?

 

[SatinsRule]

PMC, I cannot overstress the importance of having proper ventilation in your barn. Not having it produces a multitude of problems. Simply having windows will usually not accomplish this for you in the heat of the summer months.

It will be a necessity in most sections of this country to have whatever building you put up wired for electricity in order to support several fans at each end of the building.

This summer has made me rethink how I will ultimately build a shed or barn when I finally get my own place.

At the very least, I will leave openings for circulation at each end and on each side of the building I eventually put together, and have layers of screening and heavy-gauge wiring at the openings to prevent predation and attempt to control the ever-present mosquito plague that's in this area during the summertime. It is alot easier and less risky to weatherstrip the openings as necessary for colder months as compared to trying to produce artificial airflow within the facility during the summer months.

I will also not have a metal roof unless it has some plywood panels underneath, as metal roofing radiates alot of heat which wouldn't build up otherwise. A Mini-attic will probably be the way I'll ultimately go, as it will give me a convenient place to store my carriers.

Something I would challenge you to think about is how well ventilated the building will be in the event of a total power outage in the local area during something like a heavy thunderstorm or heavy lightning. Absent of doing so, you could easily wind up experiencing devastating results.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

How big a facility are you wanting to build? You would probably do better framing it out and building it yourself if you are not wanting a huge barn. We stripped the rusty corrugated tin off an old pump shed, placed the framing that was bad, and put panels of siding on it. Reroofed with metal, but insulated with the sheets that have reflective material on one side. We cut large openings on the sides, top and bottom and covered with plastic privacy lattice. The door is made with the same lattice. It gets good airflow and stays relatively cool, at least 10 degrees cooler than outside. We are also about to put up an outside area that will basically be a slant roof structure with 4x4 posts at the corners. If you have Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, Bob Bennett talks about how he built his barn...lots of good info in there...and it has the plans for that slant roof one that we are building. Good Luck!

 

[tailwagging]

I want a carport rabbitry
http://www.noblefur.net/

 

[PMcNemar]

Building my own shed would be nice, but my husband isn't that handy and to be perfectly honest neither am I. We could learn, but I'd be afraid of making a shed that wasn't very sturdy. I kind of like the carport rabbitry, but wouldn't that be awfully open to predators?

 

[OneAcreFarm]

You could fence around it...chain link...just a thought.

 

[PMcNemar]

I think I might have my step-dad build me a shed. I know that he could put together something that I would be really pleased with. He can do anything. Go dads! :lol:

Maybe a skeleton with a thatched roof, half of it walled with wooden siding, and the other half lattice-walled. I'd have to think about the floor of it. Maybe just leave it ground/grass and let the rabbits out individually once or twice a day to nibble on fresh grass and run around a bit.