Rabbit tractor

[SEP board]

Does anyone use a rabbit tractor?

Right now I have all wire cages in a PVC hutch that is working out quite well. They're off the ground, good ventilation, automatic watering system. I try to get them all out as often as I'm able to run around the yard for some exercise and time out of the cage. I have a fenced in backyard so it's not a big issue.

I'm thinking of making a PVC tractor for the buns when they get weaned. This way they have much more area to run around and I can fit more in the tractor comfortably than I could in a cage in the area that I have to work with. Maybe something like a 6x4 enclosure. The grass in the backyard isn't treated so I don't have to worry about chemicals hurting them and I can move the tractor around to get some fertilizer in the yard as well. If I do this, is there any issue with putting buns (once they're weaned) from different kindles together? I figure I'd have buns from two, maybe three different kindles at a time depending on how successful the kindles are. Also, how many rabbits would be okay for something like a 6x4 tractor (assuming that they'd be in there till harvest time).

And if it is okay to mix kindles once they're weaned, what if there is a bit of an age difference between the buns?

Thanks

 

[Zass]

I think, the best thing would be to start looking at some trouble shooting threads, like this one:
why-are-my-rabbits-dieing-t30466.html

 

[SEP board]

Appreciate the link. Didn't realize that there could be that many issues. May have to put further thought into this.

 

[JessiL]

We tractor our growouts and breeding bucks, are on our 4th year now with no issues - other than a brief time spell when very young kits were dying. We never figured that out, it ended after a few weeks. Anyway, the rabbits' health is great, we butcher frequently and the livers all look good. However, I would suspect that your results would be different - we are in the high desert of Reno, NV, and we have proper winters that I think keep parasites and pathogens in check. We also move our tractors over a good half acre of high quality pasture, so there's a good interval between re-use of one area. I've lived in Florida, it's paradise for bugs, I'd bet you'd have problems trying to pasture.

Then again, who knows? If you can put together a tractor without spending much money, go for it and report back! Our website has pictures in the various galleries of our tractor designs, we have settled on version 3.0 as working out pretty well for us. Also be aware that even with our awesome pasture, we still supplement with pellets. They get about half what they'd be fed in normal cages. If I was willing to cut and harvest additional higher nutrition forage such as willow and alfalfa, we'd probably be able to stop the pellets, but I have a new infant and a full-time job outside the house. Therefore, ain't nobody got time for that...

http://www.flyingfossilfarm.com/Flying_ ... llery.html

 

[Zass]

JessiL, at what age do you put your growouts out on pasture? Do you feed forage to kits in cages to start, or do they go from pellets and hay to pellets and pasture?

I think those kinds of details would be super helpful in determining what could make for a successful pasture model.

 

[DoubleA]

I am the one who had the post "re posted" on this thread about rabbits dieing on pasture. I still don't have a definite answer as to why my rabbits died on the grass, but I will say that when I had my rabbits in a tractor that I moved daily I never had any problems.

My uneducated guess at this is they were getting a variety of grass, clover, and weeds rather than just the one type of grass that my pasture pen has.
also they didn't have a buildup of waste in the tractor like the pasture gets. But I didn't have them in a tractor for very long, so maybe I was just lucky not to lose any. Its tough to say.


The reason I went away from the tractors is that with 10-20 rabbits in a tractor they would need to be moved twice a day to keep them from scalping the grass to dirt. So either you keep your rabbit numbers low, or your tractor number high. Neither worked well for my operation, I wanted a low cost way of raising lots of rabbits.
The next and more important problem is it is very hard to keep small rabbits in a tractor.

Pictures of my design would help, but to sum it up....
I have a 12 'x 5' square base made of 3" pvc so it is easy to slide, with 1/2" pvc hoops over the bottom frame. I then drape fence over the 1/2" hoops to make basically a mini greenhouse shape. I then put 18" tall chicken wire around the bottom of the fence to make the holes smaller.
The Large size of the tractor makes it hard to "seal" the bottom to the ground all the way around. One little clump of grass or bump in the yard makes the tractor not seal tightly and the rabbits will squeeze out.

The next problem is the rabbits will jump or climb to get above the 18" chicken wire and escape through the 2"x 4" fence. this could be fixed by making the chicken wire taller.


I need to post pictures of it it is a really nice design. Just needs a few modifications would make it great. I think (guessing roughly) the tractor cost me around $100 with everything included- pvc, fittings, fence, chicken wire, zip ties, screws, wooden house was free lumber
Here is a similar one, I just did it slightly different.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pvc+tra ... dPx_x9M%3A

 

[SEP board]

Thank you for the link. Very nice pic of your tractor.

I'm wondering if I would have a problem. When I split up the buns into another cage from the mama doe I had two of them escape one night. Small opening in a corner of the door I didn't account for and two of the four decided to make a jail break. When I went out in the morning for my backyard chores they were still in the backyard (fenced in) and came right up to me. So there is no telling if they were out all night or just an hour. But they were on the grass so I'm sure they had ample opportunity to munch on anything they wanted including in my garden. No harm came of it. They were about 7 weeks old at the time. So perhaps once they're weaned and ready to be separated from mama doe it would perhaps be okay it seems.

Curious though how often I'd need to move the tractor around the backyard and if there would be too much waste around the yard? I know it depends on the amount of rabbits. Perhaps keep the tractor in and around my trees and bushes to fertilize them. I use the bunny berries from under the hutch for the garden so this may be a good way to do the trees and bushes as well.

I'm thinking like a 6x4 tractor to see how it goes. That's twice the size of the cages. My thinking is that the adult bucks and does still stay in their cages but use the tractor for a grow out pen for the buns once they're weaned and more mature. And I can use the tractor when there are no buns for the adults to exercise and get off the wire for a bit.

 

[DoubleA]

How many rabbits are you wanting to put in the tractor at one time?

My findings were that with 10-20 rabbits and a 5 by 12 tractor I would have to move the tractor twice a day to keep them from scalping the grass.
And this was using grass that was 8" tall not mowed grass.

If I were to start using the tractor again I would probably put 5 rabbits in it and move it every day, maybe every other day.

The fertilizer made my grass nice and green, didn't seem to burn any spots. Even on my pasture pen where the waste builds up more there aren't any burned spots.

 

[JessiL]

Our tractors are roughly 4' by 4', typically divided into 2 holes. I'll put a max of 4 grow-outs a side, for up to 8 rabbits in one. That gets heavy! And I move them every morning.

We have predators around, so we use heavy-duty wire mesh with 1/2" spacing on the sides. Nasty little raccoon hands can't fit through 1/2". And the bottom section is integral to holding the whole contraption together, it's a single unit of the wire decking that goes onto commercial pallet racks. We cut out some of the excess horizontal wires to end up with roughly 2x6" floor grids. Any wider than 2" and you really risk losing rabbits if you park the tractor over uneven ground.

We've kept does and their litters on pastures before, but it is risky for the little guys out there - they can get out pretty easily. And our does like to dig to China, even with the tractor bottom in place, when pregnant. So we typically now just have grow-outs and bucks on pasture. We wean straight to the tractors. The condition of the pasture dictates how fancy we are. If it's high summer and the pasture is growing like mad, then I'll introduce fresh grasses and legumes to the litter a few days or so beforehand - when they are just popping out of the nest boxes too, if I remember to do so. But if it's a time of year when the pasture is kind of slow and calm, then I now just toss the bunnies out there. I do usually wait until evening, when they've hopefully gorged on pellets for the day. But I do find that in general my Americans have close to cast-iron stomachs and nothing we do to them seems to matter much. It isn't the same story for our Champagnes, they might take some acclimatization.

Our rabbits can really thrive on pasture, and seem to love those tractors. I'd feel bad pulling anyone off pasture and moving them back to a normal cage, it's just so much more stimulating out there. And the bucks can keep in good, lean condition in them - have won a few classes at the local shows without unusual supplements.

 

[Zass]

We wean straight to the tractors.

What is the weaning age?

 

[SEP board]

How many rabbits are you wanting to put in the tractor at one time?

Good question that I don't have an answer to at this moment. My son and I built a PVC tractor yesterday that is 6x4 and 3 feet tall. At the moment I'm using it give the rabbits a break out of the cages. I put the 9 week old buns in this morning for a few hours. Now I've got one of the does in it. So it's an out-of-the-cage set up for right now.

However, when I start breeding again I plan to use it for a grow out pen. How many would work well in a 6x4 I can't answer at the moment. Little trial and error. I won't put them in until they're weaned and I'd like to also find out what age that is for folks that use the tractors.