Rabbitry plans for 2014

[TwoAcreDream]

Just trying to get a general idea for the new year.

My plan is to get a lot of does bred and hopefully have a lot
of new bunnies that can be sold. Plan is to get a addition onto
the current bunny room and the chicken coop, and keeping the
material costs down. I want more crops put in, that will help
feed all the critters here.

Do you any bigger plans ?
Or staying about the same ?

 

[Ramjet]

My son just finished building my new rabbit barn and I'm installing the final cage today. I have no "plans" for expansion in the near future ..... but we've all heard about the best laid plans of mice & men .... rabbitosis .... its harder to kick than booze & cigarette's.


I do have plans to add quail to my backyard farm within the month or so.

 

[luvabunny]

Wow, plans. I've got tons of them!

Since I just finished the barn, I've purchased 2 rolls of wire to begin making more cages. Bunnies are in the nestbox, and more does are being bred.

The barn itself is usable, but still has a few cosmetic things that need to be done, as well as 3 doors installed, shingles put on and paint.

English Lop national convention is within a 4 hour drive this spring. The bunnies in the nest will be my jrs, and last years show bunnies will be my seniors. Time to find out how this bloodline is going to sort out.

I am making plans to attend many more shows this year than last. I'm not just waiting around for the 2 local shows. I plan to travel to at least 3 other states and try to hit at least 1 show per month, even during the summer.

The ARBA National convention is within a 4 hour drive this year. I plan to have numerous rabbits available for sale, and hopefully a good idea of which keeper rabbits have a chance entered in the show.

I plan on getting a number of keepers registered with ARBA, and setting up a website. Also, mostly, I plan on meeting lots of new people and making a lot of new rabbit friends.

 

[ottersatin]

My plans for 2014 are:
To keep the rabbitry small and
do my best to make it smaller
occupant wise. I have hopes of selling off
quite a few of my All-wire cages and drastically
cleaning up and improving the area around the Rabbitry.
If anyone is within driving distance and is interested
in a few or quite a few Cages, email me and give it a go!
They will be quite reasonably priced.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[TwoAcreDream]

PM sent

 

[Peach]

I don't plan on expanding my Rabbitry, but I have opened up some holes for keepers and my small Brit program. I hope to dabble on them more this upcoming year

I need to finish up closing in a Rabbitry on the top. Adding some vents/fans and then it will be set! We might also finally be installing the automatic watering system this spring.

Working on producing Mini Lop juniors, but everything is happening later than scheduled,but now I'm finally getting them. I'll be skipping ML nationals this year in that case and try to just attend a few extra shows around my area..

Seems everyone has some reasonsable goals

 

[ladysown]

no new plans. I have removed the harlequins and just gone with meat mutts. No showing opportunities so didn't seem like much point.

 

[grumpy]

Still accumulating cages and rehabbing them. I'm up to about 35 or 40, now.

Eyeballing that old dog kennel area, figuring out the best way to
put a structure up that's solid and warm in the winter.
But cool in the summer. It sets under a good shade tree, so that'll help.

Got a line on two pick-up truck loads of 1 1/2"
foil-backed rigid Styrofoam. That's free for the taking.
Used (one-time) metal decking has been located.

It won't be long before I'll tear into the old dog house and demo it out.
Gonna save all of the kennel panels for side walls on the new building.
All of them are six-feet tall and double wired.
grumpy

 

[TwoAcreDream]

Grumpy,
When you get that project going, please take pics to share

I have twenty 6x6x6 ft kennel panels here. We use them for the chicken
run, and I like to set up a portable chicken room using 4 panels when
we have chicks in the spring. They could play a part in the summer
housing.

I will be needing ideas for housing the rabbits in the hot weather.
The bunny room I am using now will probably get too warm. It has
2 windows but they do not open. I plan on the 2 new additions meeting
together. Think of a L, and where the right angle is on the L, that
is the addition parts coming together. I am going to make sure the
windows can be opened with screens in place. One of my son's has
some used lumber leftover from building his chicken coop. I have
hopes of getting some of it. Addition does not have to be pretty,
just very practical. DH likes to paint so I am sure it will look
real decent when done. One of my main concerns will be how to
set up a door for cleaning out the manure. I like using stackers
and the drop pans. When time to clean, I dump the stuff into big
totes and drag it where I want it outside. Not the greatest for
my back, but it's working in the winter. In better weather, I can
use the cart.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

2014 will be spent wrapping up the work done in 2013. We added onto the bunny barn, doubling the room available for doe pens. We'll increase from 12 to 24. We added an area for bucks and another area for grow pens. Tomorrow, I'll begin work on building 12 new doe pens. Once those are finished, I'll build some more grow pens. The ultimate goal was/is to sell more rabbits in 2014.

I want to add onto the chicken coop but the family has just about had its fill of "projects". We didn't get to do much fishing last year so I think maybe I'd better plan on spending more time holding a fishing pole than holding a hammer! The chickens may just have to wait.

 

[mystang89]

Make rabbits have babies would be a good 2014 plan for me.....since I only got 3 litters out of 2013 and that was with 3 does... :/

 

[3mina]

I'm setting up my rabbitry in my basement and working on improving my Rex's and Silver Foxes. Possibly adding a small breed, trying to decide between working with tri mini Rex or Polish. That dwarf gene kind of gives me the willies.

 

[LilacGal]

Working on showing/improving my Lilacs. I have two litters due on the 3rd which will be our first home-bred rabbits. Oh and convincing my husband that we need a second breed....

 

[ilovehome]

We hope to finish our home made flush system (hubs had a rotator cuff repair, so probably won't be finished until spring). I will add five more cages to the main rabbitry, and maybe add another double hutch in the yard. I've added French lops, and they may be replacing the Giant Chins. I am considering starting a chocolate elop program, but that may be pretty expensive...and take up a lot of cage space. The french angora program will be slower than expected since two of my three does turned out to be bucks-- :/. I retired (again), so I hope to have more fun with the rabbits this year!

 

[Frecs]

My plans for 2014:

1. Build a cattle panel "tunnel" in the 16x16 "dogyard" and turn it into my rabbitry.
2. Clean up and re-galvanize the 5-hole cage I purchased and get it ready for rabbits.
3. Expand my number of breeding does from 3 to 6 with an additional 3 or more as "ladies in waiting". "Bigger" is the theme in 2014--bigger rabbits and bigger rabbitry.
4. In early Spring I'm ordering some bush willows to plant as rabbit food. Plus, I'm going to get cuttings from local Carolina willow (also a bush willow) and plant those.
5. Work on my "rabbit plot" of mixed forage, getting it growing well with a nice variety of plants.<br /><br />__________ Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:10 am __________<br /><br />

If anyone is within driving distance and is interested
in a few or quite a few Cages, email me and give it a go!
They will be quite reasonably priced.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

6. Wishing I was within driving distance of Ottersatin...

 

[KKRabbitry]

Plans for 2014

1. Make it to as many shows as financially possible! Our 2014 show string will be made up of mostly our own homebred rabbits, so I can't wait to see how our own genetics do on the show table.
2. Planning to downsize all of breeds to only the rabbits we really need, and only our best. Just to give us more space, and more time, and more show quality kits.
3. Try register more of our breeding stock, especially our bucks and our best brood does.
4. Expand our Holland Lop program Excited about this one. We've only just kind of messed around with this breed, but this year are planning to get serious, invest in some nice show stock, and raise the bar a bit. We are also working on a BEW project with our Hollands, so that should be interesting.
5. Also planning to expand our website, to make it more educational. We are getting about 40 hits per day on our website now. So I am hoping to add some educational articles, maybe even a color guide, and fun stuff like that. I LOVE working on the website, so this is mostly just a fun project in my spare time.
6.I would LOVE to make it to Convention........but I will be in College, so that might be difficult.
7. Breathe deep and smell the roses! I just want to enjoy those cute baby bunny faces, and all of our bunny friends!

 

[Tegan]

Ummmm...switching over to quail for 2014 LOL. Haven't decided if I want to go back to rabbits yet. I miss them...but I think quail breeding sets will be easier to keep indoors in the winter then rabbits. I HATE dealing with them outdoors in the winter. Breeders inside....grow-outs outside...yeah....a system that could work. And I only have to hatch eggs if I want to!

 

[PSFAngoras]

Trying to figure out my meat doe situation, going to send my older one to FC if she missed again ( the fourth time in a row!), and just wait for the new doe to come of age. If she doesn't get it right in 3 strikes she'll go to FC too. Or maybe a pet home, she is a darlin little girl after all...

Love to start showing my FA's. I need to get the back fence in wood instead of chain link so I can actually use my 6 grow out cages without getting in trouble with the city (not supposed to have rabbits in city limits, and they've not said anything yet, though I'm sure they're not stupid enough to think all my cages are empty...). Hoping those cages will give me just enough room to really get started working on my own lines, so far I have one doe saved back that I'm smitten with and I'm watching my two new litters very closely. One momma had a very hard time kindling, so if her little REW kit is a doe I'll be holding her back as momma's replacement. That's the only doe I have at the moment that I won't let go of, so she'd just be turned into a spoiled house bunny.

 

[TerriG]

Finishing out the 2 cages that have been unfinished for a year :blush: That was all I had until I just talked myself into another project. When I added on to the rabbitry and built the barn, I left storage room for straw and hay. I also hoped to store the feed too. The feed bags were getting too moist, so they are staying in the shed. We are having too big of a rodent problem, so I don't think we will be storing much straw or hay.

I talked to my husband last night about putting cages in that space (4 - 3'x2' cages) and use them as our finishing cages. That is the side of the barn where my husband and son do the butchering, so it would make it really easy for them. I could still store hay on top of the hutch since it will have a solid top. We only keep a bale or two on hand.