Size of transport cages

[CWD]

I have some questions about transport cages.
To start I really liked the meals on wheels trailer, I could not get it out of my mind.

I have a small trailer 3 1/2 foot by 4 foot I am want to make it into a mini meals on wheels transport trailer.
I want to use this trailer to.
1) transport rabbits to shows, when I get into showing.
2) transport rabbits to the swap meet/ flee market/ farmers market
3) transport rabbits to a small animal auction 1 1/2 hours away.

Now some of my questions. Is a cage 18 inches long by 12 inches wide big enough for meat rabbits such as calis. & new zealands. ?
what is the longest amount of time I could safely keep a rabbit in a cage this size. with water/feed and shade.?
should the trailer be enclosed completly top, sides and ends, while being towed.? I would cut some holes for air flow.
do rabbits travel well, do they get motion sickness.?

the reason I am asking these questions is, if the cage size is ok, I will be able to build up my trailer big enough to carry 24 to 32 rabbits at a time with each being in their own cage.
I do not think I would be taking this many to a show. But to the swap meet or markets an auction, I would want to take at least 15 to 20 at a time, may be more. the rabbits would be in their cages up to 8 hrs. if it can be done safely for the rabbits.
if the cages need to be larger I can do this, but I will only be able to hold a max. of 12 rabbits at a time. this would be using 24 inch by 12 inch cages. Oh I forgot to say the cages will be 14 to 18 inches tall.
the safety of the rabbits is my number 1 concern. if I can not keep them safe I will figure out something else
or scrap the entire idea. I could always make cages to fit in the bed of my truck and transport them this way. but I would only be able to haul 6 to 8 at a time, as I do not have a full size truck.
TIA for all answers.

 

[cudaman68]

I see carriers for rabbits at the shows 8" X 18" or 10" x 18" for each hole so I would say your size would be fine for that limited amount of time. I like the idea of the transport trailer on suggestion is to make rack out of angle iron and have say a 3 hole cage slid in and out. You get to the auction or swap meet and open the sides and slide the cages out. I would have the trailer inclosed with vents and make it so the sides open up. At a swap meet you open the side and your ready to sell

 

[tailwagging]

can you sell rabbits at flea markets still in CA?
I thought there was a law that you can't now. I maybe wrong but it would be worth looking into before putting $$ in to it.

 

[3mina]

The bigger cages you're thinking of will give the rabbits enough room to hurt themselves if they get startled. Carriers are the dimensions they are in order to keep the rabbits as safe as possible. A rabbit can't break it's back if it doesn't have enough room to launch itself into the opposite wall.
I like the trailer idea, we have several people who bring trailers to shows here but we don't have single purpose trailers.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

3mina has a valid point regarding size. You could utilize those extra inches in one of two ways;
make a few more cages or
leave space between each to use as hay racks.

 

[Whipple]

That sounds pretty cool. Are you planning on the cages staying in the trailer permanently? Maybe just build regular travel cages and have a way to secure them in the trailer.

Rabbits seem to travel just fine. People often use it as a way to get does in the mood to breed. Also, 8 hrs is nothing compared to rabbits travelling to shows, upto 4 days in travel carriers.

I would check out traditional travel cages and go with what size is typically used for large breeds.

 

[CWD]

I am thinking about making a rack system out of angle iron. and slide the cages in place, I would lock them in place so they could not slid back and forth, or side to side.
I would make the sides removeable, and they would also work as my signs for the swap meet. I would paint a sign on one side that said Live Meat Rabbits. on one side. when the trailer was on the road the out ward sides would be blank. Once at the swap meet I would take the sides off, flip them around and put them on the top of the trailer, so people could see it.
I am going to make the cages my self, so I can make what ever size would be safe for the rabbits. an I would take a couple of spare cages, so I could put a rabbit in it on my sales table. The customers would be able to look at the rabbits on the trailer, I would be the only one allowed to remove them from the trailer cages. I have a 15 gallon water tank that I will take with me, so I will have plenty of fresh water on hand. as well as hay and pellets.

I really do not know how the auction works, I hink I would take the rabbits there, and they would be placed into pens that belong to the auction. this was how I remember it being done when I was a kid. I will be checking the auction out next weekend.

I do have to check with the people at the farmers market, I do not know if live animals are allowed around the food area.
I want to make sure everything is legal

 

[skysthelimit]

The largest breed I have now is Silver Fox. Using the largest three hole carrier, 24x16x12, I got about 6 of those in my mini van. Rabbits were in it for a week, but they were picked up and moved around so they could stretch. I don't even want to know how long my Convention buns were in their carriers, to the show, from the show, waiting for me to pick up. http://www.woodyswabbits.com/rabbit-car ... -4242.html

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I assume the cages will be stacked- what are your plans for pans?

 

[CWD]

Yes the cages would be stacked, either 3 or 4 high. for the pans I was going to use some angle iron set at a downward angle.
I have some old campain signs made from cor-plastic,to put under the cages and every thing would hopefuly slid to the middle of the trailer.
I would pressure wash the trailer and cages after each use.
the bottom of the trailer is ply wood, covered with sheet metal painted white.

on hot days I would have the trailer set up under a pop up canopy with fans blowing towards the rabbits.
to help keep them cool.

I checked with the local Ag.Office and I can sell live rabbits at swap meets, flee markets and farmers markets.
they just did not know how close to the food area I was allowed to be. they told me to check with the farmers market people.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Slant boards are definitely the way to go in my opinion!

I can't wait to see it. <br /><br />__________ Fri Mar 29, 2013 10:07 am __________<br /><br />Make sure to take lots and lots and LOTS of pictures as you build it. :camera:

opcorn: I see a transport trailer tutorial in your near future! :mrgreen:

 

[CWD]

Thanks for the vote of confidence.
I so I guess 12W X 18D X 14H inch cages will be the size to build. if I go 3 high I will have 24 cages
I will be making the cages as a single unit and put them into the racks.So I will have a total of 3 units on each side.
I already have most of the materials I need for the trailer. I just need the wire and door hardware.
and of course the rabbits to sell.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

My transport cages from BASS measure 8" wide x 18" long x 8" high. They are constructed of wire with a gap between holes to prevent fur chewing.

The cages from KW are 7" x 18" x 10" high. They have sheet metal dividers to prevent fur chewing and urine spray.

 

[lissapell]

We made cages 30x18 3 holes for Giant chins. for a cali it will be roomy. After we started building them we found these at walmart http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-34- ... ifications Now I wish we had built to fit them. these make nice catch trays.<br /><br />__________ Fri Mar 29, 2013 1:23 pm __________<br /><br />* they have a size slightly larger as well.

 

[AnnClaire]

LOL - I made one out of one of those ... used spare floor wire to bend a form that fits into the tub, then used regular upper cage wire to make the sides and used floor wire to make the divider and top. It fits 2 medium size adults. I put hay in the bottom of the tub, then place the double cage on top ... it keeps the pee from splasing back up on the bunny, and keeps the hay out of the angoras fur. It is a great way to make use of those left over pieces of cage wire LOL