So many questions!

[Lilacpetals]

Howdy!

First off thank you for this website- without it and its frequent posts I would be lost. So, that's why I decided to join. And, judging by how many questions I have I can't tell if this is lucky for you all or not.
Second off:
I'm not sure where this goes. As this is a site for both pet and profit rabbits, I was going to post this where the cage questions go but I was afraid I'd make someone upset due to it not being in the fur rabbit section and so if this is in the wrong place I'm so sorry. D:

Third off: You guys have the cutest emojis. ancake:

Okay now onto business.

I'm new to this. In fact, I haven't even gotten my rabbits yet. I know, I'm behind. We recently moved out to a farm and there is nothing for me to do. So, after doing some research and volunteering my brother (he doesn't know it yet, but he's younger so guess who's gonna win the argument.>> This chick. <<) I decided fur/meat rabbits would be entertaining and it would pay for itself.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what I am doing.

I have ideas, but I'm not sure about them. I have theories but I don't think they would work. Y'see, I don't want to buy any store cages, I want to make my own. but not out of any normal material. No, that'd be too easy!

For the outside rabbits I want to make their cages out of wooden frames and storage cubes.

Or this stuff:

I have 64 of them from when I had my very spoiled, very satanic Lion Head rabbit. I have 14inch ones. So I figure if I made a wooden frame thats two tall, and make a beam that goes every 14 inches across, I could slide the cubes into the frame and viola! Recycling! Right?

For the bottom, of course, I'd use 1/4th inch wire mesh so their little tootsies wouldn't get caught... But for the sides that would work, yes?

And about food: would an all natural diet work? I want to start them out on pellets, but then I'd like to make a garden for them, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing it to the rate that I'd need for three does and one buck PLUS to feed the babies after they wean until slaughter.

Also! Best rabbits for fur? Best rabbits for meat?

Annd finally. Coyotes. The death of everything.

How do I keep the canine jerks away from my precious bunbuns? :evil:

 

[Miss M]

:lol: Welcome, Lilacpetals!

Even with your varied questions, I believe I will move this to Rabbit Care, because of the emphasis on housing in your questions.

You will likely get answers to all of your questions there, but you may want to post "best rabbits" questions in the Fur and Meat forums.

Let me move it, and then I'll see what I can answer. <br /><br />__________ Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:32 pm __________<br /><br />Okay, there... hopefully you will find it.

First off thank you for this website- without it and its frequent posts I would be lost. So, that's why I decided to join. And, judging by how many questions I have I can't tell if this is lucky for you all or not.

We all feel that way about this forum! I've learned almost everything I know about rabbits right here. :yes:

Second off:
I'm not sure where this goes. As this is a site for both pet and profit rabbits, I was going to post this where the cage questions go but I was afraid I'd make someone upset due to it not being in the fur rabbit section and so if this is in the wrong place I'm so sorry. D:

I did move your topic, but I didn't move it because it would make anybody mad, just so you would get more answers to your questions.

If you ask meat rabbit questions in the pet rabbit section, they won't be happy with you. Graphic questions and pictures belong in "Rabbit Care" or "Meat Rabbits". If graphic pictures are included, putting the word "GRAPHIC" in the title of the thread is much appreciated. Other than that, you should be okay. You may get a thread moved now and then until you figure out where everything goes best, but we usually move stuff because it'll be likely to get more answers elsewhere.

Third off: You guys have the cutest emojis. ancake:

No arguments here! Betcha you haven't found these yet: :wr_sun:

In fact, I haven't even gotten my rabbits yet. I know, I'm behind.

You aren't the first member to join before they have rabbits.

Y'see, I don't want to buy any store cages, I want to make my own. but not out of any normal material. No, that'd be too easy!

For the outside rabbits I want to make their cages out of wooden frames and storage cubes.

Or this stuff:
Image

I have 64 of them from when I had my very spoiled, very satanic Lion Head rabbit. I have 14inch ones. So I figure if I made a wooden frame thats two tall, and make a beam that goes every 14 inches across, I could slide the cubes into the frame and viola! Recycling! Right?

I was all set to say, hey, rabbits have enough of a learning curve, without making it more complicated. BUT -- since you already have this material, then yes, absolutely, you can make cages out of it. I don't think you could make hanging cages, but hutches, certainly. Plenty of people have done so. As far as how, well, others will have to help you with that.

You are right, you cannot use it for flooring. 1" x 1/2" floor wire, at least 16 gauge, 14 gauge is better. Some people do use the 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth, which is what you mentioned, I believe. It seems to work well for some people, and not well at all for others. It tends to be 19 gauge at the heaviest, so much thinner than floor wire, and it can be rough. Some say that it can cut into rabbits' feet. That's all I know about it.

And about food: would an all natural diet work? I want to start them out on pellets, but then I'd like to make a garden for them, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing it to the rate that I'd need for three does and one buck PLUS to feed the babies after they wean until slaughter.

There are quite a few people on here who feed an all natural diet. There's a whole forum for it, called "Natural Feeding for Rabbits". You will find it on the homepage. It would be good to start with a good quality pellet, so you can learn rabbits first, then figure out the intricacies of a natural diet for them. Pet store pellets are usually not that good, especially the more eye-appealing they are -- they tend to be bunny junk food. Feed stores are usually a good source for good quality pellets, and they'll be cheaper, to boot.

You can supplement pellets with a good quality hay. Any horse hay will do, as long as it smells like hay, and not musty. If it smells musty, don't buy it. It must have been stored under shelter -- no bales that have been out in the weather. With good pellets, hay is not necessary, but many feed it anyway. It helps keep things moving through the gut, may help reduce the chances of impaction, and gives something for bunnies to do. Bunnies love to chew, and hay is very chewable.

Best rabbits for fur? Best rabbits for meat?

Well, you can get that in the same rabbit. There are a number of breeds that are raised for both. Among them are Rex, Silver Fox, and NZW (for fur that can be dyed). There are plenty of others.

Annd finally. Coyotes. The death of everything.

How do I keep the canine jerks away from my precious bunbuns? :evil:

I hear ya. My rabbitry is something of a fortress, because we live in coyote country (doesn't everyone?). There are different ways of dealing with this threat, too. For us, we built a wooden rabbitry from fence pickets (not fence panels -- they are thinner and are only stapled in place). We left a little space between each one for circulation, but not enough to present a threat. One side of the rabbitry is done in two layers of 2" x 4" fence wire.

You will find my rabbitry and others in the Gallery, under "Equipment and Setups", or something like that.

 

[Lilacpetals]

Miss M, you are a life saver. Thank you for moving my topic! I'm a duntz when it comes to some forum things. Thank you also for all of your answers and I will be sure to sniff out those hidden emojis! >8D . I can't wait to start a little Rabbitry. I'm so worried someones gonna come in, see the rabbit condos I'm wanting to make and be all "... So you say these aren't pets, eh?"

I want to make their lives at least comfortable before I gotta(coughcough well, my BROTHERS gotta) 'take care' of them.

I looked up the Rex and OH MY GOODNESS CURLY FUR! Now to just look up the Silver Fox and NZW (New Zealand white,right? I had one as a kid and it would chase after our dog )

Thank you again, Miss M!

 

[mystang89]

I find the best way to combat coyotes is to build hundreds of houses everywhere, lots of pavement, cut down all the trees and throw in about 20 or so different gas stations in a single block radius. That should reduce you coyote problem drastically.

As you can tell I'm probably not the most helpful so id listen to MSD instead.

 

[Frecs]

And about food: would an all natural diet work? I want to start them out on pellets, but then I'd like to make a garden for them, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing it to the rate that I'd need for three does and one buck PLUS to feed the babies after they wean until slaughter.

Also! Best rabbits for fur? Best rabbits for meat?

Annd finally. Coyotes. The death of everything.

How do I keep the canine jerks away from my precious bunbuns? :evil:

Howdy! Glad you finally joined!

I'm not going to address the cage question. I don't think it would work, especially for flooring, but I'll leave that for someone else with more cage building experience.

Best rabbits: Silver Fox. docile, good for meat production and have fabulous pelts (one of the reasons they were developed!).

Natural feeding: yes, it can be done. Some say you will get slower grow-out but I've talked to a few people who have not seen that. Even if you do, if you are saving money and giving them a better diet, what's a few more weeks? There is lots of info on the Natural Feeding forum. And, ummm, there's a new eBook on Amazon called "Beyond the Pellet" you might want to get.

 

[Zass]

A large dog or two helps with predators in general, and don't forget Satins for a duel purpose meat and fur type.

 

[Wheels]

I've built cages out of lots of junk and I've bought a few too. Depending on how sturdy they are they might make perfectly fine walls. If it were me I'd build a frame with 2x4 boards and use fence staples to attach the cube panels to the wood frame make one panel a door that hinges at the bottom and latches at the top.

Draw it out and measure everything several times before you begin.

I've used the 1/2 inch wire mesh for floors in one or two cages - It will need lots of support. Lots of support means poop gets stuck in places. you MIGHT get away with using your cube panels as a sub floor and laying the mesh on top. pull it as tight as you can. you want it to be very tight with no sag. I much prefer the 1/2 inch by one inch cage wire for floors, it's more sturdy and easier to keep clean.

I have New Zealand and Californian rabbits they are great meat rabbits but are pretty big - do you want a bunch of 8-10 pound rabbits? If not look at some breeds like Florida Whites, Mini Lop? and Dutch. Can't say anything about fur - I don't keep it myself.

 

[Miss M]

I looked up the Rex and OH MY GOODNESS CURLY FUR!

Those would be the Astrex... regular Rex do have curly whiskers, but not curly fur, just plushy plushy plushy fur. Astrex, I will warn you, while terminally adorable, are very difficult to get to stay curly. Seems to molt out most of the time.

NZW (New Zealand white,right? I had one as a kid and it would chase after our dog )

Yes, New Zealand White. I had a rabbit that chased our cat...

I find the best way to combat coyotes is to build hundreds of houses everywhere, lots of pavement, cut down all the trees and throw in about 20 or so different gas stations in a single block radius. That should reduce you coyote problem drastically.

:rotfl: Yeah, that would do it...

As you can tell I'm probably not the most helpful so id listen to MSD instead.

So... not paying attention in class today, Mystang? MSD hasn't replied in this thread (yet). okeeye:

 

[skysthelimit]

Hello there. Welcome.

I am glad you are taking your time and researching before getting rabbits.

I am a bit worried about rabbits chewing the plastic off of those wire cubes. Otherwise they would work.

Natural diets are a wonderful idea. Planning a rabbit garden is a lot of fun. I assume you have good access to grains, several people have grain mixes posted on here.

When you say fur- do you men pelts or actual fur? I have 4 fur breeds, Rex, Silver Fox, Angoras and Jersey Woolies. I keep pelts and spin wool. Satins are also wonderful, but the hide of any meat breed can be utilized.
As far as coyotes, no comment, I live 7 miles from downtown. I've seen coyotes as close as 3 miles in the Steelyard near the Metroparks, but they would not come anywhere near an urban neighborhood. I suppose a few large dogs would help, as long as it's not an unaltered female.

No wild dogs around here either. My dogs tend to keep predators, two and four legged, away.

 

[paradox]

I am a bit worried about rabbits chewing the plastic off of those wire cubes.

That was one of my concerns too sky. Also the squares are pretty large in those cubes. They won't keep babies in. And it is possible that a predator could easily grab a leg or ear through those larger holes and do some real damage to the bunnies. I guess it depends on whether you can get them in a really protected area as to whether or not that would work.

 

[GBov]

Chain link kennels with a second layer of two by four welded wire fencing would work. Be sure to put a panel on the floor and one on the roof as well before putting an actual roof on.

That will keep anything that is bigger, or fatter, than a snake out.

Don't know about the cages, I make all of mine out of one by half inch, 16 gauge, after weld galvanized, wire. I cnat find 14g to save my life round here. :roll: That size of wire keeps snakes out, by the way, unless you forget and leave the J feeder open. Well, it only ate two out of 11.

Try keeping an eye on craigs list, cages come up fairly often, I just got 24 holes for $10 a hole, solid built cages that were built with NZs in mind so are big with big doors.

If you do build your cages - and go ahead and try if you like, rabbits will live in just about anything - remember to put in BIG DOORS!!! That is the best thing a new rabbit keeper can do to make rabbits easy to learn.

I have NZs and am going, one day soon :roll: ,to have Rex. So far brain, mayo and hand lotion, and then smoking, all work for tanning my hides but I can only do one at a time that way. LOTS of hides end up in the freezer.

If you go with wool rabbits budget time for care, my ONE is a constant worry and is matted up again.

Oh, and welcome!

 

[Frecs]

If you go with wool rabbits budget time for care, my ONE is a constant worry and is matted up again.

Oh, and welcome!

:yeahthat: x3!

I have one French Angora and one woolie Silver Fox and am learning quickly that wool rabbits require frequent attention!

 

[Lilacpetals]

Thank you all so much! Sorry for the delayed reply we had an issue with my rats come up and I wasn't feeling too computery. I've decided to not worry about the grids for the cage, and instead use them to make playpens out of so I can get the babies out and get them use to handling just in case someone does want one as a pet. Also, expecting mothers will be placed in a normal rabbit hutch until the babies are old enough to fend for themselves.

I've actually got a plan set up where, if it works out like I want, no rabbit will have less than 4 square feet of. Hopefully that's enough to keep them cozy and comfortable. And I'm also wanting to set up a 'lean-to' type shelter made out of no crawl horse fencing and wood so coyotes can't get to my rabbits. Plus, I'm going to have a battery operated radio out there to play all night. Maybe that'll scare the stupid mutts off.