Thinking of moving it out!

[Tegan]

Seriously considering moving the colony out of the basement this year. It's working...but...it's a pain in the tush to clean. Keeping the bedding deep enough to keep smell issues away, makes too much waste for our garbage pickup every week. 4 adults and 20+ kits currently has me scooping it 2x a week, which is leaving little room for our household garbage. (Remember we're in the city, so no burning and no just piling it in the yard).

So this is my thoughts....cement slab (HOSE IT DOWN! in the summer) which can be deep bedded in the winter (and then composted once spring hits). On top of that a open air shed covered in hardware cloth then lattice. Nice and breezy and open in the summer, and in the winter or bad weather I can tarp or cover with boards as needed. Thoughts or improvements?

I'd just compost now, but they produce a LOT of waste right now, and I'm a little back logged with getting it tossed out.

 

[skysthelimit]

I feel ya. In the winter I can hide it, but once things melt, this poop is gonna be a problem.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Sounds like a workable plan to me-- right now, anything removed from the shed goes in a tarp covered pile beside the shed-- I need to build the raised beds first thing this spring, make appropriate slices in the hardpan, and let the worms do their thing

 

[Marinea]

It does sound like a solid plan.

A big part of our getting into rabbits was for the manure for our gardens. I wish you were closer- we would love to have it. We go clean out goat and horse stalls for now, until our rabbit population increases.

 

[Fire-Man]

Seriously considering moving the colony out of the basement this year. It's working...but...it's a pain in the tush to clean. Keeping the bedding deep enough to keep smell issues away, makes too much waste for our garbage pickup every week. 4 adults and 20+ kits currently has me scooping it 2x a week, which is leaving little room for our household garbage. (Remember we're in the city, so no burning and no just piling it in the yard).

So this is my thoughts....cement slab (HOSE IT DOWN! in the summer) which can be deep bedded in the winter (and then composted once spring hits). On top of that a open air shed covered in hardware cloth then lattice. Nice and breezy and open in the summer, and in the winter or bad weather I can tarp or cover with boards as needed. Thoughts or improvements?

I'd just compost now, but they produce a LOT of waste right now, and I'm a little back logged with getting it tossed out.

You doing a colony, I would figure you are not using cages. My thoughts are if you would invest in some cages, collect the poop on screens, catch the urine in a bucket, you could flush everything down the drain----problem solved. If you move the colony to a cement pad outside and hose it down, you are going to create a smell that your neighbors will probably complain about.

__________ Mon Feb 18, 2013 5:46 pm __________

Another thought, if you had cages and set up screens to collect the poop, then you could take the poop outside and lay it on a tin in the sun, let it dry, put it in the empty rabbit food bags and sell it to gardeners for organic fertilizer, Sounds like a plan to me. I sure dry, bag and save my rabbits poop for my big garden. Should be able to pay for your cages quick. Keep in mind that the dried poop has no smell to speak of, its the urine that will knock you down. With Rabbits, you can feed them 50lb of food and get close that much back in fertilizer.

 

[skysthelimit]

If it's anything like me, in an inner city urban location, no one is interested in the poop, even free.

 

[Fire-Man]

If it's anything like me, in an inner city urban location, no one is interested in the poop, even free.

---Probably True. Here there will be a wanted add for rabbit poop once in a while, I never replied, they probably want it for free. I use all my rabbits produce, some for the 14 worm beds, some goes into the garden/flower beds/trees/etc.

 

[Tegan]

We're in NICE suburbs. My neighbors think I'm nuts, but everyone is friendly and no one complains as long as it looks nice / doesn't produce odor / doesn't produce noise.

I hate working with cages honestly. I'm short, and have short arms, and in order to get anyone out of a cage (that I think is a decent size to keep an animal in long term) then I have to practically crawl in it.

I love my rabbits being able to "run free". Right now I have to use pine shavings in the house to keep it odor free, works great, just LOTS of waste in pine shavings...impossible to sift poop out of, and I'm not sure it would compost well at all or just turn into a big pile of stink. I'm hoping with cement that I'll be able to sweep up the "bunny berries" every day and hose out the wet spots as needed, maybe even try to potty train them in there, who knows. I'm thinking of doing drainage tile all around the bottom of the bunny shed, so that when I hose it out it goes in there and doesn't just make a big soupy spot around it. I do garden, and would use the poop if I could get it out of the bedding easily, but I can't...so sadly it gets tossed.

No one around here would buy it, I see "come haul it for free!" ads on Craigslist all the time.

I have lots of time to plan and rethink though....spring doesn't seem like it will ever come!

 

[skysthelimit]

Shavings do not decompose as well as other things.

The dog kennels have a concrete poop area that drains into a gutter that flows out into the side yard grass. Rinsing is easy when the weather is warm.

 

[Fire-Man]

I hate working with cages honestly. I'm short, and have short arms, and in order to get anyone out of a cage (that I think is a decent size to keep an animal in long term) then I have to practically crawl in it.

If you ever try cages again, put the top of them waist high with doors on top in the middle. You will be able to reach everything then.

 

[GBov]

Pine shavings are great mulch and look "normal" in flower beds.

Your plan sounds good to me.

I have one colony going at the moment and its on pavement. No smell to speak of but I put fresh layers of hay down each week. Its due for a good clean out but am waiting for a good time, like, next year :lol:

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Its due for a good clean out but am waiting for a good time, like, next year :lol:

like my goat barn.... :roll: been tossin some out here and there over a year but they've been in their for 2 years... yup... to do list opcorn:

 

[GBov]

I like to look at my to do list every year. Its always good for a laugh :lol: