Trying to get started

[steve&kris]

Hi all, we've never had rabbits, though we're experienced with Chickens. I'm on here to learn how to not screw things up....and I'm starting from the absolute bottom. We're on 10 acres surrounded by woods with few neighbors, so our area is great. I've got a lot of questions though. Not sure if the thing to do here is to put those into this thread or if it should be another...but here goes as an initial pass:
1. I have a shed I could put them in, but that would be way harder for me to keep clean and if I'm doing wire bottoms I hate to make my shed smell like rabbit pee forever. I also have a three sided "firewood shed" I could convert. Lastly I have a hoop house netted greenhouse that I could put plastic over to cover from rain/snow but keep open airflow (leaving the ends netted). I like the last option...but curious from others if that would be okay. I could suspend the cages from the top so predators can't break in and get to them (though I'd also strenghten it with chicken wire/ect around the bottom). What sounds best? None of these options are temp controlled, and we're in Western PA, btw.
2. I plan on buying wire cages, though I see there are a lot of options as far as size and wire type (bottoms, esp). If I plan on starting with one buck and two does (but plan on growing to provide rabbits for a family of 4 as a smaller portion of our meat), how many cages should I buy and what sizes. What other things should I buy... is there a "starters" shopping list put together that I could follow? I tried a search... I'd think that would be a common question but I didn't find it.

I'll have a bunch more questions... but those are my most pressing to get started.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

The wire/cage sizes can vary on the breed of rabbit

 

[Alaska Satin]

Hi all, we've never had rabbits, though we're experienced with Chickens. I'm on here to learn how to not screw things up....and I'm starting from the absolute bottom. We're on 10 acres surrounded by woods with few neighbors, so our area is great. I've got a lot of questions though. Not sure if the thing to do here is to put those into this thread or if it should be another...but here goes as an initial pass:
1. I have a shed I could put them in, but that would be way harder for me to keep clean and if I'm doing wire bottoms I hate to make my shed smell like rabbit pee forever. I also have a three sided "firewood shed" I could convert. Lastly I have a hoop house netted greenhouse that I could put plastic over to cover from rain/snow but keep open airflow (leaving the ends netted). I like the last option...but curious from others if that would be okay. I could suspend the cages from the top so predators can't break in and get to them (though I'd also strenghten it with chicken wire/ect around the bottom). What sounds best? None of these options are temp controlled, and we're in Western PA, btw.
2. I plan on buying wire cages, though I see there are a lot of options as far as size and wire type (bottoms, esp). If I plan on starting with one buck and two does (but plan on growing to provide rabbits for a family of 4 as a smaller portion of our meat), how many cages should I buy and what sizes. What other things should I buy... is there a "starters" shopping list put together that I could follow? I tried a search... I'd think that would be a common question but I didn't find it.

I'll have a bunch more questions... but those are my most pressing to get started.

1. I've used a greenhouse and a shed, they both worked well (I'm in Alaska). I agree with you on avoiding the shed, as it will smell like rabbit pee forever. In fact when my husband built our rabbit barn, I had to beg and plead for no floor partly because of the smell, partly because I like to harvest both manure and worms from under the cages. We've lined the barn walls with metal roofing so it can be hosed/power-washed and the pee doesn't soak into the wood walls (it's an unheated pole barn). Another thing that works is to hang heavy-duty plastic behind the cages; it's not as expensive as the roofing but it gets uglier faster and has to be replaced fairly often (at least compared to the roofing which is still fine after more than three years).

The hesitation I'd have about the hoop greenhouse is that hanging the cages might warp the structure - rabbit cages holding litters are very heavy, moving objects. When mine were in the greenhouse, the cages were on legs. We also have intermittent strong winds and nearly 24-hour-a-day sunlight during the summer, and I found I had to replace the plastic on the greenhouse fairly often. Anyway, knowing just what you wrote above, I'd go with the firewood shed, myself. My barn is insulated now with those styrofoam sheets that are silver on one side, but that's mostly for my comfort; our old shed wasn't insulated and wasn't even enclosed all the way - it had openings all along the top between the top of the walls and the roof - and the rabbits were fine. That is one thing to think about with the firewood shed: making sure there is good ventilation. If it's three-sided that would be plenty, but you wouldn't want to close off the fourth side. Also, a greenhouse tends to be harder to keep cool during the summers.

2. The most common wire type for the bottom is galvanized metal mesh with openings of 1" x 1/2". Bigger openings don't support the rabbits' feet as well. Smaller mesh like 1/2" x 1/"2 or less can be more problematic in terms of catching the waste instead of letting it fall through. That's not such a problem with dwarf breeds with tiny poop, but definitely a consideration with larger meat breeds.

Many people breeding meat rabbits start out with a buck cage of a minimum size of 18" x 24" and two breeding cages for the breeding does of a minimum of 24" x 30". Depending on how long you want to grow the fryers and how often you want to re-breed the does, you might want a grow-out cage as well. I sometimes leave my meat bunnies with the dam until about 9-10 weeks and harvest them at that age, meaning I don't need another cage to separate them. But if I want to re-breed the doe at 4-6 weeks to get another litter, I wean the litter at 6-8 weeks and put them into a grow-out cage. My grow-out cages are either the same size as a doe cage or as big as 30" x 30".

One thing to think about is that a cage that's 30" deep is kind of hard to reach into the back for most people. As I build new cages, I'm making them 24" deep so that I can reach rabbits that run to the back. It's not a problem with my breeders and most of the bunnies as we're raising very tame rabbits (by selection) but inevitably there are some grow-outs that hide in the back once you start picking up their litter-mates.

The American Rabbit Breeders Association has developed a guide based on the federal Animal Welfare Act, which you can find at Michigan U's site here:
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/determining_cage_size_for_rabbits

 

[tambayo]

Rabbits handle cold way better than heat, so pick a cool place in summer to house them.
And as mentioned above, cages can be long, but no deeper than your hands/arms can comfortably reach. For me that means 60cm or 2 feet is the max. and at that max depth you need close to that in height as well. Cage size in relation to bunny would be easy for bunny to sit up in and make 2-3 hops to get from one side to the other, lay all stretched out (when they resemble cats in that they then seem way bigger) or more if you can. So there is no easy standard size advice to give, mine are dwarf rex (averiging around 1600-1700 grams adult) so my cage sizes would be small for standard rex where they are fairly generous for what is in it.

 

[hotzcatz]

FWIW, the cage size they list is "minimum" cage sizes, not "optimum" cage sizes. The buns here seem to prefer the taller hutch spaces. They seem happier when they can hop up on top of a box and they can stand up and look around in their areas. All the space sizes listed at the Michigan University site seemed to think that 14" tall is tall enough. If I were making bunny spaces, it'd be a minimum of 24" tall and 36" preferred. If there's a ledge across the back, they can lay or sit on that and it increases the available square footage they have available.

Around here, there seems to be a fairly extensive hutch restoration about every four to six years. Most of it is the wire floors. We now have a system with interchangeable floor plates to where we can just replace the floor plates and the rest of the hutch is still good.

 

[steve&kris]

Awesome bunch of info.... I appreciate all of that. Can anyone give me an idea of how many cages I'll need in all if I'm only raising rabbits for my family (not trying to sell or anything)? Am I good with 4... a buck cage, 2 doe cages, and a grow-out cage? Or should I plan on adding more doe cages and grow out cages? The firewood shed is small (3' deep x 10 feet long)... but if I need more room I could add a covered area on the back of my shed (30' long) that would be open on 3 sides so they'd have shade and air movement or I could frame something up inside the hoophouse (12' x 40') to give them a solid roof and build stands.
Additionally.... when it comes to building cages - I see that buying cages from KW cages (just the first place I found, I'm wide open to recommendations) cost a range of $40-$100 (size dependent). They come disassembled so I'd still have to put them together. Is it substantially less expensive to build cages? I feel like I'd spend nearly that to build them.... but I'm not a carpenter and am not fast at building...and don't really know how much materials would cost.
I've been watching CL for used cages, but not having any luck and don't want to buy something that I'll regret later anyway.

 

[ladysown]

one buck, two does. three cages. Two for growouts - one bigger one smaller. Why the difference? well, because your does will last you 2-3 years and it's cheapest to grow out your own replacement and it will need a place to be. I always try to have a spare buck on hand as rabbits like to die and having another buck around... a good thing that! Also means you have a way of replacing your bucks occasionally.

and one spare away from all the other rabbits. (in case you get something sick that needs/should be away from the others OR if you bring in a new rabbit that must be quarantined away from the others for a good month.

I make a point of always having one cage empty at all times because things happen were you need an cage quick... having one empty means you don't have to make spur of the month hard decisions.

 

[steve&kris]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:5041071c-a2d1-4e0e-a277-298a4b8979be
Above is a facebook marketplace link to a stainless steel rabbit cage (they have 50 of these)... Can anyone knowledgeable evaluate these for me. They're 2'x2'...but seem amazingly nicely built, have feeders already attached, etc. Stainless would last forever vs. galvanized wire. Please advise me on these.

 

[CedarRidge]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:5041071c-a2d1-4e0e-a277-298a4b8979be
Above is a facebook marketplace link to a stainless steel rabbit cage (they have 50 of these)... Can anyone knowledgeable evaluate these for me. They're 2'x2'...but seem amazingly nicely built, have feeders already attached, etc. Stainless would last forever vs. galvanized wire. Please advise me on these.

At first glance it looks like the bars on front are too far apart, especially if you plan on kits. 24x24 seems small to me. (Unless you want to use it as a transport cage.) Plus, being stainless, I'm not sure how well you could modify your cage if needed. We ended up adding Pee guards, dividers, etc, which are usually set up for normal galvanized wire type cages. My advice to you would be to find someone in your area (even of you have to drive a couple of hours) and check out their setup. That's what we did. Most rabbit folks enjoy providing advice and talking about their set ups and why.

 

[Alaska Satin]

Awesome bunch of info.... I appreciate all of that. Can anyone give me an idea of how many cages I'll need in all if I'm only raising rabbits for my family (not trying to sell or anything)? Am I good with 4... a buck cage, 2 doe cages, and a grow-out cage? Or should I plan on adding more doe cages and grow out cages? The firewood shed is small (3' deep x 10 feet long)... but if I need more room I could add a covered area on the back of my shed (30' long) that would be open on 3 sides so they'd have shade and air movement or I could frame something up inside the hoophouse (12' x 40') to give them a solid roof and build stands.
Additionally.... when it comes to building cages - I see that buying cages from KW cages (just the first place I found, I'm wide open to recommendations) cost a range of $40-$100 (size dependent). They come disassembled so I'd still have to put them together. Is it substantially less expensive to build cages? I feel like I'd spend nearly that to build them.... but I'm not a carpenter and am not fast at building...and don't really know how much materials would cost.
I've been watching CL for used cages, but not having any luck and don't want to buy something that I'll regret later anyway.

I would think that a family of four would do fine with a buck and two does, especially if it's not your only source of meat. Each doe can potentially give you 6-8 meat bunnies every 2-3 months, and if you butcher at 10-12 weeks that adds up to a fair bit of meat.

@ladysown makes a good point about a spare cage to grow a replacement, but you don't need that right away to start with. That one would just be another buck-sized cage. And a spare for quarantining a possibly sick animal is good, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a normal cage; a large kennel or even a large rubbermaid bin can do in a pinch. It is a good idea to think about that, though, when outfitting your shed.

You don't have to be a carpenter to build cages; I don't use any wood at all. The right kind of wire, a bunch of j-clips and a pair of j-clip pliers will do. How much it costs depends on how much wire is going for in your area. You need heavy-gauge 1' x 1/2" galvanized mesh for the bottom - and there is a right-side-up to that -and wire for the top and sides that does not have to be so tightly spaced. Most of my cage sides are made of 1" x 2" mesh.

One nice thing about building your own cages is that you can splurge and buy wire with a "baby saver" spacing on the bottom edge, which saves you from having to retrofit or install urine guards, and keep babies that are born or pop out of nest boxes from wriggling through and falling to the ground. It looks like this:

It is nice to have a way to cut the wire other than snips, as it takes forever that way and will give you carpal tunnel syndrome if you're not careful. I use an electric cutting wheel like this Metabo one:


All that said, sometimes it's worth it to buy your first few cages and just get going, without the inevitable learning curve you'll ride if you start with cages-from-scratch. Assembling ready-made cages you order will still probably involve using j-clips and pliers, but it's easier to learn with pre-measured cage parts.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:5041071c-a2d1-4e0e-a277-298a4b8979be
Above is a facebook marketplace link to a stainless steel rabbit cage (they have 50 of these)... Can anyone knowledgeable evaluate these for me. They're 2'x2'...but seem amazingly nicely built, have feeders already attached, etc. Stainless would last forever vs. galvanized wire. Please advise me on these.

I don't do Facebook so I can't see them Can you post a photo?

I agree with @CedarRidge and neglected to say so in my other post: it is a great idea to go look at what others do to raise rabbits. Looking at more than one operation is best, since there are all kinds of ways that "work," but some ways work well for some folks, while other ways work better for others.

 

[CedarRidge]

I would think that a family of four would do fine with a buck and two does, especially if it's not your only source of meat. Each doe can potentially give you 6-8 meat bunnies every 2-3 months, and if you butcher at 10-12 weeks that adds up to a fair bit of meat.

@ladysown makes a good point about a spare cage to grow a replacement, but you don't need that right away to start with. And a spare for quarantining a possibly sick animal is good, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a normal cage; a kennel can do that for you.

You don't have to be a carpenter to build cages; I don't use any wood at all. The right kind of wire, a bunch of j-clips and a pair of j-clip pliers will do. It is nice to have a way to cut the wire other than snips, as it takes forever that way and will give you carpal tunnel syndrome if you're not careful. I use an electric cutting wheel like this Metabo one:
View attachment 37618
All that said, sometimes it's worth it to buy your first few cages and get going without the inevitable learning curve you'll ride if you start with cages-from-scratch.


I don't do Facebook so I can't see them Can you post a photo?

I agree with @CedarRidge and meant to say so in my other post: it is a great idea to go look at what others do to raise rabbits. More than one is better, since there are all kinds of ways that "work," but some ways work for some folks, other ways work better for others.

 

[Alaska Satin]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:5041071c-a2d1-4e0e-a277-298a4b8979be
Above is a facebook marketplace link to a stainless steel rabbit cage (they have 50 of these)... Can anyone knowledgeable evaluate these for me. They're 2'x2'...but seem amazingly nicely built, have feeders already attached, etc. Stainless would last forever vs. galvanized wire. Please advise me on these.

Thanks for the pic, @CedarRidge

That actually doesn't look bad for a buck cage or individual grow-out or quarantine cage, but it may be a little bit tight for a doe and her litter if it's actually 24" x 24," though it looks rectangular, not square, so I wonder about the measurements.

But it's got solid sides all around for a few inches up, even in the front, which would function like a baby-saver and urine guard, and stainless steel is very nice in terms of keeping it clean. Pretty cool that it comes with a built-in feeder, though you'd want check to see if the feeder has holes of some sort in the bottom to sift out the fines (pellet dust), which will otherwise end up filling up and clogging the feeder. You can use solid feeders, it's just a bit more maintenance.

One thing I'd be a bit hesitant about is the width of the slats, which will catch and keep more waste than wire mesh. On the other hand, it would be kinder to rabbits' feet than galvanized wire (as long as it's kept clean, which might be easier to do than it is to keep galvanized mesh clean). If the slatted bottom slides out, even better for good cleaning.

The other issue is that they are probably quite heavy, so using those as hanging cages might be a challenge. However if you're planning to use them with their trays, you could just put them on tables or shelves. (Personally, I hate trays and would go to great lengths not to have to clean them, especially in the winter.) I can't tell if you could just pull the tray and let the waste fall through onto the ground, or if there's a solid bottom under the tray. If there is, you're pretty much stuck with the tray since as @CedarRidge points out, modifying stainless is not really feasible for most of us.

 

[jani]

Hello and welcome! Lots to learn but I personally find rabbits even easier then chickens all around! Same principles appy... keep them out of wind and wet. Cages also depend on type of rabbit as well as housing. I keep beveren and silver fox... totally fine in quebec winters. We get a fierce winter here. But most of the traditional meat breeds were meant for hardiness. Back in the day, folks were not building fancy climate controlled structures for rabbits after all. They stuck a hutch somewhere out back.

Mine are in a 3 sided hutch (modeled on the tealstone hutch) and they are fine in the winter. I give them unlimited high quality hay and on the real nasty days my bleeding heart makes them oatmeal- chickens too. In the summer they are in deep shade but still when its over 85 I do all kinds of things to keep them cool. Bucks can go temporarily sterile in heat, and I had an old breeder tell me he never had a rabbit die from cold but he lost several in heat waves. So I take heat seriously.

Good draft free, clean and dry housing.... and yes wire flooring is absolutely the way to go. Collect that garden gold and if you like urine too. Its handy stuff. In winter access to fresh clean water is an issue. I use heated dog bowls. Well secured so they can't get to the protected cords. Rabbits CHEW give them things to chew like fruit tree cuttings.

Wherever you get your starting trio from, do yourself a favour and try and find rabbits that are handled regular who are comfortable around people. It makes a difference if you have breeders who run to the front of the cage for scratches and pets or go hide in the back corner when you walk by. The bin of bunnies might be beautiful perfectly correct animals, but families must have good temperments and tame rabbits, especially when learning! You should learn to health check and clip your rabbits nails, move them in and out of cages etc. Not at all fun with a terrified, struggling or even nasty fighting rabbit. Childhood scars on both my forearms prove that. So look until you find the right rabbits and don't be afraid when starting to buy non show quality but well handled rabbits.

As for number of cages... well you heard of chicken math right? Rabbit math is worse! So look at whatever space you want to use and automatically think of doubling the number of cages. Sure start with three... but plan to have room for 6. Plus to start you want 2 grow out cages... one for boys, one for girls. I think you already figured out you want to breed your two does at the same time. Its just insurance. Point is, you need a place to put the weaned kits and want to avoid accidents.

For dispatch look into either/and a penetrating bolt gun or hopper popper type cd device. Etsy has a nice family who sells a cervical dislocation device and gambrel. Top shelf quality. if you have never done it, try the old fashioned way. You want rabbit dinner say tuesday, you dispatch sunday night. Let the meat rest for 2 days in the fridge. 2 days to rest and one day to marinate is good too. Take your time they are easier then chickens! But do a few one by one before you set up for a big dispatch day to get your legs under you. With practice then you can whip off 20 in an afternoon.

Good luck and have fun! Chickens are great but rabbits are awesome!

 

[Rabbit Tree Farm]

Hi all, we've never had rabbits, though we're experienced with Chickens. I'm on here to learn how to not screw things up....and I'm starting from the absolute bottom. We're on 10 acres surrounded by woods with few neighbors, so our area is great. I've got a lot of questions though. Not sure if the thing to do here is to put those into this thread or if it should be another...but here goes as an initial pass:
1. I have a shed I could put them in, but that would be way harder for me to keep clean and if I'm doing wire bottoms I hate to make my shed smell like rabbit pee forever. I also have a three sided "firewood shed" I could convert. Lastly I have a hoop house netted greenhouse that I could put plastic over to cover from rain/snow but keep open airflow (leaving the ends netted). I like the last option...but curious from others if that would be okay. I could suspend the cages from the top so predators can't break in and get to them (though I'd also strenghten it with chicken wire/ect around the bottom). What sounds best? None of these options are temp controlled, and we're in Western PA, btw.
2. I plan on buying wire cages, though I see there are a lot of options as far as size and wire type (bottoms, esp). If I plan on starting with one buck and two does (but plan on growing to provide rabbits for a family of 4 as a smaller portion of our meat), how many cages should I buy and what sizes. What other things should I buy... is there a "starters" shopping list put together that I could follow? I tried a search... I'd think that would be a common question but I didn't find it.

I'll have a bunch more questions... but those are my most pressing to get started.

I built a 12x7 hoophouse out of cattle panels. It is still a work in progress but it is proving to be wonderful. I have a heavy tarp cover that can be raised or lowered with the weather...we are in the southeast so hot humid summers and blustery winters. Left the ends open and put in a gravel floor.

My caging is a mishmash. Ive been doing this just over a year and on a.budget. using a pawpet style hunch that i modified with wire floors and back...its my kindling nursery. Then i have a 30 x30 cage and a.24x24...and a brooder cage i built repurposing an old table.

I also utilize big 70 x 40 cages as tractors for my growouts. The last 6 weeks they are on grass and set over my garden boxes in winter.

I started with tarped cages under my deck and it was a pain but my rabbits still thrived. Raised 4 litters under there! Just to say, you dont need fancy to make it work!

Btw, my hoophouse cost me about 150$ as i had salvaged wood and also happened to have a heavy duty tarp from my dads flatbed days.

Best of luck!

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

I don't do facebook either. But if you start letting people in your circle know you need cages, they might just know where some are.
I told my husband and he said he saw one in the neighbors field. That had the j feeders and all. Had to make a few repairs. But it is still a good start.
A bit later another friend had one in her barn she gave me. Another 4 compartment cage. J feeders and all.
I only started in June. I've had to replace the floor in 1 compartment. But other than that. I bought 2 nest boxes, the standing mats, plastic door trim, and the water bottles.
Now I have 8 cages and 2 are empty. 2 bucks, 2 does. And the grow outs are in 2 cages.
Oldest grow outs turned 6 weeks yesterday.

 

[steve&kris]

This is an extremely helpful forum. Thank you everybody.... I very much appreciate all the help!

 

[jani]

oh yes and i prefer to use wire dog cages, easy to rodent proof them with 1/4 hardware cloth, though getting floor wire here is impossible so I paid way too much on amazon. I like to dog cages, my large rabbits can stand right up! And easy to find free or el cheapo.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

I am a huge fan of second-hand dog kennels & bird cages. Check craigslist & yardsales. My does are 12-13 lbs, and I use very large dog cages and add shelves. They are very sturdy & predator proof. I have some pics & info on saving money here - MONEY-SAVING RABBIT TIPS

You do have to have the 1/2x1 inch wire for the bottoms, and up the sides about 4-6" on the cages that will have babies. If you have small predators (rats/snakes) you can wrap the cage in 1/2" hardware cloth.

I've had dogs break into our rabbit area (completely enclosed by chain link) - they got through the chain link, but didn't get to the rabbits! Pitbulls, etc can get through many of the smaller 'rabbit' type wires. Also we have coyotes.

Be creative! The rabbits will love it! Here is of my newer cages - I call it the townhouse - I'll post another one in a minute

This one would cost 4-5 pieces of wire shelving (yardsale) 2 old birdcages (yardsale) 8 cedar fence pickets or other wood - 1x1/2 wire bottom (most expensive part)

It can be one giant cage, or 2 or 3 depending on where I put the dividers. The doors that open are just bird cage sides held on with hog clips (or just wire) - Wherever you don't have enough wire, you can use wood - other cages can be seen at the link I sent.



these are 12+ lb rabbits.



Do NOT cover the shelving with plastic sheeting like I did. They can't grab onto it to hop up and I had 2 fall & hurt their backs before I figured out what was going on. I am going to fix this by adding a wooden area for the first 7-8 inches. I want the top waterproof because the nestboxes will be underneath. I suppose I could put a lid on the nestboxes, but I like to play with the babies LOL. Also I'm considering adding a step to make it easier for them to get up and down.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

Here is a cage I made the other day.

The bottom is a large birdcage I got from a yardsale for $10. The top part is a cheapo rabbit cage I snagged from someone's trash. The white clips were part of the original cage setup (not a fan, but they work. I have some zip ties as backup. I don't want to permanently attach it, I'll probably redesign something eventually LOL)

I liked the floor size of the birdcage when it was laid on its side, but it is only 18" high. I like them to be able to stretch their backs. The original cage doors ended up on top, I used one as a hatch to get to the second story. To make the door, I replaced the birdcage bottom (now side) with wood and a small piece of closet maid shelving for that was laying around - perfect size! It's just held on with loops of wire screwed into the wood and some wooden latches

Calypso is about 12 1/2 lbs.



She loves the top, but wasn't there when I went to take a pic.




Anyway - be creative with the cages, they don't have to just be small boxes!

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

I built a 12x7 hoophouse out of cattle panels. It is still a work in progress but it is proving to be wonderful. I have a heavy tarp cover that can be raised or lowered with the weather...we are in the southeast so hot humid summers and blustery winters. Left the ends open and put in a gravel floor.

My caging is a mishmash. Ive been doing this just over a year and on a.budget. using a pawpet style hunch that i modified with wire floors and back...its my kindling nursery. Then i have a 30 x30 cage and a.24x24...and a brooder cage i built repurposing an old table.

I also utilize big 70 x 40 cages as tractors for my growouts. The last 6 weeks they are on grass and set over my garden boxes in winter.

I started with tarped cages under my deck and it was a pain but my rabbits still thrived. Raised 4 litters under there! Just to say, you dont need fancy to make it work!

Btw, my hoophouse cost me about 150$ as i had salvaged wood and also happened to have a heavy duty tarp from my dads flatbed days.

Best of luck!

I love your ideas! The hoophouse sounds great! We've been thinking of building one but the pvc pipe ones are too flimsy. Start a thread with pics of your stuff! I love creative ideas & solutions!

The only thing I would change is not put in a gravel floor. You can't rake poop off gravel and so have to catch it. I have a winter rabbitry that used to have gravel (we've taken out as much as possible) I put in poop chutes, etc - but they need almost daily care. Our summer shed (8x8) that has dirt we just rake out once in awhile. Thinking I like that better now LOL

I want to know more about your 70x40 cages ... ??