Breeding questions

I like to keep a board or largish floor tile particularly in the cages of my Mini Rex. Rex rabbits often have thinner fur pads on their feet, and a lot of mine have gotten bare spots that can turn into sores if they can't get off the wire. Another problem is an uneven floor - large, heavy rabbits can cause the floor wire to sag, resulting in uneven pressure on the rabbits' feet and even well-padded feet can get sore from that. The rabbits definitely prefer to get off the wire if they can, but then you need to keep an eye on the sitting board, because urine and feces can make it a nasty place for a rabbit to sit.
 
A board for the rabbit to sit on is not neccessary, unless you have Rex or mini Rex rabbits. I have removable nest boxes in my cages during the colder months, and during the summer months I put in cardboard for them to sit on. They don't need it, of course, but they like it. And if they don't sit on it, they will use it as a toy. You will have to change out the cardboard if you use cardboard, though. The rabbits will shred it up and soak it with urine.
 
I was looking at a few options:

This would allow us to house at least 4 of these on the one porch when we move (its the porch that doesn't have the best view in my opinion lol) and its more safe friendly (not that thats too important). By having something that we can keep on the one porch that wont get used will allow the kids to help with the rabbits too (our kids are 10 and under so having them go to far from the house on their own to help our oldest ones get a little too distracted and adventurous lol):

http://www.ruralking.com/the-duplex-auburn.html#

But if we got another 10x10 metal shed kit and put it together we could set it in the perfect spot about 10 feet from the house (trying to keep the rabbits semi close cuz of predators where the chickens etc. would have an electric fence and other things to help) I just wouldn't know how to suspend them or something like that. As I figured we'd do the poop drop on the ground (no pan) and shovel it out once a week (or daily) and use the D.E. stuff like we do in the chicken coop to help with smell and ammonia. Then figured do like a house floor tile (easier to clean then wood) or cardboard for them to get off the wire if wanted and the nest boxes when time for kits or wintertime so they can have extra straw to nest in.

http://www.ruralking.com/30-in-x-36-in-rabbit-cage.html


I like the double hutch (we can get it cheaper on amazon) cuz of the style of it (the nest area has a removable board that you can put on top of the wire if wanted) and it would allow us to keep the rabbits on the porch right outside the mudd/laundry room

I don't see us getting any of the giant meat breads, only cuz i don't know of any breeders around here who don't want an arm and a leg for them lol. So just been trying to look at options that size wise could accommodate californian/new zealand size crosses or other crosses within the same size range.
 
We use all wire cages for the rabbits. It is difficult to get unsealed wood clean. Wire is much easier to keep clean.

For ideas on stacking wire cages you could look at Bass Equipment's website. They have kits -- http://www.bassequipment.com/foundations/store/scresults.asp?category=2278*Stack_A_Hutch_Kits

I strongly recommend going with cages that are 18" tall so that the rabbit has room to stretch.

I would think other cage companies have similar kits. Just an idea. You could still put the rabbits on your porch...
 
animalmom said:
We use all wire cages for the rabbits. It is difficult to get unsealed wood clean. Wire is much easier to keep clean.

For ideas on stacking wire cages you could look at Bass Equipment's website. They have kits -- http://www.bassequipment.com/foundations/store/scresults.asp?category=2278*Stack_A_Hutch_Kits

I strongly recommend going with cages that are 18" tall so that the rabbit has room to stretch.

I would think other cage companies have similar kits. Just an idea. You could still put the rabbits on your porch...
Click to expand...

Whats the minimum for the non giant breed meat rabbits when it comes to the minimum width and length of all wire cages?

There are complete kits for like $50 of 24x24x18 that comes with the kits for stacking the cages already with them. I think there is a 30x30 (don't know the height) kits also that come with the stacking frames already like the link. I know we can get those separate too and get the longer cages and I can double check on the height (i thought the longer ones would be great for grow out cages if not the best option for our breeding rabbits). The complete kits though are great cuz they came with the frame kit, pan, and some come with water bottles etc (that latter isn't a big deal). The longer cages, plus the frame kits and pans brings us up to right around $150 for everything just for one cage setup.

I thought about this too on the porch like this, but the only thing I didn't know was for blocking from excessive wind, any rain, and during the wintertime. I could make the hubby make a cubby like thing that they sit under just big enough to cover the cages with a little extra in the front so we can hang tarp there to block them at night and wintertime or strong rains, a 3 side type of thing.
 
In my opinion, 30 x 36 is good for California or New Zealand. You can go larger but something to keep in mind is how long is your arm? I think ideally you should be able to reach anywhere in the cage.

In winter it isn't the cold so much that bothers the rabbits it is the wind. If you can block the wind your rabbits should be fine. Keep in mind you really, really don't want to drape a tarp over the cages because the rabbits will gnaw on the tarp (ask me how I know), just hang the tarp out of rabbit reach.
 
Good choice in not choosing a giant breed. They are unthrifty eaters, and do not convert feed to meat well. Their bones are a considerable chunk of their weight, giving you a false assumption that they are a good meat breed. The best breeds are Californians and New Zealands. A 30"x30" cage wouldn't be big enough for a New Zealand, though. The smallest the cage should be for a NZ is 40"x40". You don't need to shovel up the manure from under the hutches that often. Depending on how many rabbits you have, anywhere from 2 weeks to a month is fine, unless, of course, you want to clean it out more.
 
Some food for thought- placing cages near the house or any structure wall and the male rabbits will decorate the walls with urine that soaks into the wall boards / siding. Not so nice smell or sight that is hard to remove.
 
Nobody makes 40" wire, let alone a cage with 40" dimensions. The largest pans I've ever seen offered for stacking cages are 30" x 36", which works fine for a large breed doe with a litter.

As animalmom said, it isn't just the rabbit you have to think about - the cage has to work for you, too. A cage that has parts of it that are so far from the door that you practically have to climb in to get the rabbit isn't a good idea, nor will cleaning it be easy. 30" front to back is about as far as is reasonable for most adults, if kids are going to be doing most of the work, going shorter and wider might be a better option.

Bossroo brings up a good point - and it isn't just buck urine that you have to worry about. Bucks spray and splatter everywhere, but does often hike their butts as high as they can in a corner to pee, which can anoint things as much as a foot away from the cage. If you build a metal shed to house your rabbits in, ventilation becomes an issue. Rabbits drink and pee a lot (particularly lactating does) so moisture and ammonia are much greater issues than they are with chickens. In a confined space, that can mean that you need to clean at least a couple of times per week. Of course, the pans make it easy, as long as you don't go too long between cleanings and let them get too heavy.
 
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