New rabbit owner + housing

[mystang89]

Hi everyone. I'm thinking about raising rabbits for food but I don't seem to be able to find any consolidated information for the questions I have. So I'll ask them here.

1.) How do I make a living area for the rabbits? What is needed and what is it supposed to look like? Are there requirements such as sq ft per rabbit etc?

2.) What do I feed them? I know that they eat lettuce and stuff like that but do I need to buy food for them as well? Is the cost to meat ratio effective for trying to save money?

3.) How do I go about raising them? Do I need to keep the male and female separate from each other until I want them to mate?

4.) Is there a good place to go to find all the information? Pictures of cages to get ideas from and the like?
Thanks in advance.

 

[ruthless]

THis site should give you a good beginning.
http://www.rudolphsrabbitranch.com/rrr.htm

 

[mystang89]

Thanks, that answered a lot of my questions but some remain. From what I've seen, many cages use the pull out tray method for taking care of rabbit fices. That is the same method that some chicken owners use to keep the coop clean as well. However there is also the deep litter method which is where you take saw dust or shavings and put about 5"+ on the bottom and just mix the fices up in there. This keeps it dry and keeps you from having to clean it up all the time plus it keeps the smell down. Has anyone tried this with their litter of rabbits or do you think this would work?
In the article it mentioned that each breeding Doe should have their own cage along with the sire having his own cage. Is it really necessary to give the 2 Does their own cage or can they be in a single cage together without any problems? It also mentioned a grow-out cage. Do you have to keep the mother rabbit in the grow-out cage with the litter until they are ready to be culled?
It also says that non-pregnant does and sires should have 1 scant cup of food each day. Is that 1 scant cup per rabbit or 1 total. Also, wiki doesn't give a measurement for "scant". How much is it?
I'm sure there is more to follow but that's what I can think of for now. Thanks again.

 

[crazyturkeydesigns]

Thanks, that answered a lot of my questions but some remain. From what I've seen, many cages use the pull out tray method for taking care of rabbit fices. That is the same method that some chicken owners use to keep the coop clean as well. However there is also the deep litter method which is where you take saw dust or shavings and put about 5"+ on the bottom and just mix the fices up in there. This keeps it dry and keeps you from having to clean it up all the time plus it keeps the smell down. Has anyone tried this with their litter of rabbits or do you think this would work?
In the article it mentioned that each breeding Doe should have their own cage along with the sire having his own cage. Is it really necessary to give the 2 Does their own cage or can they be in a single cage together without any problems? It also mentioned a grow-out cage. Do you have to keep the mother rabbit in the grow-out cage with the litter until they are ready to be culled?
It also says that non-pregnant does and sires should have 1 scant cup of food each day. Is that 1 scant cup per rabbit or 1 total. Also, wiki doesn't give a measurement for "scant". How much is it?
I'm sure there is more to follow but that's what I can think of for now. Thanks again.

I personally prefer plastic pans (dura-trays) with wire bottom cages. I breed mini rexes and american sables and the minis are a little more susceptible to poor furring on the hocks and thus sorehocks, so they all have plastic resting pads as well. I just think that set up, for me, is the easiest to clean year round, but it's jmpo.
You should definitely keep does and bucks separated or breeding will happen every chance they get and it could get bad. So it's best to keep genders separated. On occasion I have kept sisters together for a little bit longer than average with no problems, but I almost always separate them. You could get a better answer from someone who has a rabbit colony, there a few on the board. It's a pretty cool set up.
I feed the mini rexes 1/3 cup 18% protein feed + oats+ BOSS each day and the sables get about a cup + the oats and BOSS. Scant just means a little less and not overflowing the measuring cup. I think anyway LOL.
Good luck with your new buns!!

 

[secuono]

Thanks, that answered a lot of my questions but some remain. From what I've seen, many cages use the pull out tray method for taking care of rabbit fices. That is the same method that some chicken owners use to keep the coop clean as well. However there is also the deep litter method which is where you take saw dust or shavings and put about 5"+ on the bottom and just mix the fices up in there. This keeps it dry and keeps you from having to clean it up all the time plus it keeps the smell down. Has anyone tried this with their litter of rabbits or do you think this would work?
In the article it mentioned that each breeding Doe should have their own cage along with the sire having his own cage. Is it really necessary to give the 2 Does their own cage or can they be in a single cage together without any problems? It also mentioned a grow-out cage. Do you have to keep the mother rabbit in the grow-out cage with the litter until they are ready to be culled?
It also says that non-pregnant does and sires should have 1 scant cup of food each day. Is that 1 scant cup per rabbit or 1 total. Also, wiki doesn't give a measurement for "scant". How much is it?
I'm sure there is more to follow but that's what I can think of for now. Thanks again.

Rabbits poop and pee so much that deep litter really wouldn't work for them. Rabbits have a prefered corner to do most of their potty. So I put a 5gal bucket under this corner and dump it into the compost pile when it fills.

Each rabbit needs it's very own cage.

Does may stay with the litter until the next litter is coming, so 2wks before they are born, you need to move the kits out.

Grow out cages are for weaned kits only. It should be at least 2x the adult pen size.

Kits can remain with mom until butcher if you do not rebreed her. But all must be in the grow out pen.

One cup per rabbit.

Rabbits will fight, even litter mates will eventually fight. There is not enough room for more than one adult, even in a grow out size cage. I had 2 brothers together, they were fine for 1wk after I got them, once they reached 9.5wks of age, they had a horrid fight one night. One buck had a huge chunk of skin ripped off of him. The other broke his tibia [leg]!!!

Does can and will kill other doe's kits, she can and will attack the other doe. Rabbits can kill other adult rabbits.

My meat rabbits are in 2x4ft cages. This give plenty of room for the nest, room for the doe to lay and room for the feeding/drinking area. It is also enough room to have the kits with mom until 6-8wks of age.

Grow out pens are 2.5x7-8ft.

You do not want to do deeper back than 2-2.5ft. You will not be able to reach the rabbits easily at all.

Do not cut corners, you will loose out in the long run. Do it right and do it well from the start.

 

[mystang89]

Rabbits poop and pee so much that deep litter really wouldn't work for them. Rabbits have a prefered corner to do most of their potty. So I put a 5gal bucket under this corner and dump it into the compost pile when it fills.

Each rabbit needs it's very own cage.

Does may stay with the litter until the next litter is coming, so 2wks before they are born, you need to move the kits out.

Grow out cages are for weaned kits only. It should be at least 2x the adult pen size.

Kits can remain with mom until butcher if you do not rebreed her. But all must be in the grow out pen.

One cup per rabbit.

Rabbits will fight, even litter mates will eventually fight. There is not enough room for more than one adult, even in a grow out size cage. I had 2 brothers together, they were fine for 1wk after I got them, once they reached 9.5wks of age, they had a horrid fight one night. One buck had a huge chunk of skin ripped off of him. The other broke his tibia [leg]!!!

Does can and will kill other doe's kits, she can and will attack the other doe. Rabbits can kill other adult rabbits.

My meat rabbits are in 2x4ft cages. This give plenty of room for the nest, room for the doe to lay and room for the feeding/drinking area. It is also enough room to have the kits with mom until 6-8wks of age.

Grow out pens are 2.5x7-8ft.

You do not want to do deeper back than 2-2.5ft. You will not be able to reach the rabbits easily at all.

Do not cut corners, you will loose out in the long run. Do it right and do it well from the start.

Thanks. It sounds to me like you never move your pregnant doe out of her cage. Do you let her have the kits in her cage and then just move them out after a certain amount of weeks? How old are the kits when you start to cull them? I've read about 10-12 weeks old is the time to cull but if they start to fight after 9 weeks what do you do then? Also, how do you deal with a the pee and poop from the grow-out cage? Do you have a pull out tray or some other method? If you have a pull out tray how do you keep it clean and keep the smell under control? I would see a 2'x7' pull out tray as being pretty heavy or awkward to carry.
Thanks for all the helpful information. I am moving closer and closer to being able to start this adventure up.

 

[terri9630]

All my adults have their own cages. I've never had litter mates fight before 12 weeks and by then they are in their own cage or the freezer. By 10 weeks I have separated the does from the bucks. I dont use trays unless I have to hang another cage under one. I rake up the poo and toss it in the garden. I've never had a problem with odor and the only time I have a problem with flies is when it is so hot that we are using the misters everyday as the ground doesn't dry completely overnight.

 

[secuono]

Thanks. It sounds to me like you never move your pregnant doe out of her cage. Do you let her have the kits in her cage and then just move them out after a certain amount of weeks? How old are the kits when you start to cull them? I've read about 10-12 weeks old is the time to cull but if they start to fight after 9 weeks what do you do then? Also, how do you deal with a the pee and poop from the grow-out cage? Do you have a pull out tray or some other method? If you have a pull out tray how do you keep it clean and keep the smell under control? I would see a 2'x7' pull out tray as being pretty heavy or awkward to carry.
Thanks for all the helpful information. I am moving closer and closer to being able to start this adventure up.

Since my cages are all 2x4ft, bucks or does, I only move out kits.

When I need to rebreed the doe, I wean them around 5-6wks and remove them 7-8wks.

I use 5gal buckets under the poop corner. I have no trays.

By cull, do you mean butcher age?? If you buy good stock for meat and feed just pellets, they can be ready from 9-11wks. Since mine eat a lot of grasses and weeds, it takes them 11-16wks to reach butcher size.

 

[sawfish99]

I prefer open cage bottoms so the poop and pee falls to the ground. As long as you have good drainage, the urine will soak in to the ground and the smell should not be noticable. We clean under the cages as needed (maybe once a month) and take everything to a much larger compost pile.

Cages with the tray under them will smell bad much faster unless you keep the urine cleaned off the trays every couple of days.

Our does have their own cage and kindle in the cage. Kits are moved out at around 7 weeks. Butcher is based on when they are ready, by weight, which varies by breed. I am averaging nominally a 55% love to packaged weight conversion, so I am targeting about 6lb live weight at butcher time.

 

[pennylove]

Thanks, that answered a lot of my questions but some remain. From what I've seen, many cages use the pull out tray method for taking care of rabbit fices. That is the same method that some chicken owners use to keep the coop clean as well. However there is also the deep litter method which is where you take saw dust or shavings and put about 5"+ on the bottom and just mix the fices up in there. This keeps it dry and keeps you from having to clean it up all the time plus it keeps the smell down. Has anyone tried this with their litter of rabbits or do you think this would work?
In the article it mentioned that each breeding Doe should have their own cage along with the sire having his own cage. Is it really necessary to give the 2 Does their own cage or can they be in a single cage together without any problems? It also mentioned a grow-out cage. Do you have to keep the mother rabbit in the grow-out cage with the litter until they are ready to be culled?
It also says that non-pregnant does and sires should have 1 scant cup of food each day. Is that 1 scant cup per rabbit or 1 total. Also, wiki doesn't give a measurement for "scant". How much is it?
I'm sure there is more to follow but that's what I can think of for now. Thanks again.

I know a breeder that raises her rabbits in a colony inside a pole barn and she uses the deep litter method. It works very well for her, but the complaints I've heard are: flies in the summer (she uses free-ranging ducks to combat this) and too much heat. Rabbits are able to tolerate cold well, but don't do well with heat and the deep-bedding generates a lot of heat as it composts. She breeds Angoras and I will also say that the rabbits I've purchased from her are always covered in straw, which is difficult to remove from the fiber. I'm sure that's not a problem for meat rabbits, but it's definitely a downside to straw litter.

I use litterboxes for my free-range rabbits and my bucks, who are caged in big, over-sized crates with solid floors. They reliably use their litterboxes, with the exception of scattered territorial pellets, which are negligible and never a problem. So that's something to consider, too. For their litter I've used newspaper pellets (Yesterday's News) and pine pellets (Feline Pine). The caged rabbits show no preference for litter, they use both just as reliably. The free-range does will stop using their litterbox if I use pine pellets, they like the newspaper.