Warning This Is Graphic. Rabbit Needs Help.

[Baymule]

I am glad you came here for help and advice before you whacked the rabbit. LOL That is a little dark humor there. I used to keep a 300 head rabbitry and dealt with ear mites. I had hanging cages, all wire, because they were easier to keep clean than wood and wire cages. I used a small propane cylinder with a torch head to burn the cages when the rabbits molted and the fur flew! I also burned off the cages when I transferred rabbits to other cages.

Since I had so many, to keep flies from becoming a problem, I kept chickens in the rabbit barn. The chickens had their own roosting and laying area, kept the rabbit droppings turned, ate the spilled feed and fly larva. It was it's own little eco system. From one barn, I got show rabbits (to sell and show), rabbit meat, eggs and chicken meat. I treated for ear mites on a pro active once a month program. If any got mites in between, I just treated that one more often.

 

[Striker911]

I have a good update. 90% of the junk has fallen off the ear. The only junk left is in the inner ear area. I had to put her outside yesterday so we could have the bathroom tub back. I closed the hutch off with cardboard and a staple gun. Then on the inside I added a heat light in the center bay pointed into her side. She has that ear pointed towards the heat and seems to be doing good. Will be moving her back in two hours from now, since its going to get so cold tonight. 2 degrees

 

[Baymule]

Great!! I am so glad that she is doing better already!!!! Keep up the good work, she is in good hands.

 

[Striker911]

I am glad you came here for help and advice before you whacked the rabbit. LOL That is a little dark humor there. I used to keep a 300 head rabbitry and dealt with ear mites. I had hanging cages, all wire, because they were easier to keep clean than wood and wire cages. I used a small propane cylinder with a torch head to burn the cages when the rabbits molted and the fur flew! I also burned off the cages when I transferred rabbits to other cages.

Since I had so many, to keep flies from becoming a problem, I kept chickens in the rabbit barn. The chickens had their own roosting and laying area, kept the rabbit droppings turned, ate the spilled feed and fly larva. It was it's own little eco system. From one barn, I got show rabbits (to sell and show), rabbit meat, eggs and chicken meat. I treated for ear mites on a pro active once a month program. If any got mites in between, I just treated that one more often.

Thanks for the reply. I bet you had a nice set up. I plan on doing a pole barn asap myself. I have a 27x33' space that has two other buildings that have fell, or are about to fall. One was a carport, and the other is a lean to off of another 20x20 storage shed. So basically I will have two structures vs the three, and they will be more usable. A little ways away, we also have a tool shed, and a chicken coop with a nice size run. I am learning as I go though. I never built anything like a poll barn at all, but I need to. I plan on getting a better chain saw, and a sawmill to mill most of the lumber myself. Our land is mostly trees, so I figure I should utilize them.

Our barn will have rabbits, chickens, and quail. Then in the center it will have a loft for storage, and the center (ground level) will be like a carport for my truck, and whatever else I have with a motor. Do you have any pictures of your set up? Seems like your not into it anymore, but it would still be neat to pick your brain some.

I also have another issue with rabbits that I need to get help with. What does it mean when a rabbit has a loss of fur, and starts to lose weight? I started off with two rabbits 3 years ago. By the end of the first year I could not get any litters that made it, and eventually they had the problem above, and passed on. I thought they might have just been too old, but not sure as I got them full grown and did not know the ages.
Here is a picture of the cages I build. I have a few things to do, as its all self taught and I do have the issue you spoke about via using wood. I have to clean the cages out cause they get build up in the corners. I use bleach, a brush, and soap water.



And here is my 18x33' carport. Whats left of it anyways. It could not handle this crazy winter even though I braced one side, the other end that seemed okay gave out. Then you can also see the lean to thats in bad shape. All three buildings have power and the panel is in the 20x20' building the lean to is attached to.

 

[Striker911]

Great!! I am so glad that she is doing better already!!!! Keep up the good work, she is in good hands.

Thanks lol. She gets my bathroom again tonight. I will just add some more oil to her inner ear tonight and break out the Q-tips tomorrow. I am surprised it worked so fast. Maybe we found a good oil in the extra virgin olive.

 

[Baymule]

I had a pole barn, wrapped in stout welded wire to keep predators out. The cages hung from the rafters. I used open top nest boxes and put those aluminum flanged auto lights over the boxes to keep the bunnies warm. Build your pole barn as strong as you can, looks like you need a good peak on the roof so the snow will slide off LOL! In the winter, I wrapped it in heave plastic, which was enough in our climate. Be sure to build your rabbit barn under trees for SHADE! Heat will kill them in the summer, remember, they are wearing fur coats.

Your first does might have been too fat, they won't conceive if full of fat.

 

[Baymule]

Reading your post again. DO NOT, DO NOT put anything with a running motor in the barn with your rabbits. Fumes. Bad for bunnies. Wouldn't do it. Separate barn for the bunnies and chickens from your garage. You might think about a solid wall on the north side of your rabbitry to keep off the cold winter winds.

do your hutches have hardware cloth for the bottom wire? If so, the uneven bumps where the squares join together can cause sore hocks and then you have a whole 'nother set of problems. I remember having to butcher some fine stock because of sore hocks. You can put a plank in the cage, just big enough for the rabbit to rest on so they can get off the wire. No matter how nice such a rabbit is, don't save bunnies for breeding from rabbits with thin fur on their feet or you will have to deal with sore hocks. You get what you breed for. Oh, the rabbit will enjoy chewing the board to bits.

 

[Baymule]

OK, here goes.....what my feeble little brain can dredge up....
Many years ago I had somewhere around 70-100 mamma does for 4-H, FFA, show and meat. I built a tin roof barn under trees and hung all wire cages. Nowadays you can get the heat barrier to put under the tin and it makes a MAJOR temperature difference. It can be purchased at any metal roofing store like Metal Mart or where ever you buy your metal roofing material. I walled up the north side and did the other 3 walls in wire and plywood combination. You want to place the plywood where it will block any early morning/late afternoon sun rays from hitting the cages. Ventilation. Ventilation. Ventilation. If you don't have any friendly trees available, just put a little higher roof on the barn so the heat can rise. Ventilate the roof cap or install turbines.

I built a chicken coop onto the rabbit barn. The chickens scratched under the rabbit cages, eating dropped feed and fly larva. They got free food and I got free eggs and meat! I had it wired for lights and fans. In the heat of the summer, I turned on the fans and had very few die from the heat. You absolutely can NOT breed in the summer or the does will heat stress and die. I froze plastic bowls of water (cool whip bowls) and gave them the ice, dumped out of the bowls, to lay up against if they were heat stressed.

Wood framed cages can get nasty, as the rabbit droppings will fall on the wood, you'll be out there scraping it up, and the wood will soak up the pee. Plus you will always be outside in the weather when you are trying to care for your bunnies.

Hang all wire cages from the rafters so the door of the cage is at a comfortable height for you. Clean the all wire cages with a wire brush. If you have had a sick rabbit in the cage, You can spray it with disinfectant or you can buy the hand held gas cylinders and affix a torch head to it, then burn the wire to disinfect and burn off the fur.

Make sure you have a table to work with the rabbit on. A slick top table is best so the rabbit doesn't dig in and take off! Carpet swatches make good pads to set the rabbit on so it can keep it's feet under it and not panic.

Use 1/2"x1" wire for the bottom and up the sides about 4-6". This is to keep the newborn babies from wriggling through the wire and falling to the ground below and dying before you find it. Then finish up the sides with 1"x2" wire and for the top too. You can put it together with O rings or J clips. Absolutely do not use hardware cloth for the bottom as this will contribute to sore hocks. You can put a piece of plywood in the cage to give the rabbit a place to get off the wire. Be advised though, the rabbit will pee all over it and most likely eat it too.

Check the rabbits teeth frequently. They continuously grow and a broken tooth means the opposing tooth will grow out of control without the other tooth to grind against. Rabbits teeth can get all curled up and they can't eat. No problem. Get a good set of wire cutters (takes 2 people) and hold rabbit firmly. One person does the holding (wrapped in armor, Kevlar or any slash or bomb proof clothing you may have) and the other person does the cutting. Teeth go crunch.

For breeding, take the doe to the buck's cage. If you take the buck to the doe, she will be upset and defending "her" cage from him! Watch to make sure the doe is bred and write it down. Note the due date and put a nestbox in 5-6 days before she is due. If you put it in too early, she will use it for a toilet. I always used a nest box with no top on it so on freezing nights, I could place an aluminum (auto type) drop light on top of the wire cage so the heat from the light bulb would help keep the babies warm. Be sure to suspend the electrical wire out of reach of the rabbits teeth. Once they have fur it is not needed. The does will pee on their babies to disguise the nest from predators. (you) Yay. The babies can die from the ammonia or from being wet. I used wire bottom nest boxes so the pee could pass through.

Water. Back in the dark ages I used crockery bowls. Now you can use the water bottles that hang on the outside of the cage. Or you can run piping behind the cages (hung back to back) and use water nipples. Then if you need to leave for a couple of days, they will have water. Make sure the rabbits can't get to the piping through the wire or they will chew on it. Or you can use metal piping, but the plastic is easier to install. Now PEX pipe is available (had house replumbed several years ago-love this stuff) I would definitely use PEX if I were setting up another rabbitry.

Feed. Hanging feeders that you can fill from the outside of the cage. Again, it is so nice to be in a barn where the feed won't get wet from rain and neither will you. You can feed pellets or a grain mixture.

You don't have to build a huge barn for rabbits. But build it bigger than you think you will need! Tack the chickens on and you have all your livestock in one easy location! Plan it out so that it will suit your needs and then make it bigger.

Your cages should not be deeper than two feet. That is so you can reach into the cage, all the way across it. You should make it as long as you can reach in either direction (make a large enough door that will allow you to reach the far corners).

Grooming a rabbit.
Your rabbits will blow their coats twice a year. Do nothing and they will get some nasty wads of fur in inconvenient places and fur will get all in the wire of the cages and make a mess there too.

Take the rabbit to the slick top table and place on a carpet pad. Have a spray bottle of water. Wet your hands, not the rabbit, sling off the extra water. Rub the fur forward and backward. The loose fur will come out and stick to your hands. Rub your hands together and roll up the fur, drop on ground or in a trash can. rewet your hands and do it again. This is good for calming the rabbit and getting them used to being handled. Groom the rabbit daily when they are shedding or at least every other day. When they are not shedding, you can groom them less frequently just to keep their coat in good shape. A drop or two of glycerin in your palm will make their fur shine.

Ear mites. Rabbits can get some nasty crusty crud in their ears. If left untreated, the crusty crud will extend all inside their ear. It itches and drives them nuts, they will scratch with their hind foot and can leave bloody scratches on their ears and the back of their head. Check them at least monthly for ear mites. You will see a tiny crust in the deep inside of their ears, the beginning of ear mite infestation. Keep an eyedropper bottle filled with mineral oil. A few drops of mineral oil in the ear for a few days is usually all you need to knock out the ear mites. They don't like this much either and will shake their head, their ears flap, poor babies. Don't dig deep in their ears with q-tips, the crusty stuff will shake loose and come out.

I bred 10-15 does at a time so I would only lose sleep for several nights. On really cold nights, I was up every 2 hours, checking on them. Cold, seemingly lifeless kits out of the nest on the wire can be brought back to life-just tuck the little ice cube in your bra. Yup, in your bra. Go about your duties and after a bit, turn it over and warm the other side. if successful, the tiny thing will start to squirm and make tiny mewing sounds. Return to mamma. Once I took a whole litter that was born on the wire and went back to bed, I put them on my belly and they warmed right up. I put them back in the nest, momma hopped in and they all made it. I raised Satins, I had Siamese (my favorite), black, white, red and chinchilla varieties.

If you are going to have rabbits, bite the bullet and get purebred, pedigreed rabbits. Study the different breeds, there are a lot that would make lovely pets and show stock, but not much as far as a meat rabbit. The best of both worlds is a breed that will make good show stock and use the culls for pets and meat.

Showing rabbits is fun, yes there really is other people out there like you! Plus, if you have some winners, it makes it easier to sell the bunnies for show stock to FFA and 4H kids.

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[Baymule]

Oh, and I had a phone out in the rabbit barn too, with a loooooong cord. This was back in the dark ages and we didn't have cell phones then. My rabbit barn had cutting edge technology!

 

[Striker911]

Reading your post again. DO NOT, DO NOT put anything with a running motor in the barn with your rabbits. Fumes. Bad for bunnies. Wouldn't do it. Separate barn for the bunnies and chickens from your garage. You might think about a solid wall on the north side of your rabbitry to keep off the cold winter winds.

do your hutches have hardware cloth for the bottom wire? If so, the uneven bumps where the squares join together can cause sore hocks and then you have a whole 'nother set of problems. I remember having to butcher some fine stock because of sore hocks. You can put a plank in the cage, just big enough for the rabbit to rest on so they can get off the wire. No matter how nice such a rabbit is, don't save bunnies for breeding from rabbits with thin fur on their feet or you will have to deal with sore hocks. You get what you breed for. Oh, the rabbit will enjoy chewing the board to bits.

Okay thanks for the input. I had planned on building a separate garage for wood, metal, and automotive working. The center of the pole barn would have two sides closed off and be used as one additional parking space in the center, and for things like a tractor, and riding mower. Things like that. I would have the two ends closed off from the center (drive thru section) of the barn. While it wont be air tight, I did not foresee any issues with just pulling something in and parking it. Then again I am a city transplant. Since I explained the plan in more detail, do you still think it would be bad for the animals?