My first rabbit hutch. Plus more now.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 29, 2012

Wife and myself were wanting to start keeping a small number of chickens but decided against it, so we are going the rabbit route instead. Figure it should be enough room for 5 or 6 rabbits without the breeding doe, which will go into a different area for the litter and everything involved until weaning. So anyone know anything about keeping meat rabbits going? Also if you do any suggestions for the new hutch? Breed advice, and where to buy is also appreciated. And yes that is a dog in the hutch. Size representation she is a chorkie that weighs about 4 pounds.

Got 2 does. New Zealand and 3 months old currently. Weight 4 pounds each.

Got the new cage done and the hanger built yesterday. We now have 2 breeding age females and one new female that is 5 weeks so it has a little while before we can start breeding her. We also have a 11 pound new zealand buck now. Expecting our first litters in 3 weeks now. Gotta build nest boxes.

Skiney · Jan 29, 2012

Rabbit Droppings

Hutch lookd GREAT to me....

Don't know about keeping meat rabbits going; however I'd be glad to take any rabbit droppings you want to get rid of and will provide 5 gallon buckets with air tight lids if you can gather it for me to put in my garden:} I'll pick it up in a timely manner of course:}

CrkdLtr · Jan 29, 2012

ShinerBark said:
Wife and myself were wanting to start keeping a small number of chickens but decided against it, so we are going the rabbit route instead. Figure it should be enough room for 5 or 6 rabbits without the breeding doe, which will go into a different area for the litter and everything involved until weaning. So anyone know anything about keeping meat rabbits going? Also if you do any suggestions for the new hutch? Breed advice, and where to buy is also appreciated.

View attachment 23105

I've done some casual reading on the subject of breeding meat rabbits. Plenty of information out on the internet.

What breed of rabbit are you going to keep? Remember that rabbits keep cool using their ears and are very susceptible to hot weather. So when the Louisiana summer hits you'll want to keep several 2 liter botles of water frozen and put one in the hutch every day during the high heat days. May even want to go as far as looking into a small solar panel that can be used to power some fans to help with the heat as well. Also, I have seen some contraptions that let you put a large bucket of water on the roof and plum it to a 3" piece of PVC running at the top with small water hoses taped into the 3" pvc at specific intervals offering multiple water feed spickets w/o having to refill multiple bottles. I know that you'll also want some kind of box with bedding material for the doe to give birth in. And it isn't a long time from birth to harvest time. I want to say 6 weeks? I"m probably wrong. If you're a member of the Frugal Squirrel forum there is a lot of literature on the subject. May also want to look into the book "Back to Basics". Also, depending on the species, weather/climate affects their breeding.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 29, 2012

Skiney said:
Hutch lookd GREAT to me....

Don't know about keeping meat rabbits going; however I'd be glad to take any rabbit droppings you want to get rid of and will provide 5 gallon buckets with air tight lids if you can gather it for me to put in my garden:} I'll pick it up in a timely manner of course:}

No droppings going to waste here. We keep a year round set of gardens going already, and I hope the rabbit poop will be one heck of a good fertilizer to keep em producing like heck. It's amazing how much food we produce off of 2 small gardens, and we will keep a third rabbit feed specific one now.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 29, 2012

CrkdLtr said:
I've done some casual reading on the subject of breeding meat rabbits. Plenty of information out on the internet.

What breed of rabbit are you going to keep? Remember that rabbits keep cool using their ears and are very susceptible to hot weather. So when the Louisiana summer hits you'll want to keep several 2 liter botles of water frozen and put one in the hutch every day during the high heat days. May even want to go as far as looking into a small solar panel that can be used to power some fans to help with the heat as well. Also, I have seen some contraptions that let you put a large bucket of water on the roof and plum it to a 3" piece of PVC running at the top with small water hoses taped into the 3" pvc at specific intervals offering multiple water feed spickets w/o having to refill multiple bottles. I know that you'll also want some kind of box with bedding material for the doe to give birth in. And it isn't a long time from birth to harvest time. I want to say 6 weeks? I"m probably wrong. If you're a member of the Frugal Squirrel forum there is a lot of literature on the subject. May also want to look into the book "Back to Basics". Also, depending on the species, weather/climate affects their breeding.

Too much information on the internet, it's dang near confusing. Actually looking at new zealands or rexs' The New Zealands are a little big, but mature really quick into a fryer, the rexs' take a couple of extra weeks for the same weight in a fryer. Gonna be one heck of a good time either way. Maybe even californians but the red eyes might throw my wife for a loop. She is all for this though, she wants to can rabbit for our pantry.

CrkdLtr · Jan 29, 2012

ShinerBark said:
Too much information on the internet, it's dang near confusing. Actually looking at new zealands or rexs' The New Zealands are a little big, but mature really quick into a fryer, the rexs' take a couple of extra weeks for the same weight in a fryer. Gonna be one heck of a good time either way. Maybe even californians but the red eyes might throw my wife for a loop. She is all for this though, she wants to can rabbit for our pantry.

Sounds like blast. Start a thread in the Survival section with updates. I'd like to do this one day myself but not sure how I'll convince the Mrs to let me do it. I'm considering building a new shed in the back yard and may try to integrate the rabbit kennel into the shed so I can let them in the shed during the real hot days.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 29, 2012

CrkdLtr said:
Sounds like blast. Start a thread in the Survival section with updates. I'd like to do this one day myself but not sure how I'll convince the Mrs to let me do it. I'm considering building a new shed in the back yard and may try to integrate the rabbit kennel into the shed so I can let them in the shed during the real hot days.

Will do, Could I get a moderator to move this over there? Like to keep it all in one post. Keeps things simple for me.

CrkdLtr · Jan 29, 2012

Here's the water pipe I was mentioning earlier.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 29, 2012

CrkdLtr said:
Here's the water pipe I was mentioning earlier.

View attachment 23108

Good picture, even includes a valve for regulation. That could work. A solar panel with a internal fan would be maintenance free and keep the rabbits cool in the summer. This will be fun.

toddrod · Jan 29, 2012

I raised rabbits for many years and at 1 point was harvesting 30-40 month. I would recommend pure breed New Zealands or Califorian breeds if you want a standard size and the Dutch if you want a slightly smaller rabbit. I had gotten mine from a commerial rabbit raiser from around the Shreveport area as these were breed for production and averaged 10 kits per litter and were excellent mothers. Your hutches - the 1st thing I would do is remove the tin sheets from the sides and replace with hardware cloth or chicken wire. Those things are going to act as radiators during the up coming summer month. Also try to have all your wire mesh on the inside of the cage. It looks to me as though the rabbits have access to 1 or more of the 2x4s and they will chew it to pieces. Better to get some cheap 1.5" Oak or cypress dowels, cut into 3-4" lenghts and place in the cage as a chew object. For water, if you want to spend a little money, not much, get a 5 gal bucket (just like the picture above) and put a toilet tank filler in it. Then plumb it to the pvc pipe with rabbit water nipples. You can then just connect you hose pipe to it and they will have water 24/7. You just have to remember to clean it every month or two. Birthing boxes - all you need to do is make a box with at least 6 inch sides and 9x14 with 1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom. You do not need any material to put in it. The mother will pluck enough hair. The wire bottom permits liquids to drain and keeps everything dry. Breeding cycles are 28 -30 days. After the mother gives birth you can rebreed her in 2-3 days. I normally harvested my rabbits at 8 weeks of age and ended up with 2-3 pound carcasses. There is a rabbit assoc. on the net that you can find lots of breeders and get more information and there are 2 really good books available. I have them and they are worth the money to me. I will get the information for you in the morning.

toddrod · Jan 29, 2012

ShinerBark said:
Too much information on the internet, it's dang near confusing. Actually looking at new zealands or rexs' The New Zealands are a little big, but mature really quick into a fryer, the rexs' take a couple of extra weeks for the same weight in a fryer. Gonna be one heck of a good time either way. Maybe even californians but the red eyes might throw my wife for a loop. She is all for this though, she wants to can rabbit for our pantry.

The Rex breed is more for show and was not breed to be a meat type rabbit.

toddrod · Jan 29, 2012

Also, if you have stray dogs, coyotes or coons in your area I would recommend you putting chicken wire all the way around the bottom of the cage to prevent them from getting under the cage. They will get under the cage and literally pull and eat the feet off of the rabbits and kill them.

Also, for the hutch, if you can place it where it will be in the shade, to protect it from the afternoon sun, would be best. for shade on the side of the hutch, and for wind protection in the winter, I would just hang some clear plastic on the sides

toddrod · Jan 29, 2012

Feed - for maint. of the breeders, and while they are pregnant, I would give 4oz pellets/day. Once the mother gives birth, and for the babies, once they are removed form the mother, it is unlimited pellets. I also supplemented with unlimited good hay that I would put in a small basket attached to the outside of the cage. The rabbits will just pull it through the wire.

toddrod · Jan 29, 2012

here are they 2 books I would recommend as they are NOT about raising rabbits for pets.

http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Rabbi...=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327891102&sr=1-7
http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Rabbi...r_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327891270&sr=1-14

BIGGREEN · Jan 29, 2012

I raised rabbits in high school for extra money and at one time was yielding up to 200 per month. A few key things; HEAT is the # killer of rabbits, they have a respiratory and circulatory rate 3-4 times that of a human. Keep the water CLEAN and as cool as possible. You can purchase stainless steel nipples from your local feed store that can be plumbed diectly to a water line. Feed your rabbits COMMERCIAL feed only. Although carrots and lettuce may sound like good supplements, if the animal is used to a certain degree of fiber the introduction of a different type or amount can cause problems (dehydraton through diarrhea). I raised Flemish Giants. They are hardy and grow very fast. They are less fatty. They also average a larger batch of kittens. The hardware cloth (wire) on the bottom of the cage should be just large enough (usually 1/4 inch) for the waste pellets to fall through. If the holes are too large the rabbits feet and hocks will get sores from it. You need to provide a solid surface for the them to rest on to support their feet. Any other questions just PM me.

cnodie1 · Jan 29, 2012

Saving this thread for later. This kind of stuff really interests me.

kcinnick · Jan 29, 2012

Looks cool, but I have a feeling you are going to need more hutches. I worked with an older gentlemen that literally grew all his food, chickens, cows, rabbits, veggies, pigs, apples, oranges, everything. He would always bring me something to eat because I showed interest in his self reliance. Well, he had to have knee surgery, so I went to his house to visit him while he was getting better. I kid you not, he must have had 200 rabbits. He never bought a single rabbit, he would get unwanted ones for free and then raise and slaughter them. That was an amazing site all those rabbits, cows, pigs, garden, fruit trees, etc. It was like he had a green thumb for everything.

Oh well, I got way off topic, nice hutch, ditch the dog though, he should have run of the yard.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 30, 2012

toddrod said:
here are they 2 books I would recommend as they are NOT about raising rabbits for pets.

http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Rabbi...=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327891102&sr=1-7
http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Rabbi...r_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327891270&sr=1-14

Dude that was a lot of information and excellent at that, but I just used one quote. The books will be ordered today, we have decided on new zealands, As for the tin on the sides I was thinking of leaving it for the the cooler months and doing the hardware cloth for summer months. I was actually thinking about hinging the top of the sides so I could open them up in the summer and close them if bad weather came through or during the night. Hardware cloth would be inside of it at all times. Do you reckon that would help em out with cold any or am I just wasting time building extra ventilation into it? The water idea is excellent and will be tried out. The birthing box was about what I had in mind but I appreciate the confirmation on it. Dude you gave a lot of great information and I appreciate the heck out of it. Oh also all of the wire is internal except for the corner posts, I was coming up with some chicken wire to cover them but I just flat out got ready to come inside for the day. Best part about the whole thing is I used crap I had laying around except for the hardware cloth. Didn't cost me hardly nothing.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 30, 2012

kcinnick said:
Looks cool, but I have a feeling you are going to need more hutches. I worked with an older gentlemen that literally grew all his food, chickens, cows, rabbits, veggies, pigs, apples, oranges, everything. He would always bring me something to eat because I showed interest in his self reliance. Well, he had to have knee surgery, so I went to his house to visit him while he was getting better. I kid you not, he must have had 200 rabbits. He never bought a single rabbit, he would get unwanted ones for free and then raise and slaughter them. That was an amazing site all those rabbits, cows, pigs, garden, fruit trees, etc. It was like he had a green thumb for everything.

Oh well, I got way off topic, nice hutch, ditch the dog though, he should have run of the yard.

Yeah running 3 gardens and now gonna be rabbit raising, We try and stay out of the store as much as possible, Now I just have to figure out how to grow a garden just to supplement rabbit feed. As for the dog yeah it was being used for size reference for my parents. My rabbits will probably be able to kick her butt. Thank goodness I have two big dogs to back her up, but she is always the first to alert on something and get their attention. Nothing comes in the yard without her know it and the big dogs getting it.

Scott.Thornton · Jan 30, 2012

toddrod said:
Feed - for maint. of the breeders, and while they are pregnant, I would give 4oz pellets/day. Once the mother gives birth, and for the babies, once they are removed form the mother, it is unlimited pellets. I also supplemented with unlimited good hay that I would put in a small basket attached to the outside of the cage. The rabbits will just pull it through the wire.

Dude just caught this one, That was actually the plan just to make a feeder box that they could pull through for supplemental hay. Did you buy your feed at a co-op? and if so brand or just the local special on bulk? I also just found where you said something about the clear plastic sheets. Now I'm rethinking my hinged side panel idea.

My first rabbit hutch. Plus more now.

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