My 11 year old daughter and I are considering starting a small meat rabbit operation in NE TN for her to aid in life's financial lessons of money management. Being the "chief financier" of the operation and the "chief maintenance facility engineer", I need to ask some questions regarding a small structure to keep the rabbit and their wire cages in. I am looking at either constructing or buying a small building much like the little 8X10 storage buildings that 'urbanites' use in their backyard to store their mowers and stuff in or building a small tool shed out of some PT posts and some T111 siding. I realize this will be small but should the desire to expand in this become a necessity, we will look at options for larger facilities at that time. Pricing of this is the main object since I will require her to make payments just as if this were a business endeavor she was engaging in as an adult. Only difference now is I am the banker and will forgo interest payments and override any un-prudent judgment decisions dealing with expenditures. The joys of being a parent!!

What are the thoughts of a building such as this. I am hoping I can find one of those buildings in the local trading paper that someone wants moved and therefore it can be bought for 1/2 of new price. Any other thoughts? My main reasoning behind this is to provide protection from predators and weather, and to provide a place for her to store food (plastic garbage container??) and items needed in maintaining her herd. Now to some specific questions:

* Dealing with rabbit waste, should the floor just be dirt and build some small shields out of masonite to protect the perimeter walls or is there something better? Our soil is Clay that when dry become a super hard surface. Concrete could be an option but the expense is something I question.

* In multi-level cages, how is the feces dealt with on the upper level so as to keep it off of the cage(s) below.

* I have ideas to build our own cages as most of the fabrication skills and tools needed I already posses. I remember reading somewhere about cage construction but cannot find it now. Can anyone provide a link?

* Is it feasible that I can build these cages so as they can be lifted off of their hooks inside the bldg. and set them in the yard to aid in "free-ranging" and then be returned? Doing this 2 or 3 times a week for a 3 or 4 hour stint. Pros & Cons

Guess that is enough for now ... TIA

-- B. TERRY in 10-uh-C (breannaterry@hotmail.com), January 21, 2002

Answers

Heres a link for how to build cages...http://www.rabbitweb.net/hutchsystem3.asp. As far as flooring right now my rabbits are in the barn and it is a dirt floor. Just remember to leave enough clearance to be able to rake underneath it. My husband built frames under the second set of cages and I have trays to catch the waste. It does help to add a bit of shavings to absorb the urine. when we add on to the barn this spring I want to incorporate worm bins under the cages but have not got that far yet. Rabbit manure is the only manure that can go directly into the garden and not burn plants. You have to be very careful as far as grass goes, to much will cause diarhia and can kill a rabbit.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), January 21, 2002.

First off, please remember that there is no *ONE WAY* to raise rabbits. We can only provide suggestions as determined by what has worked best for us. For example:

For your climate, I really would not advise a fully enclosed facility. Good ventilation is of the utmost importance! Fully enclosed facilities generally require an air exchange system. What you might wish to consider would be a 3-sided shelter, instead, or a larger pole barn with no sides. Likewise, just about every grower I've ever known (and including myself) to have two or three-tiered cages winds up wishing they didn't! Single row caging is much more convenient and easier to care for. Finding smooth plastic or metal panels to slant downward between the two tiers is either next to impossible to find, or are very expensive (BASS Equipment Company manufactures the smooth ones). All others tend to "stick" and the manure has to be manually pushed down. The manure then falls down behind the lower level. With this system, you will need to be able to gain access to the back of the cages for manure removal purposes. 3-sided sheds are often devised with the sides and back completely open up to the bottom of the row of cages. Some growers will also apply hinged doors for closing off the open sections during inclement weather.

Using "racks" to rest the cages on is not advisable, since every spot where the cage rests on the rack... that's where the manure will pile up inside the cage! This means additional labor on a constant basis, and the higher level cages are more difficult for reaching the rabbits. I had to use step stools. Cages can, however, be successfully "hung" inside of racks.

Plastic trash cans WITH TIGHT FITTING LIDS are fine for feed storage. Metal cans have a tendency to "sweat" and causing potential mold problems (mold is extremely toxic to rabbits).

Flooring is completely up to you. If concrete, it will need to be sealed with a sealer and have a drainage system. A clay floor can cause problems if it becomes wet (slippery). You may want to consider building wooden walkways between the rows.

Single unit cages are better than the multiple unit cages, since the single units can be removed for cleaning without displacing a lot of rabbits. Unfortunately, the floor wire size required for rabbits will not work well for "free ranging" purposes, as the individual spaces are too small for much grass to enter... it will merely lay the grass down, instead.

If choosing a 3-sided shelter or pole barn w/o sides, adequate perimeter fencing can be used to protect against predators.

I hope this gives you enough ideas to mull over.

Pat Lamar

-- Pat Lamar (fuzyfarm@3-cities.com), January 21, 2002.

More suggestions....

Would I be correct in assuming that Tennesee has hot, high humidity summers? All the more reason to NOT have tiered rows or fully enclosed facilities! Not only can rabbits not tolerate much heat over 80 degrees, but rabbits also don't sweat! As such, heat and high humidity can literally kill rabbits. With built-in fur coats, they are much more readily able to sustain cold temperatures, instead.

In some areas of the country where the humidity doesn't get that high, growers are able to use swamp coolers. Some in the south are able to use them only during certain hours when the humidity isn't high, yet. Any additional water used, as in hosing manure during times of high humidity, only increases the humidity for the rabbits and adding more difficulty to the respiration of rabbits.

Pat Lamar

-- Pat Lamar (fuzyfarm@3-cities.com), January 21, 2002.

I enjoy my tiered set up. It allows me to have much more efficient use of space and makes feeding faster. Here's what I did:

When I purchased my first rabbits the lady was selling them with a very nice set of five cages built as a single unit. I then purchased cages from Jeffers of the same dimensions and wired those underneath the top cage(s). I bought plastic nursery trays from Wally World that slide under th top cages for droppings. Then I made what I call a poop canoe for under the bottom level. I just took a sheet of corrugated and made a box out of it and put two wires across it to pick it up.I have them in my barn on concrete so this was necessary. I have fans mounted at the north end of the cages and just turn those on when it warms up. It works very well with only the occasional urine dribble onto the bunnies in the bottom. The plastic trays are 99¢ compared with the $10 or so the manufactured trays cost. Works out great!

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), January 23, 2002.