# housing questions



## johny2hats (Jul 19, 2010)

hi all 
 i am just about to build a new hutch to house my does in and was wondering what size is ok for her to mother her litters in i was thinking af building it 1200mm sq and 600mm high with a wire bottom fully roofed and a wire front only do you think that is ok
          any advice would be appreciated as i am a newby
  thanks 
              mat


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## ChickenPotPie (Aug 18, 2010)

The size of the pen depends on the size of the doe and how many kits the particular breed of rabbit produces on average.  How heavy is your doe full grown?


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## johny2hats (Aug 18, 2010)

pikin up a nz white doe on monday but dont know how big she is yet


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## ChickenPotPie (Aug 18, 2010)

That's okay.  Purebred rabbits are generally within a particular weight range for each breed.  A NZ doe would need a larger enclosure just for herself.  She'll need even more space to raise her litter.  The cage dimensions you gave are approximately 2 feet x 2 feet and a bit less than 2 feet high.  Correct?  I'd go for 2 ft deep and 3 feet wide.  So, that's 24 inches x 36 inches or just a bit over 600mm x 915mm.  That's 6 square feet or 1830mm square.  The height of 600mm is fine.  So, if you go with a cage that is 1850mm square and 600mm high, that will do for your doe and litter.  You can even go larger but it is not necessary.  

The doe will be in there with the litter for 5 - 6 weeks and then you'll remove her and let her litter grow out to processing weight in the 1850mm square cage.  The doe can go into another 1850mm square cage for respite until her next litter.  

For a basic home meat production operation, (one buck, one doe) you'll need 3 cages.  One for the buck, one for the doe, one as a grow out cage for the litter.  Might at well build them uniformly.  It's easier work.  If you go with a trio (one buck, two does, have 4 - 6 cages.  You might want an extra cage for growing out replacement breeders.


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## Shiloh Acres (Aug 18, 2010)

I house my NZ and Calis in cages that are 30 inches deep by 36 inches wide (don't k ow the conversion but 36 inches is a short finger-length less than a meter. I went ahead and made mine 24 inches high, after reading the recommendation to make them taller than you want so when the bottom wears out you can cut the cage down as is and add a new bottom (all wire cages). 

You always need more cages than you think, LOL. ESPECIALLY if there is any chance of keeping any of the kits. Sooner or later you will want to. 

For three does and a buck, breeding two litters at a time, I need six cages, and that doesn't allow keeping any kits. 

I can leave my litters a little longer with the doe if I need to in this size cage.  They are slightly larger than minimum size, especially for the buck, but my boy is fairly active and I can't imagine him in a smaller cage.


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## johny2hats (Aug 19, 2010)

should be ok the cage is 4ft by 4ft and 2.5high im hoping its big enough to have her litter in


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## Shiloh Acres (Aug 19, 2010)

Your doe will be living like a queen in there. That's a HUGE cage. Wish I could make mine that big.


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## johny2hats (Aug 20, 2010)

it is big i know i was thinking of making a divider for it and turning it into a double hutch if need be


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## ChickenPotPie (Aug 20, 2010)

Keep in mind that unless you're Shaqil O'Neal, you might have a difficult time getting those rabbits out from a cage that deep.  I'm small so that's why I like the 24" depth.  I won't have to crawl into the cage to get out a rabbit sitting in the back of the cage.


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## Shiloh Acres (Aug 20, 2010)

If you haven't built it yet and you are thinking about dividing it in half you might want to think more about the dimensions?  That would give you 2 sections that are each 2x4. 

Nothing really wrong with that. But the 4 foot is maybe longer than strictly needed while the 2 foot might be a bit short for a large NZ. I'm not really sure of that though, since I've never seen rabbits housed in that size cage. It could be great for little running spurts or sommething for all I know. . I'd just think more about it. 

Good luck with them, whatever you decide. If you are like me, you'll want to get it "perfect" right off, but end up changing it. More than once, LOL. I think I've made about 3 or 4 major changes to my original cages and since I need to build a few more I'm actually going with a cometely different style for the new ones. My old ones are all wire sitting in a covered frame and the new ones are closer to freestanding hutch style. They both have their good points.


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## johny2hats (Aug 20, 2010)

some good pionts thanks for the input i also am just starting out and will prob make a few changes till i get it right for me i do like the look of wire cages but i wll make this work for now thanks again for all advice


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## Citylife (Aug 21, 2010)

Everything I have read or heard for the CA or NZ's is a 30"x36" cage.  That is what  have for my CA doe and it is a very nice size for her.  And as was pointed out earlier, you do not want it to deep.  I have a heck of a time pulling my FW does out of a 30"x30" cage.  They get back in a corner and are hard to reach for many of us.  
Good luck to you

The lady w/4 dogs, 4 city chickens, 5 meat rabbits, their kits and a lizard


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