Adolescent rabbit housing

[Upper Penn Love]

I'm currently just collecting information before launching into keeping/ breeding rabbits for meat. The Californian is my current favorite.

Through the research I've done so far I plan on building a hutch/ cage for a buck and two for breeding does. I also have an idea for a large hutch type enclosure that I was hoping on getting some insight on. The plan is for adolescent rabbits to be housed in it. I've seen references to a "grow out cage" but haven't actually seen it explained so that would probably answer part of my question. However I'm wondering if there would be any issue with keep an entire litter together until the reach maturity and also if multiple litters can be kept together. Possible of different ages or weeks apart.

Scenario: I have 2 breeding does. Say they are bred 2 weeks apart, thus the first litter is weaned and put into the large enclosure, 2 weeks later then 2nd litter will also be introduced into the same large enclosure.

From what I've read I'm assuming that siblings will live together peacefully until maturity even if kept together, I'm wondering if there will be problems with territory or size if another litter is introduced. I'm sure size of the enclosure helps so any ideas on an appropriate sq footage for 2 growing litters will help in my initial building plans.

While I've found a general consensus on buck and does cage dimensions, I have not been able to do more than a few rough sketches of this large enclosure I'd like to build because I don't know what cage size requirements to go by. These "grow out" cages, do you normally house the entire litter or separate each individual into its own cage.

I use google sketch up a lot and will try to post pictures of my building plans especially before actually building them. While my ideas focus on functional/ practical. There's a part of me that still likes to treat all my animals as pets and so I go somewhat beyond bare nessesity in housing them...

 

[brentr]

A grow out pen is just that - a pen large enough to comfortably house rabbits from weaning until harvesting (or sale, or move to individual cages). The only real criteria is space. The pen needs to be be large enough to accommodate the number of rabbits you intend to house in it. It needs to include ample feeder space and water access so there is no risk of some rabbits going hungry/thirsty. The point is to not overcrowd the rabbits. This is important for overall health and hygiene, as well as reducing fights from too little space.

I've introduced new litters into an existing group in a grow out pen with no issues. Largest age difference I'd do that is 2 weeks. Bigger rabbits will bully smaller ones and crowd them out at the feeder, so I personally don't want too large of a size difference in the rabbits in the pen. Since young rabbits are used to group housing, you can mix/add rabbits into the group without too much issue. After about 12 weeks of age, some rabbits may get a little more territorial, which causes problems in the cage.

I have a cage that is 36" x 60". I have two 11" feeders in the cage, and hang 2 large (2 liter) water bottles. I have put 10 rabbits in this pen and grown them from weaning to harvest with no issues. I've even put more than 10 in when they are just weaned and then moved to other grow out cages as they get bigger and need more space. Big difference between 10 5 wk weanlings and 10 12 week old rabbits!

Hope this helps.

 

[DianeS]

I agree with brentr. I have also combined litters for a growout pen, but only a week or 10 days or so of a difference. I figured with too much of a difference the littler ones could end up trampled or not have a chance at fresh food or water when it was put out.

My growout pen is about the size of a bathtub, I've never measured it but that's about right. I had two litters in it at once, I think that was 12 or 13 rabbits. It was definitely crowded by that 12 -week butchering age. If I had more litters, or more rabbits per litter, I would have used more than one growout cage.

There is no problem with having more size in cages, within reason. Some rabbits do get territorial if they have extra room, but that is easily remedied by putting that individual in a smaller cage; it doesn't affect every rabbit. You just want to be able to reach every rabbit in the cage, even if it tries to hide in a corner from you, so remember that in your door placement. My bathtub size cage had a single supersized door in the top; not traditional but it worked well for me.

One note on your proposed breeding schedule - you might want to consider breeding both does at the same time. That allows you to foster kits back and forth if one doe has a significantly larger litter than the other. That allows for more growth among the kits of the larger litter, which will then not have to compete so badly for milk. Fostering also increases the survival rate for a single kit - put in with a same age litter it can regulate its body temperature better and has a higher chance of living. Just throwing that out there for you to consider. (Then you don't have different-age litters to consider either, they'd be the same age and therefore size.)

Hope that helps!

 

[Upper Penn Love]

Thank you both, your examples of the sizes of your own pens help me alot in trying to get an idea on how much space to provide.

Here is a sketch i made and will probably work on today and throw it together in google sketchup in a more realistice building plan. I plan on having 2 levels, however in northern michigan we have some long snowy winters so this would only be for during the summer to probably house 2 litters at a time for now.

I will take your advice on breeding at the same time, will keep the schedule more organized as well. For late fall/early spring i will probably move into the garage, and close off the bottom so they stay in the top, and only do a litter at a time while giving them a break during the coldest time of the year.

Looking at this now, i will probably make some changes, im not sure about having 2 closed in areas, i assume they would all pack together in one place. Also i do plan on having wire on the ground, it just not drawn in. The open areas would probably get a plexiglass shell during cold weather and i plan on some sort of roof. If possible i plan on doing a wheelbarrow design, where bars cross the entire thing diagnally and i can lift one side up while the other side moves on wheels for relocations.

 

[animalmom]

I a probably missing something from your drawing... but where is the door you will use to put buns in and take buns out? I think your overall idea is reasonable. I like your idea of being able to move your grow out pen around.

For your consideration.... if you make the pen one level at 3 - 3.5' tall instead of 4', while maintaining the portability then you could put the door you use on the top... might want two doors on the top. That way there isn't any corner for someone to hide in... also much kinder on your back not having to squat and crawl into the cage to get a shy rabbit.

Also if it is one level you could put the cage in your garden... free fertilizer already dropped into the garden. Bunny berries are great for your plants and won't burn. Just a couple thoughts. Love your little rabbits at the bottom of your sketch.

 

[DianeS]

That's a lot of places to need doors. Remember that the more doors, the more escape possibilities. You'd have to be very careful that they were all checked and closed - even as you open one after the other to chase a recalcitrant rabbit from one room to another before getting to pick it up.

Personally I'm not in favor of wood floors for rabbits at all. The plastic mats with holes in them are as close as I'd go. Wood is AWFUL to try to clean after it's been peed on. And it's impossible to sterilize if you get a sick rabbit that's contagious. But on the other hand, if the floor is all wire, the rabbits on the top are peeing and pooping on the rabbits on the bottom... I guess you'll have to pick your poison for that one if you like the two-story hutch idea.

The rabbits you drew in are adorable! Hope your real ones are at least that cute!

 

[Upper Penn Love]

Actually, your right, I want to use as little wood as possible, too absorbent. I was wondering what is rabbit safe as possible alternatives or covering, like say typical vinyl tile, could I completely tile the inside of the shelter areas?

I assume they will chew on anything they can get their teeth on... Maybe I could use some kind of durable trim around the doors.

I also think I will have wire for all floors and possibly order some dog kennel plastic bottoms and have hooks they can side into place on.

As for doors, I haven't thought of it yet. I'm still playing around with my dimensions, I think 24" x 60" and either 18" or 24" tall each level. With a narrower enclosure I should have a wider sweep for catching rabbits.

 

[DianeS]

Remember, for a grow-out pen, you're only going to use it for one month. Usually 3-6 weeks. That's IT. And only the rabbits that are going to be butchered go into it. Ones you are going to keep for future breeding go right from mom into their own cages - this keeps them from getting injured by growing littermates. And rabbits usually stay with mom for milk until they're around 6 weeks of age, and are usually butchered between 10-12 weeks.

So the more I think about this, the more I believe you're overthinking this grow-out cage - by a lot.

In that one month, most rabbits won't have time to figure out a ramp. They won't be sleeping alone and using fancy sleeping areas. They don't need to be entertained by having different rooms to go in and out of. Just living is entertainment - seeing new things in their outdoor environment. These are not rabbits you'll be letting yourself get attached to. You won't want to be cleaning rabbit poop and pee off of anything - wood, vinyl or otherwise. Just let it fall through the floor and be done with it. You don't want these rabbits to have access to anything dangerous to eat - so no vinyl for that reason, either.

These are also not the rabbits you want to spend money on, except for really good feed. Spend your money on your breeders - controling their temperature, their feet, their diet, etc.

For your purposes, a large regular cage will be fine. I lean plastic sheets against mine to keep out rain and wind, and remove them in nice weather to allow sun and breeze. (Not clear plexiglass, you don't want to turn it in to a greenhouse.) Then I pick it up and drag it to a new area when I want them to have fresh grasses. So wheels on one side might be nice. A large dog cage would do the job nicely, and save you a lot of money and time that you can then spend on your breeders.

But keep your sketches - some day you'll fall in love with one particular rabbit, and choose to keep that one as a pet. THAT is the rabbit that will appreciate a fancy cage, and you will appreciate being able to watch them play in it for hours at a time. You'll probably buy toys for that rabbit, too. Just not for the rabbits you'll eat next week.

Does that make sense?

 

[Upper Penn Love]

Yea it does. Thanks. I like to plan things waaay in advance because I keep evolving my ideas and discarding that which sounded great at first but ends up not being practical. I've already decided not to do any kind of multilevel cage for growing kits so I'm gonna stick to something more simple and give them more outside space.i still like my wheelbarrow design so I might do that anyway for a small one level wire hutch just for convince sake, and then a separate movable wire pen that I can move around where needed. I do want to keep the pen busy during the summer, not just one litter but plan it so that a new litter is put in sometime after the past litter is gone. At least for the first year (probably next year) I'm going to keep my breeders to 3 and harvest kits at 12 weeks. The fur may be more delicate but its not important, just for little projects, maybe lining outside of gloves or inside of purses. Thinking of ways to utilize it isn't my main concern, I just figure if I can use it, it's better then throwing it away. Thanks again.

 

[DianeS]

If you keep that 12-week butchering schedule, then you have a nice breeding schedule automatically. Breed all three does on the first day of the month. They'll deliver approximately the first day of the second month. They'll nurse for approximately 6-8 weeks, so they'll be in the growout cage by the middle of month three or the first day of month four. At that point, rebreed all three does. The same time the does deliver, butcher the ones in the growout cage, on approximately the first day of the fifth month.

But of course, nature doesn't work that way. You'll end up with one or two does not "taking" that first round of pregnancy. So the first of the second month comes and goes, with no litter. Rebreed that doe (or those does) by the middle of the second month. They'll deliver the middle of the third month. They will be weaning the middle of the fifth month, and moving into the growout cage when the first batch is leaving it.

In the first scenario, your growout cage has three litters in it at once, and is in use one month out of three. In the second scenario, your growout cage has either one or two litters in it, and is in use two months out of three. (But either way, you get the same number of meat kits in the freezer every three months, it's just one or two butchering days during that three month period.)

As long as you're in a mood to create plans, create a good breeding schedule spreadsheet. Breeding timelines are easy when everyone is bred on the same day, delivers on the same day, and is butchered on the same day. But rabbits stay up late into the night, discussing ways to drive humans crazy. And not taking a breeding is a key one they pick! You want a spreadsheet that tracks your expected breeding schedule, but allows you to make quick changes when a breeding doesn't take, so that you can track when your growout cage is in use.

It's official - you have now left the realm of "easy" rabbit ownership and entered the "complicated" part! A good schedule will keep you sane.