Alasguns Hopper Haven Rabbitry (Alaska)

[Alasgun]

Continuing the upgrades:
In the upper tier, i needed a way to deal with the poop without having too much elevation on the pen. This top layer is intended to be for “the inevitable overages” that occur so it didn’t need an elaborate affair.

i found and bought a couple proper sized Duratray’s and fitted an ABS shower drain in a front corner of one. Then raised the other end to promote drainage and made the penetration‘s in the floor and ceiling of the lower cage. The tray was then fastened it to the wall And the joint caulked.

next i’ll mount the cage to the wall, high enough above the tray to allow my squeegee to fit and plumb in a water font.

”Punk” seems to approve so far!

 

[Alasgun]

It was a good day today! Punk’s cage is mounted to the wall now and he’s got piped in water. Ultimately this hole will see use as a grow out pen so it got a full width shelf as there will never be a nest box up here.
when time allows i’ll crimp up the cage for the #5 hole and be completely done inside.
I also formalized the back stop on the poop slide. Previously it was taller, making cleaning under the cages a hassle and i had wires holding it in place. Now it’s 3 inches shorter and has dedicated brackets holding the frp in place and after cleaning up today i have a big smile as it’s more user friendly now.

 

[animalmom]

Wow! Just plain Wow!!!

 

[Alasgun]

Today i finished the last indoor cage and once i outfit the poop tray everything will be ready to hang.
while working out there i give the bunnies a little Pandora radio which they love. Here’s Miriam and Sweet Pea relaxing with Allison Kraus.
in this posture, they’re plumpness is begining to show.

i’m also noticing an uptick in they’re general appearance which is a good thing.

 

[Alasgun]

I’m reading about S. African farmers using rabbit urine fermented with molasses as a complete fertilizer.
Now that i have an endless supply, i’ve been using some along with my watering once a week. I’ve known about and use molasses with my watering anyway so adding the rabbit urine is not much of a stretch.
the starts show a pronounced difference this year in vitality which im attributing to the urine.

Research is showing tremendous potential as an insect repellant as well And these folks are saying it kill’s or repels aphids, mites, the mildews etc!

Time will tell. Along the way i‘ll be improving the ambiance in the neighborhood with my oderferous concoction.

 

[Alasgun]

Nen there’s this!!! Now, i know im as weird as anyone you know, however i’ll not be giving this a go anytime soon!

'While today we flush or urine away without giving it a second thought, in ancient times it was considered a valuable commodity. Urine contains a wide array of important minerals and chemicals such as phosphorus and potassium. The Romans believed that urine would make their teeth whiter and keep them from decaying so they used it as a mouthwash and mixed it with pummis to make toothpaste. In fact, urine was so effective that it was used in toothpastes and mouthwashes up until the 1700s.

As far as the Romans were concerned, the best and therefore the most expensive urine on the market came from the country of Portugal. It was supposedly the strongest urine in the world and thus, the choice for whitening teeth. Though most people today would decline the option of a urine-based toothpaste, it actually worked! This is because urine contains ammonia which is used in many household cleaners today. If you leave urine out in an open vat it turns stale and produces ammonia through interaction with the air. In Roman times, this was then used for laundry. Due to the ammonia content, urine was also important for the textiles industry, which was a booming trade during the Roman Empire. Often urine was used to bleach wool or linen and tan leather.''

 

[animalmom]

OK you have me intrigued... I know from experience that rabbit urine can kill plants, if used straight (unfortunate accident). What is your ratio for dilution? Odor is no problem as my closest neighbor is 5 miles away, and it a dairy... so they have no reason to complain. He is a nice neighbor.

 

[Alasgun]

@animalmom , i’m keeping it in a dish soap container which works well and keeps it off of me. In a 1 1/2 gallon watering can i’m giving it a shot about like i’d use to do the dishes. Probably a Tablespoon at the most.
i’ve been reading about fermenting it with molasses and have a batch going right now. It’s been setting for almost a week and the raw ammonia smell is turning into more of a sweet alcohol smell.

the articles talk about using it as a plant nutrient AND an insecticide?
i have no bugs yet to try it on but the garden starts are the best they’ve ever been! I’m only watering with it once or twice a week, the rest of the time it’s just plain water.

i’ve got a half dozen 5 gallon buckets of barn run manure, hay, urine mix that i’ll pour the piss off of and get a larger batch of the ferment going this week. I’ll post how this shakes out. They say to let it set for 3-4 weeks.

i’m fine with it just the way it comes from the bunny but i’m all ears when you can improve something.

 

[Alasgun]

Two of the doe’s got a nest box yesterday and went right to work, “remodeling them”. The third gets hers in a couple more days.

i’m looking forward to having this first cycle under my belt with these as the entire “herd” is new to me. Real soon i should find out what my possibilities will be.

 

[Alasgun]

we’re done with the hair pulling for now, the mommas and mine!
Three liters later we went from 5 to 25 bunnies in the course of a week!
All went well and everyone survived!