CloverHollow05
Chillin' with the herd
Hello! I have a holland lop rabbitry. My 10 rabbits are currently living in wire bottomed cages. Three of the rabbits are split between two outdoor hutches, six of them are in stackers in the shed, and one is in a dog crate in the shed. I am planning my fall litters and realized a long time ago that I need a better setup! I need more space for a more affordable price than those stackers, which are like $300 to house 3 rabbits. I have a neighbor who raises meat rabbits in a colony setting, so I talked to her and looked at her facebook page, and really love the idea of a colony. The care and maintenance seems more manageable, the rabbits just look so genuinely happy to be together, and they have access to fresh grass and lots of space.
My plan is to buy those 8 ft wooden posts from Lowes, space them 8 feet apart buried 1 to 2 feet deep, run welded wire between them, throw some bird netting laced with shiny ribbon as the roof, bury some totes and buckets as hides and nest boxes, grow some grass (planning on tall fescue), and set up 2 or 3 feeding and water areas. It has priced out to about $400 and will be 36' by 16' and 6' tall so I can walk in. Following the 30 square feet per rabbit rule, I can have 20 rabbits. I do plan to fence in a smaller section within the enclosure for my bucks, so I can plan my litters. If it works out, I hope to add continental giant (maybe a buck and 2 or 3 does) in the future.
My questions:
What are your thoughts on this plan?
Does that roof sound ok?
How deep should I bury wire or gravel so they can't dig out?
Do the bucks need to be separated in their own 2'-3' by 8' enclosure, or can they share an 8' by 8' enclosure? I have 2 bucks.
If I ever added a giant breed in the future (I am interested in Continental giants) could they share the colony with the lops?
Is there anything I am missing or anything I should know about colony setups before I jump in?
How long does grass take to grow? (I have heard many mixed opinions)
Edit: The wire is 3 inch by 4 inch with 1/2 inch babysaver wire on the bottom 6 to 12 inches and the bird netting on the roof is 2.5 inch. Does this sound ok? Should I worry about possums?
Thanks! (sorry if I posted this in the wrong section)
My plan is to buy those 8 ft wooden posts from Lowes, space them 8 feet apart buried 1 to 2 feet deep, run welded wire between them, throw some bird netting laced with shiny ribbon as the roof, bury some totes and buckets as hides and nest boxes, grow some grass (planning on tall fescue), and set up 2 or 3 feeding and water areas. It has priced out to about $400 and will be 36' by 16' and 6' tall so I can walk in. Following the 30 square feet per rabbit rule, I can have 20 rabbits. I do plan to fence in a smaller section within the enclosure for my bucks, so I can plan my litters. If it works out, I hope to add continental giant (maybe a buck and 2 or 3 does) in the future.
My questions:
What are your thoughts on this plan?
Does that roof sound ok?
How deep should I bury wire or gravel so they can't dig out?
Do the bucks need to be separated in their own 2'-3' by 8' enclosure, or can they share an 8' by 8' enclosure? I have 2 bucks.
If I ever added a giant breed in the future (I am interested in Continental giants) could they share the colony with the lops?
Is there anything I am missing or anything I should know about colony setups before I jump in?
How long does grass take to grow? (I have heard many mixed opinions)
Edit: The wire is 3 inch by 4 inch with 1/2 inch babysaver wire on the bottom 6 to 12 inches and the bird netting on the roof is 2.5 inch. Does this sound ok? Should I worry about possums?
Thanks! (sorry if I posted this in the wrong section)
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