Rabbit Housing Poll

[countrygirl1178]

Thanks DutchBunny03 it's a lot of work but enjoyable work I have 12 for now but my next pair will be dutch bunnies......I am busy from the time I get up till bedtime as I have chickens and turkeys also and in the spring two calves

 

[DutchBunny03]

Taking care of animals is fun(most of the time). Its great to watch them being happy and healthy. What rabbit breed do you have now? From the picture, it looks like you have quite a few breeds. Silver Fox, Chinchilla, Californian/Himilayan? Dutch rabbits are a HUGE pain to breed, if you are breeding for markings and show quality.

 

[samssimonsays]

Since I no longer own rabbits, I voted for the way I caged them when I did have them. I had 5 that had free range of my living space, fully litter trained and all. and I had others in all wire and some in wire and wood cages. I also raised several in colony settings. If I do rabbits again, it will be colony setting outside and then inside the barn in a stall or cages for winter....

 

[countrygirl1178]

Hi dutchbunny03 right now I have three silverfox one buck two does ...one Himalayan doe ....two flemish giant does...six netherland dwarfs three bucks three does ...maybe I won't get dutch bunnies I can't even get my silverfoxes to mate the buck tried but the does won't ....I thought breeding rabbits was as easy as breeding rabbits

 

[DutchBunny03]

The breeding (as in putting together the buck and doe) is easy. Its the markings that are a pain in the neck to get. I end up culling over half the litter many times, because of the marking standards. If you are breeding for meat, its easy, but if you are breeding for show, its hard to get the right markings in the right places.

 

[DutchBunny03]

Do Netherland Dwarfs have as many jaw problems as is popularized?

 

[DutchBunny03]

@samssimonsays great post! Thats alot of housing arrangements to manage all at once.

 

[samssimonsays]

It was. Eventually they were all in the barn in wire, or wire and wood cages. Most of my caged rabbits were potty trained to litter boxes for ease of cleaning. I raised French Lops so there was a LOT of rabbit per cage and I had 42 of them at once in my prime in raising them. I had a few colonies litter trained in condo style cages with 3-4 different levels. Here are some photos of what I can find at the moment from what I have used. My favorite are large dog kennels with a large litter pan in the back and feeder and water bowl attached to the door or near it and raised off the floor when using litter boxes (litter gets in them easier).

 

[DutchBunny03]

Your plywood hutches look really nice. I have a couple of those dog crates, which i use for holding pens for extra rabbits. My rabbits arent litterbox trained, so wire floors have worked out better.

 

[samssimonsays]

Your plywood hutches look really nice. I have a couple of those dog crates, which i use for holding pens for extra rabbits. My rabbits arent litterbox trained, so wire floors have worked out better.

They work really nice. The built in nesting boxes were convenient with plastic totes that would slide out and keep the wood clean with babies in it. It was also dropped down lower than the wire bottom in the large run around to keep them in and safe.