Pastured Rabbit Tractor 

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to watch the video and comment. It's okay if you don't like the design or disagree with the system, but please keep the comments clean so it is a family friendly discussion :)

We have just started keeping rabbits and this design is the best I've seen so far. Looking forward to watching your other videos. 🙂 x

I have been thinking about how to do rabbits on pasture, couldn't quite figure how to make them predator proof. There you are. Great info.

I think it's great that you are constantly looking for ways to improve your design and system. Great work!

Ethan,This is awesome! I've listened to you on the podcast talk about these but I could never get it through my head. The video is great and ties in everything nicely! Thanks for all you share!

Thanks for your design ideas. My husband and I just purchased 20 acres in Michigan and rabbits are one of my favorite livestock animals. I want to pasture them and I love your design. Thanks for sharing!

Hey. Over-Built is what I'm all about.. just that much less breaking going on. I really like the enclosed hutch on the one end.. need to get building me one for starters. I just got back into raising rabbit after a 10 year break.. and got a 1/2 acre of nice pasture to let them devour. Sainfoin for reduced to no bloat, orchard grass.. some birds foot trefoil.. some clover.. this gonna be fun... I got 2 week old kits out there in the barn now so I better get building.

Please make more videos!!! I love this. You seem like you've got some awesome ideas. We are looking into building rabbit tractors soon, Thanks for all the great tips !!

Thank you for the video. This is really helpful. I love the podcasts, but this is perfect for teaching and learning.

This is great! We've been raising rabbits for two years and have had many evolutions of housing as well. I really like the tin roof and the open bottom in the hutch. That's exactly the problem I've run into: keeping them cool and the food dry. Thanks for posting!

Great looking pens!! Thanks for sharing.

Good job on your video, to the point, helpful. Don't have any suggestions, looks really good to me, and especially grateful for the presentation quality.

Good job, I envy all the space you have and the many grass. The cages are large, that's fine What's even better is the roof, which may need to have more slope. Remember, all the wood where a rabbit can reach, there is at gnawed Good luck Jaap

I made a pen just like yours except I used hardware cloth on the bottom of the run. Next time, I will use strips just like yours. The hardware cloth in the bedding area is a great idea too, thart way there is no mess to clean up. I also liked what you did with your feeder. I used a 3" pvc pip and a 90 degree elbo and a cap on the outside, had to use a dremel to make an eating area and drill some small holes from the fine parts of the food to fall out. My feeder comes out in the bedding area. My feeder must hold 5 to 8 pounds of food. I have 2 females and only fill the feeder once a week, and there is still food in it when I fill it up. I made a waterer using the same tech as my feeder, but my 2 female rabbits prefer to use to water bottles from tractor supply. thanks for the video, really informative.

i like how u have made it on the ground very good, its much better having them on the ground, every well made i like the design! thank u for making it better for the rabbits!

I'm glad I watched this, thanks! Great design and idea!

very nice design, really liked it. thanks man keep up the good work.

awesome pens! I had some chicken coops with the same idea of built, i liked the open bottom because it made it pretty much maintenance free , meaning no cleaning poop!

Thanks for the ideas, I will put this on my to-do list of projects, thanks for the info

Great video. If you don't mind, I have a question. For the top (tin) is that the ENTIRE top (I believe it would be about 6 ft.) what you remove to get the front entrance or a SMALLER (2 ft) of metal ??? Again Great video ~~~Would appreciate a reply ASAP as I am building mine today and hold off until you can get back... THANKS

How many rabbits to you raise per "tractor"? And is it safe to assume that you put them in a different place at night, or do they stay inside the closed off section?

I like the design. I built my chicken tractors with the same design but with a taller hutch/nest area for roosting. And no floor obviously, but worked well. Still have some but they are made with some treated wood so no good. Thanks😊

Thanks for this video! This looks like a safe way of raising them and a manageable build. I've never kept rabbits but am considering it. How many rabbits live in each of these? If I get a breeding trio, how many of these would I have to build to raise the resulting rabbits for a season? Thanks!

What is the spacing between the furring strips? I'm concerned that kits large enough to leave the nest box would still be small enough to slip through the cracks when moving the tractor. I'm looking to build some soon as I have to move and leave my colony setup behind.

keep the videos coming. nice addition to your podcast

#403 like says looks good for small scale rabbits and chickens to me. Do you keep one rabbit per cage only?

I have to say what you are doing is awesome I have been looking with my wife for a hobby farm and this is something a long with chickens and a pig or two I have a idea to make a all metal cage out of top rail for fencing and these three way metal fittings. They are not cheap per say and to build but I like the idea of building it once and having it for a lifetime. The hutch am thinking half round sheet metal. I want to do a couple version of the same thing just a little different for each animal like the meat chickens/egg chickens/rabbits. I like the idea of raising one flock of chickens every year for just me and my wife and the freezer. so the cage can be setup and taking down if needed. You are doing great things keep it up I subscribed.

how do they do with each other, do you have like a 2 buck to 8 does combo?

Do you leave them in the rabbit tractors in the winter months ,

Thanks for sharing. Very helpful.

I love it, next step is to integrate crop production and really kick off your farm into high gear, Here is how: imagine a big round bale of hay unrolled in a row and used as mulch for something like tomatoes, and between each row of tomatoes is just pasture. You mow the between rows with those rabbit tractors. Now the rabbit dropping fertilize both the pasture and the tomato crop and you'll see around 10,000 dollars an acre in tomatoes if you direct retail them and in addition you have your rabbit production. I don't know the current price breakdown for rabbits, but chicken tractors (broilers) add approx 4 000 an acre done this way. (total 14k/acre/year) I haven't done it yet but I am experimenting with other types of crops too and different configurations and I just bet there are solutions for almost any crop and not just tomatoes. Good luck.

how much do you think you save in grain. winter feeding vs. summer pasture feeding?

Neat design. Curious I have heard for meat rabbits (I assume that's what you are doing, as I don't see show or pet being pastured....but if I am wrong I do apologize) when they are pastured or otherwise coming in contact with the ground that you have to treat them for parasites/etc and move them off the ground for a time for both the medication to work and then also clear their system before processing. How do you do that given your pasture system? Thanks

Really enjoyed this video. I’m wondering how many rabbits you can raise in a pen this size?

Great video! Question: if your soil has lead in it (600ppm) would you advise against letting rabbits eat grass grown on that soil? I don’t think we want to eat our rabbits, just use them as lawn mowers. But I would hate to see them suffer from lead poisoning. Thoughts?

Your design is ok , one new ideal to me ......but what do people live in winter snow weather can do this ideal ?

Wow great idea. Best regard from Poland.

Thanks for sharing!

Great video - Thanks

Do they chew on the wood much?How long does the floor last?

These look great and fairly easy to build. What made you decide on chicken fencing instead of rabbit fencing? I have bears so I need something safe. How do you keep the babies from falling between the slats when moving?

Great Video. Thanks for sharing. I have been looking for how to set rabbits up at my small goat farm. One thing I read is that when they are on pasture they don't gain as quickly. I really like the look of this method, how are you finding their growth rate?

Is there a articular reason you put more than the slats on the bottom of the enclosed portion? I would think that it doesn't need anything more there than for the bottom of the rest of the tractor.... Also, have you finished the exterior of the plywood? Durability of plywood in weather is tremendously enhanced by just a coat of paint...

Good design, good video

I’ve just built a Salatin one and want to move to this type of idea. How is the predation?

Do you only use them for grow out? Are the gaps between boards okay for babies too?

Do you put rabbits in hutch to move so they don't get legs caught .and do you have any problems with high winds .

Can the rabbits stay in this over the winter. We live in Canada where it can go to -40 with wind chill..

If I leave my rabbit tractor on my maintained lawn (not sprayed but mowed once every week or so) and not worry about it getting fur mites or ants giving it problems? Thanks

This is awesome, do you have plans available that any dummy can follow?

Love it. Thanks for sharing. Great info and content. Might I ask what state are you in?

Hi. What about heat in the summer?

What do you do in the winter?

Why are you doing Champagne d' Argent? Did you try different breeds? What are your thoughts on that?

Do you tractor your does when they have a young litter? We have 2*4 metal fence on the bottom and hurt one of the young rabbits when moving the tractor. Have you had that problem when moving your tractor with the wood strips?

You might consider doing half wire half plywood in the hutch to discourage sore hocks. My rabbits lived in hutches and were allowed in our run a few times a week but still developed sore hocks if the cage floor didn’t have any protection. Alternatively give them more hay to nest in.

Hello hello, and thank you for making such great content. We're just in the startup phase of our homestead, and we're defo thinking about starting a rabbit farm. We think it'll make a nice addon to our upcoming ice cream shop. This way, people can have a scoop and watch bunnies hopping around. I really enjoyed this video - thanks for making it! I always wondered if there was an easy way to keep the rabbits "free-ranging" but to contain them as well. You seem to have a lot of useful tips on your channel so I just subscribe. Maybe one day we could collaborate on a project together, although we're in Portugal :) BTW, you don't happen to know a good European seller of NZ white? How many rabbits do you recommend starting with when setting up a farm?

Could you build this with no bottom if you moved them once a day, or would they tunnel out too quickly?

How long do you leave the hutch at one spot? And don’t the small baby’s fall through the slats when moving? Great work though gives me ideas thanks

Love it!

do you keep them in there on the winter?

Nice tractors. Do you ever have problems with predators or snakes?

How often are you having kits dig out between the furring strips? This seems to be the most frequent complaint about the design.

What do you do for winter?

I live it the Texas Panhandle and the grass doesn't stay so green all the time. Will they graze dry grass?

Thank you sir for the video, i like the part where the rabbits dont have to walk on wire mesh all day long and they can forage freely on fresh grass. This is just the inspiration i needed to build my own, i have had hundreds of ideas on how to build a rabbit cage so that the rabbits would have free access to fresh grass! im gonna build a couple similar to yours, im just gonna change a couple of parts because we have alot of predators like fox and rats here in my part of Denmark, im gonna use a smaller size netting and make a "skirt" with netting around the cage cause foxes isnt the smartest so they will only try to dig into the cage just outside or maybe a couple of feet from so i hope to prevent it with the "skirt" netting. hopes it makes sense, once again thank you for your creativity :)

So I wanted to ask what you think of what the dimensions of a rabbit tractor should be? From looking at it on video its hard to see what measurements you have. Plus, it would be interesting to hear what you think now on dimensions? (For a doe and kit raising breeder pen). Also specifically I wanted to ask if the tractor is going to be for does raising kits then what is the right size for spacing for the slats on the bottom? (It would seem like you wouldn't want the kits to be able to pass through the slats but still have enough grass to go through, right?) And if you build this so the top can open, what's the lowest height you can have without them being able to jump over the top? (Or is this not an issue?) Also thanks. I liked your video. Also you sound very positive and excited about farming, and not just like you genuinely like doing this.

Excellent job Respect and love from Palestine 🇵🇸

Amazing, thanks

thanks for the quick answer a door will be installed!

Do you have problems with worms and other parasites that the rabbits might ingest get in their feet?

Those are pretty trick!

See you at the pole. Nice.

Have chew to get out or has any wild animals like mink try getting in with rabbits or snake ???

How about some nesting straw. And some portions of solid wooden floor space. Imagine if you had to live continually on slats.

Can you do an update on this system ?

Do you have some basic plans or dimensions?

How many rabbits do you usually raise in these cages? What are their square footage/dimensions?

when you first put them out in the tractors do you have any issues with scours / diarrhea ..... I am looking to use some of these tractors next summer ...... but I am concerned with the thought of them getting the scours from the fresh grass..... any info would be appreciated

Would these be coyote proof? We just moved onto our farm and hear coyotes every night around us.

Is there wire on the bottom? Thanks

Those do look like tanks. I wonder how heavy they are

Need to now around the pens

Love the slats instead of hardware cloth on the bottom. Lets a lot more grass through.

Are they safe from predators?

We've been talking about do pastured rabbits are self's. What breed of meat rabbits are you raising? Great video! thanks for sharing. Have an awesome day!

well done

Put your pellets in a soup bowl. Add plywood to sit or poop on. They dont like to poop on wire, even though in a perfect world they would. I use the square wire cloth also, strong and doesnt hurt their feet in my experience.

What are the dimensions of your rabbit tractors? (If you don't mind me asking) I really like your design. Thanks for the video.

I really like this idea of pastured rabbits. no mess very little clean up a little more labor then caged rabbits but less food. a lot more cleaning for caged rabbits but with caged rabbits it is very easy to collect the manure and use it in the garden or sale it. at this point I don't really know witch way to go.

I believe that u could remove the center firing strips of the floor. The rabbits won't dig from the center out from the time that u last added food or water! If u put a door on the confined area to keep the rabbit, while u move the pen.

Is this design coyote proof? How do you keep their feet from being injured when you move it?

What feed do you use?Do you feed them certain amounts or unlimited.[Great pens.May build a few.]

Other designs talk about the weight, in re moving. Get a piece of 3" plastic pipe and lift one end, kicking the pipe under it. Then drag it over that pipe, which will be it's wheel, until it drops back off it. Also, build in some 16" handles to pick it up with.

What is the space between each Wood line in the bottom?

how are these in the winter / snow?

Plywood roofs?

I want to do this. Do you have any plans or still photos available? david

“That is not an ordinary rabbit ... 'tis the most foul cruel and bad-tempered thing you ever set eyes on.” “That rabbit's got a vicious streak. It's a killer!”

How big is the hide box part?