Well, if it's a solid bottom cage, you could do that as the droppings would be contained. Otherwise -- that could get quite messy. Rabbits don't have to be up off the ground, it's just a handy way to keep them as their droppings are small enough to fall through the wire mesh and so the cages wind up being self-cleaning. Also, lots of people want a way of gleaning the manure for their gardens and/or raise worms beneath their rabbit cages.
Great video! Thanks for taking the time. I have a rabbitry also and I use metal feeders outside of the cages (no problems cutting holes in my cages! LOL) and use water dishes in their cage so almost backwards from your style. I like them to have water dishes AND bottles just to be dang sure they get enough. Raising rabbits can be expensive and it's nice for ppl to see the damage rabbits do and how you have to replace stuff. Also- lots of work to keep a clean rabbitry but it's worth it :)
One of my does DIGS in her pellet bin. It's secured to the side of the cage, so she can't tip it over, but her digging flings the pellets all over. Drives me nuts! But, I've noticed since she's had babies, she's stopped. I hope it's a permanent change.
One female to one cage is the general rule. They can be very territorial and will fight. Sometimes you will have sisters that will be okay in the same cage, but not when they have babies. Also, you always bring the female to the male's cage or a neutral place for breeding. Cage size: Flemish Giants are HUGE rabbits. You will need cages at least 36 x 36. for a doe and a litter. Feed: Commerial rabbit pellets and hay. I'm glad you don't feed live. I hate the thought of that.
I went to a local sheet metal shop and had the made for me, 5 of them cost $50. and the corners are soldered on the inside, effectively making them water-tight.
If you want better weight distribution on the cage, then use electrical conduit tubing ( 1/2 inch ) on the inside of the cage on the roof of the cage, and attach the chain around the tubing, that way the cage will be resting on the whole tube, distributing it's weight across the whole lenght of the tube.
I've got two milking mamas each with twins. I just started locking the youngins up at night so I can get milk in the morning. They are little piggies when it comes to sharing mamas milk! Lol! Thanks for the rabbit info. My husband wants to start raising them. Peace and Blessings, Beth :-)
Usually when the rabbits reach 2 to 4 lbs, which depending on the breed, litter size, and feed, is usually at about 12 weeks of age, give or take a week or two. Rabbits are on par with chickens as far as being the easiest, most economical, protein-producing animals you an have on a homestead. Good luck on your new property -- exciting business to be setting up a new place.
Thank you for the nice comment, and about the rabbit poo: Some folks actually raise rabbits primarily FOR their droppings. It's excellent fertilizer and has the distinction of being one of the only livestock manures you can add directly to the garden without composting first and it won't burn the plants. I use it as a top dressing for my planting beds and containers all the time.
I've since switched to the feeders that hang on the outside of the cage. (This vid is a few years old). I got over the aversion to cutting holes in my cages. : )
The brown girls are a mix. They were purchased from a children's day camp that basically bred rabbits to have baby bunnies for the kids. My buck is a purebred Californian. I added a New Zealand White / Californian doe to the mix later on. This year, I'll likely be retiring the brown sisters from breeding and looking for two new, younger does to replace them. My husband has promised to build me some hutches on the back of the barn this summer.
Oh, for how to slaughter and process rabbits, the best channel out there (IMHO) is KainanRa. Wish I could put a link in this comment but stupid RU-vid won't let me. Anyway, he has really helped people see how to do this humanely and easily with his vids and he has a really nice backyard rabbitry, not to mention his lovely garden.
The cages themselves are the largest standard (commercially-made) size: 30" x 30" x 18". As to how high we have them hung off the ground -- I don't know, but that can vary as to what is a comfortable working-heighth for the person who is going to be taking care of the rabbits.
No, I haven't seen or heard of bowls like that. Where did you get them? My Californian / NZW doe isn't a bouncer as much as she is a "player". She is constantly re-arranging anything she can in her cage. I gave her a ball to push around and she seems to enjoy that.
Nice video. Just an idea. When I had rabbits I had a yard for them, and I trained them to get in their hutch with animal crackers. So when I would go out there with cookies, they would get in the hutch and I could put them up for the night or whatever. I had 2 hutches in this area on the back porch with 2-3 rabbits each in them (total of 5 mini-rexes) . Each hutch group would all get turns to play in the yard. They were huge diggers and I had to put chicken wire along the edges of the fence so they couldn't dig out. The bunnies "co-habitated" with my dachshunds during the day while I was at work which gave them some predator protection (the dogs NEVER bothered the bunnies and I had them together for about 10 years). The bunnies were all spayed or neutered (I initially thought I had 2 females), so they got along together easier. I had the bunnies for pets, manure and composting. Anyway, it sounds like you want the best for your rabbits and it is a pleasure to watch them run and play in the yard.
have you tried the food bowles that have a lip on the bottom and you just sit them down and twist them? I have been using them for about a year and I love them. Also, do your new zealands bouce those cages around alot? We hear ours shaking the cage all the time and its not a hanging cage.
Quick tip: If you want to keep your bottle warm and un-frozen during the winter, and you use the traditional water bottles that are either clear with a red lid, blue bottle and blue lid, red with red lid, yellow with yellow lid, then put socks on them. I'm serious. Take one or two pairs of old socks, thick one preferably, and put socks on them like you would your feet. Works wonders. We did it in England for our guinea pigs and bunny. Stopped icy water bottles :D x
hey im planning on breeding flemish rabbits to feed my python. dont worry i dont feed live to my python i feed frozen thawed. just was wonderin how many females can stay in the same enlcosure ? and what is the minimum cage size for a single full grown adult. also whats the best food you feed them ? you may of mentioned it in the video but my speakers dont work.
You talk about how the rabbits like to dump out their food. On the metal feeders that hook on to the side of the cage and stores food, I have a rabbit that likes to kick the feeder over and over again and knock out all the food. She likes to chug it with her back feet. What would you do in that situation?
Great video! I am from Ontario Canada. I am just starting my rabbitry. We have an exsisting concrete garage out back and built a covered lean-too for the rabbits. I did not know how I was going hang the cages from the concrete wall, you gave me a great idea with the hooks. The front of the cages can hang from chain on the ceiling. Thanks again!
Very nice informative video. I looked through the comments but didn't see anyone ask you about the company name that makes your cages. If you already answered this, sorry. I can't seem to find commercial cages with the type of little pan that you have. Thanks again for the videos!
I raise a New Zealand for his garden fertilizer and his company. I wonder if a small carabiner would be safer than the s-hooks. The problem I've had with the s-hooks is that my rabbit jumps about a lot and has unhooked his s-hooks. I had to crimp my s-hooks with a set of needlenose pliers.
Try using a small blow torch to clean your cages. Obviously when the rabbits are elsewhere. Also you may want to let some chickens free range under the cages, they will take care of most bugs for you and get fed for free.
My wife has me building cages right now. I'm looking forward to raising them... just not sure if I can meat them. Where r u located in the mitten. We lin Hastings. Thanks Murf
Hi Dan -- yeah, I hear ya. The agreement I have with my husband is I would raise them, but he would have to do the actual butchering. Now, several years later, my 11 year old daughter helps him, and truth be told, I think I could butcher a rabbit myself (with daughter's help!) if I had to. It's a process.
I was thinking about getting two and wanted to just sit the cages on the floor and during the day...when it is warm....take them outside. Is that okay or do they need to be up off the ground?
I am learning so much from watching all these videos. I like chickens but I think I can raise the rabbits and clean them. I am sure that my stomach will purge itself the first few times but it seems easy.
nice info,i just picked up my first rabbits for breeding this past weekend. I got an eight mo.old buck and two 6 mo.old does. Checking youtube for any advice,tips n tricks to help!
Not a solid....open wire bottom. I was thinking with lots of hay that would be okay and then they have access to all the grass.....is a contained one better?
I've never raised Flemish Giants, so no idea. Actually, however, Flemish giants are some of the slowest growing / maturing rabbits, which is why few people raise them for meat. "Regular" rabbits top out at about 10-12 lbs.
@coontrapper15 Oh that's an idea! We have tons of little pine cones out front that I pay my girls a penny apiece to pick up for firestarters. I'll try seeing how the rabbits like them.
My cages are the ones our TSC or local farm store carry -- can't think of the brand name per se, but it's nothing hard to find. The drop pans are sold separately and there are both plastic and metal ones out there in sizes to correspond to the standard cage sides (24" x 24", 24" x 30" and 36" x 36"). I HIGHLY recommend the metal ones. They don't get brittle in cold weather and they are a lot stronger than the plastic. If your local TSC doesn't carry them, make a request. : )
I'm in Michigan -- no experience with bamboo. Sorry! Maybe try to find some local folks who raise rabbits and see if they have given it to their rabbits. I wouldn't think it would be "bad" for them, but I really don't know.
That's a great idea for insulating the bottles! Unfortunately, I think we have colder temps than what you have over the pond (well, maybe not the last couple of winters, but "normally"). We have heated water bottles that we plug in and they work quite well. But I love the sock idea! And if not electricity, that's a great fall-back-on plan.
Lol New Zealand's are very big and a lot easier to find a cage for them, but when you have a 32 pound flemish giant, it's a different story. Lol. I bought a $200 chainlink dog kennel for outside. But I absolutely love the fave that you have something for your rabbits to go on, because of their feet. Imagine stepping on metal your whole life.
I own 11 rabbits and sell the offspring for a hobby. My question is how much to feed them. The average size of all of them is the size of a Californian breed of rabbit.
Although having a lip in front of the nest box is a good idea, I found that several of the dead babies I had were at the front. The mamas main feed area is midway to the back of the box, and the babies scrapped off at the front didn't find the moms teats till too late.
I took bailing wire and ran it mid way around the tin rabbit feeder, and that kept it in place. never saw those other kinds of feeders with the hold down pieces on the bottom.
I have never had any trouble with ants. I think having suspended cages helps keep them out, or maybe I just live in an area not prone to them attacking the next boxes? Don't know. I
I have both gravity feeders both with and without the screen bottom. Id rather have them with NO screen bottom. I found, if the rabbits think theyre still hungry after eating their daily ration of pellets, SOME OF THEM, will tear at the wire till they tear a hole in it.I once tried to cut out the price of pellets somewhat by feeding a 1/2 tuna can of pellets, and the same of shelled corn and oats or wheat, I forget. Well, they didn't like that idea, and would either dig around the grain looking for pellets, and thereby waste it, OR dig and grab at the wire till they tore it.
My daughter mixes in rolled oats into her rabbit's pellet ration, but actually mainly feeds hay these days. She breeds and shows American Fuzzy Lops and keeping them at "show weight" is always a challenge. We've found, however, that a diet of mainly pellets tends to make them too fat. I'm thinking pellets were designed for the meat rabbit market.
Nice vid, I’m surprised I haven’t already watched it. As for feeders, I have 6 bought ones, the rest are short empty pineapple and tuna cans. I punched holes in them with a nail, ran wire through the holes, and wired them to the cage. For chews, I just use dead wood from fallen tree branches.
Just as research before diving in lol in general is it ok to keep 2 female rabbits together? I would probably get New Zelands or California Whites.. I was thinking of building one big cage for the two and a smaller one for a single buck. In your experience do you think it would work?
+Julian Ortega I have successfully kept two sisters and/or a mother daughter in together (as adults) with no problem, but have always given them their own cages when they have litters.
Yea, I was thinking of that too. I would probably move one when the other has a litter. I was just curious cause I've never actually kept rabbits before so I don't know much. That's why I'm doing research first lol
I have a question I put my rabbit in the pen for free time I went to go and some more chorse I came back and te Buck mounted the youngest doe that I have but he don't breed the young doe he plays around but anyway she life's for him so that was one time my friend stay with us and he was breeding all of the doe for me but I forgot to tell him not to breed the young doe and he put her in and life's again and now she pregnant what should I do
Well, you should never put your bucks with does unless you want breeding to take place, even for a minute. Let the buck run around in an exercise pen by himself (if that's what you meant above). If I'm understanding your message correctly, you are worried about a doe that your friend accidently bred too young. You didn't say how old she was, however. If she's at least 6 months old, it should be fine. You will need to provide a nest box and straw or hay in her pen about a week before she would be due to kindle. The quieter and darker you can make her pen, the better. Then, you'll just have to wait and see if she took and how she handles it. Sometimes young, first-time mothers aren't the best moms -- they may have babies on the wire instead of in the nest box, not pull hair for them, and/or kill the babies outright. So, know that happens and give her a second chance to improve her mothering skills if she doesn't seem to know what to do this first time around.
Yeah she my rabbit the girl said she was 2 months when we got her I lost track of how old she is but I was cleaning and her lock broke so I put her in the play pen so she don't go any we're and when I got back doing stuff I saw that he mounted her and fall off then my friend said was breeding the rabbit and he put her in again and she got breed now I don't know what to do because people to by what she look she look young and she could die or the kits could so I just going to Forster the baby dose that sound like a good plan if she try to kill them?
Okay, she was 2 months old when you got her and how long ago was that? Like I said, if she's at least 6 months old, she will likely be fine. As for fostering, as long as you have another doe or two that don't have big litters themselves, you could do that -- if you're around when she delivers and you determine she's not doing well as a new mom. But your doe may be just fine with her kits and/or her litter may be small or not survive. One thing: How long between the two times she was with the buck and was bred? I ask because it's possible for does to carry babies of differing ages if they get rebred after already becoming pregnant. When a doe delivers in that situation, you will have some babies full term and others not. A rabbit's gestation is only 31 days give or take a day, so breeding a doe multiple times a week apart (for example) can make a big difference in the sizes and stage of development of the resulting kits when they're born. (The doe will deliver all babies when the oldest are full term)..
Michigansnowpony she was with the busk for 5 minutes then I put her up and my friend was walking to the rabbit shed when I was leaving and he out her in first
If you had Flemish Giants or another large breed, you would want bigger nest boxes, but for the dwarf and regular sized rabbits, these work very well. Rabbits generally only nurse their young once or twice a day, so she isn't in there long.
I recently had someone suggest square tile! Like ceramic tile, not absorbent and keeps cool in summer! I thought it was a fantastic, cheap, and sanitary tip!
Well, this is an older video and I would not recommend the water bottles after had used (or tried to) for a few years. They simply don't hold up. They come apart and/or quit working all together. If you get two years out of them, you're doing well. A better choice, though more expensive, are these: (hope the link works) www.amazon.com/Allied-Stainless-Steel-Heated-1-Quart/dp/B000HHQ4LK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1486418813&sr=8-4&keywords=heated+stainless+water+bowls
Oh okay -- Well, if I remember correctly (this video is several years old) our local farm store had them. Check at TSC in the small pets dept.. I haven't looked lately, but I'm pretty sure they still carry them.
