# Cage Pics Request



## saritamae

We are expanding the rabbitry this spring and I am looking for ideas. I want to utilize hanging cages. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to show off their set up? I am smaller scale, during the summer I usually have about 10 adult rabbits + kits, and I only wintered over 4 adults. I'm looking to get a set up that will allow me to have between 10-15 adults year round with at least 5 grow-out pens/Camp Crockpot. 
TIA!


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## Markymark68

Id be interested to see how others have theirs set up as well - could even become a sticky?


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## Fire-Man

Well if you have not seen this, its my new mobile rabbitry. I call it "Meals On Wheels". It has 30ft of all wire hanging cages on each side--60ft total. I should move the rabbits into it tomorrow. Got all the cages hung today. This is a picture before I hung the cages etc, I will take a update photo tomorrow.


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## secuono

Fire-Man said:


> Well if you have not seen this, its my new mobile rabbitry. I call it "Meals On Wheels". It has 30ft of all wire hanging cages on each side--60ft total. I should move the rabbits into it tomorrow. Got all the cages hung today. This is a picture before I hung the cages etc, I will take a update photo tomorrow.


Love this!


Mine are quonset style with floor wire bent up to act like baby saver wire.


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## Fire-Man

Got the cages in and the rabbits moved today.


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## SherryB

Fire-Man, that is an absolute work of art. I wish I could see it in person. What is that underneath each cage? Is it window screens? If so, how do you plan to clean them off? Are the cages hanging? I don't see any chain or wire.


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## Fire-Man

SherryB said:


> Fire-Man, that is an absolute work of art. I wish I could see it in person. What is that underneath each cage? Is it window screens? If so, how do you plan to clean them off? Are the cages hanging? I don't see any chain or wire.


Sherry the cages are hanging on the front with a wire that is almost black. They are attached to the walls on the back. Yes they are window screens. For years not I have always collected the poop for my worms and garden on screens. All I have to do is take each screen one at a time and dump the poop into a container, If they need to be cleaned which is not often I change that screen out with a clean one. The Dirty screens are put into a big tub of water and allowed to soak till I get a few minutes to spray them off. Really it takes about 5 minutes to dump the screens and I do it as needed....about twice a week. Some of the screens do not get much on them so I dump them again---as needed.


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## countryfied2011

Great Job...love it Cant wait to show DH.


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## saritamae

Fire-Man, your Meals on Wheels is absolutely amazing. I showed my fiancee and he said that he wished we had flat ground so we could do that! It is awesome!


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## Xplorer

The screen idea is great. I've been trying to come up with a idea to save the poop for my garden, but everything I've done gets marinaded in urine :-(


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## Fire-Man

Xplorer The screens work Good. I use the ones that have nylon/plastic screen. If you will dump them before you get a "pile up" they will stay dry and somewhat Clean.

Saritamae How you Like that Name---LOL. My portable chicken tractor I run up and down the finished garden rows---I call it "Weed And Feed"--Them Chickens will weed it and "feed" it.

Thanks everyone else!! Make sure you Look at my other post about "Building A New Rabbitry" It has Alot more Pictures!


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## HOTW

Does anyone raise their rabbits in tractors? Any pics of those?


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## countryfied2011

Fire-man, what did you use to make the window dressing..lol It looks like a tarp and some pvc...but what about rolling up. I would love to do this with one of my large pens. I am tired of hanging plastic and roofing paper to the sides when it gets really cold and windy...your set up for that would be awsome!


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## Fire-Man

countryfied2011 said:


> Fire-man, what did you use to make the window dressing..lol It looks like a tarp and some pvc...but what about rolling up. I would love to do this with one of my large pens. I am tired of hanging plastic and roofing paper to the sides when it gets really cold and windy...your set up for that would be awsome!


Thanks!! Thats what I used. I had this tarp so I used it. I had rather use a UV tarp but I did not have one and I spent enough on this without going to buy another tarp. (I will change it next year or whenever its needed) What I did was cut the tarp about 1ft taller than I needed...got the pvc pipe ready and drawed a mark down the pvc for a guide line I then using a good duck tape---taped the tarp to the pipe about every 18 inches---screwed the tarp to the trailer----then turn the pipe to roll it up to the top----I then used a white plastic plumber strap about every 6ft apart. This strap is to keep the wind from blowing the tarp/pipe outwards. The strap has to be close "right"(not to tight/loose). Its really easy to do. 

Did you look at the other photos on the other post?


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## Fire-Man

I hope Saritamae does not mind. I will post some more pictures on this thread so you do not have to go to the other thread to see them. Just for info, as soon as the "green" untreated boards dry some I will paint them with a water seal to protect them. All the floor joist and studs are treated wood. I will say this---I built this by myself and I was so glad to finish it today---LOL.


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## theemon

id love to see some others photos as well, even though yours are great fire-man


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## countryfied2011

Thank you fire-man I am going to give it a try...might have to come back and pick your brain..lol 

Yes I saw the other thread and showed DH the pics...he said you did a great job and it looks good. I love it even though I dont ever plan on having that many rabbits..lol I like the screen idea too, right now the droppings fall on the ground and the free range chickens get them spreaded but I would like to be able to put them in the garden. This winter i have been throwing their left over hay under there with the droppings and I am hoping I have a pretty good compost going on under there come spring...with lots of worms with all the rain we have had.

I have hutches 40" wide x50" length with large doors that I get in and out that DH built for me.. for each my bucks and does--3 does, 2 bucks. Then I have another cage, not really a hutch that is 40"x120" with a wire divider that is for my grow out(makes two pens)...I put my does in there after they are bred and use that for kindling and when wean I put the does back in thier hutches..and use the large pen for the kits. I am not keeping the kits passed 3 or 4 months old and I am not breeding each doe every time....there is just DH and I

I want to put the window dressing on the large pen 40x120

I will try and take some pics of mine tomorrow


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## Fire-Man

countryfied2011 said:


> Thank you fire-man I am going to give it a try...might have to come back and pick your brain..lol
> 
> Yes I saw the other thread and showed DH the pics...he said you did a great job and it looks good. I love it even though I dont ever plan on having that many rabbits..lol I like the screen idea too, right now the droppings fall on the ground and the free range chickens get them spreaded but I would like to be able to put them in the garden. This winter i have been throwing their left over hay under there with the droppings and I am hoping I have a pretty good compost going on under there come spring...with lots of worms with all the rain we have had.
> 
> I have hutches 40" wide x50" length with large doors that I get in and out that DH built for me.. for each my bucks and does--3 does, 2 bucks. Then I have another cage, not really a hutch that is 40"x120" with a wire divider that is for my grow out(makes two pens)...I put my does in there after they are bred and use that for kindling and when wean I put the does back in thier hutches..and use the large pen for the kits. I am not keeping the kits passed 3 or 4 months old and I am not breeding each doe every time....there is just DH and I
> 
> I want to put the window dressing on the large pen 40x120
> 
> I will try and take some pics of mine tomorrow


Thanks!!

Yea take some pictures, I wish others would too.

Pick my Brain any time. I am sure there are alot of others on here that can help too!


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## grumpy

Here's a pic of my rabbitry located in a 12'X64' wing on my barn. Cage area is 12'X58' w/an 8'X12' feed and water cabinet room. There are 42 holes in this room. 35 doe cages and 7 cages for bucks and replacements.










Here's a pic of my grow-out room. 16'X32'. This room has 38 holes. 20 for fryer grow-out. 7 more doe cages and 11 replacement cages.










Pics of my feed and water-cabinet room.





































Hope this helps.

grumpy.


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## Rick Harvey

Both those set-ups are real nice. Something to be proud of. I was going to ask about the tarps, but you answered that question. I nailed plywood on the north side when it got cold, but don't want to keep taking it off and on. Will try to use tarps on mine. Enjoy seeing other people's rabbitries and love getting new ideas.


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## countryfied2011

Well mine arent fancy..but serve the purpose and DH did pretty good for first time building....excuse the mess around the place--its winter..they all have plenty of room to grow and hop around. Each hutch is about 40" to 50" inches in height, both doors I can reach in and get a rabbit or keep it cleaned out. Plenty of ventilation. In the summer when it is real hot like in the 100 degree mark I put them in the chicken barn with the a/c during the day and bring them out at night with a frozen water container. The also have plenty of summer shade and DH's chicken barn blocks a lot of the sun and wind. As you can see the chickens love under the pens..lol

I would love to be able to put the window dressing on the big pen


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## saritamae

Heck no, I don't mind Fire-Man! Actually I am trying to incorporate the window screen idea into our plans, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to utilize bins instead.

Grumpy, do you have anything under your cages? If not, how do you clean/what do you do with the poop? I am going to be working in a space similar to yours only smaller. I was thinking I would have to use heavy-duty plastic bins under the cages to keep the messes to a minimum but your rabbitry looks so clean and spacious, that I am rethinking that. 

Countryfied, I would love to have the space to do our whole set-up outside. We have the space, but we don't have enough flat ground. 

Thanks everyone, keep the pics coming!


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## countryfied2011

> Countryfied, I would love to have the space to do our whole set-up outside. We have the space, but we don't have enough flat ground.


Haha...and here I was thinking I wish I had some type of building/shed to put mine in to use the wire cages. I know we will eventually have to replace some of the boarding on the hutches. I have a couple that like to pee right up against the wood. DH has had to build a couple of sheds in the past year...I hate to ask him to build one for the rabbits..especially after building all of these..


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## Fire-Man

Grumpy, I seen this pictures a long time back and I still think you Got It Going On----a Nice and BIG setup.

Countryfied your cages are real similiar to the ones I started out with and they look fine. I do not feel my trailer is "fancy" but I like the setup.


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## grumpy

saritamae said:


> Heck no, I don't mind Fire-Man! Actually I am trying to incorporate the window screen idea into our plans, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to utilize bins instead.
> 
> Grumpy, do you have anything under your cages? If not, how do you clean/what do you do with the poop? I am going to be working in a space similar to yours only smaller. I was thinking I would have to use heavy-duty plastic bins under the cages to keep the messes to a minimum but your rabbitry looks so clean and spacious, that I am rethinking that.
> 
> Countryfied, I would love to have the space to do our whole set-up outside. We have the space, but we don't have enough flat ground.
> 
> Thanks everyone, keep the pics coming!


I've got three young, strong, healthy sons that pitch in a couple of times a year. Stout shovels, w/2 contractor's wheelbarrows and about 3 hours of sweat, the place is clean as a whistle. It's cleaned early spring and late fall.

The manure goes onto a huge compost pile near my garden area. I'll let it set for a couple of years then spread it out on the garden with my tractor and a 3-point rear-mounted bucket. 

Fire-man: thanks for the compliments.


Here's a couple of different angled shots of the grow-out room.





















grumpy.


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## nc_mtn

Grumpy, I bet you go through the feed! 

Countryfied, how big are your cages? Does the closed in side also have the wire floor?


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## Fire-Man

Grumpy on average how much rabbit feed you go through a week? Do you feed them pellets? Do you feed them any greens? Hay? Thanks


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## KS Homesteader

Some photos of the pens I have. Does are 48 x 24 x 24. Bucks are 30 x 24 x 24. Doe pens have a shelf for them to sit on - I put the nest box under the shelf and the does sit on them to get away from the kits. (Once the kits are big enough to jump up with momma, I know it's time to wean!)


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## countryfied2011

> I do not feel my trailer is "fancy" but I like the setup.


Fire-man.....I love your set-up, I would love to have something like that on a smaller smaller scale one day..even if I didn't have it on a trailer. If we ever decide to redo our set up....that is how I want it but on the ground...I love how open it is. I am kinda of a fanatic about everything being able to see their surroundings, have fresh air etc. 

nc_mtn....the hutches are 40"wide and 50" in length, the height is 40"...yes the closed part has a wire floor. I had originally had DH built them for my does and to put their nest box in there but it doesnt give much room in the enclosed section once my boxes are in there(dh built them for me too). So now I put the does in the big pen after I breed until she weans her kits because it is 40 x 120" divided with wire and I can put one doe with kits in on each side for plenty of room. DH also fixed it where I can put a piece of plyboard as a divider if one doe with kits is bothered by the other doe.


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## countryfied2011

KS, do you just stick the hay on top of the cage hanging down through the pens? That looks like it works pretty good. I tried using little hay rack things but they didnt seem to like eating out of them....now I just put in on their floor but they do waste a lot like that.

I need to figure out a new way to feed the hay..lol

Everyone has such neat set-ups!


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## Dead Rabbit

KS Homesteader, i like your set up.

Grumpy i like the feeder extensions, never seen anything quite like them before. cool idea.


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## grumpy

Fire-Man said:


> Grumpy on average how much rabbit feed you go through a week? Do you feed them pellets? Do you feed them any greens? Hay? Thanks


Feed consumption varies drastically...LOL. I've gone through 500# of feed in as little as 6 days when we're feeding out over 150+ head of youngsters.

I use hay with does that are having youngsters coming out of the nest. I'll feed them hay until they've switched over to solid food/pellets. It seems to help the kits quite a bit.

No greens.......whatsoever.

grumpy.


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## grumpy

Dead Rabbit said:


> KS Homesteader, i like your set up.
> 
> Grumpy i like the feeder extensions, never seen anything quite like them before. cool idea.


 
Without the extenders, I found that a litter of 8 kits would empty out the feeder between feedings. Those eliminated an extra trip to the rabbitry.

grumpy


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## jmart045

Grumpy did you build all of your cages? If not where did you get them?


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## grumpy

jmart045 said:


> Grumpy did you build all of your cages? If not where did you get them?


I built well over half. The others, I found on Craigslist for a heckuva good deal.

grumpy.


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## GBov

countryfied2011 said:


> KS, do you just stick the hay on top of the cage hanging down through the pens? That looks like it works pretty good. I tried using little hay rack things but they didnt seem to like eating out of them....now I just put in on their floor but they do waste a lot like that.
> 
> *I need to figure out a new way to feed the hay..*lol
> 
> Everyone has such neat set-ups!


I take two by four welded wire fencing and cut it into a fat T shape. The bars of the T fold in and the bottom folds up into half a box. Then I J clip it to the inside of the cage about 4 inches off the bottom. That gives me an open topped wire box that is stuffed with hay when ever the greedy things eat it all.

With all the hay saving tricks I have tried, this one ROCKS!

Even the bucks that like to scrub their hay through the bottom of the cage cant waste it and the ones that like to turn any hay into a manure pile for fly breeding cant do that either and best of all, I can keep track of who eats the stuff and who doesnt!

No pictures yet but soon, I promise.


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## SherryB

Laying the hay on top is certainly an inexpensive way of doing it. It bugged me to be laying up there and falling through!  I wanted a good size container for hay and couldn't find anything for sale intended for that purpose that was big enough. I finally found steel wire egg baskets at Tractor Supply that I zip tie inside the cage to either the side or the top of the cage. If you have a lot of rabbits, this may be cost prohibitive. They were about $4 each. Waste is nearly zero though so I like them from that perspective.


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## SilverFlame819

I think using the rounded backs of the pen as a hay feeder is a great idea!!


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## SherryB

Fire-man, I still can't get over your set up... How are the tarps connected to the "rollers" which I presume are made from PVC? I went back to look this morning at the pic where you'd rolled the tarps down because I'm contemplating needed to use some tarps too.


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## aart

SherryB said:


> Fire-man, I still can't get over your set up... How are the tarps connected to the "rollers" which I presume are made from PVC? I went back to look this morning at the pic where you'd rolled the tarps down because I'm contemplating needed to use some tarps too.


 I think he used tape. Read back thru this and the other thread, he explains it.


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## countryfied2011

Sherry he it explained it to me on the first page because I asked about...maybe about half-way down..I called it window dressings..lol


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## Fire-Man

SherryB said:


> Fire-man, I still can't get over your set up... How are the tarps connected to the "rollers" which I presume are made from PVC? I went back to look this morning at the pic where you'd rolled the tarps down because I'm contemplating needed to use some tarps too.


 
I used a good duck tape and taped the tarp to the pvc about every 18", but keep in mind I already had this tarp and I know this tarp will probably not last more than one year, so I temporary taped it. This is a test in a way---if the tarp has to be replaced in a year or so and the Tape "holds up" I will tape the new UV tarp(should last several years) also. If the tape does not hold up I will use a air powered staple gun to attach it. 
How I did this was lay the pvc pipe flat on the dirt and draw a line from one end to the other(probably could have used the writting on some of the pipe as a guide, but the pipe I had the writting was in a slight spiral effect). I cut the tarp atleast a foot taller than I would need and taped it to the pipe. By cutting it longer there will be atleast 2 turns of the tarp that will always stay around the pipe and will protect the tape in a way.

You can buy pvc clips from a greenhouse supply that would just clip the tarp to the pipe, but you would have to place them correctly so it would roll up even. Just a couplin to join 2 pvc pipes together will cause the tarp to roll up faster where it is at. I tried to allow for the coupling when I was taping the tarp on my pipe but did not get it perfect but its close enough or at least the "Rabbits" have not complained--LOL.


Edited to add. If you are going to do this, you will have to use or do something to keep the wind from blowing your tarp outwards. If you missed it in my other post---Look closely in my pictures---you can see the white plumbing strap every few feet, which keeps the wind from blowing the tarp outwards. If you have a short Rabbitry, maybe just strapping the ends might work, you will have to figure that out.


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## dlbeckwo

Fire-Man said:


> but did not get it perfect but its close enough or at least the "Rabbits" have not complained--LOL.
> 
> 
> Ha, I obsess over stuff like that but my little brother was helping me with my chicken tractor and something would be a 1/8th off and he would just shrugg his shoulder and say "it's just chickens " lol so now he says that everytime he helps me build something. saves me time and effort.


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## Living Skies

Mine is just kind of thrown together right now in my insulated shop, in the spring they will be moved to a large shed I am insulating and adding more windows to. Since the pic I've added j-feeders and angled galvanized flashing to direct waste in the right direction to rubbermaid bins under the cages.

Cages are all 36 x 24.


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## Dead Rabbit

i like it, even if it is temporary.

i have 3 runs of rebar under my cages. the cages actually sit on the rebar. it supports the bottoms of the cages. we all know the bottoms take a beating at night when the rabbits come to life.

i never cared for the hanging of cages. alot of movement, and the spreader bars dont support to well IMO. so i set mine right on the bars. the rebar should last forever. are very sturdy and very strong. they dont soak up urine like wood does and ive had aluminum metal coil stock material actually wear away in a few yrs from the spraying and urine.


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## Taratunafish

Great pictures all. I'd like to compliment you Fire-Man on your carpentry skills. Very envious. Also, I know two men who have rabbit set ups and what a mess they are. Both of these men should just bag the rabbit sales idea 'cause they don't have the time to clean the cages or give the rabbits sufficient care. Nice to see what good set-ups can look like. 
very nice.


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## Living Skies

I actually have plans when I set up my rabbit shed in the spring to build bases for the cages to sit on made of vinyl door and window moulding. You can find it at Home Depot or Lowes, it won't rot and I think it will hold up really well. It's essentially brick mould made of vinyl...pretty strong.

I originally tried hanging them with chain, I got them stable but wanted more support underneath too and they still moved too much for my liking when the rabbits got excited and bounced around.


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## Dead Rabbit

that vinyl brick moulding or any vinyl molding has no structure strength. esp in cold the vinyl would have broke on you


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## Mickey328

Wow, I'm envious of the space y'all have! We're just in phase one of getting our rabbitry built. We have about 8 or so feet between the east side of the house and the fence, with also a fence on the north side. We're going to put the cages in that area with a roof; they should be dry and pretty well protected from the wind and most of the sun once we get a part fence to block the southern side a bit.

We have 6 cages, all 24 x 36, and will be able to set them all on one level for easy access. We plan on just letting the poo fall where it may and then scooping it up for depositing it in the yard and garden. 

First thing, though is to level that area out...it's very steeply sloped and is an ankle breaker area for sure, LOL. Since our property is quite a bit higher than the neighbor's, we're going to have to put in a knee wall and a short fence on top of that. Once it's all prepped, putting in the cages should be a snap! We plan to use the corrugated plastic for roofing and will run a gutter along it to collect the rain. We're going to make a frame from UV resistant PVC to set the cages on and will zip tie them down. Hoping to be able to utilize some of the space for storage of feed and hay as well. 

Hope we can get it done fairly soon...got our first rabbits a couple weeks ago and hope to breed them about mid-April.


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## Fire-Man

Taratunafish said:


> Great pictures all. I'd like to compliment you Fire-Man on your carpentry skills. Very envious. Also, I know two men who have rabbit set ups and what a mess they are. Both of these men should just bag the rabbit sales idea 'cause they don't have the time to clean the cages or give the rabbits sufficient care. Nice to see what good set-ups can look like.
> very nice.


Thank You Very Much. I enjoy building things and my thoughts are if you are going to build something, you might as well build it square and level----LOL. My biggest concern with rabbits is No Smell or "very little". I have been where some other people raise rabbits and the smell would about knock you down. I do not like that and will do what it takes to control it. I have had up to 52 rabbits in my other rabbitry(smaller than this trailer) and have never had a "smell" problem. If I had 200 rabbits I would work hard to do what ever it takes to keep the smell away. Thats why I wanted a moveable pen, if the dirt starts smelling I will move it to another location. That will take about 5 minutes.


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## Fetherhd

Fire-Man said:


> Got the cages in and the rabbits moved today.


WHAT an absolutely incredibly genious set up. Wish I had the property to make this feasable. I bow to you!!!


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## dcross

Just picked up a small herd of Florida Whites, these are the cages they came with:


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## dcross

This is where I hope to have them by Monday:


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## Dead Rabbit

if i understand the photo correctly, is this your final hanger method?

some cool little cages they came with. be perfect for transporting and temp. housing


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## Fire-Man

dcross said:


> This is where I hope to have them by Monday:


Dcross, you got a different looking cage design. Like to see them when you get them finished. One concern, the best I can tell from the picture---the floor wire looks like 1/2 x 1/2. If it is you will have a problem with some of the adult rabbit poop going through it.

One other thing to think about is if you are going to breed these rabbits you will need a cage big enough for a nesting box to go through the door as well as lots of room for mom and the babies when they start moving around----at least a 30x36.


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## Hillbilly Hares

This is what I dreamed up on a low budget and we were renters so this little rent to own building was good for the time. I built these cages for lionheads and each hole was just 18 in by 24 in with a total of 23 holes but if I had kept adding cages there would have been room for around 48 holes that size. Total cost for the rolls of wire, lumber and plywood, screws, gutters and all the components of the gravity feed watering setup (we built ourselves and only ordered the drinker nipples) was $650 and this was in 2011. 
















Now we have built the 4 and 5 hole cage units into hutches with the same theme. I added a pvc water line with drilled holes in the back of the hutches so we can rince them and just toss the water and waste in the garden but with temperatures freezing we just sweep the waste down to the gutter, and into a bucket every few days and when it thaws out we rince the tarps down good. These hutches with tarps have helped a lot with fly controll. I have mor pics if anyone needs them.


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## lonelyfarmgirl

dcross you have a great idea! You need something like chain for the hangers, that wire wont support the weight for long. Also, you need something solid to support the front floor edge or it will bend. And yes, floor wire must be 1X1/2 or adult poo balls wont fit.

KS Homesteader what is in those beds under your cages? Just to keep poo out of the isle or are there worms in there? If so what about winter?


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## dcross

Floor wire is 1x1/2 galvanized after, not sure why it looks so square in the pic! The thin wire holding them up is what was handy when I had a helper to get them hung, definitely upgrading before the rabbits go in.

The cages are 18x36, or should have been. Math=hard, so the last two came out at 21.5x36 instead. Measure once, cut twice

So we've got 4.5 sq. ft. for a rabbit with a six pound max weight. And two that come out to almost 5.4 sq. ft. 

Nest boxes are the next project, leaning towards an external one, sort of like the mink cages of my youth.


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## Fire-Man

dcross said:


> Floor wire is 1x1/2 galvanized after, not sure why it looks so square in the pic!


Good, Had me worried for you! You can use rebar under the floor to give it more support unless you got something else.


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## dcross

What would you think of galvanized utility cable underneath? 1/8th inch, 340# max load, I could run it under the front, back, center as needed. Will check on rebar too.


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## Dead Rabbit

my first cages had the 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth bottoms, and i had little problem with the manure falling through. they will force it through with thier moving abouts at night,,,

my biggest problem was it rusted through quickly and was structurally weak. it actually broke apart and the welds b/c the weight of the rabbits was too much for it. and i had rebar supports under mine. it bowed and broke between the supports.


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## Dead Rabbit

dcross said:


> What would you think of galvanized utility cable underneath? 1/8th inch, 340# max load, I could run it under the front, back, center as needed. Will check on rebar too.



depends on amount of tension you can get on the cables. i dont see it working to well, cause youd have to have some serious ancorage at the supported ends.

rebar is simpler and stong. easy to get.


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## Fire-Man

dcross said:


> What would you think of galvanized utility cable underneath? 1/8th inch, 340# max load, I could run it under the front, back, center as needed. Will check on rebar too.


I use either 12 or 14 gauge electric fence wire to hang my cages and I have never had a problem. The rebar would be to solid up the floor so it does not flex alot as the rabbits walk around. With your cage design, not having a solid top will cause the bottom to flex More unless you tie it off alot or use something stiff like rebar under it. If you use rebar place it where it blocks the Least amount of the holes in your floor wire so the poop will fall through. If you are going to use one piece of stiff cage wire across the front and rear that is the height of your hoops, that Might solid up the cage floor enough to get by without rebar. 

With this design can you stick your arm in the front door and reach the back of the cage to catch a rabbit if needed? There will be alot of times you will have to do that.

I thought about a add on bed to the front of your cage for your pregnant does----where you removed the cage door, hook the add on bed to the front and have a top opening door on it, But the problem is that you would have to remove the bed if you needed to reach into the main cage to try and catch a young rabbit at the back of the cage for some reason. It would be best to build you every how many birthing cages you feel you would need and use these cages for the other rabbits. When/If you build a "birthing" cages use 1/2 x 1" or 1/2x1/2 wire a few inches up all sides so you do not have a problem with babies crawling out the cage should they happen to get out the bed or are born on the wire.


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## Living Skies

Dead Rabbit said:


> that vinyl brick moulding or any vinyl molding has no structure strength. esp in cold the vinyl would have broke on you


Actually been working for 2 winters now as roosts for my wifes chickens, considering our winters up here average -20C from Oct-April I think it's doing really well. I support it every 4 ft and she has over 40 birds in that coop that use it, nothing I've noticed that makes me think it's failing anywhere.


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## dcross

I can touch the back wall of my cages, it's not too bad, though I won't say it's convenient.

I was thinking a free standing nest box that the kits could fall into if they ended up in the cage. Bungee cord it to the front.

I just learned about baby saver wire in Dec. while reading up on all this!


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## lonelyfarmgirl

The utility cable I dont think is sufficient. It still flexes and you would have to pull it tight with a machine. You need something stiff.


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## YamahaRick

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> It still flexes and you would have to pull it tight with a machine. You need something stiff.


That's what she said.


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## tailwagging

this is mine


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## dlbeckwo

Tailwagging, are those NZReds?? If so where abouts are you located in SC? Im in SE Ga and would love to buy a couple kits...


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## Rick Harvey

Nice set-up!


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## tailwagging

dlbeckwo said:


> Tailwagging, are those NZReds?? If so where abouts are you located in SC? Im in SE Ga and would love to buy a couple kits...


no, they are creme d'agents.


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## Dead Rabbit

tails...i like how you used a carport to be your rabbitry. quick and easy. you can have it up and useable in about 3 hrs.

i did similar. i got the extra roof framing so the metal roofing panels can go vertical. that way it looks more like a small building. then i framed in the walls. put windows and 2 doors. used OSB on interior walls. put vinyl siding on the outside and no one believes me that its carports. i did this to two of them. one houses my rabbitry, with two small chicken coops inside and the other building which is still unfinished inside has my horse stall in it. i plan on storing hay and garden tools in this second one. and everything else that is horse related.


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## dlbeckwo

tail, if your on the south side of SC would you be interested in selling a few?


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## tailwagging

i just sold out what I have available now. I am very close to NC but still not that far from some parts of GA. like about 2 hours from Augusta.


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## tailwagging

Dead Rabbit said:


> tails...i like how you used a carport to be your rabbitry. quick and easy. you can have it up and useable in about 3 hrs.


they do make it easier on getting it right the first time lol. 
(we went though many years of not getting it just right.:ashamed


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## timgdn

the rabbit tractor is amazing!!!!! the other setups are nice too!


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## KS Homesteader

countryfied2011 said:


> KS, do you just stick the hay on top of the cage hanging down through the pens? That looks like it works pretty good. I tried using little hay rack things but they didnt seem to like eating out of them....now I just put in on their floor but they do waste a lot like that.
> 
> I need to figure out a new way to feed the hay..lol
> 
> Everyone has such neat set-ups!


 
The pens are kind of a modified quonset - square front with the curved part in back - then two pens back-to-back make up the area I dump the hay in. Keeps it off the floor and they don't seem to waste quite as much. So far, it's worked out pretty well.


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## KS Homesteader

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> KS Homesteader what is in those beds under your cages? Just to keep poo out of the isle or are there worms in there? If so what about winter?


Only wasted hay and poop in the beds under the pens. Not raising any worms - just trying to keep the walkway clean.

I clean them out every 3 months or so. I take a pitchfork and take out the hay - shake as much poo out as I can. Then just shovel out the poo and dump in the compost bin. The hay I just spread around out in the chicken yard for them to pick through - helps with the chicken yard being muddy, etc.


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## KS Homesteader

dcross said:


> What would you think of galvanized utility cable underneath? 1/8th inch, 340# max load, I could run it under the front, back, center as needed. Will check on rebar too.


I think I'd go with something more rigid - like the rebar...if you're looking for somthing to go under the pens to support the floors and keep them from sagging.


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## KS Homesteader

tailwagging said:


> this is mine


 
Love your setup. I tried to buy a carport from one of the local lumber yards and the guy said he couldn't sell it to me because of the city I lived in and zoning laws, etc. I asked why they had one on display, then, and he said cuz they used to sell them and they just hadn't taken it down. I offered to buy it and take it down and no go. Anyway, looks like a perfect setup. Open in the summer and easy to close up in the winter.

Do you get much sway with the hanging pens?


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## tailwagging

so far all is good.


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## Dead Rabbit

KS Homesteader said:


> I think I'd go with something more rigid - like the rebar...if you're looking for somthing to go under the pens to support the floors and keep them from sagging.



even with the rebar...ive found in my set up you need to put some sort of support every 5 ft or so. my cages are on 10' spans of rebar. i generally use another shorter piece of rebar. running the opposite direction of the long spans of rebar. that way there is no wood anywhere under pens


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## Bone

Here is part of my current setup, under the end of the canvas tarps is "Death row" Small 4 stall cage they go into a couple days before the big day. Then I have 6 hanging cages next to the wooden grow out pens that hold my bucks. The grow out pens have the nest boxes in the back that can be closed off between the front with doors to enter from rear also. I let them grow out to about 6-7 weeks in the grow out cages then move them to death row for processing. The Does are currently housed in a carport barn which I will be moving all of them into soon. Just breed for meat my family.


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## Fire-Man

Bone said:


> Here is part of my current setup, under the end of the canvas tarps is "Death row" Small 4 stall cage they go into a couple days before the big day. Then I have 6 hanging cages next to the wooden grow out pens that hold my bucks. The grow out pens have the nest boxes in the back that can be closed off between the front with doors to enter from rear also. I let them grow out to about 6-7 weeks in the grow out cages then move them to death row for processing. The Does are currently housed in a carport barn which I will be moving all of them into soon. Just breed for meat my family.


Hey Bone. Welcome to the Forum. I like your set-up. kinda reminds me of mine in the earlier years. 

Question, why do you move them to "Death Row" a couple days before processing?


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## Bone

My 6 year old and 7 year old help me with the dispatching and cleaning so that gives them time to get ok with it for the particular rabbits. The rabbits are their chores daily so they get attached to some of them even though they know better it still happens. It also makes it easier for them to remember not to feed them the night before. We make it some what a ritual with the children so they have a better understanding of the full circle. They love it gives them purpose each morning before school and evening before bed. Then when we eat the rabbits they know where it came from and how it got there. Sometimes by there hands. They do really good with the setup so far. SO short answer, for the kids LOL


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## GBov

Bone said:


> My 6 year old and 7 year old help me with the dispatching and cleaning so that gives them time to get ok with it for the particular rabbits. The rabbits are their chores daily so they get attached to some of them even though they know better it still happens. It also makes it easier for them to remember not to feed them the night before. We make it some what a ritual with the children so they have a better understanding of the full circle. They love it gives them purpose each morning before school and evening before bed. Then when we eat the rabbits they know where it came from and how it got there. Sometimes by there hands. They do really good with the setup so far. SO short answer, for the kids LOL


What a good idea!


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## scpankow

Here are some pics of our rabbit areas. First is our main barn, it is a 31' x 18' carport with half walls. Second is our "quarantine area", third is our Small Shed. This was our first rabbit area, but we quickly outgrew it.


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## LittleRedHen

I loved all of the pictures. Thank you for sharing. It gives me ideas


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## cnichols

Well, my little starter rabbitry isn't anywhere near as impressive as some but it's working for us ... for now ... :whistlin:










I'm so looking forward to being able to do the "carport" rabbitry like scpankow & tailwagging have.


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## Rick Harvey

It looks good to me. Enjoy seeing them all. Good to get new ideas.


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## Miss M

First four images are of our old stealth setup at my uncle's house, about 6' x 12', and two-level.

Last four are of our new setup since we moved in September... the pics were taken before we hung the cages. And at the peak of lovebug season. :yuck:


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## Miss M

The rabbit at right in the last picture is a Californian posing as a NZW. LOL!


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## arnie

there is an article in the ARBAs magizene (domestic rabbits) on installing an automatic watering system ;rudolfs rabbit ranch also has a good descriptionon how to install auto watering .if you are putting in a rabbittry think about a fresze prof system these are easy to install and really less expencive than a bunch of water bottles or crocks .the tube type drinkers work well but only during warm weather .I got the mag yesterday and made me think of mentioning this as a great time and money saver for you:hammer:


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## Chinclub

I have a question for those of you who have the gutter system. That looks so neat and much easier to clean then having the droppings fall to the ground. Do you find that it makes for more or less smell? How often do you wash out the gutters and the slides under the cages?


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## Miss M

The gutter system needs to be swept and emptied daily in order to prevent it from smelling. If you miss a day, it's no big deal, but you do want to keep on top of it. You can rinse the gutters once a week or so, just make sure you don't accidentally spray more water than your bucket can hold when it's done draining. It is quick and easy as long as you keep up with it. Especially while we were looking for our new home, we let it go. That made for very unpleasant cleanup, but we were hardly there long enough to do more than feed, water, and give nose rubs.

We have a deep bed system now. We laid wood shavings down in the rabbitry. We do get smell, but I'm pretty sure that a lot of that is due to the fact that water runs through the rabbitry when it rains. I'm about to put a low levee or berm around it on the sides where the water comes from, to prevent the water from coming in. That will keep it much drier in there, and the only moisture will be from urine.

We have chickens in the rabbitry, and they turn the shavings and waste, and eat dropped feed and bugs. Once we are able to keep the water out, this activity will also help keep it pretty dry, even where the rabbits pee.

The deep bed needs to be shoveled out about twice a year and replaced, but also is largely compost by then, especially with the activity of chickens. So it can go right to the garden.


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## GBov

Miss M said:


> The rabbit at right in the last picture is a Californian posing as a NZW. LOL!


And I have a New Zealand White posing as a Californian lol!

LOVE all the ideas that come to mind looking at other peoples set ups! :thumb:


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## Fire-Man

Chinclub said:


> I have a question for those of you who have the gutter system. That looks so neat and much easier to clean then having the droppings fall to the ground. Do you find that it makes for more or less smell? How often do you wash out the gutters and the slides under the cages?


 
The gutter type system is what I had BEFORE I built the "Meals On Wheels". I had little to no smell using it as long as I cleaned it daily or almost daily. The urine went into drains and to a buried barrel system out back. I also caught the poop on screens in the old rabbitry. It was so neat, BUT it was Sooo much work almost daily. If you skipped a couple days it was just worse to clean. I spent a lot of time cleaning the drains, cleaning the angled pieces that everything falls on. Its alot of work.

My plans now with the Meals On Wheels are about twice a month I will use a little bleach and detergent in a pump up sprayer to spray my under my cages, and rince with a hose. If I start getting a urine smell, I hook it to the tractor and move the whole rabbitry to another location in about 5 minutes.


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## Fire-Man

SCPankow, thats a Nice Big set-up you got. Looks like close 50 holes under the carport. What state are you in? I figure with that setup you must sell alot of meat rabbits. Please share with u. Thanks


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## Chinclub

I love being able to move the rabbit tractor I have now around the yard for no clean-up but it is a colony set up and the little suckers just won't breed. Fire-Man I love your set-up but I don't have the room for something I can't move manually. I had stationary cages before and hated the chore of shoveling out under the cages. Maybe I will give the gutters a try.


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## scpankow

Chinclub said:


> I have a question for those of you who have the gutter system. That looks so neat and much easier to clean then having the droppings fall to the ground. Do you find that it makes for more or less smell? How often do you wash out the gutters and the slides under the cages?


Actually, I find it messier and more difficult. When the poo falls on the ground, the urine soaks in and there is almost ZERO smell. With the slant boards and gutters, the urine stays on the boards too and starts to smell. The poop has to be scraped or washed down the gutters into buckets that then have to be carried somewhere and emptied.


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## scpankow

Fire-Man said:


> SCPankow, thats a Nice Big set-up you got. Looks like close 50 holes under the carport. What state are you in? I figure with that setup you must sell alot of meat rabbits. Please share with u. Thanks


Right now I have 48 holes in the barn, good guess! We are in SE Texas. Actually, we sell mostly breeding rabbits and meat pens to 4H and FFA students. We also raise rabbit to eat ourselves.


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## Fire-Man

scpankow said:


> Right now I have 48 holes in the barn, good guess! We are in SE Texas. Actually, we sell mostly breeding rabbits and meat pens to 4H and FFA students. We also raise rabbit to eat ourselves.


We Little Rabbit Raisers are always curious and want to know how the big Breeders do it. Do you feed your rabbits a pellet/hay diet?? Or have you found a cheaper way. I gather greens for my rabbits every day and give them pellets and hay, but I only have around 25 right now.


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## scpankow

Fire-Man said:


> We Little Rabbit Raisers are always curious and want to know how the big Breeders do it. Do you feed your rabbits a pellet/hay diet?? Or have you found a cheaper way. I gather greens for my rabbits every day and give them pellets and hay, but I only have around 25 right now.


Right now we feed pellets daily and hay bi-weekly. We are in the middle of putting in an auto water system. When that is done, I am wanting to put in a fodder system and feed them sprouted fodder instead of pellets, to cut down on the cost.


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## Fire-Man

scpankow said:


> Right now we feed pellets daily and hay bi-weekly. We are in the middle of putting in an auto water system. When that is done, I am wanting to put in a fodder system and feed them sprouted fodder instead of pellets, to cut down on the cost.


My rabbits are funny, I fed them fodder, most would eat the green part and after several days I would throw the roots out---LOL. What is really crazy is I sprout corn and sunflower seeds in the garden. When the plants get about one foot tall I pull up 1 plant per rabbit daily as a treat. I take the plants and shake them in water to wash the dirt off the roots. All the rabbits will Eat all the plant and roots. Sitting here thinking-- Maybe the fodder had a smell in the roots that they do not like--I will have to be More Nosey next time--LOL. The hogs and chickens sure Love the fodder.


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## Miss M

GBov said:


> And I have a New Zealand White posing as a Californian lol!


Now... how in the world does THAT go about happening? :huh:


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## GBov

Miss M said:


> Now... how in the world does THAT go about happening? :huh:


LOL New Zealand Steel buck with New Zealand black doe = Californian marked kit.

No idea what side of the wood pile THAT one came from but so far have gotten black, red, blond and this cali marked kit from that crossing.

She is a very old doe who only has one or two kits at a time but she fosters well and its always fun to see what she has in the nest box so she a keeper, even with small litters.

Most likely she is a hidden steel to get the other color kits but that doesnt explain the cali kit.


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## Miss M

GBov said:


> LOL New Zealand Steel buck with New Zealand black doe = Californian marked kit.
> 
> No idea what side of the wood pile THAT one came from but so far have gotten black, red, blond and this cali marked kit from that crossing.
> 
> She is a very old doe who only has one or two kits at a time but she fosters well and its always fun to see what she has in the nest box so she a keeper, even with small litters.
> 
> Most likely she is a hidden steel to get the other color kits but that doesnt explain the cali kit.


LOL!!! That is so funny...


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## GBov

Miss M said:


> LOL!!! That is so funny...


It is funny but it leaves me with a problem, how do I market the danged thing?

If I call it a Californian I am lying through my teeth but if I call it a NZ people will think I am crazy lol.


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## Miss M

Heeheeheeeee... that would present a problem, wouldn't it?

Maybe you can market it as a "rare seal-point New Zealand"!  That's what many a self-respecting CraigsLister would do! :hysterical:


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## SherryB

Fireman, I realized the other night that I don't see any water lines. Then I thought maybe you use water crocks but I don't see those either. What do you use?


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## Fire-Man

SherryB said:


> Fireman, I realized the other night that I don't see any water lines. Then I thought maybe you use water crocks but I don't see those either. What do you use?


Sherry, when those pictures were taken I think the waterers were installed the next day. Look above the door in the first picture--the white tank is a 50 gallon tank which was the water tank for the camper I took apart for the frame. The second picture you can see the water lines. If you look at the far end of the water lines on each side you can see the top of a cut-off valve. I got it setup where if its going to be below freezing I can open the valves and drain everything.


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## Dead Rabbit

how are the flex tubes attached to the pvc?


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## Fire-Man

Dead Rabbit said:


> how are the flex tubes attached to the pvc?


I bought some proper size Vacuum line T's from the part store and used a fine saw(coping saw) to saw the 3 pieces from the T, drilled a proper size hole in the pvc pipe, then super glued them in the hole.


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## Bluefirephoenix

The set up's here are beautiful. If your in the north, consider using crocks instead of water bottles. The nipples freeze very quickly and the rabbit cannot access water more than a couple minutes. Warm water takes an hour to freeze most winter days and allows the animal time to eat and drink before it's solid. I also used half inch wire as the weasles and rats can get through anything smaller.


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## Dead Rabbit

Fire-Man said:


> I bought some proper size Vacuum line T's from the part store and used a fine saw(coping saw) to saw the 3 pieces from the T, drilled a proper size hole in the pvc pipe, then super glued them in the hole.



how long has the super glue held up?


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## Fire-Man

Dead Rabbit said:


> how long has the super glue held up?


DR I been using this used water system for about 14 months. I bought it from a guy that had used them for years and he glued his pieces in with pvc glue, but when I was pulling the hose off his pvc pipe(did not take his pvc pipe) some of the pieces pulled out. When I set my first rabbitry up I to used pvc pipe glue to glue them in, when I got ready to move everything into the trailer---every one of them could be wiggles and pulled out the pvc pipe, so I knew that that glue was not holding them. I really believe that they would stay in the pipe without glue as long as they are not pulled on. The drill bit I used made a hole that was a perfect tight fit. I decided to use the super glue for plastic as a back up. I had to line each piece up perfect and kinda force them to get them to go in the hole-as soon as I got a little of it stuck in the hole I dropped a drop of super glue on it and pushed in a little more. I did have to pull a couple hoses of the barbed end and it held. I always use sch 40 pipe so it will be thicker wall.


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