# can I see pics of your setups?



## lorihadams (Mar 12, 2009)

We were given rabbits, a dwarf something, a holland lop and what looks like your average garden variety yard rabbit--brown. All are females. We have been thinking of breeding the brown one and having some for meat but we've never done it before. We have all 3 in a hutch now but what kind of setup do we need for breeding purposes? Can I see pics of your setups for meat rabbits? Thanks!


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## Bamboorabbit (Jan 22, 2009)

Here is mine......

There are 3 of these hutch rows of differing length and I additional single hutch for 21 total hutches.



















Second picture is part of the the inside. I use attached nesting compartments.


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## Jesse L (Nov 6, 2008)

Here is my set up. Its a little messey, but here it is. This picture was taken a while ago. Ive got wooden hutches in the middle. One of them has a nestbox compartment. I also have a rack. The waste from the cages ontop falled down underneath the lower set by a slopped board.

To the right, you can see the corner of a hanger. It consists of 10 cages.

To the left is my quail aquarium and behind them is the chicken coops. You can see the picture of just the quail aquarium, behind it is what is used around the chicken coops. Never have had a problem with them flying over. 

Also there is a pony stall to the left, closer to the front as well.

This works well for me. Its an insulated barn with electricity!


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)




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## mamato3 (Nov 1, 2008)

We put ours in a enclosed carport. It able to hold 30 cages give or take depending on the size of the cage. You can go to my website and see it a bit.
http://www.randtrabbitry.com/Rabbitry.html


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

whoops, wrong spot


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## AprilW (Nov 25, 2007)

There are a few (poor) pics on my website here: http://denjak.bravehost.com/aboutus.html


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## mianpe (Apr 8, 2009)

I like this thread, and wish it had been around when I was coming up with my design. A picture is worth a thousand words...

It might be hard to tell, but these hutches are hanging (i.e. they are only attached to the wooden frame at the top.) Each hutch is 30"x30" (exactly 1 roll of 10'x30" baby saver wire!) My goals with this design were that it would be movable, sturdy, and as cheap/efficient as possible.




















The watering system:









The old hutch design. Note to self, never use 1/4" hardware cloth again!


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## Lilandra (Oct 21, 2004)

mianpe - tell me about your watering system?
is it a 5 gal bucket, pvc pipes, and nozzles?
how does it all come together and work?


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## Bricore (Sep 8, 2007)

Wow, you guys have some neat set ups! I am going to have to show my husband these and add some changes to my honey to do list now..lol..

Thanks for sharing,

Dora Renee' Wilkerson


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## mianpe (Apr 8, 2009)

Well I hate to brag about my watering system since I just got it installed a couple of days ago and it hasn't had the test of time yet, but....

It's basically just a cleaned out old 5 gallon bucket (used to have joint compound in it), spray painted to keep the sunlight (and algae growth) out. A few bucks worth of pvc joints from home depot, a 10' length of 1/2" pvc pipe, and some nozzles/saddles from 
Bass Equipment (The second and third items on the page). Note, you need to glue these "saddles" to the pipe using pvc cement or they will leak. (A drop every couple of seconds from 4 of these completely drained the bucket in 1 day.)

I put a disconnect joint between the bucket and the line so I can easily remove it if I want to clean it or move the hutches. I also put a screw-on cap at the other end so that I can take it off if I want to flush the pipe. The lid on the bucket fits extremely tight, so rather that taking it off each time to refill, I cut a hole and stuck part of an old broken lixit bottle in the top for easy access.

I'm really happy with the results thus far... just wish I hadn't spent all that $$ on those dumb lixit bottles. Based on the volume of water, I'm shooting for filling the bucket up once a week. (Don't think I want to go longer than that, in the interest of keeping the water fresh.)

Oh yeah, and remember I'm in Texas so freezes aren't as big of a problem as up north. Not sure how well a system like this would fare up "thare".

-mianpe


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Mianpe, it would work since it's portable. Setting it up outside during the spring/summer/fall, and then moving indoors for winter. As long as it was kept from freezing, there shouldn't be a problem. That first freeze tho, and the pipe would probably burst where it's glued....hmmm....


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## Lilandra (Oct 21, 2004)

mianpe said:


> Well I hate to brag about my watering system since I just got it installed a couple of days ago and it hasn't had the test of time yet, but....
> 
> It's basically just a cleaned out old 5 gallon bucket (used to have joint compound in it), spray painted to keep the sunlight (and algae growth) out. A few bucks worth of pvc joints from home depot, a 10' length of 1/2" pvc pipe, and some nozzles/saddles from
> Bass Equipment (The second and third items on the page). Note, you need to glue these "saddles" to the pipe using pvc cement or they will leak. (A drop every couple of seconds from 4 of these completely drained the bucket in 1 day.)
> ...


thanks - that's enough info and directions to be dangerous and make something here for my bunnies


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## JoeKan (Feb 4, 2006)

Thanks for the pictures and information. This has helped me alot. 
Anyone else?
Joe


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## jhuebner (Mar 29, 2009)

I only use the "J Series" cages from Klubertanz Equipment.

http://www.klubertanz.com/images/Klubertanz_Pg20.pdf 

HJ9 for Flemish Giants, and French Angora Does with Liters, or Flemish Adults

HJ4 for Single Mini Lops, and Single American Fuzzy Lops, Little Flemish, and Junior French Angoras

HJA for Single French Angora, and Single Giant Angoras, and Junior Flemish Giants

Always with urine guards, and ask for "GA" galvanized after welding bottom wire. 

Bottom wire, 1/2 x 1/2 only for baby and little Fuzzy Lops, else 1x2 for everything else. 

BUT you have to use foot guards for Flemish Giants, and when you have liters of babies in the cages. (baby feet can fall through... not good) http://www.klubertanz.com/images/Klubertanz_Pg16.pdf 

We heat our garage/barn in winter, just to 40 degrees, to keep our water bottles from freezing. 60 bottles is way to many to thaw (the stove did go out once) ... uggg... not up to a watering system "yet" ... it would have to have a circulator pump on it tho... 

www.klubertanz.com 

http://www.klubertanz.com/Catalog.htm

Good Luck
Joel Huebner
Oldhaus Fibers & Rabbits
ARBA Rabbitry
Amana, IA

www.oldhaus.net


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Mine's nothing fancy, and I built it all myself.

Underneath the cages will be a worm bed. I used a "pond liner" inside the box and on the wall so I won't have to worry about water damage

I now have 3 rabbits and 4 30 X 30 X 24 cages, and can stack another row if I need to later on. The frame they sit on is old chain link fence railing I found in my neighbor's junk pile

It's hard to get a good picture because the room is only 8 X 12


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

My amazing hubby and FIL built this cage for me. It is 6'h x 3'w x 9'l. It holds 2 Flemish Giants. 










The back with attached nestboxes that are 2' x 2'









With Cindy Lou and her latest litter in it.
This side of the cage is 6' x 3', notice it has been painted white.


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## JCWehking (Jun 2, 2009)

My set up is nothing special. Just three stacking cages. I have more cages for when I have the babies. I just don't have them cleaned up and put in the little house yet.

My buck is on antibiotic for upper respiratory problems, so that is why his water is a funny color. I couldn't get a shot of all the cages in one pic, so you need to use your imagination. LOL Its just one on top of another.


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## Cece6 (Feb 21, 2009)

JCWehking.Where did you get those long cages? Ive been looking for something that has less depth(I have short arms) but makes up for that in length.


Everyones setups look so great.Mine is just a 100yo pole barn that has been fixed up and had the roof tinned. Has a dirt floor.6 hanging cages(36x36) and two growout pens on the floor.With some odd cages stacked on one side..Also have two chickens that have done a wonderful job so far of keeping flys and wasps away in there.
Im currently building outdoor hutches for the back porch so my sons mini rexs can stay separate from the meat rabbits.We had a baby get sick and die yesterday and im so scared that something could whip through and kill both sets of rabbits so I decided it would be best to have two separate rabbitries.So if anything ever happened including a fire we wouldnt lose all the buns.


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## BlsdMama (Dec 28, 2008)

We're still very much in the learning phase. We started with traditional hutches, but didn't love it, plus the multiple chores is overwhelming. We've moved on to a semi-open colony style with a large pen within our barn. The flooring is cement and it has huge open windows - it was formerly a chicken coop. The bedding is straw and shavings. Water crocks, free feed alfalfa (working on the mangers still) and an open grain feeder filled once a day has been working well. They also get greens several times per day thanks to the kids. We are expecting several litters all at once right now and so they have multiple nesting areas within the pen. We made one traditional nesting box, but DH found them time consuming and so made them "teepees." The perks are that they can (thank you KSALguy for explaining this) make them into real burrows by plugging up the front and coming in the back entrance and we've already seen this in one of our does - pics on our blog. 

The drawback is in the winter they'll need a platform to keep babies off of cold cement. They also don't have a lip on the bottom to knock off babies before Mama leaves the nest. It hasn't been a problem yet, but we're on Day #5 of having babies so we'll see. We did have a problem with two kits burrowing out of the teepee.... I'm thinking a doghouse style with a replaceable insert for the bottom is the way we'll end up going.


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## JCWehking (Jun 2, 2009)

I bought my cages when I was raising parrots and other pet birds. I used those for cockatiels. Next time I am out by the cages, I will look up the name on them and post the link here. I can't think right off hand where I got them from.

I forgot about getting a nesting area. Not sure if a box will fit through the door of the cages I have. However, I have been playing with the idea of letting the mamma rabbits loose in the house to raise their young. But I do see 2 problems with that. 

1. The house is only 6 x 10 and we still have 3 chickens. Right now the rabbits are in their cages and the chickens come and go out the little chicken door. So we would have to lose the chickens..... I dont' think that is a big deal, but hubby is attached to them.

2. Our coop has a wood floor. Currently I use thick layer of shavings for the chickens, but I'm not sure how that will work with rabbits. That is why our inside is two different colors. The bottom is a paint for floor and porch use, so I can bleach it out every spring. The top half of the walls are white, to save $$ on paint. *bet everyone is going to go look now and see the two different colors. LOL*

I have time to figure this out since mine won't be old enough to breed until July. Any suggestions would be welcome. 

Blsdmama, those teepees look easier to make than the boxes I have seen. Do you remember the name of the thread that talked about them?


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## lorihadams (Mar 12, 2009)

Thanks everyone, this is fascinating and now I am crazy with ideas! Keep the pics coming!


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## Bamboorabbit (Jan 22, 2009)

JCWehking said:


> I bought my cages when I was raising parrots and other pet birds. I used those for cockatiels. Next time I am out by the cages, I will look up the name on them and post the link here. I can't think right off hand where I got them from.
> 
> I forgot about getting a nesting area. Not sure if a box will fit through the door of the cages I have. However, I have been playing with the idea of letting the mamma rabbits loose in the house to raise their young. But I do see 2 problems with that.
> 
> ...


JC,

If it was me I would just use external nesting compartments....it would require you cut the wire but the compartments solve a lot of problems.


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## moonkitten (Mar 4, 2005)

Bamboorabbit said:


> JC,
> 
> If it was me I would just use external nesting compartments....it would require you cut the wire but the compartments solve a lot of problems.


Or, if you don't want to cut the wire, make a wooden nesting box and hang them so the opening in the nestbox fits over the door when you are expecting a litter. Yes, you have to lift the nestbox down to reach into the cage, but don't you want to look at all the adorable popples anyway? 

Sort of like this: http://www.downtherabbithole.ca/nestboxes.html


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## katduck (Jul 10, 2008)

moonkitten said:


> Or, if you don't want to cut the wire, make a wooden nesting box and hang them so the opening in the nestbox fits over the door when you are expecting a litter. Yes, you have to lift the nestbox down to reach into the cage, but don't you want to look at all the adorable popples anyway?
> 
> Sort of like this: http://www.downtherabbithole.ca/nestboxes.html


Very clever idea!

Kat


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## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

Our farm and rabbit set up









































Tracy


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## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

More pictures 



























Tracy


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## Tracy (May 2, 2002)




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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

Tracy, I LOVE your setup!!!! Are you the meat rabbit/ raw-feeding person in Ohio that used to have a website but don't anymore? If so, I have been searching the internet for that website for a LONG time now so that I could show your setup to my husband. Could I please see more pics of your setup and could you please give descriptions or do you have a website up and running?


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

Oh, and how cold does the greenhouse get in the winter with all the rabbits in it? I've been thinking about doing something like yours on 1/2 and the other 1/2 having plants all winter (if possible).


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## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

For some reason I cant figure out I can only post 1 picture at a time.

I am in NW PA not far from Ohio. We have a raw feeding business. We feed raw to our dogs and cats as well but that is another thread.

My website link is http://www.hare-today.com
If you go to the info box and click on about us I have more pictures there.

Green house temps in winter depend on how much snow we have. The more snow the better for maintaining heat as it works like am igloo. When temps get in the teens or lower we use heat tape for the watering system.


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

I love your website. thanks for sharing.

Sorry for the thread jacking, I promise to behave. lol


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## vikav (Mar 30, 2009)

What a beautiful farm, Tracy


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## cur huntin' kid (Apr 15, 2007)

This is what I got today and I am going to put a roof over it but this will work for tonight. I ony have two rabbits as I am just starting up myself but hopefully I will get a few more does soon. I also have a large hutch that I am going to use for grow out pens.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Cur Huntin Kid, those cages look hot compared to all wire ones. Depending on what part of the country you are in, you will need to watch the buns to make sure they can stay cool enough.


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## moonkitten (Mar 4, 2005)

MaggieJ said:


> Cur Huntin Kid, those cages look hot compared to all wire ones. Depending on what part of the country you are in, you will need to watch the buns to make sure they can stay cool enough.


They also look too small for a meat rabbit doe and litter, although they'd be great for growing out single replacement rabbits. What are the dimensions?


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## laughaha (Mar 4, 2008)

Those cages do look like they will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I think they are meant to be used inside a building. Will a nestbox fit it there or does it attach to the outside? Maybe it's just that I'm used to Flemmy sized cages, but they sure do seem small for an adult rabbit even without a litter of popples.


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## cur huntin' kid (Apr 15, 2007)

The dimensions are 2ftX2ft. Is this to small. I have only had a pet rabbit before and he had the run of a raised beagle pen converted rabbit hutch. The cage is meant to be used inside but I don't have a spot for it right now, I live with my parents since I am still in college. They are in the shade most of the day and thats without a roof, so once I get a roof it will be all the time. They are only going to be in there for the summer, until I have to go back to school.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Two feet by two feet is awfully small - especially given the poorer ventilation caused by the cage style. You say "only for the summer" but this is precisely when they are most vulnerable. I hope you plan to provide them with ice bottles regularly.


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## ladysown (May 3, 2008)

those cages don't actually get that hot. I have one. Bunnies stay actually quite nicely in them. I've moved hot keepers into them for hot weeks and found that they have done better in them then in the all wire cages. go figure.


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## Thatch (Jun 25, 2002)

I think part of the problem is the red wall that is showing through the slats on those cages. It makes the whole thing look like a little bunny oven. I'm sure if you keep them out of direct sun they should be alright.

I'm still ruminating on my new setup as I get thing built back up again. Right now however I've just got cages hung under the barn eaves ... pretty standard stuff.


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## vikav (Mar 30, 2009)

Our setup, finally got the time to post pictures. We have 7 - 30"x36" cages, 3 - 1-holes, for the does and their litters, 4 - 2-holes, for the bucks and any young. There are only 6 cages on the picture, the 7th is in the house for the moment. The cardboard divides my formerly sneezy (which does not sneeze any more) jr. doe from the rest until she's ready to breed, just in case she's snuffly, which is not very likely.









Claw, she's pregnant (or at least supposedly pregnant) 









Ophelia, she's the new NZR doe.









Ophelia, asking for a head rub









Sneezy, a 5 mo. old Jr. doe, the one that used to sneeze, but IMO she's ok.









I also have 2 bucks - one NZR, one NZW.
The garage has 1 window, which stays open, unless it's super-hot outside. Twice a day, I open the garage door, turn a big fan on, and push all the old air out. Then I close the garage door, and if it's hot outside, I open the door into the house, put the fan in the doorway, and blow some of the AC'ed air from the house into the garage. They are spoiled rabbits.


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## Guest (Jul 17, 2009)

What's that ontop of the j-feeders? Never saw these before. Extenders?


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## vikav (Mar 30, 2009)

Lyndseyrk said:


> What's that ontop of the j-feeders? Never saw these before. Extenders?


Hay racks. If you put them on top of the j-feeders, the rabbits waste less hay. If it falls, it ends up in the j-feeder, and they get a second chance at it. I almost have no hay wasted in the top 3 cages. The other ones though, the hay racks don't fit over the feeders as the feeders are in the doors, so quite a bit of hay gets wasted there.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Tracy has a great setup.

I have been trying for months to get her to dilvulge the specifics of her colony raising.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

cur huntin' kid said:


> This is what I got today and I am going to put a roof over it but this will work for tonight. I ony have two rabbits as I am just starting up myself but hopefully I will get a few more does soon. I also have a large hutch that I am going to use for grow out pens.


Stainless steel lab cages, wow.... I sure would love to run into some of those in a larger size that I could afford. Finally found some on Craigslist the other day at a real affordable price, but like yours they were only 24 x 24 which are too small for my rabbits. I keep hoping I will run across an auction for a vet office going out of business and find some of the larger ones.

One can clean them with anything and not worry about the galvanizing, one can burn the fur out the gets stuck around the wire with a propane torch without woring about hurting the wire, also. Plus they never rust or come apart at the welds. I looked at new ones once from a supplier...heh.. I'll get them right after I get my winter estate in St John. 

I guess if somone was raising hollands or dutch or small rabbits of any kind they would be perfect.


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## cur huntin' kid (Apr 15, 2007)

o&itw said:


> Stainless steel lab cages, wow.... I sure would love to run into some of those in a larger size that I could afford. Finally found some on Craigslist the other day at a real affordable price, but like yours they were only 24 x 24 which are too small for my rabbits. I keep hoping I will run across an auction for a vet office going out of business and find some of the larger ones.
> 
> One can clean them with anything and not worry about the galvanizing, one can burn the fur out the gets stuck around the wire with a propane torch without woring about hurting the wire, also. Plus they never rust or come apart at the welds. I looked at new ones once from a supplier...heh.. I'll get them right after I get my winter estate in St John.
> 
> I guess if somone was raising hollands or dutch or small rabbits of any kind they would be perfect.


Ya the only reason I got themk was because they were free. I would have never bought them. To much money and not really big enough. I am making due with them until I get something better.


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

My pics are on a thread called "My Setup" from back in January. It shows a few details of how I designed my cages. I'm still trying to add features to my cages as I think of them. Sorry, not sure how to post a link to older threads.


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2009)

Here's the link you were talking about, truckinguy

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=288523&highlight=my+setup


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

This is the barn / run-in that I just had put up on my property. 











These are the cages that currently hold rabbits. I have another set that is empty with larger cages, set up for does and their litters.


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## ladysown (May 3, 2008)

> Ya the only reason I got themk was because they were free. I would have never bought them. To much money and not really big enough. I am making due with them until I get something better.


 if you do get new cages, don't toss these. they will make excellent isolation or grow out cages for singleton young buns. They are WAY too good to toss.


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