Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2746 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:58 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
you can build them pretty cheaply using .5 x 1" welded wire and J clips which should be available at your local farm supply store. It is a whole lot cheaper than buying and once you make the first one the rest are pretty quick to do. _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:35 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
We've got 8 cages in a 12x12 stall.we added on a "room"and added 9 more cages.Some are for putting weaned/sale/slaughter bunnies in.those you can put a couple rabbits in at a time.We give all our preganant brood does a box a week or two before they're due.We have New Zealands and Californias for meat.Jersey Woolsies and Lionheads for sale.Never name 'em.Any of 'em. Ever. You get a good solid pipe,whack 'em just behind the ear usually they die after one good smackMy husband likes to whack 'em first then hang them by their hind legs and shoot them with a small .22 pistol just behind the ear for good measure.You slaughter a few at a time and chuck 'em in the freezer for awhile.Easier than killing one at a time.We keep a couple young chickens in the stall to pick around that are too little to be out and about by themselves.We have No flies in the stall and I believe they help alot in that respect.Just a suggestion.Parasite control.About once a month we strip the stall under the cages and compost the nitrogen rich manure for the garden.Rabbits are really good livestock.Almost on par with chickens in care intensiveness.Feed and water once a day.Check and see if any does are pulling hair from their tummies and go feed the larger more fragile livestock.We buy and sell at a local auction or through the local market bulletin.Fill the freezer when the time is right.I wish my horses were this easy and fast to care for!!Go bunny power!
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:39 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
Brought the rabbits home yesterday. They are doing everything you expect from a healthy bunny.
Just a thought about those of you raising bunnies outdoors. It's all good and well when you live in the country, but for those of us in the city, don't you think it carries a lot of risk? Heat, parasites, stupid people, etc. Especially the stupid people!
My own decision to house my rabbits indoors was initially motivated by the idiot boys next door. After seeing them kill a bird, I don't even want them to know I have rabbits.
I don't think it will take starvation circumstances for people to steal/kill your rabbits. All it takes is some idiots with too much time on their hands.
Of course I do have the advantage of a properly ventilated basement. It never gets too hot down there, and parasites are a non-issue. I suppose for many people it is outside or nowhere.
BTW horsestoaster...what kind of a pipe are you referring to. I don't think I'll have a problem dispatching them, but I am afraid of botching the job. It would be terrible to maim instead of kill, ugh!
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2746 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:52 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
one_more_day wrote:
Brought the rabbits home yesterday. They are doing everything you expect from a healthy bunny.
Just a thought about those of you raising bunnies outdoors. It's all good and well when you live in the country, but for those of us in the city, don't you think it carries a lot of risk? Heat, parasites, stupid people, etc. Especially the stupid people!
My own decision to house my rabbits indoors was initially motivated by the idiot boys next door. After seeing them kill a bird, I don't even want them to know I have rabbits.
I don't think it will take starvation circumstances for people to steal/kill your rabbits. All it takes is some idiots with too much time on their hands.
Of course I do have the advantage of a properly ventilated basement. It never gets too hot down there, and parasites are a non-issue. I suppose for many people it is outside or nowhere.
BTW horsestoaster...what kind of a pipe are you referring to. I don't think I'll have a problem dispatching them, but I am afraid of botching the job. It would be terrible to maim instead of kill, ugh!
I keep mine outside and have given some thought re when tshtf.
I have a cur hound that will live outside as things get worse. He will have access to the area around the fenced area that keeps the goats, chickens and rabbits.
I hope to hatch out some guinea hens this month. they will make a racket when they see someone or thing they do not recognize... Enough of a racket to make ppl afraid that I am about to pepper them with quail load.
I have picked up a few (need more) leg traps. I could put them down on the approaches to the coop and rabbits of an evening and pick them up at night. just enough to make someone scream and maybe break their foot.
Once thieves find themselves surprised by the unexpected they tend to go looking for easier pickins.
For the record I also intend to have enough hens to give two to each neighbor for about 1/2 a mile in the case of a sudden collapse (I will sell them to them during a slow collapse) and rabbits too for that matter. This would both engender some good will and give folks something closer to steal. I'm not too worried about their becoming theives though it is a possibility. I think it would only take one or two thwarted attempts before the risk went down. _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
Just a good solid1- 2" iron pipe works ok.I studied anatomy so I kinda know where to bonk most beasties.Hubby not so much.In lot of ways his is best and surest in the dispatching dept.Depends if the neighbors twitch an ear at gun fire,Where we live,it is pretty common to here various firearms day or night(can u say "spotlight?")I worry about the basement setup because of the lack of ventilation issues.Rabbits can produce alot of urine(they drink alot and need alot of water in comparison to their size), and therefore, ammonia.Toxic levels can be reached pretty easily without some sort of ventilation.Add some chlorine from the laundry room in same said basement and wow!If you can manage some sort of ventilation fan and also some uv rays now and again,your bunnies are gonna thank ya.I've even seen some solar powered,interesting setups for cars.Maybe some of these may be adaptable for your needs?Maybe throw some kitty litter under their pens?Sand?Something compostable maybe?Don't know how many ya got.but in an enclosed space,ventilation.no matter how cool the area,would definitely be something I would consider.As for dogs to protect livestock- I really like dawgs myself but they are only a short term alarm until the bullet/arrow gets 'em.I've had to dispatch lots of beasties-dawgs in my way in search of a meal-well-a crossbow bolt is pretty damned quiet and fair accurate.A gun is literally a no brainer. Sad but true.Not trying to shock,but one does what one has to do.Hope some of this is of use.
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2746 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 4:57 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
horsestoaster wrote:
I really like dawgs myself but they are only a short term alarm until the bullet/arrow gets 'em.I've had to dispatch lots of beasties-dawgs in my way in search of a meal-well-a crossbow bolt is pretty damned quiet and fair accurate.A gun is literally a no brainer. Sad but true.Not trying to shock,but one does what one has to do.Hope some of this is of use.
I agree completely especially in regard to a basement set up for rabbits. I hadn't thought about it too much but I think your right.
I do have to comment about my great dog. We were out of town this week so I hired a neighbor boy to come feed and water the animals 2x a day. When we got back he said she would see him coming, bark and then hide either in the forest next to the chicken pen or in the pines north of the pen. He said he would see her when he first pulled in and then he would just hear her. A person could still shoot her with a gun but it would be a lot harder, esp at night (when things get stolen around here) and that would cause the person to loose stealth and they a) would probably take off as a result or b) have to deal with me and my propensity to scatter bird shot all over the property just too see who shows up with some unexplained "sores" the next day. _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 11:34 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
horsestoaster wrote:
If you can manage some sort of ventilation fan and also some uv rays now and again,your bunnies are gonna thank ya.
I currently run a small dehumidifier next to the cages. That helps hold down dampness and odor. They get daylight from a small window, and I turn on full-spectrum light about 16 hours a day.
As for bedding, I put old cloth baby-diapers under each cage. It absorbs the urine while keeping the poop separate. I like that because rabbit turds are good for my garden while rabbit pee is not so good for my garden.
Every couple of days I shake off the turds and wash the diapers with baking soda. I can't see buying pine-shavings or cat litter. Besides which, if I used cat litter it would be impossible to use make use of the free rabbit-fertilizer.
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2746 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:12 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
Mine have little wooden boxes that they can get into so they can stay out of the wind and they will stay outside all winter. it regularly gets to -20F here and every few years -30F. I will give them more corn in the winter to help them keep warm. _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Joined: Dec 04, 2004 Posts: 2337 Location: perpetual state of exhaustion
Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:25 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
wisconsin_cur wrote:
Mine have little wooden boxes that they can get into so they can stay out of the wind and they will stay outside all winter. it regularly gets to -20F here and every few years -30F. I will give them more corn in the winter to help them keep warm.
Don't you worry about havin predators stress them out? by little wooden boxes do you mean a hutch or a nest box?
Has anyone given thought to boiling the organ meats, bones and pickings to feed the felines in your house? I'd like to waste as little as I can, and if I can feed the cats too...
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2746 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 8:58 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
uNkNowN ElEmEnt wrote:
wisconsin_cur wrote:
Mine have little wooden boxes that they can get into so they can stay out of the wind and they will stay outside all winter. it regularly gets to -20F here and every few years -30F. I will give them more corn in the winter to help them keep warm.
Don't you worry about havin predators stress them out? by little wooden boxes do you mean a hutch or a nest box?
Has anyone given thought to boiling the organ meats, bones and pickings to feed the felines in your house? I'd like to waste as little as I can, and if I can feed the cats too...
They are inside the chicken fence and the dogs make regular rounds about the area. I have had to kill two feral cats in the last two years but, knock on wood, that is the only problem with predators that I have had.
When I built the hutch I built in a completely enclosed nesting box with a swinging door that opens outward (hinge on top) The rabbits chewed small holes in the doors to help them get them open but otherwise have left them alone. On the few winter days of the year that the wind blows towards the hutches the doors and the boxes keep out the wind.
If you like I can post pictures.
I feed the organs that we do not eat to the chickens as I butcher them (I'm told their diseases do not cross). The rest I throw to the predators down the road. I would say give it a try. sounds like some work but everything sounds like work to me here during the longest nights of the year! _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2746 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 3:33 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
_________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Joined: Dec 04, 2004 Posts: 2337 Location: perpetual state of exhaustion
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:59 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
Well, we do have cats (not mine) in the neighbourhood and if I killed them... well my (sweet 78 yr old) next door neighbours would be very upset... although it would save then quite the $$.
I am thinking about insulating my aluminum garden shed into a bunny colony for three does and a male. I found someone within 600 miles who sells new zealand whites and there is one other person locally but she only has californians.
If my shed is 4x5, and I put a 4x2 run outside (dug deeply into the ground) would that be enough space for three rabbits and their broods? or would I need a bigger area?
Thanks for the picture, that's cool. any chance we could get one further back so we can see more of your bunny pen?
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2746 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 12:14 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
I have two sets of hutches. The first are attached to a shed, with the nesting boxes inside of the shed and holes cut in the side for the buns to go back and forth. The chickens are able to get beneath the rabbits and they pick up the grain the rabbits waste. Cinder blocks keep the chickens from spreading the manure all over the yard. I scoop it about twice a year and apply it to the garden. It was my first attempt and I do think the second hutch is much improved.
In the construction of the second I used a heaver gauge of welded wire with .5 x 1 inch holes. Manure will still sometimes gather in the cage (esp in winter) but not near as bad as with the hardwire cloth I used in the construction of the first hutch. It is sitting on some scrap 4x6's I picked up.
The wire doors are much easier to use than the wooden doors. I built the roof from some left over siding.
In the back I made some doors so that I can check on the baby buns and when the girls get a little reclusive at breeding time and hide when they see me coming, I can still get them out.
Any questions just let me know. _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Joined: Dec 04, 2004 Posts: 2337 Location: perpetual state of exhaustion
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:56 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Rabbits
What is the square footage on your second hutch and how many rabbits do you keep in there. I take it your does have access to each other and those pens aren't separate?
Silly question, but why have doors in the front and back?
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