rabbit housing

[bj taylor]

look at those babies! wow!
what I think I've learned here is...
1. wire cages
2. suspend w/conduit or something similar to spread the weight out
3. no more than 2' deep and as long as I can reach in either direction
4. buying the cages can be the most economical way to go
5. VENTILATION. have fans in the summer if possible. heat is their enemy
6. do not breed in the summer
7. rabbit's teeth grow quickly
8. get a good work surface for when working w/a rabbit
9. for breeding, take the doe to the bucks cage
10. put the nest box in 5-6 days before babies are due. no sooner or she will use it as a toilet
11. run a water system behind the cages where they can't reach the piping & use nipples. this makes leaving them a day or two possible if necessary.
12. hanging feeders I can access from the outside

their cages can be suspended in the carport that has been converted to a goat loafing shed.
Great Stuff

 

[baymule]

Grooming a rabbit.
Your rabbits will blow their coats twice a year. Do nothing and they will get some nasty wads of fur in inconvenient places and fur will get all in the wire of the cages and make a mess there too.

Take the rabbit to the slick top table and place on a carpet pad. Have a spray bottle of water. Wet your hands, not the rabbit, sling off the extra water. Rub the fur forward and backward. The loose fur will come out and stick to your hands. Rub your hands together and roll up the fur, drop on ground or in a trash can. rewet your hands and do it again. This is good for calming the rabbit and getting them used to being handled. Groom the rabbit daily when they are shedding or at least every other day. When they are not shedding, you can groom them less frequently just to keep their coat in good shape. A drop or two of glycerin in your palm will make their fur shine.

Ear mites. Rabbits can get some nasty crusty crud in their ears. If left untreated, the crusty crud will extend all inside their ear. It itches and drives them nuts, they will scratch with their hind foot and can leave bloody scratches on their ears and the back of their head. Check them at least monthly for ear mites. You will see a tiny crust in the deep inside of their ears, the beginning of ear mite infestation. Keep an eyedropper bottle filled with mineral oil. A few drops of mineral oil in the ear for a few days is usually all you need to knock out the ear mites. They don't like this much either and will shake their head, their ears flap, poor babies. Don't dig deep in their ears with q-tips, the crusty stuff will shake loose and come out.

 

[bj taylor]

bay, this is going to be invaluable. thanks so much

 

[baymule]

bay, this is going to be invaluable. thanks so much

You are so very welcome. I loved having my rabbits. I bred 10-15 does at a time so I would only lose sleep for several nights. On really cold nights, I was up every 2 hours, checking on them. Cold, seemingly lifeless kits out of the nest on the wire can be brought back to life-just tuck the little ice cube in your bra. Yup, in your bra. Go about your duties and after a bit, turn it over and warm the other side. if successful, the tiny thing will start to squirm and make tiny mewing sounds. Return to mamma. Once I took a whole litter that was born on the wire and went back to bed, I put them on my belly and they warmed right up. I put them back in the nest, momma hopped in and they all made it. I raised Satins, I had Siamese (my favorite), black, white, red and chinchilla varieties.

If you are going to have rabbits, bite the bullet and get purebred, pedigreed rabbits. Study the different breeds, there are a lot that would make lovely pets and show stock, but not much as far as a meat rabbit.