Feeding compost

[U_Stormcrow]

I've just purchased rabbits.

Still struggling to make something which is not a small cage which they also can't escape. Just couldn't bring myself to force a meat rabbit to live out its life in a wire cage maybe 2' x 3'.

Each now has a run about 5' x 8' - but until I can keep them in, they seem to periodically check out an acre or so... somehow, I think I may have my first litter of kits sooner than planned.

 

[gtaus]

I've just purchased rabbits.

Still struggling to make something which is not a small cage which they also can't escape. Just couldn't bring myself to force a meat rabbit to live out its life in a wire cage maybe 2' x 3'.

Each now has a run about 5' x 8' - but until I can keep them in, they seem to periodically check out an acre or so... somehow, I think I may have my first litter of kits sooner than planned.

Many, many years ago I raised meat rabbits. At that time, we were told to keep them in all wire cages suspended off the ground. You did not want the rabbits on the ground because they could pick up diseases. Well, that is what we were told.

I know some people have colony rabbits and raise them in pens out on dirt. I have never done that. But one time I did have a few rabbits that I just let run loose in a dog kennel. They dug a hole in the ground and the doe had her litter in there. Rabbits can dig pretty well. If you find a way to keep them in a pen and not escape, let me know how you did it.

 

[NatJ]

I've just purchased rabbits.

Still struggling to make something which is not a small cage which they also can't escape. Just couldn't bring myself to force a meat rabbit to live out its life in a wire cage maybe 2' x 3'.

Each now has a run about 5' x 8' - but until I can keep them in, they seem to periodically check out an acre or so... somehow, I think I may have my first litter of kits sooner than planned.

Maybe line the entire floor of their area with concrete pavers? That would probably stop the digging.

I've had rabbits before. They lived in wire cages, although sometimes a bit bigger than you mention. I do not have rabbits now, and your housing dilemma is part of why I don't: I don't want to just keep them in wire cages, but I have not come up with any other kind of housing that would provide for their needs, keep them in, and that I am willing/able to construct where I now live.

Have you already read about the Salatin rabbit pens? Apparently they use wood slats for the floor, and carefully move the pen lengthwise so the grass sticks up in between the slats instead of getting squashed down.

Many, many years ago I raised meat rabbits. At that time, we were told to keep them in all wire cages suspended off the ground. You did not want the rabbits on the ground because they could pick up diseases. Well, that is what we were told.

I've read that too.
Apparently coccidiosis was a big killer of rabbits at one point, and wire cages almost completely solved that problem.

More recently, I read of someone (probably Salatin again) who tried to raise rabbits in portable pens on the ground-- and had enormous losses, attributed to coccidiosis. That person bred from the survivors, and several generations later they had rabbits that could do well on their land. I'm not clear how much of the benefit was from selective breeding, and how much was from managing the animals differently, since of course they were working on both aspects at the same time.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Many, many years ago I raised meat rabbits. At that time, we were told to keep them in all wire cages suspended off the ground. You did not want the rabbits on the ground because they could pick up diseases. Well, that is what we were told.

I know some people have colony rabbits and raise them in pens out on dirt. I have never done that. But one time I did have a few rabbits that I just let run loose in a dog kennel. They dug a hole in the ground and the doe had her litter in there. Rabbits can dig pretty well. If you find a way to keep them in a pen and not escape, let me know how you did it.

I dug a trench all the way around the cage, then installed these vertically.

Because they dig relatively shallow as soon as they reach the fence, they immediately hit this, then stop. after a few inches (so far, anyways). Its my cage wire they've been defeating so far - going out in a few minutes (after coffee) to see if they've defeated the new wire additions already.

 

[gtaus]

I do not have rabbits now, and your housing dilemma is part of why I don't: I don't want to just keep them in wire cages, but I have not come up with any other kind of housing that would provide for their needs, keep them in, and that I am willing/able to construct where I now live.

Last time I had rabbits, maybe 15 years ago, I had my rabbits housed in wire cages outside with a roof over them. But I could not keep enough fresh water from freezing and my rabbits got dehydrated and eventually all died over a few months. I was heartbroken from the loss and decided never to have rabbits again unless I had a sheltered structured and some way to keep the water from freezing on them.

For my chickens, I have an old fashioned 3 gallon metal water fount which sits on top of a metal base heater in the chicken coop. Even when our temps hit -40F in the winter, my water is not frozen for the birds. As long as they have fresh water to drink, they can continue to eat and stay healthy.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I dug a trench all the way around the cage, then installed these vertically.
View attachment 3105135
Because they dig relatively shallow as soon as they reach the fence, they immediately hit this, then stop. after a few inches (so far, anyways). Its my cage wire they've been defeating so far - going out in a few minutes (after coffee) to see if they've defeated the new wire additions already.

All three escaped last night. NO CLUE how. Was NOT a tunnel.

I happen to feel like crap today - feverish/oily sweat - though there is no indication medically, temp is 98.3, no headache, no skin flushing, etc - I just feel bad. So maybe I catch them, return them to their run, then sit in a chair with a lemonade and watch till I figure out how they are escaping.

Complete waste of a day. Confident that if I turn my back to start cleaning up the barn, they will disappear again while my eyes are elsewhere.

 

[gtaus]

More recently, I read of someone (probably Salatin again) who tried to raise rabbits in portable pens on the ground-- and had enormous losses, attributed to coccidiosis.

There are a lot of problems trying to raise rabbits together in a pen. Bucks will fight with other bucks, and does will do the same. And you have to worry about an unreceptive doe castrating a buck. Not only that, but the alpha doe will sometimes castrate other does. I have even read that does will seek out and kill kits in other nests to ensure that only their offspring have a better chance of survival.

Those are some of things I was taught when raising rabbits, and why we had to have them in separate wire cages.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and apologies for the thread hijack. I'll pick thisd up elsewhere, in my bunny thread where I sought advice initially.

/should have named them Houdini, Deitrich, Walker...

 

[gtaus]

All three escaped last night. NO CLUE how. Was NOT a tunnel.

And then they pop out of the hat of a magician! How do they do that?

The only way I raised rabbits was in wire cages. They can chew through wood pretty fast and be gone before you know it. They can dig fast. Also, when they make nest in the ground, they cover it up with dirt when they are gone to protect the kits.

Hope you feel better. Take care.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I have rabbits. When it was one rabbit, it’s hutch was in the chicken run so any waste got composted in the run. Now that it’s 4 rabbits in 3 hutches, I put an old kiddie pool full of waste hay under the hutches and periodically dump that into the chicken run for composting.