Rabbit Aviary Pen

[lotzahenz]

I keep some rabbits in my chicken yard, which is actually an orchard. I do not have buried wire, but the rabbits do burrow. As a matter of fact, a recent litter was raised in a deep burrow successfully. My little pen is about 100 foot by maybe 40 feet or so, not too big. I also have many rabbits that free-range my farm, but they make burrows in the worst places. Yes, of course they are subject to predators and they are somewhat tame, but they don't fight too much, just scuffle until a pecking order is acheived. I would raise two males together though, if you plan to keep them together and if they fight you will need to seperate them. If fluffy bunny is a child's fav pet and there will be devastation if it comes up missing or is killed, I'd stick with an indoor cage. Otherwise, free-range bunnies are fine and I know several people who have great luck with this. I've had several litters in the coop, I put a wooden nest box there and they have done fine. It is a great way to raise meat rabbits for the freezer. HenZ

 

[ack123]

As pointed out in other posts, letting your animals roam free around your farm is not free ranging. that is setting them free, and its also illegal. You'd better hope you don't get caught with rabbits running loose one of these days. They can also carry diseases, be picked off by predators and its not a very humane way to keep a rabbit. Just take a look of what happened to U of Vic in british columbia because someone decided to free range their rabbits. Now they have a colony of over 2000 that they have to exterminate to protect the campus. Now they are wanting to pass a law in that area that prohibits the sales of unaltered rabbits by breeders, pet owners, and pet shops. That can happen in any area where rabbits are allowed to run loose. so please be careful, when considering something like that,and think about who you are hurting if you get caught. Plus now there is a good chance feral rabbits can pick viral hemmoretic disease in the US since there has been an outbreak out west, and its possible the ferals may have had it. They had to catch and exterminate all of them. Certainly notworth the risk because the government will step in and destroy all of your animals if they ever came down with it. Its not curable, and almost always fatal.

Op here is what I put my bunnies out in during the day, or when I am home to supervise them. They go back in their cages once they are taken out of the pens.

 

[DaKid]

ack123

It may be coming 2011, but most rabbit breeders still keep their rabbit sin individual pens because that is proven to be the safest way to keep them.

I’m not into as a breeder/ seller I’m only into it for my own pleasure and as for pets

when it comes to colony raisig, you either do it it right or you fail. it has been done before and a lot of people have failed at it. Some because they were new to rabbits and jumped right into it. if you do something like this the does need to have a place where they can have their babies. You also need a seperate pen for each buck. Because bucks will fight each other over territory. Sometimes to the death. And once in awhile you will get lucky enough to have a couple of bucks that will get a long. That is rare. Like otter, I had a couple of rabbits rip each other up once too. two bucks got loose, ran each other into a spare cage I had laying around, and went at it. One buck tore the ears up on the other. Have also had them get out and castrate each other. Some does will also go after a buck and castrate them if they are annoyed with them enough. They have to be supervised if they are kept together. I would listen and try raising a few in cages first till you get the hang of raising them. Then try the tractoring method.


You should have experience with them first before you jump into doing it.

I have had rabbits before 2 bucks and one female which we have for a few years in the house which where train to a can box w/ litter along with them we have 3 shin izu puppies which the rabbits had the run of the house during the day when we where home and if not and during the night they had ther own glass / wood hutch which they sleep in .


Also rabbits are not raised in avairies. Most times birds and bunnies do not get along. They can pass diseases back and forth and beat each other up.

I stated rabbit aviary pen I said nothing about keeping another type of animal or bird with them

The systems shown on rabbit geek are not cruel either. Most people use them with very little problems. Also if you do not plan to breed, then you need to make sure these rabbits are altered, because if you don't you are going to have plenty of babies on your hands. Does will breed and have a litter every month. This also wears her down and can burn her reproductive system out.

Yes I know that and it at all possible I will have to separated the buck from the does

Go to the other rabbit thread. luv posted something pretty good on tractoring rabbits.

Those offering advice in this thread have a lot of experience with raising rabbits. I use the cage system and I tractor mine when I can, when I am home to supervise.

Edit: I just went and reread the rabbit geek link. I thought it was rabbits in stacking and hanging cages, along with the colonies. I see rabbits in cages set up on the floor as well as the colony. Therei s nothing wrong with that because the breeder is taking responsibility for those rabbits. You have to with a rare breed like that.

Also domestic rabbits are not wild rabbits.

Thanks for all ur input ack123 ,
I know this is something that has and hasn't been done with some luck or non at all , I know I might have to keep the buck away from the does or have him nurtured or just keep all does in the out side rabbit aviary



thanks again for all your input I will take it all in and come up with some type of rabbit aviary ,only because I can see them just sitting in a small cage and not getting to have a somewhat freedom to get exercise




Alan​

 

[saddina]

Mother earth news has an article on it, search "rabbit colony pen". The animal shelter in town has a set up, a 2 ft tall cinderblock wall, chain link embedded into the wall, and a roof. I'd say 24X24 or so. The thing is, thier bunnies are fixed, so they can groove in a colony, I'd not try it with intact bunnies.

 

[ack123]

Quote:
Thanks for all ur input ack123 ,
I know this is something that has and hasn't been done with some luck or non at all , I know I might have to keep the buck away from the does or have him nurtured or just keep all does in the out side rabbit aviary



thanks again for all your input I will take it all in and come up with some type of rabbit aviary ,only because I can see them just sitting in a small cage and not getting to have a somewhat freedom to get exercise




Alan

Caged rabbits will get plenty of exercise in wire hutches. they are not tiny like most people think they are and the rabbits do very well in them. In fact most rabbit breeders seldom let their rabbits out and they still stay in top condition. Some of thebest bred rabbit sin the country are kept in them with very little problems. Small and medium rabbits can be easily kept in a 24x24 inch cage. Large breeds can be kept in larger cages. the whole thing about them not getting exercise in them is just a myth. Its the safest and most economical way to keep them.easier to keep clean in them too.

 

[RiverOtter]

You've said several times that you're not a breeder, yet you've said several times that your pen will house both males and females.

Are you planning for the rabbits to be fixed? Rabbits are hormonal little beasts and that would cut out a big part of the aggression and fighting that you've been warned about (though not all of it)

If they're not to be fixed, hate to tell you, but you're a breeder, whether you like the term or not, whether they are just pets or not. And this will have a big effect on how you have to manage your rabbits.

Nobody's trying to bash you, I admire the fact that you clearly want your rabbits to be happy. We're really just trying to help and this is essential information. If you're rabbits are not fixed, then you'll have babies. Other rabbits will kill them when they are in the teeny pink stage (not pretty!) and when they get a little older you will find that they can get out of the teeniest, tiniest openings. Chicken wire is no barrier!! Not to the 3 to 5 week old bunny.

If your rabbits are fixed, it is just a matter of having enough room, enough hiding spaces and making sure the individual rabbits will get along.

If they are not, then the only way I've found to do it is to have a (nice roomy) individual cage for the buck. Have a max of 3 does in a colony with at least 6 nesting places. The does get about 2 weeks to sort themselves out - watch for fighting. Then the buck gets to visit for 2 weeks. All the does usually get bred the first day (if they all kindle at once they are less likely to kill each other's babies) and after 2 weeks the buck goes back to his bachelor condo for a well-earned rest.
Note: you can NOT keep the bucks in their own colony and put them in and out. When a buck comes in smelling like doe they will all start ripping each other to pieces!
In about 2 more weeks the babies are born, give mommas LOTS of hay for their nests.
If you've let them burrow, expect very high losses. Domestic rabbits have been domestic long enough that while they still have the instinct to dig, they rarely make the very long, properly curved nesting burrow of a wild rabbit. You'll never know how many you lost to cave-ins and drowning

You'll see any surviving bunnies in 3 to 4 weeks. At this point you can start taking them out and now (6 weeks after his last visit) the buck can have another 2 week visit, starting the cycle again.
Taking 3 to 4 week old bunnies goes against the 8 Week Rule that we've all had beaten into our heads (actually 9 is best for puppies and 12 for kittens, cats really need their mothers) but your average rabbit is Capital D, Done with her babies at about 5 weeks. And in a colony, does don't always take kindly to another rabbit's snot-nosed little rug rats being around. Either other adult does or the buck may kill them.

Before anyone (DaKid, not necessarily aimed at you)says anything about this being too much work and interference because WILD rabbits blah, blah, blah, I have one thing to say to you. WILD rabbits have infinite space to get away from each other and 6 to 8 babies every 30 days, of whom approximately 5% make it to breeding age. That's 5 rabbits out of every hundred born. NOT an acceptable percentage for caring for Domestic anything.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/pwlkcl5m8ngjuer9/
quote;
Wild rabbits of the two sexes have separate linear rank orders, which are established and maintained by intensive fights.

 

[ack123]

Quote:
I may not agree with weaning early, but I think you are right about does that will kill any young that are not theirs. I had a doe that did that years ago when a kit would escape its cage and get into hers. Does tend to be very territorial, and could easily hurt a young rabbit that they do not know. plus babies can get their heads stuck in the chicken wire. I think galvanized would work better. One thing I have to give credit to the Op for is that they are trying to research proper free ranging instead of turning them loose like so many here seem to think its OK to do.

 

[RiverOtter]

Quote:
I only wean colony rabbits that early, and only because I want them to live. They go in a special junior cage and get special feed. This is why I like to have does kindle in cages and I try to select for long-lactating, tolerant does. I like my babies to be nursed for 6 or 7 weeks for better growth rate, but not every doe will do it. And if a doe gets to that point in my ongoing, intensive culling then I'll humor her and take the babies. Two of my best producing does ever wanted nothing to do with their babies - and I mean NOTHING - at 5 weeks. There's no point in keeping them together then, the babies will just get hurt.

It's not always what we think is best, it's also about what the animal itself truly needs. And even does that will tolerate their babies longer will often not nurse them, so again, they're just crowded.

 

[ack123]

Quote:
I only wean colony rabbits that early, and only because I want them to live. They go in a special junior cage and get special feed. This is why I like to have does kindle in cages and I try to select for long-lactating, tolerant does. I like my babies to be nursed for 6 or 7 weeks for better growth rate, but not every doe will do it. And if a doe gets to that point in my ongoing, intensive culling then I'll humor her and take the babies. Two of my best producing does ever wanted nothing to do with their babies - and I mean NOTHING - at 5 weeks. There's no point in keeping them together then, the babies will just get hurt.

It's not always what we think is best, it's also about what the animal itself truly needs. And even does that will tolerate their babies longer will often not nurse them, so again, they're just crowded.

And you have a lot of experience with raising them like that too. Still don't agree with weaning early but you have to do what you have to do to protect them. I have had to wean early at times myself too. usually when something is wrong with the doe. As long as they are doing well, its OK. Free ranging isn't something you just jump into, or even go as far as turning them loose either. I think the info you provided is really good, and I hope people on read read and listen to it before they go jumping into it head first like that.

 

[DaKid]

uPDATE ; I know they will lots of heat once again with this subject, as once b-4 .................but I have as of know 1 pair of dwarf rabbits in with my 12 bantam ducks and 2 earstern woods turtles and a few pairs of Chukar (Partridge) and a few pairs of Asst. Bob's Quails and a trio of young blue ring tail Pheasants along with 6 bantam blue cochins chickens ...................................all has been getting along but the new ducks with old ducks which are only about a month or so apart ......there my headarches as of now................... all have been in a 650 sq ft pen /arivery , pleanty of brush - plants -grass - mini pond 10' x8' x 18" , trees - hiding spaceing - rocks and large tree stumps for climping up and about .................. all is good with the mini petting zoo of different animals and birds altogether ........I will be post updating pic's soon .............the only thing I'v having troable with is the GRASS seems like the ducks and rabbits are doind a number on it and cuzing bare spots or large patches .........little buggers .....................................................................