Rabbit breeder's thread!

[therealsilkiechick]

thank you, she is a REW so she has ruby/pink eyes. i used to have a blue eyed white but lost her from catching something at a show. i have been looking for another BEW since. both r great but my fav is blue to be honest if i had to choose. they r just hard to find in my area.

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

I'm starting to get sick, but I managed to help start building the rabbit hutch today. We did get it about half done. It's going to be really cool. It's a portable double hutch with 2 run area's and 2 nest box's. It will have 4 doors, 2 per side. The nest box's will have doors so we can put bedding in and pull the old out. The run area's will have doors to access the feed and water. We will be putting a tin roof on also. Of course we will be keeping them seperate until we figure out the sex's of them. Don't want any surprise bunnies for Easter.

We used some lumber I got yesterday and some other pieces we had laying aroung from the chicken coop. I had to run out today and pick up a small box of 16 penny nails and 4 sets of hinges for the doors. Total yesterday was $28 and todays total is $22. I had some 1/2" hardwire cloth left over from the run and that's what we are using for the rabbits too. The total size of the hutch is 4ft high (2ft off the ground for the bottom of the living area), 6ft long by 4ft wide. Each rabbit will have 2ft X 6ft of space to live in, which is pretty large as compared to some that I've seen.

Well, here's a couple pics. Let me know if you think this is will be suitable for our rabbits to thrive in.

This is the newest baby bunny. The kids named him Midnight. We were told he was a he, but not what breed he is. Any suggestions? Here's a pic of the front with the holes into the nest box's. We should have made the holes up a little higher and not down on the bottom, but that was an after thought. To late then.

And here is a picture of the sides. We used some of the left over camo'd (wood from the coop) to make the nest box's. The orange is left over from another project also. That's my son down there painting.

And finally the nest box's. There will be 2 doors on this side to allow access to change the bedding. I also found a nice picture of our large white rabbit. He's been living with the chickens for the last 5 months. Now that we have this new bunny, We decided they both need their own homes.

Please feel free to let me know if you think this double hutch will be suitable for the two rabbits we now have. Not sure of the sex or breed of the white rabbit, so breeding may be out of the question if they are both males. Actually, we're not sure what breed the little black bunny is either. Any info would be helpful. This is my first experience with rabbits and really want to make sure we are doing it right so we can teach the kids right.

 

[1Chick Magnet]

Quote:
that looks like a pretty nice setup to me. I am a beginner so will let the experienced people comment.
how well did it work to have the bunny live with the chickens? also wondering if the bunny chewed much of the chicken coop.

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Quote:
Well thank you 1Chick Magnet. We are new to the bunny's also. I have been shopping around and searching online for a cage/hutch for them, but they were soooo expensive. I figured we could just build one cheaper.

No he didn't chew on the coop and he got along with the chickens pretty well. We put his cage on the floor in the corner of the coop and then we put a large piece of plywood on top of that so the chickens couldn't poo down in or on the bunny. We left his cage door open so he could have free run. But he did keep most of the chickens out of this cage. He did let the 3 laying hens we rescued with him into his cage to lay their eggs, then he would lay on the eggs to keep them warm.

 

[1Chick Magnet]

Quote:
Well thank you 1Chick Magnet. We are new to the bunny's also. I have been shopping around and searching online for a cage/hutch for them, but they were soooo expensive. I figured we could just build one cheaper.

No he didn't chew on the coop and he got along with the chickens pretty well. We put his cage on the floor in the corner of the coop and then we put a large piece of plywood on top of that so the chickens couldn't poo down in or on the bunny. We left his cage door open so he could have free run. But he did keep most of the chickens out of this cage. He did let the 3 laying hens we rescued with him into his cage to lay their eggs, then he would lay on the eggs to keep them warm.

we are building too. I have 4 bunnies in cages in the coop until their house is finished. If I let them out to run, they head straight for the walls and start chewing. they also like to play chase the bunny when it is time for them to go back into the cage. fun for them, not so fun for me.

my chickens were scared of the buns for about a week.

 

[1Chick Magnet]

is it ok to feed the bunnies dried bananna peel?

 

[flgardengirl]

I bred a netherland dwarf female to a long haired blue lionhead male. I got 7 black longhaired babies. They are about 4 weeks old. What should I be feeding them besides the regular rabbit food and timothy hay? Can they have everything the mom eats or do I need to feed them some sort of special weaning food?
I just removed the nestbox from the hutch. I put in some hay for them to sleep in but it is pretty warm her at night now in the upper 50's F. Is there anything else I should be doing now?

 

[rilly10]

I am getting anxious...my first litter is due this weekend!!! The nestbox goes in Friday and I am getting super excited! This is a proven doe and proven buck but my first litter. The doe is a black ND who carries chocolate and dilute and the buck is a broken lilac.

I am hoping for blacks, lilacs, blues, and chocolates in a mix of self and broken. Really though I just hope for a few non hippo or peanut babies!

 

[SillyChicken]

we're expecting a littler any time now!

I always get excited when I see the doe with a mouth full of grass or fur... it also really makes me laugh too!

 

[SillyChicken]

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If I understand it right, pellets and hay only for the babies, no fruits or fresh greens cause they'll cause Diarrhea. I don't know how true that is. I have given, in small qty, greens to the weened kits with no problems.