04/11/10, 02:13 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: IN
Posts: 4,898
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Yes, there is pop holes cut out in the side of the building. Inside there is wire front wooden boxes with lids that lift and are divided in half with a divider for a nesting area- thier feeders and water bottles are inside. This building has wooden bottom cages...now I had some rabbits that were dirty inside so when I built the same set up on my other coop, I put wire bottoms on those...so any rabbits that cannot keep the inside box clean go in that building. My only regret when I built the second coops cages is that I should have put more of a slope on the roof of the lower level. The roofs are plywood covered in plexiglass (display boards that I recycled) and I figured with a slope, all the droppings would run off. Well...they are not. I have to scrape the droppings off the roof of the lower cages. Also, I have to use covered J feeders or use crocks in that building. We will be doing some adjustments because of this...putting a bigger slope on the roof of the bottom row of cages. I thought about extending the roof out beyond the feeders, but then that will make the J feeders impossible to fill unless I hinge the extension or lift each roof to feed. With the covers on the feeders though, it does not contaminate feed...I just scrape the cover off if I find poo on it when I feed.
It is really not too complicated of a design. The outside cages are normal wire cages. The inside cages are basically a box with dividers and a solid wire front. Now I did go to covers that lift off the cages as it was a pain to hold up the lid when cleaning. So I took off the hinges and placed a cleat of wood at the bottom- so now all I have to do is take the top off and I can clean easily. All in all though I like that I can care for the rabbits inside the building (especially when the weather is bad), I also like that the rabbits are protected from the elements (in winter I place a trap over the front of the outside cages the sides are covered with privacy fence), I like that the chickens keep the droppings stirred up and the trays are easy to get out and dump from the upper cages (they sit on top of the lower cages). I love that I don;t have to worry about placing nest boxes...just toss in straw in the one compartment and place a piece of cardboard over the wire on that side- anchored by the wood frame. I don't have to worry about nest boxes tipping or babies being born on wire or babies getting out of the nest box until they are old enough. If they get out of the box when a little older, they would have to jump up to get to the outside area (the inside boxes sit 8 inches below the bottom of the opening to outside). Even my messy does will keep the inside box clean when she is due to have her babies. I do need to go through and replace some of my dividers on the inside boxes as the rabbits have chewed them down. I will replace them with metal.
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Originally Posted by Shygal
Can the rabbits get inside the shed with that set up? I am designing mine in my head and I would like where they could go inside or outside as they wanted, and every design I think of is too complicated lol
Nice goat shed!
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Willowynd Collies
"A breeder is at once an artist and a scientist. It takes an artist to envision and to recognize excellence, and a scientist to build what the artist's eye desires."
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, so I've about finished our newest goat shed.
What is the overall size? Looks like what I need!!
