New to forum - planning large colony

[lasgsd]

Hello, all. My name is Lauri and I live in SE WI. I have raised rabbits before (in cage racks) and am planning on doing so again this spring - only this time I want to raise them colony-style.

Here are my two plans for my colony. Right now I’m leaning more towards the first plan but nothing will be set in stone until spring.

My goals are to raise enough rabbits to help feed my dogs and have a few left to sell off to help pay for the rabbit supplies. I don’t care about pedigrees or who bred who or due dates. The buns will be allowed to do what they want. I will keep an eye on them to see if there are does that are not breeding at all. Those will be butchered and a young doe will take their place.

I will need some smaller rabbits for my little dogs. I’m not sure if I want to raise smaller AND large rabbits or stick with the large meat breeds and take kits at a week or two of age for the little dogs. Another option is to have a mix of big and small breed does and set up a separate area for the bucks. That way I can control which breed of buck mates with which breed of doe so I get large and small kits.

Predators I’ve seen in our area are owls, hawks, coyote (hear them in the acreage behind us), raccoons. I’m thinking a hot wire would be necessary with either plan.


Here is the location I am looking at using. Both plans revolve around this location:




Plan A – Reuse the Old Rabbitry Building

The old Rabbitry building was built to shelter the cage racks we had. It’s over 30’ in length, either 8’ or 10’ wide and very tall (over 10’). It has a dirt floor and no sides.

I would lay down fencing all along the floor to keep the buns from digging out. I would also fence all along the outside – using 2” x 4” welded wire fencing (smaller stuff at the bottom to keep in the kits) and possibly going all the way up to the roof (instead of using a hot wire).

During the winter I would wrap the south side and west end in plastic and stack hay bales along the perimeter to give the buns a wind break. In the summer the building is shaded from the sun by both the barn and the tree but I might need to put tarps on the west end to keep the sun out of that end.

Inside the colony I would build nest tunnels and small shelters (for the colder weather). I would have a feeding area that is fenced off with a gate. The gate will be left open all the time – except when I want to collect rabbits for butchering. I would lay out the feed, let the rabbits gather, then close the gate and have a much smaller area in which to catch them.

Upside to this location – it’s already built, it’s hidden from view, and it’s shaded and sheltered by the barn and tree. I can check on the kits and keep on eye on them easier.

Downsides to this location – because it’s shaded nothing grows in there so it’s more work (and cost) for me bringing them food. The rabbits cannot nest naturally so I have to provide nesting places. My DH wants to move the building and make it a shelter WE can use – put in a picnic table and such (but moving it would be a huge chore).

Plan B – The Mound

The mound is a pile of dirt that has been overgrown with weeds, grasses and young elm and maple trees. It is the same dimensions as the building, maybe a bit bigger actually. It has some natural shade from the tree.

I would lay down 2” x 4” fencing on the ground around the perimeter (probably in a 4’ wide path). I would place the upright fencing (4-6’ feet tall) around the perimeter right in the middle of the fencing on the ground. This would keep the buns from digging out under the fence and keep others from digging in. I would put up some type of bird deterrent – either netting or lines.

While the buns would be free to dig nests wherever they wanted I would pre-dig a few holes at the top of the mound to encourage them to dig there. They would have a hard time digging down the mound and out of the pen as the mound is roughly 5-6’ tall and centered in the area I plan to fence off. I would also provide some small shelters. The feeding area would be set up the same as in Plan A.

Upsides to this location – there’s lots of fresh green food for the buns already growing there, I don’t have to provide nest boxes, the buns can stay warm and cool naturally and it’s a more natural environment for them.

Downsides to this location – more fencing will be necessary as well as the netting or lines, more risk of predators getting in and more risk of rabbits digging out (only because not ALL of the ground will be covered with fencing). I cannot check on the kits until they leave the nest holes.

So - any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, concerns, etc.!!

[wolffeathers]

I don't have any experience with colony setup or upkeep, but wanted to give you my opinion on what rabbits to raise.

I think that since your main purpose is to raise them for meat, that your best bet would be to go with the large meat rabbits. The reason I think this is because these rabbits were bred for large litters and quick growth, making them economical. Better to simply pull some of the kits from their mother a little earlier, than raise a small breed and let the mother raise them to weaning and however old they take to reach the size you want. Then you could simply keep one colony, don't worry about seperating sizes, and try to stay as economical as possible. ((On the other hand, dwarf breeds may sell better as pets, but I find most people buying rabbits from me want large rabbits for meat breeding as well. So there are pros and cons either way, but I think the commercial meat types are more suited for what you want)) If I was shooting for a certain butchering size, I would rather pull a kit before it gets too large, than to wean and feed a smaller breed kit until they reach the size I want.

Also a quick question on the mound site. If you allow the rabbits to dig their own tunnels for nesting and whatnot, how would you be able to gain access to the kits? (I would be hesitant sticking my hands down into a tunnel, personally. I try not to stick my hands where I can't see them to avoid snake and spider bites.)

It's an interesting project! I'd be interested to hear how it works out.

[KSALguy]

i would use the building, only i would tweek your plan a bit, with an inclosure that size you could acutally set up two separate colonys if you wanted,

first is their a foundation around the perimiter or just a pole barn set up with out a solid foundation?> eather way its fine, i would not put wire down over the whole thing, i would only wire the perimiter, and i would set up central hay bale cubes to centalize the rabbits activitys, does want a both a cental location and some kind of structure to dig their burrows, stack some hay bales togather with gaps between giveing them some hideing spots, they will jump and climb and eat off of them but more importantly they will start their burrows there, they will more than likely dig criss crossing tunnels localized in that area, i would make the hay bale maze at least 8 or 10 ft accrost and wide, with spaces and such all thru it, my entire warren collony stayed under a 8x8 chicken coop with out branching out far at all,

ONLY KEEP ONE BREEDING BUCK in the colony, start with young does or A single doe and then keep some of her daughters to build up the number of breeding does you want to keep, i like the idea of a feeding area that you can block off to catch them, that is a great idea,

if the building is 30ft long by 10 ft wide you could easily make two colonys if you really wanted to keep dwarf sized buns for the small dogs and not just harvest the kits as they come above ground, eather way would be fine,

[KSALguy]

also the Mound site would be better used as a rabbit garden, useing any weeds or plantings grown there to feed the rabbits in the colony rather than haveing the rabbits eat it down to dirt and then not haveing that available, you could really grow alot in that outside area for the rabbits kept in the shed colony,

[GoldenMom]

I'd probably use the shed myself. The buns won't get any extra feed off the outdoor area after the first few days, so the "extra" feed issue isn't really an issue. KSAL's idea of using the mound as a rabbit garden is a good one-you'll be able to get far more off the area if the rabbits aren't over grazing it.

[PulpFaction]

I concur, go with the barn. The mound will be more difficult to secure and won't stay green long with a herd of rabbits munching on it. I would probably divide the barn into two sections, since you have the space. You could then either have a larger breed and a smaller breed, or simply maintain greater genetic diversity with all large rabbits, harvesting young for the small dogs as you mentioned.

Good luck! I hope you share pictures as you build!

[Macybaby]

My initial reaction was - no! not rabbits on the Mound!. But when I lived in WI our "mound" was an integral part of our septic system.

I would also go with using the shed, for the reasons stated above. I think it will also be easier to keep secure - and everything likes eating rabbits.

[Cheribelle]

Ditto what KSAL said.
Stack hay bales all over, mine love to dig under them, that helps keep them from digging out. Also, they eat hay.
I agree 1 buck.
The gated feeding area is a good idea, however mine are pretty tame since I am in there every day.
I don't stick my hands into tunnels. The colony set-up is a lot more hands-Off, than cages.

[Michael W. Smith]

Originally Posted by Cheribelle

Ditto what KSAL said.
Stack hay bales all over, mine love to dig under them, that helps keep them from digging out. Also, they eat hay.

Since the old rabbitry is so tall, youi could put 3' tall chicken wire all around the bottom 3' of the building and then fence it in with 2" X 4" hole fencing. The chicken wire should keep young rabbits from wandering out.

And Cheribelle has a great idea with bales of hay or straw. Pile a layer of bales tight against each other for the "floor" of the colony. That will give the rabbits something to start digging in right away and they may not dig down so far into the soil. It would also help insulate the ground so it's not so hot in the summer.

[lasgsd]

Thanks for all the input!!

I have decided to go with the building (haven't told DH yet that he's not going to be able to use it ).

I really like the idea of using the mound for a rabbit garden! It grows tons of stuff there - I just need to make sure everything is safe for the buns.

I like the idea of having multiple colonies. I was thinking of one large one for the does and then two smaller areas for the bucks. One buck for the big girls and one for the small! That way I can have both sized does all live in the one colony.

A couple more questions ...

Do bucks burrow or will they be content with above ground shelters?

If I did the straw layer as a floor how often do you think I would have to remove EVERYTHING and replace the bales? I would imagine the bales would get broken down and need to be replaced as well as having to clean the floor of the rabbitry every so often. Maybe just set up a section of the floor with the straw bales? That way I could replace and clean up easier. Hmmm ...

Also, I thought about putting planters along the outside wall of the building, a few feet off the ground and growing some type of vine that the rabbits could eat. This would help shade their area, make the building 'look' nicer and the buns could have a regenerating treat (as long as the growing season lasted). More Hmmmm ...

[KSALguy]

dont put bales all over the floor, leave the ground bare, only make a stack of bales in the CENTER, the rabbits will jump and climb on that stack, they will hide between the bales and make their burrows there, they will use the hay to line their nests under ground, sence they like to burrow near solid structure they will keep their warren under and around the bales, there really wont be alot of clean up, you can rake the build up out and put it on the garden periodically, bucks dont dig burrows, they will dig scrapes in the ground to stay cool but thats it, in a colony setting your not going to be able to keep up on catching each doe relyably to move to the bucks cage and then back again, if you REALLY want to have both large and small breeds set up two separate colony pens and leave the breeding buck for each breed IN the colony, they will breed on their own schedual,

but honestly the one meat type is good enough, you can harvest kits at any size you need to feed to your dogs/cats, also just because you harvest larger rabbits doesnt mean you cant cut them up to the size you need,