[cowboy joe]

I raise rabbits and am starting to raise quail. Cages are fairly easy to make but I'm always at a loss for what to use for a litter pan. Usually the litter pan ends up being made of wood, sealed with bathtub caulk, and coated with several coats of poly. This works but I'm wondering what others are using. I've considered aluminum baking pans put they are usually too small and flimsy. Any suggestions?

 

[Michael Leferink]

cowboy joe,

I've never made litter pans, but I have heard of people making them out of sheet metal. Maybe some one on the list who has made them will respond with better information. We always let our rabbits droppings fall to the ground and shoveled it up for garden fertilizer when enough has accumulated.

Good luck,

Mike

 

[shaneymc]

we staple pieces of tarp to wooden frames for our pan system.
cheap, and pretty durable.

 

[gefozarks]

For rabbits in any number I think that pans would really add up to a lot of work. I did notice that you said you were going to reaise quail. If the litter trays are for them you might try even using flashing on wood. You might even consider using the disposable aluminum cookie sheets.

 

[cowboy joe]

The trays are mainly for the quail but I do use them on occasion for the rabbits. The main rabbit hutches are outside. The droppings from the bottom hutches falls to the ground. I stack the hutches so I use an angled piece of sheet metal below each of the stacked hutches to deflect the droppings away from the lower cages. This works great for the main hutches.

There are also some breeder cages inside the barn that I use for kindling does. The barn floor is stone which makes cleanup a real chore. I use litter pans in this area. They are easy to empty and wash out. This keeps the odor down in the barn and keeps the activity to a minimum near the does, especially before kindling.

The quail are another issue all together. They are kept in stackable breeder cages. The pans make life easier here too.

I thought about the aluminum cookie sheets but they are much smaller than the cages. I've heard of some folks using galvanized metal and might give that a try if I can come by a cheap brake. Never thought about the tarp on wooden frames...actually have a bunch of scraps of 6 mil poly...could probably put some over the wooden frames and replace as needed.

Also had a suggestion from another board to put a trash bag over a wooden frame. Cleanup then becomes turning the bag inside out as you pull it off. Seems somewhat wasteful but worth sharing just for informational purposes.

Thanks to all for the response.

 

[justgojumpit]

why not do this with plastic bags from the grocery store?

 

[RoyalOaksRanch]

The trays are mainly for the quail but I do use them on occasion for the rabbits. The main rabbit hutches are outside. The droppings from the bottom hutches falls to the ground. I stack the hutches so I use an angled piece of sheet metal below each of the stacked hutches to deflect the droppings away from the lower cages. This works great for the main hutches.

There are also some breeder cages inside the barn that I use for kindling does. The barn floor is stone which makes cleanup a real chore. I use litter pans in this area. They are easy to empty and wash out. This keeps the odor down in the barn and keeps the activity to a minimum near the does, especially before kindling.

The quail are another issue all together. They are kept in stackable breeder cages. The pans make life easier here too.

I thought about the aluminum cookie sheets but they are much smaller than the cages. I've heard of some folks using galvanized metal and might give that a try if I can come by a cheap brake. Never thought about the tarp on wooden frames...actually have a bunch of scraps of 6 mil poly...could probably put some over the wooden frames and replace as needed.

Also had a suggestion from another board to put a trash bag over a wooden frame. Cleanup then becomes turning the bag inside out as you pull it off. Seems somewhat wasteful but worth sharing just for informational purposes.

Thanks to all for the response.

Ive used tin roofing as "pans" you just cut them to the size you want, angle them if you want it to roll off the back front etc.. Works good... And since its solid you dont have the problem of getting poo/urine on you if you use them flat. Either the greenhouse type or the metal works good... The greenhouse type allows som light in which is nice, ecspecially if they are angled so that the mess runs off...
So hows the quail breeding going? You getting chicks yet? Mine werent laying good, til I decided to count heads and found I had about 18 too many males... We will be having them for supper soon LOL.. I saved only the biggest and we are culling the rest Hee hee.. BBQ time
Did you ever get any of the dark ranges?? I am just amazed at the size difference.. They are at LEAST twice the size of the LD1's. I cant wait to start hatching out babies...

 

[cowboy joe]

Funny you should mention quail. The next batch is headed for the incubator later tonight. Only 5 Dark Ranges hatched from the first go round out of which only 1 is a hen. Sounds like the dinner bell will be ringing after they fill out some more even though they are already huge! I should probably separate out the males shorty before they start to fight over the hen.

I can tell it's spring...getting the 'more critters' bug real bad. It's 'chick week' at a couple of the local feed stores. Had to remind myself that two of the three Rex does are due at the end of the month along with the next batch of quail.

Thanks to everyone for the ideas on the litter pans.