anyone keep bunnies?

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diymirage

diymirage

HP@idle > hondaHP@redline
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hey guys i want to buy the kids a few bunnies for Christmass (as a gift, not as dinner)

i allready picked up a used little chicken coop that i think will make a nice hutch and i figured id see what suggestions you guys have on making sure these critters are happy and live a long time

i intend to keep them out on the deck during the winter, and then park them out on the back 40 come spring

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If you want to teach your kids about the reproduction process, this is one way.
 
I had rabbits outside in a hutch as a kid. Biggest issues are making sure they have fresh water And food in Winter that isn’t frozen and clipping their teeth so they don’t grow through outward through jaws preventing them from eating. You need to give them appropriate materials to wear their teeth down or clip them regularly.

Examine them routinely to determine if you need to clip them.

They also produce a lot of droppings so they need to be elevated by wire mesh when they are caged so they aren’t wallowing in it.
 
And protection not only from weather but other critters that like how they taste.
 
I would seperate the males from the females unless you want lots of bunnys real quick as in 30 days or so.
 
Louie70Dart said:
And protection not only from weather but other critters that like how they taste.
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True that. We eventually lost our rabbits to a pack of feral dogs that tore down their pen and killed them. It was a hard lesson for this 11 year old boy. I beat the last of them off with a stick but the rabbits couldn’t be saved after the damage that had been done.
 
Foxes and weasels and other Critters will attack them through the screening. I have seen rabbits that have bled to death because of fox or weasel had pulled their fur off through the wire mesh. Find a way to protect them from this.
 
They can be trained to use a litter box. We used a cat to train a couple of young ones.
 
we raised them for meat when I was growing up. They taste better than chicken to me. My brother and I had to kill and dress them which wasn't fun but worth it.
 
Snow White and Chocolate....they are sisters have been together their whole life..they are kept outside, take em in the garage when it gets really cold out...

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Ddaddy said:
They also produce a lot of droppings so they need to be elevated by wire mesh when they are caged so they aren’t wallowing in it.
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Use the rabbit droppings for the garden, rabbit poop "tea" for the tomato plants. The rabbits will product a LOT of droppings.....for sure!
 
Jadaharabi said:
I would seperate the males from the females unless you want lots of bunnys real quick as in 30 days or so.
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My wife had some rabbits when we first got married... One of the males knocked up two or three of the females... :D

One of them had babies that didn't survive, but in the two weeks after that before the male was neutered, he knocked her up again.... :BangHead:
 
thanks for all the advice guys

as far as the cleaning goes, there is a "roost" section (since its technically a chicken coop)
this has a few roost bars that sit over a pull out plastic tray
ill run some wire across there to keep the bunnies off their own poop

is there a trick to potty training them to only go that section?

i added just a little video i found online so you guys can see what it looks like

now, as far as predation is concerned, ive seen foxes and coyotes around the house, as well as dogs so im sure the other ones you guys mentioned are out there as well

the roost and laying boxes are all enclosed, so im thinking maybe ill just put them up there at night?
that should keep them safer, right?


now, does it make sense to leave the laying box partitions in, so the bunnies can have a little privacy or would they enjoy a large family room?


(i do intend to run wire under the bottom of it, to make sure they dont burrow out when i move it onto the grass)

 
I raised chickens for a while a couple years ago I had a hole operation of hatching them raising the chicks until they were old enough and then rotating them out with my slower layers if you know what I mean!? Well one day my wife wants to get some rabbits for the kids. I have this gigantic middle stage coop/pin for my middle aged chickens the ones that are to big for the broader but too small for the hen house. So I partitioned off a far amount of space and put the rabbits (two) in there. Those little bastards chewed thru the plywood partition and killed my pullets. Who knew rabbits didn't like chickens. ? It was a mass murder type thing but they chewed off all their wing and tail feathers and they couldn't survive they all ended up dying. So no more rabbits after that lol foxes ended up getting in my big coop and killing my whole flock. I gave up after that never replaced them.
 
I didn't think about a rabbit being aggressive towards chickens.
 
red67gts said:
And I bet he stomped his foot when he knocked her up!
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And fell off sideways.


We always put a piece of drywall in with them. They will chew on it, sit on it, poop on it but they love it.
Supposedly the chalk helps their digestion.
 
Jadaharabi said:
.
And fell off sideways.


We always put a piece of drywall in with them. They will chew on it, sit on it, poop on it but they love it.
Supposedly the chalk helps their digestion.
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Not that Chinese drywall, haha.
 
If your going to have the hutch sit on the ground I would lay fence on the gound and place the hutch on it. Then stake the hutch to the ground.
 
I have a 6 yr old neutered dog that chases foxes down, like he does gophers,mice,and rats. He chases cats too, but leaves his 13 year old house-mate alone, who I claimed on the day I brought him home.
One time, he ran at 22/25 mph for 5 miles before I stopped him; and sprints to 30 on occasion. He's not very big (60pounds), so 30mph is a sight to behold! I'm pretty sure he would lie in the pen with those bunnies and never touch them, provided I claimed them first.
That might be just what you need.
Nice-looking coop
 
We had one as a pet for a few years. I built a hutch for it out of pine and plywood. It had a few favorite areas to hang out and chew parts of the cage away. I replaced the destroyed pieces with composit wood like Trex and she didn't chew that up Also I got a black plastic masonry mix tub and made rails to slide it underneath as a poop catcher. Worked pretty good.
Just got back from my son's place. He has the hutch on his porch with rabbits in it now. I told him he needs to clean it out and he said he's waiting... When the bag of food runs out they are going in the freezer. LOL
 
The wife has two. A flemish giant doe named Remi and a lop ear buck mix named Bodie. Got the Flemmie from a local breeder and the wife saw the lop on a humane society page and HAD to get it. They're both fixed and potty trained. Took about a day each to litter box train.

They're both free range and have the temperament of cats. They cuddle and keep to them selves mostly. Only a little bit of chewing before they were fixed. They eat hay, feed and vegetables. They love to go outside and play in the snow. I had my doubts when she wanted to get a rabbit, but honestly, they're better behaved than our dogs. They are the dog's best buds.

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