Yeah, the top opening 10 unit cages are my favorite for convenience and low cost, but my future rabbit fecility designs are going to BLOW even these away. I will share these with you when they are finished (the plans). For now I am invisioning something like this: An 8 by 50 foot building, approx 8 feet high. There would be a wide door centered on each 8 foot end of the structure connected by a 4 foot aisle that runs between two double high rows of 25 built in, continuous cages. This would add up to 100 cages. The waste trays below each row of cages would not be open to the facility, but rather to long narrow trap doors cut out of the exterior walls and hinged and latched. This would enable them to be scraped out once a month or so from the outside of the facility into a wheelbarrow as you run alongside the structure. Makes for convenience and a much cleaner facility. I would also build into this a slanted groove and "raingutter" type system to drain out the urine as it is excreted. This would make for a MUCH drier poop and thus much easier to manage. In the middle of the structure there would be a powerful swamp cooler ducted to equal parts of the facility and conneced to a thermostat.
The finished product will end up being much more sophisticated, of course, but this is just what I have rolling around in my head for the time being. This would enable me to run 96 females to 4 males and this should suffice to feed my snakes for another year, as well as build up a frozen reserve. This last year, even with 60 females on average, with low survival rates of offspring due to heat (4 per litter on average!) and a lower percentage of successful matings, we experienced shortages and had to purchase rabbits elsewhere at times. I don't like to do this as I like to know EXACTLY how the rabbit was raised that is going into my 10,000 dollar breeder. You know?
Yeah, I stay up until 5 or 6am every night and usually wake up around 1 or 2pm (I gotta get my 8 hours) I just wish there were more postings late at night.
>>See i didnt think of having a top opening.
>>All my cages have 6 sets of two swing doors as you can see in the pic above.
>>One 12' Long row costs me about 200 Bucks in Supplys.
>>Wood, Mesh , Tarps For the cold, latches , 2x4's , bowls , bottles , Hinges.
>>
>>Heh , there's just gota be a better way.
>>I just cant think of anything.
>>LoL.
>>But Yeah i'd love to see your plans.
>>Thanks bro.
>>My E-mail is Diseasedstran@aol.com
>>
>>>>Hey Bro,
>>>>
>>>>My rabbits are not set up exactly like the rats are. They are all in outside hutches. Though I am mentally designing a rabbit facility that we will soon be building. This so that we can control the temps all year. We lost waaay too many offspring this summer due to heat waves. So by next summer I will have a rabbit facility outlined, designed and built.
>>>>
>>>>The rabbit sytems I have now consist of 4 different kinds of hutch systems. One is a 12 unit, 4 wide, 3 high, condo style hutches with waste trays between them. These are 100% hard wire construction with steel shelving angle bar frame/infrastucture. These work fairly well, but I want to get away from the poop tray concept. This multi-unit rack has auto-water valves and large feed trays. The second home made type multi-hutch system consists of two, 10-unit, single level hutches. These are set at about 3 feet off the ground with two top entry sheet metal doors. The logic in this design is that there are 10 cages but they all share wire walls. This equates to less materials to build it. With the two top access doors this also elliminates the need for 10 sepperate and individual doors. Again, less materials such as hinges, bolt latches and door frame wood. On these cages I tried out my prototype converted coffee can feed trays. They work splendidly. Rather than try to explain how to build them here, I will simply take pictures of them soon and will post them. But on a 10 unit hutch, this will save you 80 to 100 dollars alone in feed tray cost. These cages, like all the others have auto-water valves. The third type of hutches are more of a standard-type hutch. These were built first and are simply stilted, 5 unit hutches 10 feet by 3 feet with slanted wooden roofs. There really isn't much to say about these. The fourth type are 10 unit, solid wire, continuous row type cages. This meaning that they extend 24 feet to make for 10 individual units each. These are factory built cages and I really don't like them much. They have a small front access wire door that is just a pain. I can't wait to phase these out.
>>>>
>>>>Well,. that's about it on the rabbit front. I'll try to get some pictures up soon. If I don't have them up in a few days just drop me an email and I will email them to you personally.
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>>>>>>Brian. I was wondering if you might be able to send me some Pic's of your rabbit Breeding Racks and such.
>>>>>>Right now i have 4 females 2 males and about 45 babies at various ages. I keep them 3 to a box , 3 boxes to a 12' rack untill weaned.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Then they go into holding hutches that are 2 foot wide 3' deep and 6 to a 12' rack. I'm still using food bowls and Water bottles and it's just killin me to try and get things done every day being in a cast.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I have 3 breeding Sheds.
>>>>>>Being Checkered Giants and Flemish Giants. I cant put more than 3 or 4 adults to a 12x6 Shed. I never though of anything like you got goin there in your rat setups. That would make it alot easyer. But Honestly , i dont have the room to do something like that on such a large scale with the rabbits. The oldest pair i have right now are turning a year old. And there about 15 pounds and about 30" in length.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I cant see having 50 of these. I'd love to keep them all outside but frankly. It's to cold in the winter and the neighbors wouldnt like the smell i'm sure.
>>>>>>Keeping them in the 3 Sheds i have , the Smell & Mess is hidden away For the most part.
>>>>>>Heh , I just lost track of my point.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I took a few vicoden about a half hour ago so i'm rambling again.
>>>>>>Anyway , I could use a Stacking rack System like yours.
>>>>>>It would have to be 3 racks per wall , with some floor space.
>>>>>>that would leave them with enough room and enough to store and walk between i think.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Any ideas Anyone could come up with would be great.
>>>>>>S&M Reptiles.
>>>>>>-----
>>>>>>Seth Mason.
>>>>>>Do lesbian frogs think they taste like chicken too ?
>>>>-----
>>>>Human "progress" equates to nature's demise.
>>-----
>>Seth Mason.
>>Do lesbian frogs think they taste like chicken too ?
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Human "progress" equates to nature's demise.
