Should your rabbits live in Cages, Colony, or Tractors
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ค. 2024
- Which are better for rabbits: Cages, Colony, Tractors, or hutches? When you start researching, there is so much out there, it's almost information overload! If you are thinking about getting into meat rabbits, one of the VERY FIRST things you need to decide is how you are going to house them. I raise in cages and tractors, but I want you to make an informed decision, so I've invited four other channels to show you how they raise their rabbits. So let me know, which way do you think is best?
Be sure to hop over to each of these channels and check them out. Tell them Lorella sent you!
Dana at Piwakawaka Valley Homestead
/ @fantailvalleyhomestead
Jessa at Life at Sycamore Ridge
/ @lifeatsycamoreridge
Jordyn at Working Aussies Homestead
/ @workingaussieshomestead
Trisha and Jonah at Willow Creek Homestead
/ @willowcreekhomestead
I garden in the Missouri Ozarks and am in hardiness zone 6B.
-How to contact us and other info:
Email: lorella@PlanBeeOrchard.Farm
Mailing address:
Lorella Crews
HC 71 Box 300
Ava, MO 65608
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-Facebook: / planbeeorchardandfarm
I heard giving rabbits a 12X12 piece of tile keeps them cooler in the summer then replace with same size piece of wood for winter, just big enough for them but not big enough to poop on, sounded like a great idea to me👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
It’s very interesting to me that people successfully colonize rabbits. I have never had a successful litter raised in a colony ever. They’ve always died or been buried.
I’m very drawn to the colony idea, but I’m afraid of kits drowning in burrows. We get lots of rain here.
I do colonize many of my rabbits as long as they aren’t close to birthing. I love the idea. The thing also is that all my rabbits who stay in their cages seem much much healthier… I have a few that don’t get along with others so much and enjoy their cages and they never have any issues with digestive stuff, rust, grooming, mites, parasites, anything.
Mine are all in cages and never had a problem until I noticed last week one had ear mites out of nowhere....Still confused how it got them..@@MrsSecor
I was waiting for this video! I love how you broke it down! Very good advice for those looking to raise meat rabbits themselves 👍
I’m glad you found it helpful! Do you have rabbits or thinking about getting some?
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm oh yes! Raised rabbits for about 16 years now🙂 jessa (life at Sycamore ridge) is a recent friend of mine too. So when I saw she was doing this collaboration I had to find your TH-cam and check it out! I didn't always raise rabbits for meat so I once was out there scraping the internet and libraries for more information. So I was very pleased with this video, as it did cover many bases I once desperately tried to find! I hope this video is useful to so many others aspiring to be more self sufficient ❤
Thank you! That is EXACTLY why I made this video. 😊
We got an "airtight" wood stove, and what a BIG difference it made in keeping the house warm !!!
NIce video. We love how you explain the different set ups.
Reflective metal roofing the shiny chrome metal mirror looking stuff reflects the most heat and will stay cooler than painted roofing
Good tip! This metal was left over (partial pieces) from our house build.
Love the collaboration you brought together!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This was really interesting and great to see different set ups! Thanks Lorella!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
New subscriber and I’m so happy to have found your channel. I’m your poster child…city-girl gone country looking to become more self sufficient and realizing how much knowledge we’ve lost in just a few generations. Thank you!
Hey Michelle, so glad you found me, I’m excited to see where this new journey takes you!
Colonies and tractors give them the opportunity to run around. So much better than cages.
I agree!
Great info...now the decision...colony or cages...I love the colony idea!!!
Hi Lorella, I'm now collecting information on raising rabbits for meat. Thanks for the overview of different enclosures used. I found this video very informative.
Great! I’m glad to hear it.
Ideally its better for the rabbits in a colony, but I get that it can cause challenges. But nice to see the different options. Great video.
I would like to have a colony if I could do it right. I dream of having a colony. LOL
Ive tried colony with mine and ideally it's whatever you find works for your rabbits because my does would try to kill each other.
We love how this came together! We were just talking about if our setup was the best for us now that we have more experience with rabbits.
After watching this I’m feeling the urge to start a colony. 😂
Great info on paying attention to our locations in respect to timing litters. We had a similar issue and attribute it to the heat last summer. No babies in summer!
Great collaboration with wonderful channels!
They were so great to be a part of this. 💖 such good information.
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm yes it is! We actually adopted Willow Creeks feeding recipe a couple weeks. Very pleased with results so far.
I used ice water bottles, too, great a/c assistance
what a great look in to the pros and cons of different methods!
Thanks so much for being a part of this collaboration. I love your shed colony.
"mom they're your cages you made em that way" looooool so relatable hahahaha
That was one of my favorite things about this whole video. 😂
I just acquired two rabbits from someone who didn't want them anymore and just let them outside so I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep them safe/contained but also happy :) This video was very helpful!
I’m so glad you found this helpful!
Did i miss where your discussed the tractors? I didn't see that section. Thanks for all the other info!
You must have! I’m sure I went over why I raise in tractors, but it’s been a few years since I’ve watched this video, so I’m not sure where. If I have time I’ll skim through it and try to find the time stamp for you. :)
Thank you so much for this video! I currently only keep my rabbits as pets, but it’s still very interesting, and I found myself liking the thought of breeding and selling rabbits in the future.
Glad it was helpful!
I have a hoop house that I have my cages setup in. I like using cages. Easy for me to take care of.
Much better than frozen water bottles are ceramic tiles that are put in the freezer . They retain the cold and are great for keeping bunny cool.
I am in south Texas, USA, and use ceramic tiles in cages. I never thought to freeze them! Thank you!
Raising rabbit awareness! LOL this was great seeing all the sides!
Thanks for being a part of this video Trish!
14:50 I also use rabbit cages to raise Quail
I’m so glad it was helpful for you!!
Awesome information. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
When I had a chicken tractor, it was always a HEADACHE in the winter. Moving it around in muddy winter ground and managing frozen water was interesting, so I would consider a hybrid system like you. Breeders in cages and grow-outs in tractors through the warmer months (We have shade).
It works really well for us.
I got an email with your comment about frozen water, and there are basically three solutions I’ve seen:
1. Have double waterers a d bring out fresh to replace frozen couple times a day.
2. Have a closed loop system with nipples and hoses and a pump that keeps water moving so it won’t frees.
3. Electric heated water bottles. Which is what I use. Pricey up front but not so bad for years of use.
amzn.to/3q4pxtA
Great video. Thank you!
Thank you for watching and commenting. I’m glad you found it useful!
Good info
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Thank you very much
I’m glad you found it informative!
Thanks for this I getting meat rabbits in a few months
Good luck!
On the tractor rabbit… make a door/gate. Lock them in the hutch area while you move them
Great idea!
Great video thx. I’ve got a colony but im having issues with more dosile does having their babies and then never going back to visit the nest or having their babies all around the colony instead of in a nest …
Oh wow. I've never heard of that happening. It's got to be disheartening!
Great video
Nice seeing some of my friends:)
We breed rabbits too
We have some in cages some in pens and some out on the lawn
We had a colony but we had ups and downs and they broke out destroying the pen so we have chickens in there now easier to keep in there lol
Colony rabbits look happier together at times but they can get out easier
Sometimes the female tries to run off the buck or he likes to patrole the colony he would beat my cat up lol could not keep him in but go to feed them he would be in there again!? Lol
No control of breeding and not knowing if babies are ok if they dig a burrow
Babies come out of a burrow and they are about 4 weeks so they tend to be wild
Yes, those are some definite cons to raising in colonies. I did chuckle at your buck who managed to find his way back in for food. 😂
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm yes he's a funny boy in a cage now cuz he eats his way through the pens lol
Chicken wire and all lol
Much love xoxox
I enjoyed your overview on rabbit housing. I use three systems: cages, colony and tractors.
I would love to hear more about that! What purpose do you have for each? And how is your colony set up?
I run 3 does in a 10'X14'colony, with 3 sets of the two in ground 5 gallon bucket system as seen on Willow Creek Homestead videos. However, I find the 5 gallon bucket is a bit small for my New Zealand does. My plan is to change the litter bucket out this spring for a larger tote to give more room for the does to litter, as seen on The Rabbitry Center's videos. Once the bunnies are weined, they are placed in tractors, as seen on Living Traditions Homestead, to grow out for sale or freezer. My bucks are kept in cages for breeding. These cages have a manure catch system and it is dried for gardening. The cages allow me to keep better records on the blood line and breeding dates for when the litters are due.
Great info! New follower here :)
I’m so glad you found this helpful!
Thanks for all the info guys!
Have you tried deep mulching so you don't have to clean the coop so often? Any results to share?
I have done that with chickens, but never with rabbits. It was a lot of work come spring but nice for over winter.
I like the idea of rabbit tractor. But let's say you got wild rabbit feeding on the same pasture. Tame rabbit can catch disease from wild rabbits.
That is one of the risks, yes.
I build wire cages then build a rabbit tractor around four cages which are 24wx32lx18h My tractor is 96"L x 32"w x 24"t. I can move the tractor in my garden and don't have to take or shovel rabbit poop and come in with my tiller and it makes my garden produce more vegetables. My father always told me to think smarter so you don't have to work harder.
That’s awesome!
Hot humid summers in Missouri? Try the gulf coast…
Oh, I know! I lived in Southern Louisiana for five years. But believe me, it is plenty hot and sweaty here in my part of Missouri.
I have hutches, corrugated plastic underground tunnels and a play yard surrounded by electric netting. Now if it would just warm up I could finish construction!! Great video!
Wow! That sounds great. Do you have any videos of your set up? I’d love to check it out. I’m really wanting to try some kind of above ground colony system. I have to think long and hard on it though because flooding is a real issue here.
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm I'm documenting the entire build on my channel. I've never seen it done before but the more I learn about bunny behavior the more excited I am about it. :)
New Zealand accent so different
I bought nine does two bucks. I'm not keeping but four does. I trying to make up my mine which I gonna be breeding stock. I bought some black New Zealands but Im thinking. Black rabbits my just get to hot quicker. I think the tri colors or better looking.
I really enjoying having different colored rabbits. :) it’s interesting to see how the kits turn out
right now I have my rabbits in hanging wire cages but I want to switch them to a solid floor colony. I don't want them free breeding so I'm going to give the bucks each a 4'x4' cage and keep all of my does in a 12'x10' pen. this way I can have more than one breed of rabbit and keep them purebred. id love an opinion on this.
Yeah, I would love to do colony style, but I want to have the funds to do it right. If I did a colony I would keep the bucks separate, too.
Put a fan on them
So in the colony bucks can be with the babies after they're winged?
I’ll ask Trisha and get back to you!
Tractors with wheels, all the way ! (unless you live in a Flood/tornado zone or snows )
Unless you like spending more money on feed & more time cleaning, and watching your rabbits Fight over dominance 🙃and hurting each other 🤦♂️Not having control over breeding .
here we have to use off the ground cages otherwise it's just a matter of time before they get calicivirus or Myxomatosis.
"An animal sanctuary that specializes in rescuing rabbits from meat farms has been hit by the deadly myxomatosis virus" from local newspaper
Oh I’m so sorry to hear that. Where are you?
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm Tasmania
So in the colony how are you keeping them from digging out?
You’ve got to have some kind of barrier down in the ground to keep them from digging out.
Hello, am Kelvin a Rabbit farmer from Kenya. I see you feed the bunnies with green grass. While here at home, if bunnies are fed on green crops, they die quite often. How does it work with you?
From what i see here, a foundation (i.e. always fed part) of the diet provides a lot of forgiveness. 50-80% of the total diet is a rabbit pellet (16-18% protein and around 3.5% fat, fed at about 10-20 grams/kilo of rabbit) + hay/haycube. That i can top off with leaves (from trees or comfrey) and other greens if not too wet (wet, young stuff you can wilt/dry in a thin layer on a screen for some hours to make them safe), collect them directly into a basket (don't dump it on the ground) and leave the bottom 4 inches or so of plant. Treeleaves/branches, reeds and so on i cut 0.5-1m from the ground. This keeps parasites to a minimum. Don't change a does diet from breeding to weaning, so if you want to raise kits on greens they need to eat them along with mum for needed gutflora. And keep an eye on the proteinlevels, they provide a basic measure for other needed nutrients, but also meat = muscle = protein. And replace/clean out the greens every 12-24 hours probably closer to 12 in your warmer climate.
How do they die? Just suddenly or do they look sick, get diarrhea first?
One thing to research is if there are any rabbit diseases around you. The lady from New Zealand said she can’t raise rabbits outdoors because of the risk of a disease. They can also get diseases from eating grass, hay, vegetation that has been contaminated by sick rabbits.
@hillockfarm
Thank you so much for this thoughtful answer! I don't know how I missed this comment, I thought I had already replied to it.
@Elizabeth Hoagland Thanks for helping answer this question and give other possible causes of the rabbit deaths. I appreciate it, because somehow I thought I answered this comment and apparently did not.
I don't understand why people think that tame rabbit are like wild rabbits they ain't and wild rabbits don't live in a colony they live in they own place a buck will come by and breed her and if he come back around she will run him off are kill him dose that sound like a colony
I REALLY HOPE YOU SEE THIS, so I have 3 rabbits there all separate 2 girls 1 boy the boy was humping one of the girls and she was fine with us, we took her out, but them we went and put a girl we want to get pregnant but she started fighting very very bad and they ripped out each other hair, how do I get her pregnant?
Hi J. I'm sorry to hear you've had this problem.
There are many things you can try:
Sometimes a doe isn't ready, and you can wait a day or two and then she will be ready.
I would try putting the doe(girl) and buck(boy) in cages next to each other for a while so they can smell each other, but not get to each other, just so they get used to the scent of the other.
You can put a couple tablespoons of ACV (apple cider vinegar) in the doe's water to help her get ready also.
Also, always bring the doe to the buck cage, never bring the buck to the doe's cage. Does are very territorial and will fight if the buck comes to her cage.
If it is her first time to be bred, she might resist it. I had one doe who ran circles around the cage the first time, but by her 3rd litter she was lifting her back end.
Also, double check the genders of your rabbits. You might accidentally have two boys and not a girl at all.
Lastly, you can try breeding them in a neutral location, like a separate cage or a doggy "playpen" on the grass.
I really hope one of these options works for you! good luck!
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm thank you so much, I have had them next to each other for around 2 weeks I have checked the gender boy and girl, I made sure I put the girl in the boy cage, we are aware that this will be her first litter so maybe that’s problem, the girl has never been an angry rabbit but lately she has been very aggressive and we’re not sure why. Thank you so much for the help I might put ACV in her water thank you!
Do Rabbits not need access to their own poop tho? As they eat it for nutrients.
Rabbits do eat their poop (once a day) to help with digestion. It is actually fermented food and not regular poop and is called cecotropes (night feces). Lots of rabbit owners successfully use cages, but they are also usually feeding a pellet, which may be more easily digested than fresh plant matter. In my cages, the rabbits have a big ceramic tile and nesting box. This gives them a place where they can rest their feet from the cage wire, but also are places to poop their cecotropes.
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm Ah I didn't know if the Cecotropes would fall through. Answers my questions hehe.
I tried tractoring but they got coccidosis from the ground...how do you run them.on ground and avoid deaths due to disease.
That is a risk, and there are also diseases that can be transmitted from wild rabbits. So far I haven't had any issues, but if I did, I would have to find a different method of housing.
Also, Homesteaders of America has a blog post about this topic, and they say breeding for strong genetics or buying from breeding lines that do well on the ground can help reduce the risk. Here's a link to their post:
homesteadersofamerica.com/when-things-fall-apart-rabbits-coccidiosis/
The best set up for a colony I've seen is a video titled How to Build a Rabbit Colony on the channel Survival HT, check it out.
I will check it out, thanks!
can you use straw instead of hay?
You can use straw for bedding, but that can be a place for mites and fleas to hide. But rabbits need hay to eat.
excellent - when we see the benefits of rotational grazing, feeding on grass rather than feed (possibly toxic grain?) with cows, and wisely criticize feedlots and battery hens, why are we creating battery rabbits? Are they really used to cages? Doesn't the joy of space, real ground and togetherness (tractors or colonies) do something to counteract the supposed disease- proneness of colonies? To me, animal raising should be a symbiosis - man keeps animals from a hideous death by either predators or old age in return for the wonder of converting cellulose and grass into incredible nutrition... something that anti-meaters fail to understand. BUT, we also owe it to them to treat them humanely and even affectionately. It seems all too easy to just go for cages and grain, but shouldn't we be wary of this? Very valuable video!
So glad you liked it!
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I will never ever force my rabbits to live on dread wire metal gaze floor.it is cruel, for their feet
No responsible and ethical person who is raising an animal for meat production, where a breeding cycle is involved, would let the animal free range and procreate at will.
This is a recipe for disaster. Any competent, thoughtful person engaged in rabbit husbandry, will recognize this immediately.
And just because an animal's feet touch the mud, grass or ground, does not mean the operation or the animal is "superior".
No, I agree that feet on the ground alone doesn’t make an operation better. In fact this collaboration was not an attempt to promote one style over the other. In fact I made sure to include people who raise in different styles so the viewer could make the choice which housing is best for their animals.
And just because you raise colony style doesn’t mean your bucks are housed with your does all the time. Most colony breeders have their bucks separate.
I use tractors for several reasons. Which I just answered on the other video where you left a comment, so I won’t repeat them here, but I also have off the ground cages in a more traditional style rabbitry. I personally prefer tractors.
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm "Colonies" for domestic rabbits, are nothing more than CAFO with all the downsides. Rabbits are not protected against exposure to wild rabbits. These wild animals are vectors for disease such as RHDV2. They are also exposed to predation, extreme and sudden weather changes and whatever microorganisms that happens to live in the dirt and waste beneath them.
How would you monitor the health of an individual rabbit in a timely fashion? What if you had to quarantine an animal? What if one of the rabbits happens to have a litter down a burrow or better yet, if rabbits die down a burrow? Is this responsible animal management?
Raising rabbits in colonies are hands down, the worst possible scenario for rabbits. Lazy animal husbandry by cheap, "something for nothing" folks.
And expressing this colony preference by saying, "They can snuggle..." or "They can live naturally...".
Give us a break!
These sentiments just reveal the minds of confused persons who do not have the best care for the animal at heart.
BTW Lorella, your extension cord misuse is an electrocution waiting to happen.
And parasites and they just ain't any good
Fortunately, in the five-ish years I’ve raised rabbits in tractors I’ve not had any ear mites, fur mites, or worms. And no diseases. There is a rabbit disease that can be transferred from wild rabbits to domestic, and if that’s in your area then you should raise rabbits on the ground.
Like I said you ain't going to listen anyway and you probably hah some kind of parasite
Rabbits should never be put in cages, even less in ones with wire bottom.
Hutches are too small, they can be used for limited periods of time, if a rabbit is sick or when a new rabbit is introduced and needs to go through quarantine. Again, no wire bottom!
Rabbits need space to run and other rabbits to socialise. Yes, that is true for the breeding bucks. You can give them a neutered male for company.
At some time I would like to change to a colony, but our water table is so high (we live at the bottom of a “holler” near the creek) and get a LOT of rain, so I need to figure out how to do it without flooding the burrows.
@@LorellaPlanBeeOrchardandFarm don't let them dig burrows. They'll dig their way out. I paved my enclosures with concrete slabs. You can absolutely give them boxes with material they can dig in safely. Think of a mortar bin, or something like that.
I built them huts on legs to sit in, under or on. Always make at least two entrances, so they don't form a cul-de-sac. Rabbits like to have a back entrance/exit.
That's your opinion. In my experience, colonies on the ground end up losing a lot of kits, developing endemic coccidia problems, falling prey to predator attacks, and running the risk of catching things, including parasites, from the massive wild rabbit populations in our area (which is a huge concern as RHD spreads across the country). Cages with wire bottoms work just fine for our rabbitry.
@juliestade7529 it's your responsibility to make the enclosure predator proof and keep it clean. I didn't experience many losses. Don't let them free roam, they're bound to get eaten. Don't allow contact to wild rabbits. A double fence will do the trick. Vaccinate.