HOW TO BUILD A RABBIT CAGE & WHY WE CHOSE CAGES OVER COLONY RAISING
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
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HOW TO BUILD A RABBIT CAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2:08 BUILDING THE CAGE
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ABOUT THIS VIDEO:
In this video we share how we build our cages. We go over why we farm using cages and we even talk a little about store bought cages. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section.
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AMAZON LINKS FOR PRODUCTS IN THIS VIDEO-Thank You
1"x2" 14 gauge cage wire for sides- amzn.to/329GWVT
1/2"x 1" 16 gauge for bottom cage wire- amzn.to/2vOJf4B
1"x 1"x 36" Top Cage wire- amzn.to/2TFKL18
J-clips- amzn.to/38anYzB
Pliers- amzn.to/2I7eHOi
J-clips and pliers- amzn.to/3bWUcSi
Door latch- amzn.to/2wxJmlm
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Grinder- amzn.to/2uZgwty
Battery- amzn.to/3afPjll
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Just a tip from an ol' man that started raising rabbits with my Grandpa back in the 70's...Always put your gate on the inside of the cage and hinge at top, that way the door swings/opens to the inside of the cage and the rabbit(s) have to move away from the opening preventing jumping out..Also if you let go of the door it automatically closes because it's hinged at the top. This is a prevention from cage doors being left unlatched or left open by children etc.. the door will still be closed preventing rabbit escape.
Use hooks made from wire or clip latches on the doors to hold them open if needed.
I appreciate you taking the time to share. We had those on our last round of cages and used carabiners to hook on the top of the cage when we needed to hold them open. I like both styles.
One style prevents predators from pushing in / one style prevents rabbits from getting out
when handling litters.
Will be starting our rabbits this year. Your channel is proving to be very helpful . Glad we're friends. Enjoyed . Thanks 🇨🇦
Thank you for the feed back. I'm so glad your getting some use out of it.
same here!
Enjoyed watching - looking to start raising rabbits - like 132 and hug from your new friends in France - hopefully your pop over to our channel as we always support back
Excellent video and perfect timing!!!! I was thinking about how to make my own wire cages just the other day :)
Thank you. Glad I could help. Now let's see if I time the next video perfectly.
Hey just watched your video. Thank you for taking the time. Question? Do you have a link to show how to build the wood cases/ hutch the cages rest in? That too would be an equal blessing. Thx
Absolutely. Here you go the audio isn't great but I hope you still find it helpful. Thanks for watching.
th-cam.com/video/KUoOVswrpLs/w-d-xo.html
Just an idea for a video...
I juat got in to rabbits. I built a hutch. 12×4, 6-hole. I would love to see a video of you holding up various gauges of wire mesh. Maybe with your hand behind it to show the actual thickness and wgy one would or would not want to use that gauge of wire. I vwt it would get a lot of views. Also, maybe a more in-depth vid about the burried nest box system. We live in Florida where it gets so hot. I thought about burying the whole hutch practically and making like an earthen house to keep my rabbits cool. It is already hot enough to make them pant. I worry what summer holds for them. Anyway, love your videos. Great ideas and keep up the good work.
Absolutely. I'm doing it. That's awesome of you to share your idea. I appreciate the feed back.
I would absolutely love to watch a detailed series of videos on breeding. I absolutely love my new bunnies and I've decided to invest more in them, not really as a way to profit but more as a hobby for me and my mom. I have my 3 californians, I'm planning to buy 1 or 2 Rex does (pure white and Harlequin) and one Transylvanian Giant doe (it's a very new breed, romanian, based on the californian, Flandra Giant and our common grey romanian rabbit). The blue eyed New Zealand sounds like an amazing idea . Yeah... Any recommendations on books of this topic?
A series sounds like a lot of fun. I enjoy my rabbitry as well. It's turned out to be such a rewarding hobby. Sounds like you'll have a lot of cages to build. I'll try to get that video out as quick as I can. Thanks for watching.
@@TheRabbitryCenter among some other things I have planned for the not so distant future I'm gonna build my bunnies a little house (basically a glorified shed).
Books- On our amazon page we have several rabbit books that are very good. Check them out when you get a chance
www.therabbitrycenter.com/the-rabbitry-centers-favorite-products/
You seem to take very good care of your rabbitry and I enjoy your videos. I only have 2 neutered rescue rabbits. In the past I had wire cages with wire similar to yours and I would have trouble with rats getting in there for the feed. Rats will bring all the ticks, worms, and disease to your rabbits and it's just a bad thing IMO. I have since gone to 1/2 inch hardware cloth with litter pans for the poop. I use the poop in worm farms anyway, and I would rather deal with the rabbit poop than rats/mice in my hutch.
Rats would be a game changer. We're fortunate to not have rats in this part of Michigan. They have them in Detroit but not in Bath. We keep all the feed in the cage up top with their water bowl. We check the runs daily for digging and tracks. We add dirt and try to secure the perimeter the best we can. I also built my last run with hardware cloth where I used to build them with 2"x 4". But I did this to prevent kits from getting out not preventing something from getting in. But it does work both ways.
Would you say these cages are better quality than the ones you originally bought (from the "farm store"). I priced it out, and buying either one will cost about the same for me. But if these handmade cages are better quality, we will go with that. Appreciate your opinion, thanks!
Making your cages will last much longer. If you need a cage or would like to get started and are willing to build down the line than store cages would work for you. But you'll get much longer use from a galvanized cage vs the store bought;. They last a 3-5 years at the most.
Glad that we found you... Great informative videos and very relaxing presentation style. Thank you! I was hoping that this video would mention the "hay shelf" that I see in some of your other videos. We feed our rabbits hay through the side, have been wondering about that suspended shelf that we've seen rabbits climb/jump up to to eat the hay. Do you add those, or do they come with commercial cages? Thank you.
I make these hide boxes. It's pretty simple. Here's a video on it. th-cam.com/video/C1TiZkxPBzY/w-d-xo.html
I'll do a video on the hay shelf. Great idea thanks.
Getting fancy with the new editing skills, the video looked great! That's how I made my cages, too. I do like your latches.
lol. thanks so much for that. This comment made me smile. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
@@TheRabbitryCenter I saw several months ago many of your doors push in & up with Alfalfa on them. I can't find that video anymore.
I'm designing a new set of enclosures ( four Rabbits wide × two Rabbits tall) total of eight Rabbits [each rabbit enclosure is approximately 30 in Cube / 30in × 30in × 30in] and I'm using that style door that pushes in and up.
I would like a closer look at the style latch [or a link I can order that kind] that you use on those doors to hold them in & up out of the way please.
@@littlekingcobrasden4217 You bet thanks for asking here you go.
amzn.to/2BwK2tG
@@TheRabbitryCenter @The Rabbitry Center Really! It's just 3" Carabiner keychain? I'm very surprised! Because the video I Remember, at least the part I remember, seem like you pushed down a little bit before pushing the door in and up to unlatch it. This led me to believe it was some kind of spring-loaded latch. While waiting to see a response from you. I found rabbitnipple.com, Amazon, and eBay all have latches like these: images.app.goo.gl/jmMYDCNrGVKkic1H6
Considering at the moment I only needed eight of them and most of these places had them in 25 or more I found some at rabbit nipples. Com where they were selling them in groups of 10. I can't remember offhand, I think it only cost like $15 after shipping for one group of 10. So for now that's the option I went with. I'm thinking if I mount one in the bottom center of each door that would give me a latch to hold it closed as well as when I push the door open will give me a latch to hold it up out of the way. My original plan was to build this 10ft tall by 10-foot which would have been 4 rabbits tall and 4 rabbits wide but after seeing what two rabbits tall looks like I decided to stop there and if I need more enclosures I'll build another set. At 5 ft tall sitting on Hay dock blocks, that's plenty High Enough. If I did a third layer on that, that would cause me to have to have a step ladder for the third or fourth row of rabbits. kind of wish there was a way I could show you a photo or short cell phone video of what I have. And maybe from there see what suggestions you could offer for future and closures of a similar design that would allow me to hold more rabbits in the same amount of space.
Currently each individual rabbit enclosure is approximately 30 in tall. So two rabbits tall makes it approximately 60 in which is almost 5 feet by the time I put it on top of haydock blocks. I'm thinking maybe the next set I build, each individual enclosure will only be 15 in tall. This would allow me the four rabbits tall within the same overall Heights space.
At the moment, I have five rabbits total. One buck that acts like he doesn't know what he's supposed to do with the dose ( at first I thought maybe he was just too young yet, but I've had him close to a year now.) and 4 dose. Because I only have three original enclosures that are fully latchable that's what I'm keeping all five of the rabbits in for now. This means the buck lives with the doe that really want to breed and is a proven breeder Doe, two of the dogs live together and window gets her space all to herself. My goal is to allow each rabbit to have his or her own space unless breeding. Which of course as soon as these latches arrive, and I set 10 haydock blocks or the enclosure to balance on so it's up off the ground ( one in each corner and several in the middle to support the weight from Boeing down in the center) I can start using these enclosures. At the moment I only have six blocks I'll have to go buy four more haydock blocks.
For now, just as a building surface , I have it sitting on a pickup truck bed tool box that is close to the same height of haydock blocks. Later, when money permits, I'll eventually build a wood shed around these with a metal roof. For now due to lack of materials and money I've just placed a couple of corrugated sheets of tin over the top so they can have some shade and some shelter from rain. I do have them all on a auto watering system from an extremely well filtered garden hose system. I chose this method of watering because too often not go out there and find water and bowls tipped over or empty. so I tried watering nipples fed from a 5 gallon bucket on a hose. Well that ended the water bowls being tipped over but there were a few times I went out and would find the five gallon bucket with the empty faster than normal. So I added a float valve inside the five gallon bucket and hooked up a filter garden hose to it. now the garden hose makes sure that bucket stays full in the bucket acts as a pressure regulator from the garden hose and ensures all the rabbit nipples have water supplied to them at all times. And during the winter, I can drop a fish aquarium heater down in the five gallon bucket to make sure the water doesn't freeze on them. I have a similar system setup for my chickens with a 55 gallon water barrel and a fish aquarium heater. So the fish heater has proven to work. I just haven't figured out how to fit a float valve inside a 55 gallon barrel without cutting it open. I'm trying to keep the plastic 55 gallon drum sealed so leaves and bugs don't land in it and mosquitoes don't breed in it. I could easily do it with a metal one with a clamp on lid but then I have to worry about rust. I have heard of plastic 55-gallon drums with resealable lids but I have never seen one. of course the ones I've heard of, they're usually talking about making moonshine with them. I don't know much about that stuff. I think they said they stored the mash (whatever that is) In it or something like that?
@@littlekingcobrasden4217 Thanks for taking the time to write your comment and thanks for watching. If you need any more cage parts check out our storefront.
www.amazon.com/shop/therabbitrycenter?listId=1JX4S4TJ49ZOR
Why have I never thought to use an angle grinder to cut wire mesh?
When I have to cut a lot, I'll break it out. So much better than cramping up your hand from too much snipping. Thanks for watching.
any recommendations on wire gauge for the bottom? 16 vs 14 gauge?
If you can find 14 gauge 1/2" x 1" I'd use it. Rabbits will do great with 16 gauge 1/2 x 1" but it's always the most important thing to concentrate on a balanced diet to avoid an over weight rabbit
I wish you would mentioned the gauge of the wires, I just built 3 cages, first time. 16 on the sides and 14 on the bottom and I'm having a hard time believing the welds on the side will hold from the weight of the rabbits and floor. Well find out in a few days. Great video thx
If you click the video description below - show more- all the Cage wire has links and descriptions Here's another informative video about cages th-cam.com/video/LD7FKx9U5i4/w-d-xo.html
@@TheRabbitryCenter thx brother
has anyone found a better source for bulk buying the .5" by 1" 16ga wire for the bottoms? With a 10' a roll you're only getting 3 cages with a 1' of waste. I found a 100' roll listed on Wal-Mart for $234, but they are sold out. looking for 100'+ lengths of 30 or 36" "heights". I see 24" heights are in stock in most places, but was preferring to make the cages 30 by 36.
Hanks for sharing the Walmart deal. The best deals I’ve found are all on this page
Check out this Idea List on Amazon: HUTCHES/CAGES by Bobby Jimenez a.co/59Q9wd4
I'm in hardiness zone 4a and just starting to get into silver fox rabbits. How do you keep rabbits comfortable in the winter time? Would it make sense to set up a nest box with hay in it so the breeders (including one for the buck) can stay cozy? the low is -35F at times so I'm not sure their fur will be enough to keep them warm even if they are in a small out building.
Here’s some videos to help you get through the winter th-cam.com/play/PLNYLb_YcNZX1a2ro_10aliXRZsjqP0XTl.html
Old fart - 2 cents - I always make sure to put the weld wire 1/2" spacing up on my floors. As opposed to the 1" spacing being the side the rabbits tread on. Maybe just another rabbit myth, but that is the way daddy taught me.
That's good advice thanks for sharing!
Hello Bobby. I find a wire net 0.4x0.4 - 13 gouge. You think it is ok for bottom? I wonder if is ok for white Neo. Thank you
That sounds like it'll work hopefully the manure will still fall through the cage floor. Bottom
Just an FYI. I followed the link to purchase some wire from Amazon but the item wont enter my cart. I had to purchase directly through Amazon, so you didnt get the affiliate reward. I thought you might want to look into that
It may be a browser issue. No problem at all. I'm glad you found the products regardless of rewards. Thanks for watching and best of luck with your project.
ARG your bottom wire is upside down!!!!! You want the 1/2 in in contact with their feet!!!!!
Thank you for sharing
Look's like the bottom wire is upside down to me, they should be on the 1/2 spacing part and not the 1 inch, I was told anyway, sorry to bother you!
Thank you for watching and sharing your advice!
With the materials listed in your description roughly how many cages could you make?
That’s a good question. I couldn’t tell you without doing the math:
Start with the length of the roll you buy(the more you buy the more you save…) and divide by the amounts below…
30” x 30” cages would take -150” of 1”x2” cage wire for the top & sides -30”
Best of luck with your build!
What is your recommendation for cleaning your rabbits cages?
I use all these
5" putty knife, steel brush, Lysol spray,
Torch floor power wash hutch once a year
Hi Bobby, we are just getting ready to starts rabbits in March and I was planning on doing it Salatin style with tractors, at least for the growing out in the nicer weather. Any reason you guys decided not to do tractors or grazing? Just because of parasites? We really like your idea with the tunnels. Definitely going to be incorporating that!
Tractors work great! I just wanted a permanent hutch that I didn't have to move and was predator proof and offered a little more room. This seems to keep the very productive. Keeping them separated and off the ground means No parasites or injuries to worry about and no unscheduled births. Now I'm happy with my system but there's other effective ways to raise rabbits and tractors are one of them. Best of luck with your Rabbit production and Thanks for watching!
Nice and very understanding video bro. Chears from Greece
thank you for watching and commenting!
Have you ever made stacking cages? Im going to be putting them up in my garage and need pans.
No but if I did I'd use corrugated plastic. The same product that I use to roof my hutch. I'd drain it into an Eves trough. I'd angle the trough towards the downspout which would drain into a bucket and swap out the buckets every few days. If I was going set up a stacking system it'd be something like that.
No but if I did I'd use corrugated plastic. The same product that I use to roof my hutch. I'd drain it into an Eves trough. I'd angle the trough towards the downspout which would drain into a bucket and swap out the buckets every few days. If I was going set up a stacking system it'd be something like that.
Those wire gage are too big. Snakes will easily get inside the cage and by by babies.
Thanks for sharing if snakes are an issue where you live I'd entertain wrapping with hardware cloth
This was another great video Bobby, thank you. I usually watch these at the end of my day and You have such a calm voice, your videos are like the nature sounds (rain, ocean, white noise) hahah 👍
😊I’m so glad you like the videos. Thanks for watching!
My doe, I used to think it was a new Zealand, and now I know it's a Californian, I haven't breed her just because I don't have the proper cage to that! And also no money
Awesome video
Love your channel
What size 1 x2 wire is that 30”x100 ?
14 gauge/1"x 2" wire. There's a couple different options when you click on the blue links below in the video description. It'll take you right to amazon where there's all the information.
Thanks for sharing your skills with us
I'm happy to. Thank you so much for watching.
Can’t find the video he talked about on getting blue eyed white New Zealand’s. Anyone know the link? Or title?
Hi do you use pee guards? thanks for making these great videos!!!
No. I don't. I put my bucks on one side of the rabbitry and my does on the other. This is a quick fix to spraying/marking .
Where do you get your supply of wire I saw one heck of a big role behind you at the Beginning of this video and it's much more massive then anything I can get in my area
www.therabbitrycenter.com/the-rabbitry-centers-favorite-products/
I purchase it on amazon it shows up in a few days. Right now it may take a little longer. It's nuts how long you can look online for cage wire. This is the best stuff with the right gauge thickness and it's galvanized which will stay rust free.
HOW MANY CAGES CAN I MAKE WITH THE WIRE IN THE BLUE LINKS
Depends on how big your cages will be. I’d just add the Front and sides of your cage take the total and divide by the length provided in the roll and that will tell you how many cages you can make. I’d start by Just building a few cages and going from there
I tried doing a colony but as soon as I put em together the girls brawl like a bunch of trashy high school sloots. Tried multiple times and strategies and every time they’re like “What you say!?” and dive tackle each other
I've experienced that as well. Unless they're put in a colony setting at a young age they most definitely battle for dominance.
So I have a blue eyed I don't know u make one .canu give me the link where you explain how . Thanks for sharing Bobby
It comes down to the genes that are getting inherited to the offspring. Watch this video to learn more about how your rabbits offspring get their genes. th-cam.com/video/aQJEzPWxNZw/w-d-xo.html&t
Nice video👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks for watching. I'm glad you like it.
Thank you for all your great information! I am on your Amazon site, but I have no experience with power tools and find it confusing when it comes to the grinder. I am assuming I need at least one rechargeable battery and a charger. Are all 18 volt Ryobi batteries and all chargers interchangeable? I don't think in my climate I will need the $70 battery-lol if it's that cold I know I won't be out working in it. Will the 2 pack option you show and any charger be what I need? Thanks again.
Yes they're inter changeable
You ll only need one. You grinder will need a cutting wheel
Having a hard time finding a good breeding stock of new Zealand's. Any advice
Have you tried googling new zealand rabbit breeders but using googlemaps instead of google search?
sometimes this kicks out a different result
I know it is recommended to use 1/2 x 1 16 gauge welded wire for the floor of the cages. What would you think about using 1 x 1 16 gauge vinyl coated welded wire for the floor. Would the 1 x 1 be to big or will it be ok?
I’ve seen cages with 1” x 1” Cage floor bottoms for mature rabbits however young rabbits and kits would get stuck and fall through the cage floor when they are small
I just made three of these cages using this video. They work great! I just wish I knew how to brace the bottoms better as they sag a little bit.
I had a couple like that I started making the bottoms a 1/2” smaller it helps with that. You can also try the much more expensive 14G if you don’t mind buying a roll from a big supplier. Best of luck
Wait a sec, so you use thinner 16g wire for the floor and thicker 14g for the sides? How come?
In most cases I can’t find 14 gauge half inch by 1 inch
We’re moving from Wisconsin to North Carolina to start our hobby farm ❤
best of luck
Nice tips thanks a lot lol :)
I wondered why some of my nz had red and some have blue eyes it's hard to tell with black rabbits but ya neat... Mine are not purebred but ya very cool... I'm always watching for your videos love them :)
@@wildedibles819 You don't know what that means to me to hear someones looking forward to the videos I'm uploading. Thank you for watching and commenting.
@@TheRabbitryCenter your welcome I love learning more about rabbits and you do it so nicely :) you said that you do it cuz you love to it shows xoxox bunny kisses and snow balls xoxox lol
Nicely done. I think rabbit is interesting animal to try to get into the hobby
I recommend it
Always looking at ways to improve my cages
Thanks for watching
Do you use any kind of waste collection system?
I clean the manure when collecting and I compost what falls through my cage wire here’s a video showing you how I do it th-cam.com/video/mzgcwD8xBCw/w-d-xo.html
Great video
Thank you for watching!
Thank you!!
You're welcome!
Nice job!
thank you very much
I'm in the UK and cages are not popular here... what size wire gap do you use on the base to protect their paws? I'm interested in cages for a Netherland Dwarf.
1/2 x 1”
I just launched a video with all the products I use in the description here you go
th-cam.com/video/LD7FKx9U5i4/w-d-xo.html
Can you put the dimensions ? please
30” x 30”x 18”
Where is the video on Blue eyed New Zealand bunnies?
Be sure to look up the Agouti gene. th-cam.com/video/bUR4-EoQDPs/w-d-xo.html
Your Amazon store link didn't work for me.
Lizz Bd weird. Sorry about that maybe try this one I used my cell phone to link it.
www.amazon.com/shop/therabbitrycenter
Would it not be easier to just use smallers holed wire?
The thickness of the wire (or lack there of)is problem it’s around 22 gauge versus the 16 gauge and the 1 inch by half inch allows the manure to fall through easier
@@TheRabbitryCenter sorry I don't really understand the terms. What is the difference between 16 and 22 gauge? Is it the size of the holes or the thickness of the wire as well? Just so I know what to look for.
@@janinedear-barlow I apologize for that
the lower the gauge the thicker the wire.
1 gauge being the thickest
Hardware cloth is a thinner gauge wire (19 gauge at best) but it's pretty supportive and would most likely be just fine. But it's not ideal because once your rabbit gets bigger their manure gets bigger and doesn't always want to fall through the cage bottom. That's why 1"x 1/2" is better. I recommend 16-14G cage floor bottom.
@@TheRabbitryCenter Ah right, I understand now. Thanks!
Great information
Thank you for commenting!