Bob Bennett - Build rabbit housing

Bob Bennett

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Bennett, Bob

Build rabbit housing / by Bob Bennett
A Storey Publishing Bulletin, A-82
ISBN 978-0-88266-296-1

Properly housed and fed domestic rabbits can provide you with delicious, high-quality meat with little expenditure of time, space, or money. Rabbits are small and quiet, and they can be kept essentially odorfree with the proper approach to their housing and care. You can store them on the hoof until you are ready to prepare them for the table.

The equipment you need to build and outfit a rabbitry is quite limited: hutches, feeders, waterers, and nest boxes. Essential hand tools to build the rabbitry are also few; most households have all but one or two. No power tools are required; nor do you need a large outlay of cash or time. You can construct and outfit your rabbitry as both allow. Interruptions to the construction process will present no problem you can drop the work and resume it at any point. You can build indoors or out; the materials make no dust or dirt and require no loud banging or sawing. Everything is quite clean and quiet. And simple. If you follow the instructions, your very first efforts will produce a product that functions as well and looks as good as any built by experienced professionals.

This bulletin explains what you need to build and outfit a small noncommercial rabbitry and how to do it. Should you find raising rabbits very satisfying and you want to expand your facilities, you simply add more of the same.

The basic all-wire hutch. Front, top, back, and sides are 1 2 wire. Floor is 1 wire. Door is positioned off center to allow a feeder and waterer at right.

Successful rabbit raisers consider no other materials for a rabbit hutch than wire and metal. Among other activities, rabbits gnaw and urinate, so you can dismiss wood immediately. If you use wood, they will eat some of it and foul the rest of it. Wire and metal cost less than lumber; no expensive hinges or other hardware are required.

If you need only one or two hutches, perhaps for pet rabbits, buy them from your local farm supply store or send away to a supplier listed in this bulletin. Thats because the welded wire fabric you need is expensive in small quantities (if it is available at all), and it will be cheaper for you to buy one or two than to build them.

To build your own, here are the tools and materials you will need.

One pair of heavy-duty, 7 or 8 wire-cutting pliers, preferably with flush-cutting jaws.

Tools for building all-wire hutches.

One pair of ordinary slip-joint pliers.

One tape measure, preferably retractable steel. A 12 tape is best but a shorter one will do.

An ordinary carpenters hammer.

One pair of special J-clip pliers, available from your farm supply store or a supplier listed at the end of this bulletin.

A short length of 2 4 lumber; about 3 long is fine.

A supply of 1 2 welded wire fencing, 14 gauge, sometimes called turkey wire. Dimensions will vary as described below.

A supply of 1 welded wire, 14 or 16 gauge, with variable dimensions as described below.

A supply of J-clips, available where you obtain the J-clip pliers.

A door latch for each hutch.

A door hanger for each hutch.

Before we actually start hutch construction, lets discuss the tools and materials for a good understanding of what is involved.

Materials for all-wire hutches: 1 2 welded galvanized wire, 1 wire, and J-clips.

The wire-cutting pliers need to be large enough to give substantial leverage for cutting through 14-gauge wire. A good cutting tool, made of high-quality steel, isnt cheap. If you plan to make more than a few hutches, spend enough to get a good pair. Ideally, the jaws will be fairly narrow so they can get a good bite on the 1 wire. Some rabbit raisers buy a second, smaller pair for working with the smaller mesh wire if they cant find a larger pair with narrow jaws. Unbeveled cutting jaws will make a flush cut; the result will be a smoother hutch with few sharp edges. Less leverage is required with the smaller mesh wire. Plastic handle grips will make your pliers more comfortable, and wearing a leather glove will help prevent blisters.

To fasten the pieces together, use J-clips and special pliers. Space clips every 2 or 3 inches apart.