I just got a bunch of cages and I am getting into the rrabbit thing again. Well, my question is this...The cages are 26"x24". This would appear to be the standard size cage sold by Jeffers et al and I went to a site that says that the breed of rabbit I am getting needs cages almost twice this size. I'm getting Californians. Any ideas? Do you think they need more space? I know when I had them as a kid they all had largerr cages than this, but this is standard. Did I just waste my $$$?

-- Doreen (animalwaitresss@yahoo.com), April 27, 2001

Answers

Doreen, number two son just went out and measured ours;) They are 22x24(housing Californians).

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), April 27, 2001.

I feel better posting this now that you have a serious answer: 'Space for Rabbits' - Wouldn't they need pressurized suits just like the astronauts??? :^p

-- StevenB (thicketyrowfarm@aol.com), April 27, 2001.

Steven, were you thinking of something like this?

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), April 27, 2001.

Oh, and Ms. Moderator, Ma'am: Maybe we need a rabbit category. The rabbit discussion HAS been multiplying lately! Doe you know what I mean? (Buck up folks: I'm just kindling!):BIG Grin:

-- StevenB (thicketyrowfarm@aol.com), April 27, 2001.

Well.... the 'books' say 2 sqare feet of space or better. I can't help much because Rich built mine the Taj Mahal!!! We hung our cage on the porch... Its 8' long, 2' deep and 2'tall... Houses 4 right now, 3 single adults (with room for nest boxes) and 2 2 month old kits in one 'stall'.

How many rabbits did you get/do you intend to keep?? I still have to find a decently priced NZ buck... Welcome back to the wonderful world of adorable little escape artists!!!

And, STEVE AND DOREEN..... ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 27, 2001.

Well, see these rabbits have multiplied before I even got them. I went to buy cages....the lady had some super pricey Californians that she wanted to sell, well I just bought the cages and we hit it off and were just talking back and forth a lot. So then she decides she doesn't need quite as much money for the rabbits, because she was amused by me, I guess, and so now I have 3 does, and a buck...tomorrow, I pick up three bucks and a doe. So suddenly I am a rabbit rancher! I also have on loan some small cages, just to transport them. But ANYWAY, this site says 7.5 feet for each rabbit weighing approximately 8 pounds. If I do this, I won't have room for these bunnies, and my life will take on an extra level of panic.

I have a five cage section and those are all 2x2, then I have two more cages, which are 26"x24". I want to get two more cages made for the lower level apartments and just don't know what size is actually right. So if you all haven't had any problems with these 2x2's then I guess I will stick to those dimensions. What a rambler, huh? Thanks!!!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), April 27, 2001.

Doreen, what are you gonna DO with all those rabbits? I'd love to get a pet rabbit or two, but it'd be one more thing to figure out how to move next spring.

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), April 28, 2001.

Well, I guess I am going to try to sell the babies, no butchering will happen on this end...unless it comes to a HAVE TO to feed my dogs. I am entertaining delusions of selling rabbit duds to the yuppies in cute brown bag packaging at a premium, of course;). Poop Rancher? Hey, it's good stuff for plants!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), April 28, 2001.

Doreen, have you ever thought of housing the rabbits in open areas in a barn or something? There was a countryside article like this a while back and it looked neat (although it seems a waste of space). I just like how they look all free w/i say a strawbale fence. But it would make it much harder to collect the poo. Anyone else raised rabbits in anything other than cages?

-- JC (survivors00@hotmail.com), May 01, 2001.

Doreen,

Boy am I glad you posted this. Randy made some off-hand comment about being interested in raising rabbits to a friend of ours a few days ago, and she called back 3 hours later to tell us she had the cages ready for us.(?!!?) I keep telling him he talks too much! : ) Anyway, I've been reading a lot about raising rabbits over the last few days (This RIGHT on the heels of learning how to raise chicks that were dropped on our doorstep, practically!) and I had the same question. I read on one of the several dozen sites I found that they needed LOTS of space, which kind of scared me, as these cages seem to be standard size as well. ANYWAY (yes, I babble too much!) I'm still looking for rabbits to inhabit these lovely quarters *grin* and I wanted to know if papers/pedigree are a major concern. we're looking at raising some for pets to keep and to sell, maybe some for meat- we don't eat it, but several friends love it- and all for manure. Do you think I need papered bunnies, or will garden variety (Dutch, Rex, etc.) ones do for the pets? We're planning on NZ if we do meat rabbits. Thanks in advance for any advice. : )

-- Kristin, in La. (positivekharma@aol.com), May 02, 2001.

I currently have 2 mixed-breed colorful mini does and a buck...no pedigree or papers. The local feed store pays $3.50 for each 6-8 week old bunny I bring in. They are quite the attraction for the customers because they are so colorful and cute--we handle them a lot so that they are not too skitish around strangers. Selling a few litters during the spring and summer pays for my feed for the rabbits for the year--plus some of the chicken feed. I also end-up with all that manure for the garden. I know it is not the same everywhere, but for this area ( Western Washington ), this approach has worked well for us. The minis' also eat significantly less. If I was going to raise some of the larger breeds to use for meat again I would go with ones that were not a Heinz57 variety, and check the food co-ops for an outlet for my extras. I love having them around--every time I sell them a year later I am back at it again!

-- Lynn Royal (homesteadmama@att.net), May 02, 2001.

Hey JC, I remember that article, too. I had a friend in Cali that had purely pet rabbits that did it that way, but we have WAY too many predators here and I wouldn't want to be losing babies to fireants and snakes, so that idea looks great in a magazine.

From all I have been able to garner, for purely meat rabbits it is best to mix breeds as it results in a slightly larger animal, but for sales, you want to keep them purebred, if not registered. I am sure as with all things, registration and good reputation for healthy and pleasant animals brings higher dollars. I never thought I would own any registered animals at all, but here I am with tattooed bunnies and goats. I haven't joined ARBA yet, but I did join the ADGA.

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), May 03, 2001.

Doreen Hello I own a commercial rabbitry in Devers, Texas (for some that would say where is that? Its about 25 miles from Beaumont, Texas) anyway my cages are 26x24 for doe cages and its tight but it works for what I do.

Question: If anyone knows of a how to become a feed dealer or know where or how to find a feed mill please e-mail. I am now using Pillgram Rabbit Pellet 18% my fryers grow off at 10 to 11 weeks. I like the feed but its really high in cost. Thanks for any help

-- Christi Bautsch (christi74_2000@yahoo.com), September 02, 2001.

Hey! I know where Devers is - I'm orignally from Dayton. Anywho, I read somewhere about litterbox training a rabbit and I want to get one for an apartment. Anyone know ANYTHING about this?

-- Leah (princess_leahcp@rocketmail.com), March 01, 2003.

We now have 43 Rabbits and 4 of the them are are about 2 weeks away from having new kits. All of our cages we build ourselves. Most are 4 cages and are overall 10 ft. in length. This is makes each cage 30x30x18. We have New Zealand, Californian, and Satins. If anyone needs any help or information I'll try to help. We are in the process of ramping up to having 100 does. Which means we will be building some new Buildings to house them and their kits along with making a whole lot of new cages. :)

-- Don Hunter (webrunner@amaonline.com), August 09, 2004.