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Rabbits
Jun 1, 2009 16:48:47 GMT -5
Post by fuzzymom on Jun 1, 2009 16:48:47 GMT -5
We went to get feeder mice for our snakes the other day and saw two adorable bunnies for sale as snake food (I think they were snake food anyway. $15 a bunny).
I was tempted to bring one home but if I did, I'd have to bring home a breeding pair, because I would want to breed for feeders. I'm going to find out more about what kind of rabbits they are.
Can anyone give me any general info on housing requirements, food, space, socialization, ect? I probably won't be able to get a breeding pair, since I live with my mother in law, but its good to have the information handy.
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Post by harrisi on Jun 3, 2009 5:13:39 GMT -5
OK lets see... Housing requirements - Rabbits are relatively easy to house, they need a basic hutch, enough for each rabbit to hop 2-3 times width ways, enough for the rabbit to lay out stretched flat depth ways +9" and enough for the biggest rabbit to scope (stand up, ears erect, stretched). If housing outside, you can use wire flooring and make a "compost patch" underneath the hutch and just keep turning up the soil, as long as you don't have the giant breeds (brittish, continental, Flemish etc - which are no good for meat rabbits anyway, best breed for meat is the Californians or NZWs) you shouldn't have foot problems but all rabbits should be given a resting board, otherwise you can use a layer of wood shavings with coarse straw on top. They just need a clean floor, a place to nest and clean water at all times. Food - a simple diet of hay, water, grasses and limited veggies is all that is needed. It is a common misconception that nursing/pregnant does and growing kits need 16% or so protein. In fact even the large breeds (Californian, New Zealand White, NZRed etc) only need a protein level of 10%, so a diet of good quality hay is all you need, grass and veggies for enrichment and obviously water. Un-digestible fibre (hay, grass) is taken into the cecum and turned into Cecotrophes, which are then eaten straight away, this contains tons of nutrients and is caused by undigestible fibres, so all that is needed is quality hay and water. Never feed high calcium products to pregnant does, but parsley and bramble leaves are good when they are nursing and growing. It is generally recommended to feed a grower pellet if you are culling early though. Will post more later just about to go out!
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Post by harrisi on Jun 8, 2009 7:37:56 GMT -5
Space, as above
Socialising... Our rabbits have a big run between them (9 does and 1 buck), all are together all the time and we have had no problems. They have dug themselves a burrow, there is roughly 5 chambers, 11 bolt holes and 3 channels. The buck sleeps in a dog-hut above ground and some does sleep in the same chamber. They can be kept alone but I prefer it like this. If you have less then 4 does, bucks shouldn't be kept with them all of the time. If kept alone, does should be seperated by 1"x1" wire so they can still snif/clean each other through the wire, bucks shouldn't be kept seperated by wire as they can and will mate through wire, if kept by other bucks, they will fight.
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Rabbits
Jun 8, 2009 13:58:00 GMT -5
Post by fuzzymom on Jun 8, 2009 13:58:00 GMT -5
So a good sized outdoor pen is good. How many kits do you get annually from a group like that? What size is the enclosure?
(we might be moving in the Fall, so breeding rabbits is a possibility now)
If they dig burrows, how to you keep them from tunneling out?
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Rabbits
Jun 8, 2009 16:10:05 GMT -5
Post by harrisi on Jun 8, 2009 16:10:05 GMT -5
How many we get annualy depends really, obviously we get less production in the winter but the amount we get in the summer makes up for it. There is at least 90 rabbits born and raised here, though every year. I forgot the enclosure size now...its at least 15x20, I can easily put more does in it (and I have a few on order to be grown on to add more) if I want, the pen is exagerant I guess, but why not? we dug down 2 foot or so and lined it with a good quality mesh, added back in the compost from what we took out, compacted it and left them to it. If you wanted to do it easier but give them the oppurtunity to dig burrows then you can build a small breeze block wall (ply wood would be ok, but it will rot if not take down regularily and dried out/varnished) up from the ground and have your own compost heap there until its full up (generally, its not difficult to start a compost heap, we just threw in rabbit/guinea pig poop and the odd shavings, old plants, veggie scraps etc.).
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Rabbits
Jun 9, 2009 16:21:03 GMT -5
Post by crystalineshadow on Jun 9, 2009 16:21:03 GMT -5
Wow, with a pen that large and with all the burrows and all, how do you go about catching the rabbits when it's time? And from the sound of it you just give them hay and the occasional vegetable to supplement their grass... how much hay does a group that size go through and what do you use for watering them?
I've always been interested in raising rabbits in an outdoor pen, but I've never had a place to do so. Hopefully soon I'll be able to remedy that. Also, what is the best way to kill the rabbits after you've caught them?
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Rabbits
Jun 10, 2009 7:32:59 GMT -5
Post by fuzzymom on Jun 10, 2009 7:32:59 GMT -5
Well we were at the same reptile store yesterday, picking up rodents for my snakes and again they had these adorable little bunnies. These were even smaller than the ones they had last time and were only being sold for $8. I begged my husband to let me get one but he said no and that we had plenty of cute and cuddly animals at home. I sulked a little and went into the back to hopefully pick out some breeder rats (which he would allow me to get since they were serving a purpose). Well we get home and I was noticing that my husband was being very agreeable and kept smiling. I asked him to go fill water bottles and when I opened the box of rodents I noticed a second box inside it. I opened that box and behold! my bunny! It was the same one we had held in the store. My husband later told me he had slipped the guy a note telling him to put the bunny in the box. Haha! Nice surprise for me.
We have Keni (that is his name even though we don't know if Keni is a boy or girl) in a smallish cage. He has room to hop around and stretch up and lay down. He is so incredibly small. He can fit in my hand and I have small hands. I'll try and take a picture of him to show you how small.
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Rabbits
Jun 11, 2009 16:28:08 GMT -5
Post by harrisi on Jun 11, 2009 16:28:08 GMT -5
Wow, with a pen that large and with all the burrows and all, how do you go about catching the rabbits when it's time? And from the sound of it you just give them hay and the occasional vegetable to supplement their grass... how much hay does a group that size go through and what do you use for watering them? I've always been interested in raising rabbits in an outdoor pen, but I've never had a place to do so. Hopefully soon I'll be able to remedy that. Also, what is the best way to kill the rabbits after you've caught them? They are quite sociable since we rake the pen a few times a week so they are out and inquisitive at a young age and get used to us, so they hop up, we pick them up and pop them in a box... Yup that's right, they go through about 1/4 of a bale per week (the little rectangle ones, not the round ones..). They have a covered trough thing to drink from, but hardly use it, they get moisture from the grass/roots they eat. We always use spinal dislocation to kill. Hold just before the hips, just behind the ears then pull apart quickly and sharply. Congrats, Fuzzymom! Will s/he be part of a breeding program or just a pet?/
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Rabbits
Jun 12, 2009 6:39:40 GMT -5
Post by fuzzymom on Jun 12, 2009 6:39:40 GMT -5
Keni will be used in a breeding program once we have our own place. Mostly he/she is a pet.
Can rabbits bond with humans?
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Rabbits
Jun 12, 2009 12:19:31 GMT -5
Post by harrisi on Jun 12, 2009 12:19:31 GMT -5
The saying goes "You haven't been loved unconditionally until you are loved by a rabbit!" They can definitely bond with humans, when I was younger (about 13) I had a little white lion head buck, he lived free roaming in my room, went in his litter tray, slept with me on the bed and followed me EVERYWHERE. Where ever I was, he HAD to be. It just takes time and understanding, before I had him he was kept in an all-wire cage, outside in the snow/rain/ice/wind/sun, wire flooring, mouldy muesli-type crappy feed, no hay or water (survived drinking the rain from his food bowl/the mesh), was never handled a lot and in the early days when he was he was dropped continuously by the kids, he had a fungal infection, bumble foot, sore hocks, broken toes where the tray underneath the hutch got caked with faeces it gave him a solid flooring from when he stomped on it, so it made his toes bend because his nails were so long...resulting it broken toes, all healed sideways...the way he was kept on the flooring and he had a slipped disc in his spine, he was on metacam until the day he died, often times he would squeal in pain from hopping onto the bed...but that never stopped him hopping up to snuggle up, no matter how much it hurt him.
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Rabbits
Jun 15, 2009 9:19:47 GMT -5
Post by fuzzymom on Jun 15, 2009 9:19:47 GMT -5
I went to check on Keni this morning and found that he had passed last night. The water bottle looks untouched so I'm wondering if he'd learned how to use one or not. We had gotten him to drink from it like a bottle yesterday and we got him to eat a yogurt drop. He'd been pooping but some of it was sticking to his bum. I feel so horrible. Do you think he just wasn't getting enough water because he didn't know how to drink from the water bottle? He drank from it when we offered it to him. Was he just not eating? I don't know how old this little bunny was but I feel like I could have done something. And my husband will be absolutely devastated. He was really falling for this bunny. Even cut up one of his old shirts to make Keni a nice soft bed to sleep on. A while back we had some favorite rats die because an illness was going through my colony. This just really sucks. I just texted my husband and he said he had a feeling this might happen. Keni was so small and we are wondering if Keni had been old enough to wean. I have no idea how old he was though. He weighed 180g though.
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Rabbits
Jun 15, 2009 15:47:42 GMT -5
Post by harrisi on Jun 15, 2009 15:47:42 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about Keni. For a rabbit of any age, just moving can cause them not to eat/drink properly and if they don't drink or eat properly for even 24 hours it can cause severe problems and even death. Are the yoghurt drops the ones with cows milk in? You have to be careful with most pet-store treats with rabbits.
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