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Making a rabbit house at home. Convenient cage for rabbits: do it yourself How to make a rabbitry with your own hands, simple diagram

Almost every owner of a country house has a small farm. Some people prefer to raise cattle, others poultry, and others like to raise fluffy and adorable rabbits. But for any household it is worth considering comfortable living conditions. If you have chosen rabbits and decided to make cages for them with your own hands, you should decide in advance on the location of the cages, their size and internal contents.

On your own plot of land, cages with livestock can be placed:

on open air;
indoors, such as a barn.

All cages for rabbits, depending on their location and breeding method, are divided into three types:

year-round outdoor seating;
year-round indoor maintenance;
combined maintenance (outdoors in summer, in a barn in winter).

Many rabbit breeders believe that the best option for placing cages is to arrange them outdoors. This content has a beneficial effect on animals, promotes the development of immunity to diseases, and the presence of beautiful and high-quality hair. Breeding outdoors increases the productivity of females, increases the number of rabbits in one litter and promotes their endurance.

When choosing a place to install the cage, you should consider:

air humidity. It should vary between 60-75%. That is, the place should be chosen on a hill and away from bodies of water;
exposure to direct sunlight, which has a negative effect on animals. It is better to place the cages under trees or behind an artificial fence;
the presence of drafts, which are a common cause of diseases in rabbits. Air movement should not exceed 30 m/s. Do not forget about high-quality ventilation in cages. Otherwise, the fumes will undermine the health of your pets.

Street cages

All rabbit cages may differ in:

sizes;
structures;
manufacturing materials.

They are simple, two-tiered with additional amenities, such as heating. What kind of cage you need to build for your farm largely depends on the breed of rabbits, their size, the availability of building materials and personal preferences.

The advantages of setting up rabbit hutches outdoors include:

availability of large space;
ease of caring for animals;
the ability to build convenient and affordable structures.

To build outdoor cages, you will need to prepare reliable materials. They must be resistant to moisture, frost and sudden temperature changes.

Important: the cage for rabbits must protect the animals from penetration by predators such as dogs, cats, foxes, and rats.

To prevent your pets from being bothered by direct sunlight and precipitation, make a canopy with a large canopy over the building. If you breed animals all year round, you need to take care of insulating one of the parts of the cage. Despite the fact that these animals tolerate low air temperatures well, it is necessary to create a cozy and warm place for them where they can bask.

Important: special attention is paid to the insulation of queen cells and the compartment with small rabbits.

Cages placed indoors

Structures placed in sheds can be made of a single metal mesh attached to a wooden frame. The floor must be made of wood.

If you raise rabbits indoors, it should be:

well plastered;
ventilated;
illuminated in winter - at least 10 hours.

It would be nice if there was a window on the entire wall on the south side of the barn.

Combined rabbit breeding option

For the combined option of breeding animals, mobile cages are most suitable. In the warm season, it will be convenient to take them outside, and in the cold season, install them indoors.

If funds allow, you can make two versions of cages: one for the street, the other for the barn. But this option is unlikely to be suitable for those who breed a large number of animals.

Cell design and size

Rabbit cages can be single or multi-tiered. Depending on who they are intended for (fawns, young animals, adults), their design depends.

Single-tier and multi-tier structures

Single-tier cages are placed above the ground at a distance of 80 cm. The roof of the structures is covered with slate or metal sheet.

Important: if the cages are located outside, it is better to cover them with slate, since the metal gets very hot, and these animals do not tolerate heat well.

For easy care of animals, it is better to make the tray with a gutter for easy cleaning. In single-tier structures, metal pallets are installed for storing pet waste.

Multi-tiered cells can consist of two or more tiers. Each tier contains the required number of sections. They can be made from bars, galvanized mesh and boards. These materials are suitable for the construction of rabbit hutches both outdoors and indoors.

Multi-tiered products are often called sheds. In them, the tiers are placed one above the other. This helps save space. The ideal option is two-tier structures. They provide convenient care and monitoring of pets.

When building multi-tiered cages, there must be a space of at least 15 cm between each tier. A metal roof must be installed above each cage, and inclined ebbs must be installed in the space between each tier. This is necessary so that the animals’ waste does not fall on the lower tiers, does not linger on the roof, but flows into specially arranged drains behind the cages.

Some people prefer to use removable plastic trays in their cages. They are convenient and easy to use. Such pallets can be installed directly in the cages themselves, or on runners under the grated floor.

Cages for breeding

In breeding cages, it is necessary to install special chambers on the sides or provide space for a mobile queen cell. If you choose an inpatient department, then the removable floor, walls and ceiling are made solid. They must be well insulated so that the young offspring do not die from cold and draft. In the rest of the cage, the floor can be made of metal mesh or wooden blocks.

The mobile queen cell is a completely closed box with an opening for entry. This box should have an additional side door so that the queen cell can be conveniently cleaned and dried. This design is convenient in that it can be rearranged into different cells as needed. They are also much more convenient for changing bedding and cleaning. The building is insulated for feeding with shavings or hay.

If you are expecting offspring in the cold winter, the mobile queen cell should be placed in an electric heating pad to create comfortable conditions for the female rabbit a few days before the birth.

In winter, it is practically impossible to do without heating the uterine tract. If you do not have an electric heating pad, you can use a regular light bulb, which should be kept constantly on during this period. The light bulb must be placed in a compartment located behind the wall of the uterine chamber.

Attention: when choosing to heat the queen cell with an electric light bulb, take care of fire safety. The chamber in which the lamp will be located should first be sheathed with thin metal.

There is another method of heating this part of the cage using a heating cable for underfloor heating. It is fixed to the bottom of the queen cell, and a removable floor panel is placed on top of it.

Important: if you prefer this type of heating, make sure that the cable is intact and without defects. Such a heating system can be connected to a thermostatic regulator. This will allow you to regulate the temperature in the uterine compartment, depending on weather conditions.

If the cells are in a barn, it is better to use a mobile queen cell. Then it will be easier to ventilate and clean them outside. If you decide to make a built-in uterine chamber, the floor in it should be removable.

In two-section single-tier cages, the length of each section should be at least 100-120 cm, and the depth - 55-65 cm. The width of the built-in uterine chamber should be 35-40 cm.

Cages for young animals

Rabbits aged from three to five months are called young animals. They are kept in groups of 8-20 pieces. The height of the walls of the cages must be at least 35 cm. The total area is calculated based on the fact that there should be 0.25 square meters per animal.

Multi-tiered cages for young animals are installed outdoors and rise 75 cm from the ground. If the floor is made of wooden blocks, it is recommended to install a metal mesh on top. This way, you will protect the rabbits, who will gnaw the tree and scratch it with their paws. For older rabbits, you can make a mesh floor.

In winter, cages with young animals must be well insulated. For this, hay or straw is used, laid 2 cm thick.

Cage for adult rabbits

Cages for medium-sized adult rabbits should have a depth of 60-70 cm and a length of 100 cm. These are the minimum sizes for comfortable breeding of animals. They can be made using the same block structures. That is, in each block there are two cells separated by a wall.

To mate animals, it is worth considering combining two cages into one using a removable partition. For adult rabbits, it is recommended to make the floor from galvanized mesh.

Attention: adults must move freely around the cage. Their growth and development will depend on this.

Cage with aviary for walking

Cages with an aviary for walking are suitable for both young animals and rabbits of reproductive age. This design should consist of two separate compartments with a partition, a roof and a mesh enclosure. The two compartments are connected by a round or square entrance cut into the rear wall of the structure. Thanks to the convenient design, the animals move easily inside, which contributes to their proper development and growth.

The cage with a walk can be any size. It is good if its depth varies between 60-65 cm, and the depth of the enclosure - 80-100 cm. Such structures consist of single-tier blocks consisting of two separate cells. A mesh enclosure is attached to the back of the cages if there is space.

Cages for giant rabbits

Since the giant breed is a large rabbit, the cages for them must have appropriate sizes. Giants grow to considerable sizes. Their length is 55-65 cm, and their weight varies from 5.5 to 7.5 kg. When building housing for large breeds, it is worth starting from the weight and height of the animals.

For one adult, a cage is required with dimensions of 96 cm in length, 70 in depth, and 60-70 cm in height.

For young animals of the giant breed, housing may be a little simpler. For eight animals you need a cage with an area of 1, 2 square meters. m. Its height must be at least 40 cm.

Important: giant rabbits have an impressive weight. Therefore, the bottom of the cells should be pre-strengthened. When making a mesh floor, preference is given to thick wire, 2 mm thick. To prevent the mesh from bending under the weight of the animals, it is necessary to secure bars underneath it. If you plan to install plastic or rubber trays in cages, it is better to make a solid field under them

California rabbit cage

Californian rabbits are quite popular among breeders. They are absolutely unpretentious in care and resistant to severe frosts. Adults reach a length of up to 50 cm, and their weight ranges from 4.5 to 5 kg. The cage for this breed should be 0.5 sq.m. Since this breed's paws are covered with coarse hair, the floor can be made of lattice or mesh.

If you breed rabbits only for meat, they can be kept in a hole measuring 200 by 200 cm and about a meter deep. The walls of the pit should first be reinforced with slate, and boards or mesh should be laid on the floor. For safety, a small fence and roof are built around the pit. This method of breeding animals is as close to natural as possible and gives good results. Rabbits love to dig holes in the ground. With proper care, they will delight their owners with numerous offspring.

Making your own cells

Having decided to build cozy houses for rabbits, you need to decide in advance on the type of structure, its dimensions and materials of manufacture. You will need to prepare:

hacksaw;
hammer;
corner;
plane;
screwdriver

Any type of cage will consist of: a frame, walls, floor, ceiling and doors. As a rule, when building houses for these animals, metal mesh or natural wood is used.

As for materials for construction, you should prepare:

large sheets of plywood;
slate;
nails and screws;
bars;
slats;
galvanized mesh.

To make doors, you will need to additionally prepare curtains and latches.

Having chosen wood as the main building material, it should be sanded and sanded in advance. All sharp edges are processed so that the animal does not get hurt. Since rabbits wear down their teeth on wood, there should always be branches in the cages. Otherwise, they will simply chew on their housing.

Feeders and drinkers for rabbit cages

In addition to the construction of cells, it is necessary to carefully consider their internal arrangement. Food and water should be provided to the animals in a comfortable way. Feeders can be purchased ready-made in a store or made on your own.

Rabbits need plenty of clean water every day. If you just pour it into a plate, dirt and debris will get into it, or animals will constantly spill water. When choosing a drinking bowl, you should decide on its:

manufacturing materials;
location;
volume;
type of construction.

Attention: if the drinking bowl is made of thin plastic, animals will quickly gnaw through it. And in metal cans the water will become cloudy and dirty.

Automatic drinkers

Automatic shelves are most often used on farms where there are a lot of livestock. This design is quite simple and consists of: a bowl connected to a container. The bowl of water is always inside the cage, and the container is outside. It is easy to use and durable.

The principle of operation of this drinking bowl is quite simple: as the water from the bowl decreases, a new portion from the container enters it.

Attention: making such a drinking bowl with your own hands is quite difficult. It is easier to purchase it ready-made in the store.

Nipple drinkers

Nipple designs are practical and convenient. The liquid does not spill into them and remains in the tube until the animal begins to drink. The only drawback of such a product is that in the cold season the liquid can simply freeze in the tube.

Vacuum drinker

You can easily build a vacuum drinker with your own hands from a simple plastic bottle. You can make such a drinker as follows:

A bowl with a flat bottom should be fixed at a height of 10cm from the floor on the cage so that one half of it is inside the structure and the other is outside.
We take a simple plastic bottle of one or two liters and fill it with water. We close the bottle with a lid, turn it upside down and place it on a bowl. We secure the bottle to the cage with clamps or wire.
Carefully unscrew the lid and the bowl will automatically fill with water. As the animals drink water from the drinking bowl, it will be replenished with new liquid to a certain level.

Throttle drinker

The throttle drinker works on the principle of a conventional washbasin. You can also make it yourself. To do this, you will need to take a plastic bottle, make a small hole in the cap and attach the choke. A rubber gasket can be used as a valve. It will hold the throttle well and close the hole in the lid.

The drinking bowl is attached in a vertical position to the cage at a height of 30 cm from the floor.

Hanging drinker

A hanging drinker is also made from a bottle. It is suspended horizontally on a wire, at a height of 30 cm from the floor. To make this design, it is necessary to make a cutout in the bottle, 10 cm wide along the entire length, retreating only 5 cm from the bottom and lid of the product.

The hanging drinking bowl is attached to the outside of the cage - with a cut hole facing inward.

Feeders

It is worth considering the design of feeders at the design stage of cage construction. You can feed your rabbits using:

With the right approach to breeding rabbits, you can achieve good results. If the cages are built in accordance with all standards and requirements, and feeders, drinkers and queen cells are correctly located in them, your pets will feel as comfortable as possible, will quickly develop and gain weight.

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 5 minutes

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Any practicing rabbit breeder will tell you how important it is to create comfortable living conditions for rabbits.

Since the most common method of keeping domestic rabbits is a cage, a properly designed cage will greatly help ensure good living conditions and make cleaning easier.

In addition, an important aspect when creating it is the quality and safety of materials (including environmental).

There are two options here: either buy a ready-made house for the rabbit, or make it yourself.

The second option is not only less expensive financially, but also more preferable, since the rabbitry built by the owner himself makes it possible to take into account the specific number of rabbits and the characteristics of their breed. Next, we will look at how to build a rabbit cage with your own hands.
Design of a cage for rabbits and materials for making it yourself.
Whatever the design of the rabbit house you choose, its basis is always the same and consists of the following main parts:
supporting frame;
walls;
ceiling;
doors.

Cages for these pets can be made either from wooden materials or from metal mesh, however, they should never be made from iron. This will greatly harm the health of your pets, since in the summer heat such a cage will heat up excessively, and in the cold of winter, on the contrary, it will freeze thoroughly. Such cages are absolutely contraindicated for rabbits.

To make a frame with your own hands, as a rule, thick wooden beams are used, taking into account the fact that the legs of the cage must be at least 35 centimeters in length (if you plan to place the cages indoors). If rabbits are planned to be kept outdoors, then the height of the legs should be increased - from 70 centimeters to one meter. In addition to considerations of safety and comfort for the animals, this height of the rabbit's home will make it much easier to maintain. The material for the walls is usually either plywood sheets, or wooden boards, or metal mesh.
Cages for rabbits are not made entirely of mesh, as they need shelter protected from prying eyes. When arranging floors in cages and feeders, it is best to use a mesh or wooden slats, since feed waste and animal waste products fall out well through the left cage. To make the roof, the same materials are used as for the walls. When installing a roof in industrial cages that stand outdoors, it must be covered with additional insulating materials (tiles, roofing felt) to protect it from snow and rain.
It is important to remember that any part in the cage must be made safe and smooth. The mesh should not have sharp ends, and the wooden parts should be carefully polished so that the animals do not get splinters or other injuries. These rodents are very curious and can climb anywhere.

The most popular cage designs for rabbits are:
regular cell (either without a queen cell or with a queen cell);
design by I.N. Mikhailova;
design N.I. Zolotukhina;
a cage containing a walking enclosure for rabbits.

The first type of design provides two compartments: the first is for walking and feeding, the second is a shelter-nest. These sections are separated from each other by a solid partition, in which a hole is provided. The door to the shelter is made of solid wood, and to the walking and feeding area is made of mesh stretched over a frame. If free space allows, walking can be done separately from the feeding area (rabbit enclosure). The entrance to such enclosures can be made either through the back wall of the cage or from below, through the floor.
Housing with a separate enclosure is well suited for mating animals, since the large size of the enclosure allows for increased physical activity of animals, which not only has a beneficial effect on the general physical condition, but also improves their reproductive functions.
Industrial cages for rabbits according to the Mikhailov system are real mini-farms, as a result of which this design is considered the most difficult to manufacture and the most advanced. Almost everything is provided in such dwellings: heated drinking bowls and queen cells, a ventilation system, shelves for rest. A distinctive feature of cages of this design is a unique system for removing animal waste.
Mikhailov cell design
Wherever they shit, everything ends up in one container. Also, such mini-farms use a bunker feeder for rabbits, which allows you to supply food once or twice a week, as well as drip drinkers that dose the water supply from a large reservoir. This design is the topic of a separate article. We are considering simpler options that you can do yourself, although using a bunker feeder in them is also possible.
The Zolotukhinsky version differs from others in that instead of slats or a mesh structure, solid sheets of plywood or flat slate are laid on the floor. There is no waste tray in these cages. The whole trick is that the floor is arranged with a slight slope, and a mesh with a width of 10 to 20 centimeters is mounted on the back wall of the cage. Animal feces are removed through this mesh, since rabbits most often prefer to shit near the back wall.
Feeders for rabbits in cages of this design are of the tilting type, and there is no need to remove them to clean them. Simply tilt the feeder towards you and remove any leftover food. Be sure to put a net in the feeder to prevent small rabbits from escaping through it.
Also, Zolotukhin’s system does not provide for a summer queen cell. The author suggests using a board 20 centimeters wide to fence off a space of the required size, which is filled with hay, for the period of birth and subsequent feeding. The female rabbit will arrange a nest for herself in this place. This breeding technique brings rabbits as close as possible to the natural conditions of their life, which makes it possible to produce rabbits with a more stable immune system. As soon as the rabbits grow up, the board is taken away, freeing up space for them to walk. In winter, this approach is unacceptable, and a closed queen cell must be installed.
An important advantage of the Zolotukhin design is that to build it with your own hands you do not need to have special skills or use expensive materials.

To make such a dwelling, accessible and cheap materials are needed: boards, mesh, plywood sheets or flat slate, as well as a small amount of sheet metal. The frame, nest door and solid partition are made from wood. To construct the floor, plywood or slate (flat) is used. The partitions for the feeders and the outer door are made of mesh. Sheet metal is needed to cover any protruding pieces of wood that rabbits like to chew on. There should be no drafts in the nesting compartment, as well as a lot of light, so the door here is made solid. In the queen cell, it is necessary to provide a threshold of at least 10 centimeters in height so that any little rabbit does not fall out of it when the door is opened.
To prevent waste from the cells of the upper tier from falling into the lower ones, the back wall there needs to be made straight, and on the lower tier - with a slope.
Cells according to Zolotukhin
How to make a rabbit cage?
The sequence of actions when making a cage for rabbits with your own hands is as follows:
first of all, a frame is made from wooden blocks of 5x5 centimeters, and a mesh is mounted on the floor of the feeding compartment;
then the back wall and solid floor of the nesting compartment are installed;
Sheets of plywood cover the side walls and install a partition with a pre-cut hole between the aft and nesting compartments. The size of the hole must be at least 20 centimeters in diameter;
a cover is installed on the socket;
a block is attached to the frame in the middle of the cage, dividing it into sections, and then drinking bowls and feeders for rabbits are mounted (how to make a drinking bowl for rabbits and how to make a feeder for rabbits is the topic of separate articles);
the resulting structure is turned over, and with the help of slats the mesh is finally fixed on the floor;
feed bunkers and a compartment for coarse feed are installed. You can install rods, or you can install a mesh with cells of 2x5 centimeters;
then a roof and a movable door for feeders equipped with a handle are installed on the cage;
mesh and solid doors equipped with latches are attached to the frame.

If the cages will be placed outdoors, then it is necessary to cover the roof with a moisture-proof roofing material. To do this, a slatted frame is placed on the finished roof, to which the roofing (roofing material or slate) is attached. The roof should be sloped to allow water to drain. For example, if the height of the front wall is 70 centimeters, then the rear wall should be 60 centimeters.
Whatever design you decide to make, be sure to first make detailed drawings of the cells with dimensions. This scheme will help you not to make mistakes during construction and purchase the required amount of materials in advance. The mesh size of the mesh used in the manufacture of housing for rabbits must exceed 2x2 centimeters. In larger cells, animals may get stuck.

Rabbits are quite unpretentious in care. They are versatile in matters of nutrition and do not require special conditions. But, before you start breeding such animals, you should remember that the animals reproduce extremely quickly. Therefore, the ability to make cages for rabbits with your own hands will be very useful for the owner of a rabbit farm.

Types of cages for rabbits

On the Internet you can find a large number of options on how to build a cage for rabbits yourself. But, before using one of them, you should remember that such designs involve division into several types. A standard rabbit farm should be equipped with at least three of them:

rabbitries for individual housing of males;
separate enclosures with a uterine compartment for a rabbit and newborn babies;
common spacious houses for keeping young animals until they reach puberty.

Such structures are also divided among themselves based on the design solutions used. So, if there is space, they will be equipped with an attached walking area. If there is no free space, the cells are made two-tiered. The different options also differ in the design of the roof, floor, and materials used.

For males

When making cages for males with your own hands, you should take into account that as the heat approaches, they become quite aggressive. During this period, when the rabbits are kept together, fights often occur for territory and food. Therefore, to suppress aggressive manifestations, adult individuals are placed in individual cages. This measure will also allow better control of the process of reproduction of living creatures.

But when building an individual enclosure, you need to make sure that it is spacious enough. The animal needs constant activity to maintain its shape. If there is no room for it, the rabbit will become fat, which will affect the functioning of the genital organs and reproductive function in general. The sizes of cages for rabbits in this category suggest the following values:

length – approximately 120 cm;
width – varies between 70–75 cm;
height – about 60 cm.

When calculating sizes for large breed rabbits, all values are doubled.

For a female rabbit with offspring

A female rabbit with young animals has completely different physiological needs. Therefore, the house for her requires a different design. It includes two sections:

Uterine compartment. Here the female gives birth to babies, warms them and feeds them. The mother liquor is made from solid material, then covering all the cracks and holes with insulation. A thick layer of litter is placed on the bottom. The minimum dimensions of the queen cell are 40x40 cm. If necessary, such a compartment is supplemented with a separate door.
Aft compartment. Suitable for installing a drinking bowl and containers under the feeder. It is also made spacious so that the rabbit can move around to her heart's content. The aft compartment can be supplemented with mesh walls.

The compartments are connected to each other by a small passage. It is placed at least 10 cm above the floor surface. This moment is a precaution against newborn babies falling out into the cold feed compartment.

For young animals

Grown-up rabbits are moved to a house for group housing. In this case, making a rabbit cage with your own hands is also easy. The main thing is to accurately calculate its dimensions.

length – 250–300 cm;
width – 100–120 cm;
height – 30–45 cm.

If necessary, the group housing method is also implemented in the cage options listed above. But the number of animals in this case is calculated taking into account its area.

Two-tier structures

The solution to the lack of free space on a rabbit farm is a two-tier house for rabbits. This design practically consists of two ordinary cells installed one on top of the other. However, it differs in certain features, including:

The presence of a common V-shaped canopy dividing each floor into compartments.
The presence of a pallet between the floor of the second tier and the ceiling of the first. To place it, the cells are connected with a small gap, and not end-to-end.
Placement of special containers under the floor for feces.
Each tier is supposed to have two compartments.

Make a two-story cage for rabbits with your own hands in accordance with step-by-step instructions:

Four identical rectangles are made from iron corners or thick timber.
The first rectangle is sheathed with a fine-grain mesh and placed on legs whose height is at least 30 cm. Long wooden blocks are used for this purpose.
Next, two frames are installed on the bars with a distance of 50 cm from each other. One of them serves as a roof for the first tier, so it is covered with wooden boards.
At a height of 10 cm from the second rectangle, a third one is mounted. It is also covered with mesh.
The last rectangle is again attached on top of the floor in increments of 50 cm. It is covered with a board. If the rabbitry is planned to be placed outside, an additional layer of roofing material is laid on top.
The side walls are covered with boards, plywood or mesh.
For the left niche between the first and second floors, a box is made and installed to collect rabbit manure.
A suitable size container for feces is selected under the bottom of the first tier and also placed under the finished structure.

The size of the enclosure can vary significantly. But the minimum length is 2.4 m. The width is at least 1.5 m. The height of the structure ranges from 1.8 to 2.2 m.

In general, a standard cage of this type can accommodate 4 animals. If necessary, a third floor is installed above the second floor, which significantly expands the capacity of the structure.

Walking

If the owner of rabbits has enough space on the site, it is recommended to make cages with walking. In this plan, two combined departments are also being assembled. The front is the standard option mentioned above. The only difference is a special passage made in the back wall and connecting the first section with a large closed enclosure.

This design is advantageous from the point of view that the animal has more space for activity. In addition, he receives fresh air and sunlight. All this helps to increase the productivity of the rodent and improve the quality of its coat.

The paddock is made approximately as follows:

They make a hole in the back blank wall of the main compartment.
Behind the main house, two more bars are dug in at the required distance.
Using slats, they construct the frame of the enclosure, connecting them with new dug-in bars and the rear supports of the main compartment.
A mesh is installed on the slats.

It is worth noting that if the enclosure is used only in the warm season, the legs do not need to be made. It will be installed on the ground. This option is also good because fresh vegetation appears through the floor cells, which the living creatures eat with pleasure.

Rabbit cage with walk

The minimum dimensions for a rabbitry with a walking enclosure are 200x100x60 cm. They can be increased upon request. The main thing is that there is enough space inside for active walks of animals.

Location of rabbit cages

In addition to how to make a rabbit hutch, you should also consider where to install it. There are also several recommendations in this regard.

The specific location of the rabbit houses is chosen taking into account the weather conditions of the area. If the climate is warm and does not expect severe frosts in winter, enclosures are installed outside. Moreover, this type of livestock maintenance is carried out year-round.

If the winters are cold, then only in the summer the enclosures are located outside. With the onset of cold weather, they are transferred to a warm barn.

Each option also includes a number of features. For outdoor placement:

the cages are installed with a dense back wall in the direction from which the wind most often blows in the region;
when installing, choose places where there are no drafts;
install houses on a certain hill where moisture does not accumulate after heavy rainfall;
the roof is mounted so that water does not get inside the cells during rain;
When placing houses in two rows, they are placed with their front parts facing each other at such a distance that a person can freely pass between them.

When moving rabbits indoors, you should adhere to the following rules:

Natural lighting in the barn is not enough, so it must be supplemented with electric lamps evenly installed throughout the ceiling;
artificial lighting in the room should be maintained for about 8-10 hours a day;
windows and other openings in the walls should be located above the installed cages to avoid drafts;
If the temperature in the barn drops very low in winter, you should consider using wood, electric or gas heating.

Important! Also, when located inside a barn, rabbit hutches are still installed on supports. This will reduce the amount of dust getting inside.

Materials and tools

Before you begin choosing a suitable material, you should develop a detailed drawing of such a project. Already-designed drawings of cages for rabbits are freely available on the Internet. A ready-made plan will allow you to accurately calculate the required volumes of material and not miss significant nuances in assembling the structure.

When preparing suitable materials, you should also take into account the fact that rabbits are rodents by nature. They easily damage the components of a fragile structure. Therefore, excessive savings here can lead to the fact that within a month or two the enclosure will have to be repaired or completely changed.

wooden products: long beams, slats, boards;
plywood;
slate slabs;
fine-grained mesh;
nails, screws or staples to secure all elements.

There are also a number of important points that will significantly increase the life of the structure and will be useful for living creatures:

Many manufacturers make the roof from metal sheets. This approach is fundamentally wrong. In the summer heat, the iron gets very hot, and excessive heat worsens the rabbits’ well-being. It is better to take slate, tiles or ordinary boards covered with roofing felt.
All wooden elements inside the enclosure should be sheathed with tin. Otherwise, the rabbit will sharpen its teeth on them and quickly render them unusable.
The mesh for the rabbitry is taken with hole sizes of 25x25 mm. Such material will be convenient for the rodent to move, but will not allow it to escape.
Additionally, it is recommended to lay a sheet of plywood on the floor. This coating will prevent health problems for your rodent's paws. In addition, after a certain time it is enough to simply remove it, wash it thoroughly, dry it and can be reused.

It is also not recommended to use metal corners and cross members as the basis of the frame. In winter, they can freeze, which will reduce the temperature inside the rabbitry. But the advantage of such elements is their strength.

Based on the selected materials, the necessary tool is selected. The minimum set in this regard includes:

hacksaw;
construction tape;
hammer;
metal scissors;
sandpaper;
screwdriver;
plane;
pliers.

When using metal elements, you may also need a drill and welding machine.

DIY making

The specific algorithm for making a cage for rabbits is based on the drawings used by the owner. As an example, let’s look at the simplest version of a rabbitry, which requires:

10 wooden blocks with a thickness of at least 30 mm;
2 large sheets of plywood;
3 m metal mesh;
self-tapping screws

The assembly of the structure takes place in the following stages:

From the bars we assemble a rectangle with dimensions of 3x0.7 m. Upon completion of the assembly, we fix it to the vertical bars, which will also act as legs. Moreover, the height of the rear vertical bars is 1 m. We leave the front ones a little longer (1.2 m).
We allocate part of the cage on both sides for the queen cells and lay out their floor completely with a board. Cover the remaining area of the base with the prepared mesh.
We mount the back wall from boards using self-tapping screws.
At the required distance from the walls, we fix the vertical bars that limit the uterine compartment. We install a plywood wall with a hole made across the base across them. We mount the queen cell cover on top.
We place a hay feeder in the center of the rabbitry. We make it from two frames connected in the shape of the letter “V”. We install steel wire vertically on the frames with wide spacing.
Next to the hay feeder we install a standard feeder and drinker that is suitable in size and design. We fix them permanently.
We line the sides of the cage with plywood.
At the front we make frames for future doors. We make them from boards, cover them with mesh and fix them on hinges.
We install the roof on top. The ideal material for it is slate. The roof is mounted on a slope with a tight fit to the vertical bars. At the same time, it protrudes 10 cm beyond the side and rear walls, and 5 cm beyond the front wall. In the center we make a hole for laying hay and feed. We close it with a door made separately.

Attention! At the end of the work, use pliers to bend all the protruding parts of the mesh, and sand the protruding wooden elements and sharp corners with sandpaper.

A carefully designed and manufactured rabbit cage will provide the animal with comfortable living conditions and help maintain its health. In addition, the thoughtful design greatly simplifies the process of cleaning up after rodents. But before making it, you should carefully study the main points of such work.

The rabbitry is a convenient design designed for all types and breeds of rabbits. Made from wood. May be lined with iron. When building it yourself, it is recommended to raise the structure 1 m above the ground.

Primary requirements

An entire farm for several hundred heads, special sheds, cages for outdoor or indoor keeping can be designed for production. Regardless of the conditions in which the animals will be kept, it is necessary to take into account physical indicators, breed, age and gender. The future design should be easy to manufacture. Permanent requires examination, disinfection, feeding. An inconvenient rabbitry should not negatively affect the health of the animals. Therefore, it should be made as spacious and comfortable as possible. Correct fulfillment of certain requirements will reduce maintenance time and make maintenance less burdensome.

Selecting a location

Before starting construction, it is necessary to select a location on the plot. During the daytime, the area should be shaded from direct sunlight. It is best to make sure that the rabbitry is located on a hill with your own hands. Cold gusts of wind, stale and damp air should not be allowed to appear. The rabbitry should not be located next to a compost pit. This will lead to the gradual extinction of individuals or the entire population. It is also not recommended to build a house for rabbits next to a dog’s enclosure or other sources of noise.

Design

The structure of the building must be durable. That's why you need to choose only good, strong materials. The future house must be raised by at least 1 m; before construction, the drawings must be carefully completed and a location on the site must be selected. Also, the animal house must have ventilation.

Optimal sizes

Professionals have developed the required cell sizes. The width and length of the structures vary depending on what animals they are aimed at.

How to keep a couple of rabbits

For two adult animals, a warm room with two sections should be built. Required sizes:

Length at least 140 cm;
Width at least 60-70 cm;
Height 50-70 cm;

Fresh water should also be placed around the edges of the structure. It will be very difficult for rabbits to climb into the feeders with their paws. An inclined mesh must be placed between the sections. Hay or green fodder is placed in its frame. The internal part of the structure is called the hay barn. In order to save space, you can make two or three tiers stacked on top of each other. But it is worth considering that artificial ventilation will be needed in the lower structure. The last two tiers can be managed by natural air circulation using the wind. Such cells will be compact and convenient. They are easy to add food to and clean up.

Group keeping of young animals

Recommended length 200-300 cm;
Width 80-100 cm;
Height not less than 35-60 cm;

Such structures are intended for keeping young animals no older than 2 months. It is necessary to calculate the volume of dwellings based on the number of livestock. One individual will need a space of 0.12 square meters. m.

Female and newborn rabbits

A female with needs at least 0.6 square meters. m, there should also be a nesting container in the cage. Recommended container sizes:

Length at least 34-36 cm;
Height 30-32 cm;
Width 25-28 cm;

Video by Pavel Tverikin

The tree protruding inside the house, the passage in the partition, which should separate the walking compartment and the queen cell, should be carefully lined with tin. Thanks to this design, animals will not be able to destroy the walls.
When installing the cage outdoors or under a canopy, it is necessary to place the container above the wooden floor. Only after this is a metal mesh and ladder laid on top. Thanks to this, in winter, when the compost decomposes, additional heat will begin to be released. The temperature in the rabbitry will rise. The animals' stay in the cage will be more comfortable.
If the livestock breeder is a beginner and is making a rabbitry with his own hands for the first time in his life, then in this case, professionals recommend using wood waste and waste material. When purchasing new heads or when offspring appear, the need for new cages will arise. The experience gained will help you design a structure from high quality building materials. During subsequent construction, the material can be used most rationally.

Rabbits and rats

After you have built a rabbitry with your own hands, you should remember about the occurrence of wild rodents. Rats are considered carriers of bacteria and various infections. These animals can cause irreparable harm to adults and their offspring. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that rats do not bother the rabbits. To do this you need:

Do not scatter food throughout the rabbitry;
Carry out thorough mulching and weeding;
Garbage must be removed throughout the entire area. This is especially true for the territory where the rabbitry is located. Rodents can make burrows in garbage and waste. Such proximity to rabbits is extremely unpleasant;
The rabbitry should be cleaned, disinfected and repaired.

In addition to spreading infectious diseases, rodents can eat newborn babies. Today there are a large number of means by which you can get rid of rats. Such preparations include various baits, ultrasonic whistles, and ditches. When exterminating rodents, care must be taken. Ill-considered actions can harm not only rats, but also the rabbits themselves.

Raising rabbits requires patience and knowledge of their physiology. Without this, results will not be achieved. In winter, rabbits feel better in a heated room specially allocated for them, which is called a rabbitry. A small one is suitable for home breeding.

What should a rabbitry be like?

In order for rabbits to feel normal, not get sick, grow well and reproduce quickly, they need to create a certain atmosphere. They are demanding of living conditions and often get sick in poor conditions. To prevent this from happening, they need the following conditions:

The optimal temperature is 14-16°C. The temperature in the rabbitry is determined in a place away from heating devices, walls, windows and doors. Both overheating and hypothermia have a negative effect. When the temperature drops, more feed is required, which is unprofitable. But a gradual rise or fall in temperature is not as destructive as sudden changes. From all this it follows that it is necessary to build an insulated rabbitry, with the possibility of heating and air conditioning. The most justified are rabbit hutches built using mineral wool insulation (thickness is calculated depending on the region). No less attention should be paid to the insulation of the floor and ceiling. The roofing material may not be insulated; it must provide protection from moisture. In this case, it is necessary to take care of the insulation of the ceiling. The cheapest way is to pour a layer of expanded clay onto the ceiling, apply a layer of clay mixed with straw on top, and then you can even throw fallen leaves onto the dried clay for additional thermal insulation.
Rabbits are demanding of air humidity - it must be maintained at 60-75%.
Drafts have a negative effect on the health of rabbits. This is another argument in favor of frame buildings - if constructed correctly, there should be no drafts. However, the rabbitry must have ventilation because they need fresh air and the gases that come from the rabbits' urine and feces must be removed. But the air speed should not be more than 0.3 m/s. Usually, an inlet opening is made, covered by a movable grille at floor level in one corner of the rabbitry, and an exhaust pipe under the ceiling in the other. You can install a damper in the exhaust pipe. Using a movable grille and a damper, you can regulate the speed of air movement in the rabbitry depending on weather conditions. If natural ventilation is not enough, fans with the ability to regulate the speed of rotation of the blades are installed in the exhaust or supply pipe (there should be several modes).
The second factor that affects the state of the atmosphere in a rabbitry is the regularity of cleaning and the design of the cages. About the cells - a little lower, and here - about cleaning. It should be regular - at least 2-3 times a week. The main indicator is the presence or absence of a strong odor.
In order for less ammonia to be released, it is necessary to organize the collection of stool so that urine is separated from feces. If the collection goes into trays under the cages, they have a slope and a trench through which the urine is drained into a separate container. If waste is collected through gutters into a pit (with large numbers of rabbits), the ditches must be made so that urine leaks into a lower gutter separated by a mesh. This is a rather difficult task, since one part is separated from the other using a mesh, and it often gets clogged. To keep everything in working order, you have to clean it often.
Construction of a rabbitry is a serious matter

The rate of weight gain and fur density are also affected by the illumination of the rabbitry and the length of daylight hours. Rabbits are most active at dusk and at night. Bright lighting is undesirable for them. A sufficient level of illumination is 50-70 lux for adults, 25-30 lux for fattening young animals. At the same time, the duration of daylight hours is 16-18 hours, so in winter lighting is required, but dim. To make the lighting more comfortable when servicing the rabbitry, install several additional light bulbs above the cages, but connect them to the second switch (or to the second key). Another option is to install a brightness control (dimmer). It is installed instead of a regular switch and allows you to change the illumination by turning the control knob.

Rabbit cages

The easiest way to keep rabbits is in cages under a canopy in the open air. But this option is available in regions with more or less mild winters. Often this type of keeping is practiced at the beginning of a rabbit breeder’s “career,” but gradually they come to the conclusion that a rabbitry is necessary. It’s just that during the winter the livestock often decreases greatly, feed consumption increases significantly, and the gain is very small. It turns out that it is more profitable to build a rabbitry and heat it.

Dimensions and design of rabbit cages

The size of rabbit cages depends on the breed. The larger the rabbits, the more space they require. On average, the height of the cage is 500-700 mm, the roof can be sloped back, then the height at the back is 50-100 mm less. The depth of the cage is 50-70 cm. The width is more difficult - cages of different sizes are made for males and females. In cages for female rabbits, it is advisable to fence off the queen cell - a closed, small volume in which the female rabbit will build a nest. Without taking into account the queen cell, the length of the cage for males and females is the same - 500-800 cm.

There are several options for constructing a queen cell:

A cube of boards of a suitable size is placed in spacious cages, in which a hole is made for passage.
Immediately, during construction, part of the cell for the queen cell is fenced off.
There are wide removable doors on the sides of the cage. Before the female rabbit has offspring, the doors are removed and the queen cell is hung (reliable fastening is required).

The optimal dimensions of the queen cell are: depth 80 cm, width 60 cm, height 40 cm (or whatever the size of your cell is). It is advisable to make a shelf inside the cell or above the queen cell. On it the rabbit will hide from the annoying little ones. In this case, she will not accidentally trample them, as happens if there is no shelf.

Queen cell hung to the cage for a female rabbit

A hole is made from the queen cell into the main cell. It should not start level with the floor; there should be a threshold of at least 5 cm. In the first days, it will keep the babies inside the queen cell.

How to make a floor

Regardless of the type of keeping rabbits, the cage must be dry. Therefore, a solid floor is very rarely made; it is better to make a slotted one, with large gaps, or from a metal mesh with a small cell. If the floor is made solid (from a piece of moisture-resistant plywood or OSB), then it is made inclined towards the back wall (you can also towards the front, but this is less convenient). A grate or mesh is nailed into the back of the floor, through which urine pours out and excrement falls out.

It is better to make the floor in a cage for rabbits double - the first level is made of wooden slats or a metal grid

It is much better to make a double floor - the first is lattice, the second is solid. For a slatted floor, take wooden planks 20-25 mm wide and fill them with a gap of 15 mm. All waste, both liquid and solid, normally falls through such gaps. Instead of slats, you can use a rigid mesh with thick wire and small cells.

Mesh floor made of galvanized wire - also performed well

The lower level of the floor - the pallet - is often made of galvanized iron, preferably from a single piece. In this case, a slope is formed (usually in the center of the cell or between two adjacent ones), and a gutter is formed in the center. The height of the pallet is 25-35 mm. Less is inconvenient, more is not necessary.

To make the metal last longer, it can be treated with drying oil. If it is necessary to splice the pieces, make the connection so that everything drains, and it is advisable to coat it with bitumen mastic - so that sewage does not flow onto the floor of the rabbitry.

Cages for female rabbits are queen cells on the sides. The lower level of the floor is made of galvanized steel and has a trough for urine drainage and ease of cleaning.

At the same time, the lower tier of the floor must be movable so that it can be pulled out and washed/cleaned. To do this, corners are stuffed onto which a sheet of metal rides, like on a sled.

It is not necessary to make the lower tier of the floor for each cell. It can be common to two or three located nearby. If these are cages for rabbits, you usually end up with a common tray for two cages, with queen cells on each side. If cages of young animals for fattening or males are located in a row, three cages can be combined.

Sometimes flat slate is also used as the lower floor. But in this case, the drain can only be organized backwards or forwards and only into the gutter that runs along the cage - the sheet cannot be bent in any way.

Doors

Doors are usually made with mesh. A frame is made from a block onto which a mesh is stretched. Tighten the nails or screws so that their points do not stick out inside the cage. It is better to stuff the mesh so that it is flush on the side of the cage. This way there is less chance of rabbits chewing through the door. Those who are more comfortable with welding weld a frame from a small corner, stretch the eraser onto a steel wire 3-4 mm in diameter, and weld this wire to the door.

In terms of size, a larger door is more convenient - it will be more convenient for you to maintain the cage. Constipations are ordinary hooks or latches; they are also made in the old fashioned way with a piece of a block that spins on a nail driven into its middle. But this type of constipation is very unreliable.

One of the simplest options for constipation for rabbit cages

If carpentry is not your thing, to make the door more rigid, you can fill the block diagonally. It will prevent the door from warping (as in the photo above). Please note that the bar is padded on the outside - this will prevent rabbits from chewing on it.

Roof

You can cover rabbit cages with any inexpensive material. But we must remember that overheating and hypothermia are destructive for rabbits. Therefore, simply throwing a piece of metal or any material based on it will not work. It is better to use a material with low thermal conductivity. For example, you can stuff plywood (moisture-resistant, construction), OSB and any other similar material.

If the cages will be placed outside, without a canopy, something will need to be placed on the sheet material to protect them from precipitation. In more northern areas or when installing the cage in the shade, you can lay roofing felt or more modern waterproofing material. It can not be fused, but glued to bitumen mastic.

Another option is to lay slate, preferably wave slate. Moreover, it is better to raise it above the cage by 15-25 cm. This will create an air gap, it will not be hot in the cage. And the resulting gap can be used for drying/withering grass. Dried in the shade, it retains more nutrients.

Sennik, drinking bowls, feeders

For rabbits you don’t need much equipment - a hay barn, feeders for bulk small feed, drinking bowls. The design of the drinking bowls should be such that they can be easily removed - they need to be washed and the water changed. For these purposes, they usually adapt some kind of trays, under which they make a “seat” from a strip of metal, fixed to the door (the most convenient option) or to the wall, close to the door.

There is one very good option for a drinking bowl from the “cheap and cheerful” category. A piece of sewer pipe with a diameter of 100 mm is used as a “cup holder”. Trimming height - 80-100 mm. A trimmed 2-liter plastic bottle is inserted inside this ring. The bottle is cut flush with the “glass holder”, only a strip 2-3 cm wide and 5-7 cm long remains so that the glass can be easily pulled out.

Senniks are made either between two cages, bevelling adjacent walls in the shape of the letter V. This method is more convenient when building cages for rabbits (seen in several photos above). The second option for cages of males and young animals is to make one of the walls (or part of the wall) lattice-like, and attach a piece of plywood, OSB, a board made of planks, etc. to it on hinges. Fix it in the desired position using a hook, rope, or wire.

In principle, if there is not enough space on the side, such a canopy can be made in the front, on the door. It’s just that in addition to the drinking bowl, they often nail/make a feeder on the door.

Feeders are made by anyone using whatever they can. Some people have plastic or metal trays attached, others make them out of wood, they even try to make them out of drywall. An interesting option seemed to be an attached piece of a large-section plasterboard profile (pictured below).

You can make a feeder out of wood, but the edges must be covered with tin.

If you have some tinsmithing skills, you can make a feeder from galvanized sheet metal.

To get rid of the dusty part of the feed, several small holes are made in the bottom of the feeder.

What materials are the frame and walls made of?

The frame for cages in a rabbitry is made of wooden beams or from a load-bearing (wall) galvanized profile for plasterboard; welded frames made of metal pipes are quite rare. They are the most reliable, but also the heaviest. More suitable for permanent installation in a rabbitry.

The lightest cages are made from a profile, but the choice of materials is very limited - heavy ones cannot be used. When using timber, there are no questions about the weight of the material, but there is a problem - rabbits chew the wood. Therefore, they try to make cages so that there are fewer protruding corners - they cannot gnaw on smooth surfaces.

As you saw in the photo, the walls of rabbit cages are made of different materials - plywood, OSB, wooden boards and slats. They often use whoever has what. The most problematic areas are covered with tin or a mesh is pulled over the top - this also prevents the wood from being chewed. There are cages that are almost entirely made of mesh. Young animals for fattening feel good in them.

Photo report on the manufacture of a cage for a rabbitry from a galvanized profile

This option is suitable for those regions where wood is expensive or for those who have a lot of profile remains after construction/repair. When making cages, the dimensions are adjusted to the existing molding - small deviations in one direction or another are acceptable, but the rabbits should have room in the cage.

This cage was built for a female with rabbits up to 20 days old. It consists of two sections. The main part is 55*75*55 cm, the mother liquor is 35*55*30 cm. The racks have a reinforced profile, the crossbars are used for normal work - as usual with drywall - the pieces are fastened with self-tapping screws (fleas).

The floor in the main part is made of a block 2 cm thick and 5 cm wide. The planks are attached to the profile with self-tapping screws. The screws must be screwed in so that they can be easily unscrewed - if (or rather, when) the strip is chewed, it will be easy to replace with a new one.

In the queen cell the floor is solid, without cracks. If in winter you are not sure that your rabbitry will be warm enough, it is better to make a double floor in this part and fill the gap with insulation - even expanded clay. In this case, even with a sharp cold snap, the babies will not freeze - their mother usually warms them from above. If it is warm from below, they will not get sick.

The height of the queen cell is 20 cm lower than the main cell. From the inside, in the cage, there is a shelf on which the rabbit will escape from the annoying little ones.

To prevent the external joints of the plywood from being chewed, we cover them with perforated metal corners. You just need to look for the ones that are thicker. We cut the edges of the corners at 45° so that they do not ride up or stick out.

Photos of rabbit cages for installation in a rabbitry and outdoors

Cages in a rabbitry are rarely placed in three tiers - the lower ones are difficult to maintain

Wire walls, pipe frame. Only the back wall is blank - so that there are no drafts