Outdoor rabbit cages differ significantly from indoor structures. Making such cells yourself allows you to save a lot of money. cash, and make the rabbit hutches as comfortable as possible.
Outdoor rabbit cages differ significantly from home structures
Despite the huge selection of different cell designs, all of them must comply general requirements, ensuring not only the highest productivity of farm animals, but also minimal morbidity and the highest possible livestock safety rates:
- animal waste products, including feces and urine, should not be retained in the intracellular space;
- the internal space should have maximum protection against the penetration of rats and other rodents;
- It is mandatory to have sufficient natural or artificial lighting, as well as ventilation;
- cleaning the cage space and servicing animals should be convenient;
- The rabbitry must be completely safe for newborns, young animals and productive animals.
Rabbits of the main herd are most often kept in sheds and placed in single-tier or two-tier cages, and in rabbitries it is advisable to install single-tier cages. You should build closed rabbit hutches yourself, taking into account the size of the room allocated for keeping animals.
How to make cages for rabbits from mesh (video)
Types of cages for rabbits
There are several variations of designs that are currently actively used for keeping rabbits, but the most popular among rabbit breeders are shads, as well as Mikhailov cages and Zolotukhin designs. Depending on the conditions of detention, they can be:
- outdoor or outdoor, stationary structures, insulated, located on flat and dry areas, as well as protected from sunlight and gusts of wind;
- external mobile lightweight structures, easy to move, facilitated by reliable and durable metal wheels on one side of the cage;
- stationary structures for use in special premises, represented by sheds or pavilions, protected from temperature changes and negative external factors.
Depending on the livestock contained, rabbitries are designed for different purposes:
- collective keeping of young individuals, previously divided by weight and size, as well as degree of development and age;
- individual maintenance of males and breeding specimens actively used in breeding;
- queen cell in which females and offspring are kept.
The latter option assumes the presence of a nesting compartment in the rabbitry. To understand what specific houses are needed for rabbits, you should familiarize yourself with the correct determination of the dimensions of the rabbitry being manufactured.
The optimal size of a rabbitry for keeping farm animals directly depends on their intended purpose. How to make a rabbit cage with your own hands
As a rule, standard metal meshes are used for production, which are easy to use and maintain. It is advisable to veneer wooden external parts sheet metal, which will prevent the natural processes of wood decay and damage to elements by the sharp teeth of rabbits. It is not advisable to use solid metal inside, since such material can heat up and cool strongly, and also have Negative influence on animal health.
Determining the size of the rabbitry
The optimal size of a rabbitry for keeping farm animals directly depends on their intended purpose.
- two-section models 130 cm long and 60 cm wide, for one head at the rate of 0.78 m2 of area per individual;
- single-section models 80-110 cm long and 60 cm wide, for one head at the rate of 0.5-0.7 m2 of area per individual;
- for the main herd, a model with a nesting compartment 60 cm long and 40 cm wide, for one head at the rate of 0.24 m2 of area per individual;
- for ten heads of young animals, group shads 170 cm long and 60 cm wide, for one head at the rate of 0.10 m2 of area per individual;
- for replacement young stock, group shads 170 cm long and 60 cm wide, for one head at the rate of 0.17-0.23 m2 of area per individual;
- with multi-row placement of the main herd, cages 80-120 cm long and 40-60 cm wide, for one head at the rate of 0.5-0.6 m2 of area per individual;
- for multi-row placement of young animals, cages 80-120 cm long and 40-60 cm wide, for one head at the rate of 0.1 m2 of area per individual.
It is not advisable to use solid metal inside the cage. Special attention is given to the main dimensions of the cage, represented by the length, width, height of the front and back wall, as well as the total floor surface area in square meters. For keeping rabbits large breeds recommended designs with a length of 150 cm, a width of 70 cm, a front wall height of 75-90 cm and a rear wall of 45-55 cm, as well as a floor area of 105 cm2. For keeping medium breed rabbits, designs with a length of 100-120 cm, a width of 60 cm, a front wall height of 60-80 cm and a rear wall of 45 cm, as well as a floor area of 65-75 m2 are recommended.
Schemes and drawings of cages for rabbits
In order to divide the cell into a pair of sections, a partition is cut out. The roof in the diagram may be folding type, which greatly facilitates the care of farm animals. Cells placed in street conditions, must be made on legs from bars, the height of which is 0.7-0.8 m, which is reflected in the preliminary drawings. As a rule, ready-made drawings are used.
How to draw a cage for rabbits (video)
Selection and preparation of materials
The most common way to keep domestic rabbits is the cage version. For self-made rabbit housing, it is advisable to use the most affordable, fairly cheap Construction Materials, represented by boards, metal mesh with medium cells, moisture-resistant plywood sheets or flat slate. The frame is made from wooden blocks, as well as the door of the structure and a solid partition.
For arranging the floor surface, plywood or slate sheets are most often used, and for making your own feeding partition and outer door, it is advisable to use a metal mesh. Metal sheets allow you to cover all protruding parts of wood from animals, which can be chewed by rabbits. It should be noted that any part in the cage structure must be completely safe and absolutely smooth. The mesh elements should not have sharp ends, and all wooden parts should be thoroughly polished, which will prevent splinters and other injuries from occurring in the animals.
Particular attention is paid to the main dimensions of the cage, represented by the length, width, height of the front and rear walls, as well as the total floor surface area in square meters Stages of making a rabbitry
To make your own rabbitry, you need to purchase 12-14 wooden blocks with a cross-section of 50×50 mm and a length of 400 cm, as well as twenty wooden blocks with a length of 200-250 cm. Also for construction you will need approximately half a cube edged boards 150 mm wide and 400 cm long, approximately 15 m of welded galvanized steel stacks 100 cm wide with 20x20 mm cells. Waterproofing is done with roofing felt.
The structure is represented by a supporting frame, floor, walls, ceiling and doors. Serial technology self-assembly rabbitry:
- installation and temporary tightening of vertical wooden bars;
- production and fixation of profile bars on vertical guides;
- laying and fixing edged boards on bars;
- cutting and laying solid sheets of waterproofing in the form of roofing felt on boards;
- at a distance of 10-15 cm from the resulting drain gutters, a pair of horizontal wooden blocks are nailed along the entire length;
- a mesh strip measuring 0.5 × 4.0 m is packed onto the installed horizontal bars along the entire length;
- The side parts of the cage being manufactured are covered with sheet plywood or chipboard panels.
The metal mesh is cut to size using wire cutters. On the outside, all cells are necessarily sheathed with edged hewn houses, and the part opposite the entrance to the entrance is sheathed in order to prevent drafts.
You can independently create a convenient and functional rabbitry quite easily and quickly, using the simplest and most affordable materials How to build a rabbitry from scrap materials
You can create a convenient and functional rabbitry yourself quite easily and quickly, using the simplest and most affordable materials. Having a standard set of simple plumbing tools, as well as having sufficient skills in handling such a tool, it is quite possible to make a cage from old wooden ones available on the farm window frames and wooden slats, remnants of chipboards, polyethylene films and other simple construction waste, it is quite possible to make a voluminous rabbitry with your own hands. The method for manufacturing a cell structure is standard:
- making a frame base from wooden blocks with a cross-section of 50x50 mm or old wooden window frames;
- installation on floor surface in the area allocated for animal feeding, standard metal mesh with cells of medium or small sizes;
- installation from improvised wooden materials, which are most often used wooden boards, sheet plywood or chipboards, rear wall and solid floor inside the nest compartment;
- lining the side walls of the rabbitry being built with sheet plywood, and the subsequent installation of a partition, in which it is first necessary to cut a hole with a diameter of a quarter of a meter, located between the rear part of the cage and the nesting compartment;
- installation of a special cover on the nesting section;
- fixing on the frame base, in the middle part of the cage, a support bar that will divide the structure into separate sections;
- installation of drinkers and feeders inside the cage space, which can be ready-made, factory-made, or made independently;
- turning over the resulting structure and finishing fixing the mesh floor using ordinary wooden slats;
- installation of feed bins and compartments made of mesh or rods for giving coarse feed to animals;
- installation on a manufactured roof cage, equipped with a convenient handle, as well as installation of doors with latches.
In any case, the completed cells must meet the basic requirements, which are represented by the standard sanitary standards area, obligatory slatted or mesh floors, a queen cell for pregnant individuals, automatic drinkers and feeders of any type. The design should be comfortable and accessible for regular cleaning activities, equipped with a drainage system in the presence of a second cell tier.
It’s quite possible to make a cage for a decorative rabbit yourself
Making a simple cage for a decorative rabbit with your own hands
Decorative rabbits are small in size and relatively easy to care for pets. It is quite possible to make a cage for such an animal yourself. As a rule, compact, portable structures are made for keeping decorative rodents. Important to remember, that the dimensions of the design being performed are determined by the size of the decorative rabbit. The indicators need to be increased at least four times, but the animal feels best in a fairly spacious home. The height of the structure, as a rule, corresponds to the height of the animal standing on its hind legs. Multi-level structures look original.
DIY rabbit cage (video)
Cages for decorative rabbits are most often made from traditional materials, represented by sheet plywood for the floor and metal grating for the base. The previously prepared drawings must indicate a place for installing a drinking bowl, a feeding trough and a shelter house. If you plan to make a two-story cage, then you must first cut a hole in the ceiling that is large enough to conveniently move the rabbit to the upper tier. Important to remember, that the finished structure cannot be treated with chemical impregnations and varnishes, or coated with toxic paint.
Attention, TODAY only!
You can build cages for rabbits with your own hands from scrap materials: waste boards, plywood, chipboard, slate, bricks, metal cuttings, tin, etc. The design of the cages also varies, but it is better to choose one that will not take you a lot of time to make and will be convenient for feeding rabbits, inspecting them and regular cleaning.
Types of cages for rabbits and possible materials for DIY work
Not all types of cages can be made with your own hands, but many of them can definitely be made if you know the sizes, have drawings and basic skills. So, what types of houses for the eared tribe exist?
By size and height:
- simple one tier,
- bunk,
- three-tiered,
- multi-tiered.
For which rabbits:
- for young animals,
- females,
- decorative,
- giants and dwarfs, etc.
What materials can it be made from:
- tree,
- metal (iron, etc.),
- metal profile, etc.
Options can be both summer and winter. There are types for keeping outdoors or in an apartment. They can be monolithic or portable, especially if the rabbits are dwarf and kept at home. The houses can also be fattening houses. There are also industrial buildings, but we will not talk about them.
Some options for homemade rabbit houses in the photo
Wooden with mesh 
Combined wood and mesh 
From metal profiles and wood using sect 
Made of wood
Drawings with dimensions of some types of cells
2 tiers 
Mikhailov's cage 
Simple scheme 
Zolotukhin cell
General step-by-step instructions for making it at home
To start rabbit farming, you don’t need any special investments: you can easily make cheap cages for rabbits, drinkers and feeders yourself, hay and branches can be prepared in the summer, root crops and vegetables can be taken from your own garden. The main expenses will be required only for concentrated feed.
Each cage should contain rabbits of the same sex, approximately the same age, weight and temperament
It is recommended to place adult rabbits and female rabbits with offspring in one- or two-section cages. Standard sizes correct cells for rabbits: length about 100-120 cm, height 50 cm, width about 70 cm. It is better to keep young animals in a group cage, the size of which corresponds to the number of rabbits. For example, for ten little rabbits, a house with the same height and width as indicated above, but up to 170 cm in length, is suitable. It should be remembered that rabbits of the same sex, approximately the same age, weight and temperament should live in each cage.
Even novice rabbit breeders will find it easy to figure out how to build a rabbit cage consisting of two sections.
Step-by-step production of cages for rabbits:
When keeping rabbits outdoors, the cages should be installed on bars so that they rise seventy centimeters above the ground. This will protect the lop-eared ones from rodents and pets, and it will be much more convenient to maintain the houses. By constructing a cage from scrap materials, you get an original house for your pets for almost free.
Other options for rabbit houses
If the proposed tips do not adequately describe the picture of the upcoming work, you should pay attention to the most popular types of cages for keeping and breeding rabbits. They are used by experienced farmers.
Family block - three-section cage
Making a three-section cage for rabbits may seem a little more complicated, the drawings of which are presented in the tab with photographs. But in such family blocks it is very convenient to breed rabbits: the breeding rabbit lives in the central compartment of the cage, and the females live on the sides. Wooden partitions Between the compartments, the cages have manholes with plywood latches, designed to make it easy to place females for mating with a male and return them back to their compartments.
It is very convenient to raise rabbits in such family blocks
The frame can be made from bars, and the side walls, back, nest compartments with doors and partitions can be made from wide lining. A metal mesh is used for the front wall. In the nesting compartments, it is advisable to provide an attic - a free space between the ceiling and the common roof, where the female rabbits can rest from their offspring. An additional convenience of the design is the thoughtful arrangement of feeders and drinkers - the food and water in them are not contaminated, and they can be filled from the outside.
Mikhailov's mini-farms - an easy way to raise little rabbits
One of the most effective ways rabbit breeding are Mikhailov's mini-farms, which provide intensive breeding of animals with minimal care from the rabbit breeder. The thoughtful design of Mikhailov's cages provides for automatic cleaning and provision of food for rabbits, heating of water in drinking bowls to the required temperature (which is especially important in winter), and heating of the queen cell to increase the survival rate of newborn rabbits.
Not every rabbit breeder can make Mikhailov cages with his own hands. But if you wish, you can collect complex design according to a scheme that you can easily find on the Internet.
Correct houses according to Zolotukhin’s method
The famous rabbit breeder Nikolai Ivanovich Zolotukhin has been successfully breeding rabbits for several decades; such impressive experience helped him develop his own concept of keeping rabbits at home.
Their design is quite simple, and their production requires materials that are found in almost everyone’s household.
Features of Zolotukhin cells:
- the floor in the cages is made solid of slate or boards;
- there are no pallets;
- a narrow strip of mesh flooring is provided only along the rear walls of the cages;
- the rear walls are made at an angle so that the waste of rabbits from the upper tier does not fall on the rabbits of the lower tier;
- there are no special queen cells - the female rabbit arranges the nest herself before giving birth;
- There are grain feeders attached to the doors, which can easily be turned outward for filling.
After watching the video in the tab to the article, you will understand how to make cages for rabbits of the same type as Nikolai Ivanovich Zolotukhin. Moreover, their design is quite simple, and their production requires materials that are found in almost everyone’s household.
How to make your own cages for dwarf rabbits
If you decide to have rabbits at home as pets, the issue with cages will be resolved differently. In pet stores you can now find a variety of cages for decorative rabbits, but you don’t have to spend money on buying them - making a cage for a small pet rabbit will take very little time.
A cage for a dwarf rabbit is made from two side walls 70x70 cm and a back wall 55 cm high, 100 cm long. The back wall must be secured so that there is a gap of 15 cm under the cage. Nail meter slats to the bottom of the cage and fasten a metal one on top of them grid. You also need to nail a mesh onto the front door. Make a mesh lid with hinges and a handle. Place a tray under the cage - the cage for the dwarf rabbit is ready! Material updated 03/17/2017
Rabbits are quite unpretentious in care. They are universal in matters of nutrition and do not require special conditions content. 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 rabbit cage 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. With absence free space the cells are made two-tiered. Differ from each other different variants also the design of the roof, floor, 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 group method contents are also implemented in the above-mentioned cell variants. 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. For this purpose, long wooden blocks.
- 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.
Preparing suitable materials, it should also be taken into account 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 The inside of the enclosure should be lined 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 it as a frame base. metal corners and cross members. 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 conditions residence and will help maintain his 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.
Subsistence farming has always been profitable. You can keep chickens, pigs, and goats, but rabbits have always been especially popular, because they are unpretentious and do not require special food. But they definitely need special cages for rabbits; it is not customary to simply keep these animals in a barn.
Cell sizes
Before you build rabbit hutches, you need to find a blueprint to work from. You can find a ready-made one on the Internet or draw a drawing yourself. To do this, you need to know the size of rabbit cages. Beginning rabbit breeders should know that one cage is not enough for them to breed these animals. We need several houses for rabbits, at least three.
For adult rabbits
Two adult rabbits will fit in a two-section house. Its minimum dimensions are: length - 140 cm (preferably 210-240 cm), width - 60-70 cm, height - 50-70 cm. Between the two compartments there is a feeder for grass and hay. The rabbit house can be made on two floors, which will help save space.
House of two sections for adult rabbits
Cage for young animals
In cages for rabbits, namely for young animals, baby rabbits are kept in groups. Making a cage is simple: the minimum dimensions of a home for young animals are: 200–300 cm by 100 cm, height – 35–60 cm. One young animal should have at least 0.12 square meters area. Sometimes separate cages are not made for young animals, but are kept in ordinary ones for adults, calculating the number of individuals according to the area they need.
House for a female rabbit with offspring
A house for rabbits with children for breeding consists of a feeding and uterine part, which are separated by a partition. There is a hole in it. It should be located slightly above the floor (10-15 cm) so that the rabbits cannot get out of the nest. Houses for rabbits (mother cell) have dimensions of 0.4 by 0.4 m and a height of 20 cm. It is placed in the uterine compartment just before the birth. Here is an approximate drawing of a cell with a queen cell.
Drawing of a cell with a queen cell
For giant rabbits
The size of the cage also depends on the size of the giant rabbits. If you have purchased giants, they will be cramped in standard enclosures; they need larger houses. To breed giant rabbits, you need a dwelling 0.75 m wide, 0.55 m high, and 1.7 m long. This is the minimum, it would be nice to make it larger.
Rules for making a cage
If you decide to build rabbit cages with your own hands, you need to know some rules so that you don’t have to make a new one in a few months.
- Rabbits are rodents, so for those who want to preserve cages for rabbits, it is better to protect all parts of the wooden frame that are located inside the cage by covering them with metal. This will only take a few hours, but the rabbits’ cage will then last 10 years longer.
- Antiseptic cannot be used. Pets can get poisoned.
- The roof should not be damaged by moisture. It is better to use slate for it. If your rabbits will live outside, do not make a metal roof. Under the influence of the sun, it becomes hot, and the animals will be uncomfortable in this stuffy space.
- For the frame of rabbit houses, timber (50x50 mm) is used. Can also be made from metal. Chain-link mesh, the cells of which are 25x25 mm, is suitable for cladding. The mesh is needed for the facade, for the sides of houses and doors. The back part is always made deaf, because... drafts are harmful to them.
- In order to build a floor, take a mesh with cells of 25x25 mm or 10x25. Because of this, feces do not accumulate inside the cell, but are collected in a special bunker or rolled down an inclined path to the ground. You will not see a solid floor in the rabbitry.
When building a rabbit cage, there are some rules you need to follow.
Rabbits have very caustic urine that soaks into the solid floor and causes the wood to rot. If not a mesh, then the floor can be covered with bars, between which there are gaps of 0.5 - 1 cm. Experienced rabbit breeders advise laying a small sheet of plywood on the floor. Then rabbits will not have pododermatitis. But it must be constantly taken out and washed and dried.
How to build a rabbit hutch
If you want to build correctly with your own hands, then step-by-step instructions will help you. This is the most simple cell, which can only be kept indoors. According to these instructions, it is possible to make cages for rabbits and for the street, but use OSB.
You can make the drawing yourself, focusing on the size of the rabbit cage: size 1.5 by 0.7 m and height 0.7 m. But it is advisable to make cages for rabbits in pairs, which saves material, so the frame is taken as a basis: 3 m by 0.7 m, 1.2 m in front and 1 m in back. It is not difficult to make a drawing of such a cage.
How to make a rabbit cage with your own hands? Here are the step-by-step instructions. Prepare all necessary materials:
- plywood, 2 sheets (* 1.5 by 1.5 m), thickness – 10 mm;
- bars, 10 pieces: length 3 m, 30*50 mm;
- metal mesh with 15 mm cells, 3 m;
- self-tapping screws 30 and 70 mm, 2 kg;
- tools for work.
Making the frame. On a hard, smooth surface we assemble a frame measuring 3 m by 0.7 m and a height of 1.2 in front and 1 m in the back of the structure. The frame must be on legs.
We attach a mesh to the floor of the future cage; it may not reach the edges of the cage, because there will be a queen cell there. The floor of the queen cell is solid.
We make the back wall: cut it to size and attach it with self-tapping screws over the entire area. Plywood sheets fasten along the edges of the cage where there is no mesh - these are future queen cells.
Start working on queen cells. To do this, attach a block located vertically, screw a wall to it, and make a hole in it according to the rules. The bars are attached to the walls of the queen cell, and the lid of the queen cell is attached to them.
Rabbit cage: making queen cells
Making a feeder: You need to make a feeding device. We attach a vertical bar in the middle of the cage, two feeders 7 cm high and 30 cm wide are attached to it. Two bars are attached above the feeder at a distance of 20 cm, these are guides. From plywood you need to make a frame for the feed, a special device, the top of which fits between the guides, and the bottom fits directly into the feeder.
Rabbit cage: making a feeder
Rabbit cage: feeder mounted on frame
Next to the main feeder there is a hay feeder, which is made of steel wire.
Rabbit cage: hay feeder
We cover the free space with plywood, install a roof with an overlap of 5 cm in front and 10 cm on each side and at the back. There should be a hole in the middle into which the food will be placed. It is better to install a lid on top to prevent rodents from getting into it. All that remains is to install doors 30 by 50 cm. To make them you need a mesh. The cage is ready.
If you don’t like this DIY rabbit cage design, there are detailed video instructions. There's a step-by-step explanation there. True, you will have to do the drawing yourself.
Keeping eared animals has long been practiced by industrial farms and ordinary people who decided to organize a small farm on their plot. Keeping furry animals is a pleasure, as they do not require constant attention and are quite easy to care for. For the business to be successful, you need to provide the animals with comfortable living conditions. Today we will tell you what rabbit cages you can make with your own hands.
When choosing a place for the future residence of animals and installing their cage houses, you need to pay attention to some parameters of the selected territory.
Cages for eared animals can be placed:
- on the street;
- indoors.
Of course, the first option is suitable only for those farms that are located in the southern regions with a consistently warm and mild climate. Otherwise, in winter time Animals will not survive outside without shelter. If you and your rabbits are planning to live in just such a fertile place, consider the following rules.
- The level of air humidity that rabbits tolerate well has an upper limit of 75%. They will not be able to physically endure a greater percentage of it; they will begin to waste away and get sick. Based on this, the place to install the cages should be dry, located far from bodies of water, preferably on a hill.
- There are recommendations regarding sun exposure as well. Eared animals like to bask under them only in cartoons; in life, this will only bring harm and lead to widespread diseases and death of animals. To prevent direct sunlight from hitting the cages, place them in the shade garden trees or organize awnings. If rabbit breeding is your life's work, you can plant a bush fence that will scatter the sun's rays, letting them pass through.
During insulation, pay attention to those cages that are prepared for pregnant rabbits and newborn rabbits.
Requirements for indoor housing for rabbits
Growing, breeding and feeding rabbits
Building a comfortable hutch for rabbits is less than half the battle. It is equally important to properly organize the process of keeping, feeding and breeding rabbits. Read on to find out what features exist in the process of raising rabbits and what are the differences in the methods of keeping them.
Let's start building
Before you start construction work, you need to choose the right materials to be used in its process.
Necessary materials
When creating housing for rabbits, it is better to give preference to natural materials in order to bring the keeping of animals as close as possible to natural conditions. Therefore, as a basis for the cells, it is necessary to choose high-quality wooden blocks, which are additionally treated with antiseptics.
Additionally, to build cells we will need:
- boards and quality wood;
- thin plywood;
- fine-mesh welded mesh;
- wooden slats, 3-4 centimeters wide;
- metal wire of medium thickness;
- wide plastic trays according to the size of the cells;
Sheath inner surface It is best to use plywood for cage walls, as it is a moisture-resistant and strong material. Chipboard, for example, is not suitable for such a purpose, since it absorbs moisture and collapses due to swelling.
What types of cages are there for rabbits?
All rabbit hutches are built according to some general principles however, they still have differences. All the nuances of construction depend on what breeds and individuals of the rabbit people will live inside the cages being built. There will be at least several species in your household, and here's why.
As you can see, cells can differ in many ways, depending on the characteristics of future residents. However, for each of them there are general construction instructions, which vary depending on the goals. Let's start looking at it.
Important nuances
Before we announce the instructions themselves, let’s clarify some important points. The standard dimensions of a spacious rabbit hutch are:
- 120-170 centimeters in length;
- about 50 centimeters in height;
- 70-80 centimeters wide.
As a rule, if the cell parameters change, only the length is reduced. The height and width remain standard, since these are the parameters that are most comfortable for care.
Mixing rabbits of different genders in the same cage is prohibited, as this can lead to:
- uncontrolled matings;
- difficult to track pregnancies;
- fights between males for the attention of females;
- fights of females for the attention of males;
- strangling of each other's offspring by warring females.
Instructions for building a rabbit cage yourself
So let's move on to step-by-step instructions building a cage for rabbits. We propose to consider housing for eared animals, consisting of two sections. Adults will live in one of them, and pregnant queens with offspring will live in the second. For a while, until you have a nursing female with cubs, you can put houses for rabbits in the nesting compartment, in which they will hide when they are in a bad mood and want to take a break from their furry roommates.
Let's start building.
Step 1
Take the prepared wooden beams and treat them with antiseptics. This is necessary to prevent the tree from rotting and the penetration of harmful microorganisms into its structure, which can subsequently ruin the health of the eared animals.
Remember, the composition of antiseptics should be as gentle as possible and not contain large amounts of chlorine, which burns wood and destroys its structure. This is important because the cells are used mercilessly and it is necessary that they last a long time.
Step 2
Take wooden beam, prepared ahead of time and cut it so that you get parts with the following parameters:
- 4 beams of 1.5 meters each;
- the same number of bars 55 centimeters each;
- two pairs of bars 70 centimeters each.
Instead of four bars 55 centimeters long, you can make only two and two more 35 centimeters each. The smaller ones will be installed as frame pieces for the back of the cage where we will place the queen nest.
Step 3
Connect the shortest and half-meter beams together to create two identical shapes. If the parameters of the bars for the frame of the front and back of the cage are the same, then you will get a rectangle; if they are different, you will get a trapezoid.
Step 4
Now connect the rectangles together using pieces of wood 70 centimeters long. You should end up with a wooden one frame construction shaped like a large box.
Step 5
Let's start installing the floor. It can be made from several different materials. We present a comparative table of the pros and cons of each of them.
| Metallic profile | Fine mesh | Wood slats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | - | + | - | + | - |
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A good solution would be to use combinations, for example, the first layer can be made from a metal profile welded in the usual way, without small and frequent holes. The second layer is made of fine mesh. The profile will prevent it from deforming and this floor will last a long time.
It is impossible to make a non-mesh floor in the main compartment, since animal feces will pass through the holes and accumulate in the tray under the cage.
Install the selected material on most of the future floor of the cage and secure it with fasteners. Leave 40-50 centimeters blank
Step 6
The remaining unfilled space under the floor must be made of wood and solid, since the rabbit’s nest will be located there. It is best to screw a board to the beams, which must be well sanded so that the animal does not get injured. At the junction of the cells and the board, screw in a metal strip and weld the mesh to it.
Step 7
Let's start covering the walls. The back one is also made from boards polished and impregnated with gentle antiseptics. The front one is made of mesh so that you can observe what your pets are doing. Leave the ceiling unclogged.
Step 8
We line the plank walls from the inside of the cage using plywood. The material must be multi-layered and good quality. The thickness can be any, but you don’t need to take a very thick sheet so as not to make the structure too weighty.
You can fasten plywood using self-tapping screws or nails. The main thing is that the sharp part of the nail does not come out and does not injure you when caring for the cage.
Step 9
We are building a roof. To do this we need a sheet of plywood and hinges, like on doors or cabinets. First, we screw the hinges to one of the upper beams of the frame, then we plant a sheet of good plywood on them. Here it is better to choose a thicker material, because the roof of the house will constantly rise and fall. Make sure it fits snugly. If between the frame and the roof there are large gaps, harmful drafts cannot be avoided.
If it was not possible to fit the lid to the frame tightly, do not despair. Take some felt or padding polyester and cover the perimeter of the roof. This can be done even if there are no cracks, since in winter period Such insulation will be useful for long-eared people.
Step 10
At the junction of the wire mesh and the boards, install a board that goes from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall. Make a medium-sized hole in advance so that the rabbits can move freely from one cage to another.
Step 11
Place the cages on supports that have been previously installed in the rabbitry. Now, mount the tray from the bottom of the cage. It can only match the size of the mesh part of the floor, since the feces of the rabbit and baby rabbits will not leak through the wooden floors.
Step 12
Now install feeders and drinkers inside the cages. You can also make them yourself from wood, in the form of small troughs. Be sure to find a place for hay as well. Some rabbit breeders place it in homemade hanging structures so that rabbits can reach it and at the same time not trample it, turning it into bedding.
Now that you have learned how to make the simplest version of rabbit cages, let's turn our attention to other popular options.
Family cage
The family home for long-eared animals no longer consists of two, but of three sections. A breeding male with good breeding properties settles there. quality characteristics health and appearance. Females live in the side compartments, and males live in the middle compartment. Between the rooms there are manholes, this time with valves. This is necessary so that at the moment one of the females is ready to conceive offspring, release her to the inseminator, and then do the same with the other rabbit.
This option for constructing cages is considered very effective for breeding purebred animals, as it allows you to pre-sort suitable friend friend of individuals and track upcoming pregnancies.
Construction Features
Let's name some points in building cells from three sections that will help you during construction.
Cages for rabbits in two tiers
The construction of a two-tier rabbit hutch structure is not too different from a single-tier one. Such a structure will have the following parameters:
- height 2 - 2.5 meters;
- width 1.4 meters;
- Along the edges of the structure, every 10 centimeters are allocated for the installation of feeders.
The dimensions may vary depending on your idea, but making the cage smaller is not rational.
Construction instructions
So, let's start building a two-tier cage.
| Photo | Step |
|---|---|
 | Step 1. Exactly the same as in the first instructions, we connect the bars to make four frame frames. Each of them will serve as the bottom and top of two cells. We also saw off eight bars of equal height for the corner parts of the cell “skeleton”. |
 | Step 2. Making floors for cages. The larger part, as in the case of a single-tier structure, will be mesh, the smaller part will be solid, made of boards. We leave a small distance of about 10 centimeters at the back wall, where we will place a drain for animal waste. This distance should be covered with a dense mesh with cells bigger size than the main one for the floor. |
 | Step 3. The back wall is made of boards, then lined with plywood on the inside. The side and front walls are also equipped with mesh with medium-sized cells. |
 | Step 4. Using slats and metal plugs, we separate the inside of the house for the eared compartments, leaving between them space for a hay barn in the shape of the English letter “V”. |
 | Step 5. We attach metal sheets to the waste disposal compartment that go to the tray under the cage. Each cage has its own collection of excrement and is installed so that it can be pulled out and cleaned. For the upper tier it is placed on the ceiling of the lower one, and for the lower one - on special corners of the stand, mounted in the holding frame for the cages. |
 | Step 6. We equip the roofs for each of the tiers from plywood, reinforced with felt or thick linoleum. |
To make it possible to care for caged animals, make the back wall or roof hinged.
Video - Cage for rabbits, self-building
Cell according to the Mikhailov method
Today there are many popular methods of breeding eared animals. One of the most effective is Mikhailov’s mini-farm. The features of the mini-farm are as follows. It allows you to obtain a large number of healthy offspring and raise them into productive, mature individuals with minimal attention from the farmer.
The design features of Mikhailov’s mini-farm make it possible to achieve the following positive effects.
Cell cleansing occurs without human intervention. AND we're talking about not only about animal feces, but also about food waste containing harmful fumes. Rabbits do not inhale them and remain healthy. Due to the fact that inside the rabbit houses such a high level hygiene, infection-carrying insects do not fly inside, since they simply have nothing to profit from.
Adding food and adding water to the feeders occurs once a week. Yes, now you are freed from the need to constantly monitor the presence of these batteries in the cage of your charges every day. The fact is that the feeders constantly fill themselves as they eat food from the feeders. Another plus is that in winter the water in the drinking bowls is automatically heated.
Areas for pregnant and newborn rabbits with their offspring are also warmed up in cold weather, which allows animals to crossbreed all year round and ensure the health of newborns.
The internal structure of the cell is as close as possible to natural conditions, which provokes the activation of instincts in animals. Thus, the queen cell reminds an animal of a hole, since it is located below the main level of the cell, and the entrance to it actually imitates a rabbit hole. The ceiling in the nesting compartment is slanted, as if this really is not a cage, but a long-eared dugout.
Open areas of the wall alternate with closed ones so that rabbits can get privacy and take a break from attention from humans or other animals.
Mikhailov's cage is also equipped with folding doors, which allow you to pick up a baby rabbit unnoticed by the rabbits or, on the contrary, add them. This is necessary when a litter is too small or too large for one individual. If there are too many cubs, the mother may kill or eat several alive. In this case, it is necessary to remove the baby and transfer it to the queen who gave birth to the small offspring.
The part of the cage that is installed to the north is insulated. The south side, on the contrary, is equipped with ventilation so that fresh air enters the houses. The roof is equipped with a pipe through which gases from animal excrement are emitted. Feeders and drinking bowls are sealed to prevent waste from getting into them.
Design Review
The area of each cell is 1.4 m2. Up to 25 heads fit inside. The main element of the structure is a shed - a barn consisting of several tiers of rabbit cages in one or two tiers. Such a shad can contain 70 houses. If we take this number as a basis, then queens will live in 35 of them, and adult males and young rabbits will live in the rest.
It is customary to make about two rows of cells, together occupying 8.5 m2. These cells have only one roof.
Implemented Mikhailov cage
The shelf life of Mikhailov's mini-farm is about 20 years. Then it will have to be renewed or completely replaced with a new design.
Necessary materials
We warn you that if you do not have sufficient experience in construction, it is easier to purchase a Mikhailov cage. But if you are confident that you can handle it, stock up on the following materials:
- sheets of plywood;
- paint;
- nails;
- roofing iron;
- wooden beam;
- boards;
- roofing felt;
- Fiberboard soft and hard;
- picket fence
Assembling the stand
Assemble the stand by carefully examining its image in the photo. The horizontal section of the stand will contain a support part for a homemade transformer compartment, as well as shelves for tools and a bench. This is where they make a hole rectangular shape, leading from a sealed tank to a bunker for collecting excrement, which flows into it along the shaft walls. The shaft is covered with fiberboard and roofing felt, resistant to frost and moisture.
Walking area and nests
Two pairs of posts are mounted on the stand, the cross-section of which should not exceed 10 centimeters. The tier below will rest on them, consisting of several compartments in which rabbits are caught for inspection or are deposited.
The walking area is equipped with a drinking bowl and feeding trough. In its lower part there is a hole measuring 20 by 20 centimeters, which goes into the shaft. The floor is laid with a picket fence laid on slats, which are covered with strips of metal to protect against rodents. The flooring is made at an angle of 45 degrees.
The nesting compartment is equipped with a hinged door that folds open to create a free area for interacting with the rabbits. The location of the bottom of the queen cell goes down relative to the level of the main floor by 9 centimeters. The outside walls of the house for mothers and babies are insulated with any available materials. The entrance to the compartment is also insulated. To arbitrarily overlap it, install a view.
Drinkers and feeders
The drinking bowl is presented automatic construction. The water trough itself can be anything, be it a plastic bowl or a wooden one. This bowl contains outlets from several 5-liter canisters. Centimeter holes are drilled in each lid of the canister so that the water drains down gradually and only when the rabbit has drunk enough so that the trough does not overfill.
What size the area of the drinking compartment will be directly depends on the capacity and size of the canister itself, as well as the trough. The door to the compartment is made of a sheet of plywood and metal. One edge of the watering trough must be hidden from rabbits in order to install a small electric boiler there, which automatically starts working when the air temperature drops below +8°C.
A feeder is installed next to the drinking bowl, into which mixed feed in granules is poured. It is installed in a small gap between the parts of the flooring, in which the disposal device is located. It contains waste - crumbs and flour, as well as pellets trampled by rabbits. And from there they roll into the recycling bin.
The feed bowl for roughage is located at the top and bottom of the farm. WITH outside the cages are hung from a tank in which hay and vegetables are placed.
Installation of the upper tier
The upper tier can serve as a mother and jigging level. In the first case, it is made at an angle, in the same way as described above. In the second they are divided into two sections different sizes, into which small rabbits will then be placed.
The length of the upper tier is 25 centimeters longer than the lower one. A drinker and a feeder are also installed in each section according to the methods described above.
Roof
The roof is made sloping, and a pipe is installed on top of it to ventilate the premises. This pipe is necessary to remove from the cell accumulations of harmful fumes that are released during the life of eared animals.
Bottom part
At the bottom of the cage there is a box into which rabbit droppings are poured. This allows animal excrement to be used for gardening purposes and eliminates the need for the farmer to constantly clean the cages of feces.
Mikhailov's cell – effective option for rabbit breeding business. This design requires minimal labor and time from the farmer. So, it takes about half an hour a week to care for the animals - to fill the feeders, drinkers and clean the trays. Long-eared animals kept in such a farm gain in three months of their life such weight that rabbits in normal care can only gain in 6-8 months.
Cages for rabbits Zolotukhina
Another famous farm concept for efficient rabbit breeding. Nikolai Ivanovich Zolotukhin studied the life of rabbits in natural conditions from an early age and in the prime of his career, he developed this amazing structure, which increases the efficiency of raising rabbits by activating their natural instincts.
The Zolotuha cage farm has three tiers and is quite simply made. Let's start looking at the instructions for making it.
To build a cell, we need:
- wooden beams;
- boards;
- metal grid;
- sheet iron;
- high-quality polycarbonate;
- slate.
Construction instructions
So, first of all, let’s determine the dimensions of the future cell:
- the width of the rabbit's home is 2 meters;
- height of the structure – 1.5;
- the depth of the structure is no more than 80 centimeters;
- rear floor slope - 5 centimeters;
- the mesh at the back wall occupies 20 centimeters;
- the doors are made in the shape of a square with 40 centimeters in length on one side.
Let's start building.
| Photo | Step |
|---|---|
 | Step 1. Cell scaffolds are assembled using a method already familiar to you. Each of them is divided into two equal halves, between which there is a small distance to accommodate the hay barn. |
 | Step 2. This time, for the floor, not mesh is used, but durable slate. When laying and attaching slate sheets to the frame, calculate that you need to retreat 20 centimeters from the back wall. This space is covered welded mesh, through which the feces of eared animals will be discharged. |
 | Step 3. Now let's start making the walls. The back walls are made of carbonate sheets at a specific angle. Top part each wall is mounted to the end of the slate floor of the next highest tier. At the very top tier it is straight. Thanks to this design, rabbit droppings roll along the walls of each of the tiers and eventually fall into the tray. |
 | Step 4. We make a door for the queen cells and feed compartments. In the first case, we prepare it from wood and insulate it to create necessary conditions for baby rabbits. In the second, we make it from mesh. |
 | Step 5. Nests for summer maintenance are also made with mesh walls. They are separated from the remaining space by a board partition, which can then be removed to create a spacious cage for young animals. Winter queen cells are wooden, with closed walls. The entrance to it is also wooden, with a closing hole, the lower part of which is in contact with the floor. Hay is spread on the floor. |
 | Step 6. We make feeders. These devices are a tray that occupies most of the wall of the cage located in front. The feeder is inserted into the cage only one third, its bottom is made at an angle. This is necessary so that the feeder can be filled from the outside without opening the cage. A drinking bowl is also installed inside. |
Zolotukhin cells are famous and have been successful for many decades. Their simple production makes them popular, and their rabbit-breeding effect is amazing.
Cages for dwarf rabbits: step-by-step instructions
Not only farmers, but also those who have chosen this cute animal as their pet can make a cage for a rabbit. Of course, it is easier to buy such a structure, but it costs a lot of money, which can instead be spent on buying vitamins and food for the eared ones.
Making a house for a rabbit with your own hands will take very little time and will not require serious labor costs.
Step 1. Assemble the frame for the cage according to the mechanism described above. This time the frame parameters will be as follows:
- length – 1 meter;
- the height of the bars for the rear wall is 55 centimeters;
- the height of the bars for the side walls is 70 centimeters;
- frame width – 70 centimeters.
Step 2. Assemble the frame so that there is a distance of 15 centimeters between the lower end of the back wall and the future floor.
Step 3. Nail wide ones to the bottom of the cage wooden slats or install a welded mesh from a metal profile. This support is needed to give rigidity to the future mesh floor. When the slats or profile are installed, install fine mesh on top.
Step 4. Make walls for the cage. The back one can be made of plywood or boards, and the rest can be made of metal mesh with medium-sized cells. Make one of the walls also plywood or wood and cut a hole in it for the door.
Step 5. Make the door from wooden frame and metal mesh and place it on the loops to the hole.
Let's sum it up
Now you know many of the most popular ways to build rabbit cages. The choice of the option that suits you will be based on the following nuances:
- starting budget;
- rabbit breeding experience;
- region of residence;
- size of livestock, etc.
The main requirement is high quality designs
For example, cages using the Mikhailov mini-farm method will help to minimize labor costs and loss of time for caring for animals, however, it is very difficult to place this serious structure inside a barn, which makes the use of the structure in regions with long, cold winters almost impossible. In addition, the equipment of such a cage requires money and construction experience. Beginning rabbit breeders will not benefit from spending so much money, especially if they are not sure that they will want to keep rabbits for many years.
Zolotukhin's cages do not require large financial expenditures, but they imply that the number of rabbits contained in them will not be small. Therefore, this option is not entirely rational for farmers starting out in the rabbit business.
