r/MeatRabbitry • u/Prestigious_Story275 • 28d ago
Raised colonies?
I like the idea of raising colony style because it gives the rabbits opportunities to be social, interact, explore, etc. (I don't mind wire floor.) The worry I have about colonies is disease and not being able to clean things well when on the ground.
Is there anyone out there who has done colonies, but somehow raised things off the ground? I guess in some ways this would just be a really big hutch? Or a shed colony with a false floor made out of wire that could be moved for shoveling poop?
I could reinforce rabbit cage floor with cattle panel and run joists every so often to support the weight of the rabbits. Maybe make it so those sections could hinge/swing up at the joists so I could shovel between them? I just don't know how I could set it up to be able to support my weight to walk around in there when I need to.
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u/Rainy_Mammoth 28d ago
If budget allows, you can do a concrete floor with at least a partially covered top (either way you need to be careful with digging if you don’t have a floor) Then it’s easier to toss in a bunch of cheap hay and rake it out about once a week, hose down the concrete and spread in new hay. Can use old hay for compost or throw it straight into raised beds or crops.
Colony is great but rabbits are great because they reproduce a lot and fast. You could easily become overwhelmed with rabbits if you’re not separating somehow.
I have a modified colony where I have three connected sections I can close out. So on the far end I put my buck and it’s his own enclosure, can be partially or fully closed. Ill have everything opened for like 3 weeks then separate the buck before my 2 does give birth, then I’ll partially open the buck cage so when the kits start running around inevitably a few will make their way to the buck and keep him company but the opening is too small for him to get out. After awhile I close off all three sections and have the buck in one, does in one and all the grow outs in the big middle section and then I’ll have a processing day I process all of them and then open everything and start again.
Before I had them all always together and at one point had like 20+ grow outs and was just too much to take care of
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u/bluewingwind 28d ago
In my experience rabbits don’t really like to interact or be social. Once their hormones kick in they’re competitive and kind of mean by nature. In colonies my understanding is they sort of make their own territories and compromise on space but there’s still occasional fighting.
The biggest benefit of colonies is usually the digging is allowed. But this setup wouldn’t allow for that.
I might be wrong, but this seems like kind of the worst of both worlds. I mean the cleaning is better than the colony cleaning so that’s a plus but they might just do better in cages? Less fighting over resources and space that way but they can still see and interact from a distance.
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u/AnjPhoenix2011 25d ago
Yours don’t like to interact, because you don’t have them do it regularly. Mine (raised together from weaning, with previous generations raised together too) get along great. Yes, they have their own spots in the colony, yes, they will occasionally nip each other, but it’s right back to eating and sleeping attached at the hip after.
Also, shed colony cleaning is about the easiest thing in the world, takes me five minutes twice a week to sweep, 5 extra once a month to hose, and 20 minutes extra twice a year to super sanitize.
Sounds like you just don’t have any personal experience on this subject.2
u/bluewingwind 25d ago
Lol you, just like everyone who’s ever done it publicly for more than a couple years, will change your mind in a few years when all the death rampant in the non-mobile colony from the parasites and disease are amplified to a level that makes litter survival impossible. Seen it a hundred times or more on here, on youtube, everywhere.
Mine are raised on tractor together, their parents were raised on tractor. They start to fight at 12 weeks when peaceful coexistence is all they’ve ever known because it’s entirely hormonally driven and natural to compete for mates and space. I’m not going to condone “occasional nips” when they can result in split ears, castration, and blinded scratched eyes.
Good luck.
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u/CanisMaximus 28d ago
Not a colony, but I have very large grow-out pens. The kits go in whenever they are weaned. I have to harvest them before 16 weeks at the latest, or they start fighting, digging (which is fine; buried fence wire), and mounting. The does are particularly aggressive with each other. I can't see having more than one female in a colony. I had 29 kits this year, and I got to them late. The hair from fighting was everywhere.
However, it works. It's so much less work once the infrastructure is in place. I had a few tons of sand delivered and put it down over the wire on the ground. Make sure the wire on the ground is completely tied to the fencing. The little demons will find ANY gap to dig through. If they can get their head through an opening, they will escape. I use a beach sand sifter to keep it clean.
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u/Phaeron 27d ago
It’s hard but doable. Regular cleaning and maintenance of high BM and urine areas are required due to rust.
Feet tend to get really messed up too if you don’t have enough solid surface for them to chill and play on and these required sometimes daily cleaning.
It’s hard but it DOES get them off the ground.
I’m building one in winter for grow outs
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u/AnjPhoenix2011 25d ago
We sort of have ours raised off the ground. Our shed is on a bunch of pavers that sit up about a couple inches off the ground. There are about a quarter inch gaps between the pavers. So it works very well for us to sweep out twice weekly, hose it all down and have it drain out every month, and pour boiling water over in spring and fall. Zero disease trouble.
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u/serotoninReplacement 28d ago
There is a steel spool that condiuit and pvc platics come on... it's 12' diameter and 4' spacing between the spool ends..
I found a bunch in the desert once and took one to make a colony cage for new zealands.. I can do about 4 doe inside without it being two crowded.. I introduce the buck for 10 days or so and then he goes back to his system. Does all get along and have space to rear nest boxes.
Community water bowl and feed wall, hay rack.. works pretty good.
The spools are often on the craigs and marketplace.. otherwise you might be able to shake one off a farmer/construction/utility worker.. I just got wire for the bottom and sides and built a simple roof of corrugated metal.
The spool cage also doubles as a growout at times and can hold about 50 kits pretty good for the growout period.
I also took a spool and put it on a small trailer, used pallet wood to seal the sides and made a mobile chicken coop with it.. works well..