# Starting a rabbitry?



## Morning_Snow (Sep 12, 2014)

Hi all! I have researched alot into breeding and know alot about it based off what I have learned in 4h books and on many different websites. I want to start a small rabbitry breeding Mini lops, and I plan to keep the hutches outside. The weather in the summer reaches 110f or higher here, and it doesnt really get below 60 during the day in the winter (I think it hits 40 f some nights) I know they need shade and misters, but I am not sure how to make the hutches/misting system and keep things clean.
So here are my questions:
What hutch design works best for outside? 
What is an easy method to keep feces from just hitting the ground from the wire bottoms?
Is it good to start with 2 does and 2-3 bucks? 
I'd also love some tips on breeding mini lops. Beside that I think I am pretty educated in starting my rabbitry and taking care of the young. I'd just love some input from other breeders


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## Bryant (Sep 12, 2014)

1) A completely open, wire hutch (but WITH a roof!) is best for outdoor especially in that heat. Designs can be found anywhere, and $55-60 is sufficient for 50ft galvanized steel wire, links and tool to make a 6'W x 4'L x 2'H cave, partitioned into for 3' x 2' cafes. 

2) Dropping containers under the hutches. 3' x 2' mixing containers can be purchased at Lowe's for $13 each. A few 2x1 boards can make a small table to sit your hutches over your containers (or use them to make entire frames, which is proportionately more expensive, but is up to you obviously). 
3) Most things I have read say 1 buck and 3 does is a great start. Besides, what would your 3rd buck be for with only 2 does?!? Lol


I'm not really familiar with lops' or show breeds' particulars, as I raise meat rabbits, but the things I've listed above I believe are pretty universal.


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## majorv (Sep 12, 2014)

If they're outside, why do you want to keep the pee/poop from hitting the ground, just curious? When we first started we had a 3 compartment hutch for 2 does & 1 buck.. It was about 10' long and had a tin roof. Then we switched to wire cages that stack and set up a roof to put them under. We let the feces hit the ground and eventually grubs set up shop in the ground and did a good job of breaking the feces down into fertile soul. We'd shovel it out every so often and use it around our trees and flower bed.


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## Bryant (Sep 12, 2014)

I keep mine in containers because it's literally on our back porch platform. Plus it would be easier in my opinion to move it to a compost pile elsewhere in buckets than shovel it.


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## Kati's Holland Lops (Sep 16, 2014)

The best thing to have is 2 bucks and 4 does if u want a small rabbitry, my medium sized rabbitry has 6 brood does, and 3 brood bucks ( this means that they are most likely only used for breeding. Be careful rabbits are addictive  my small rabbitry grew from 5 rabbits to 35 in one year. I have to warn you raising rabbits is a very emotional process... But it's all worth it ^.^, here are some of my fav moments of my rabbitry 






And this is one of my favorite moments, one of my does abandoned her litter of 2, 2 1/2 week old baby's, at that time I had a doe that had one 6 week old baby, and I was actually able to put those babies in with her and she raised them up well, so basically she had to nurse for almost double the time a normal doe does


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