home Diseases How to make a house for a rabbit? A house for a decorative rabbit: what is it for, how to arrange it How to build a house for a rabbit with your own hands

How to make a house for a rabbit? A house for a decorative rabbit: what is it for, how to arrange it How to build a house for a rabbit with your own hands

A house for a decorative rabbit is needed for several reasons. The animals are nocturnal; during the day, or for the first time, they need to hide from prying eyes to get used to a new place.

House for a decorative rabbit

In addition, the owner should take care of things in the apartment, since rodents can ruin everything they like, so they are kept in separate places.

What are the rules for caring for animals?

A sleeping place for a decorative rabbit, its arrangement is an important point: the pet must get used to strangers after it appears in the house, it understands that they are treated with a friendly attitude, there is no threat from other household inhabitants.

Ordinary rabbits are very susceptible to various diseases: if one gets sick, an entire litter can die instantly. The reason for this is poor-quality feed or uncomfortable living conditions.

Animals with an element of exoticism, distinguished by their unusual appearance, beauty, fragility, are also fastidious individuals. Before you decide to breed or keep these animals, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules for caring for them.

evaluate your capabilities
be ready to constantly provide comfortable conditions for a living being
equip your home with a feeding trough, drinking bowl, bedding
create a varied diet
conduct veterinary examinations

Decorative breeds of rabbits are very sensitive to the attitude of the owner, he must provide:

Constant attention - the pet will have to be educated, accustomed to boundaries that should not be crossed. Rabbits are trainable.
The animal should not walk around the property on its own without supervision, so that the wiring is not damaged or household items are eaten. It is difficult to get it out of the cracks - it will easily penetrate there, but will not crawl back out; it watches in fear the actions of the owner. If not all residents in the apartment are aware of the silent handsome man’s walks, there is a risk of stepping on him.
The street is also dangerous for walking an animal that is not adapted to such walks. The dog and cat will definitely start hunting, which will lead to disastrous results. To prevent the baby rabbit from running away in the yard, using a collar will allow you to control its movements on the lawn, and timely vaccination will keep you healthy from various dangerous infections.

Training a decorative rabbit

In addition, the following should be provided:

How to cut the claws of a decorative rabbit - its owner will have to study and learn. This procedure is one of the integral components of proper care. Despite their miniature stature, pets lead an active lifestyle. To prevent claws from getting in the way, they should be trimmed on time:

special scissors that are used for cats
guillotines, they are used to care for thick horny formations

The procedure is performed with caution so as not to touch the living part. Cutting it short will cause damage, causing areas of these parts of the limbs to bleed. If careless processing occurs, you should immediately sprinkle the wound with astringent powder.

What criteria are used to choose a house?

Before thinking about the rules of care, you need to decide where the rabbit will live. The cage is chosen according to the size of the pet, so dwarf breeds are placed in small-sized dwellings.

Keeping decorative rabbits

You should know that the decorative appearance of the animal has significant differences from ordinary rabbits. For example, they cannot safely live in cages with mesh floors due to the delicate pads on their paws. The bottom of the houses is mounted without slots from solid material. It is preferable to install a plastic bottom, since the wooden base tends to absorb liquids; odors from them cannot be eliminated, because they are constantly updated by the source.

The plastic is covered, regular change of bedding prevents the stench from spreading and creates comfortable, safe conditions. In their natural state, rabbits live in a hole, therefore, by installing a separate house in the cage, they allow it to retire from prying eyes.

Similar structures are sold in pet stores; if desired, you can easily make it yourself. The owner will be able to determine the volume of the building according to the size of the occupant, based on individual parameters, and also arrange a comfortable additional shelter in his own way.

Such a device serves:

a platform for organizing games
place to observe the outside world
shelter

For construction, stable, strong material is selected so that it does not sag when the rabbit wants to lie on the roof.

What is a shelter made of?

Decorative breeds are not considered rodents, but lagomorphs, but they love to chew, so they are kept in special cages and their free movement around the house is limited.

To prevent unfavorable instincts from appearing:

should be fed properly
calculate a diet with a full supply of essential vitamins and minerals
Keep salt in a separate feeder at all times

Animals prefer the branches of fruit trees. It is better to exclude human food from the menu and serve specialized mixtures with fruits and high-quality cereals.

The house will also have to be treated with care, make it, if according to the minimum dimensions, then 130 by 80 cm and 70 cm high. He will feel normal in this shelter, not try to leave quickly due to excessive cramping, he will be able to climb there in full height.

Wooden house

The frame of the walls and the roof are made of wood, since synthetic fumes have a bad effect on the body; the plastic floor will be covered with natural bedding. If the owner has covered it with fine mesh, it is still hidden under a hard covering. To avoid deformations after assembling the house, it is better to put your project on the drawing, indicate the dimensions of the elements, then it will be easier to cut the parts.

On the construction diagram you will have to mark out all the nuances by location:

For the convenience of cleaning activities, the roofing part is made mobile; its removability will allow you to clean out dirt at any time.

Any suitable material at hand is suitable for general construction:

wooden boards
tin sheets
plywood
net

set of nails
self-tapping screws
door hinges
wooden slats
tools in the form of an ordinary hammer, saw, scissors for cutting metal

As soon as the pet finds itself in a convenient place for its existence, at first it treats both people and objects with distrust for some time, but once it gets used to it, it becomes sociable, happily uses all objects for their intended purpose, eats, drinks, and plays.

If the entire construction of the house is divided into successive steps, the construction will present the following procedure:

floor production - cut from a sheet or fasten boards to form a rectangle 120 by 70 cm
installation of walls from 4 parts 70 by 60 cm and 120 by 60 cm
marking window and door openings, they need to be cut out
the walls are attached to each other and the floor
the door is first assembled from a strip cut to size, then covered with mesh and installed in the opening with
awnings and hooks
start roofing work, the roof can look like a plane or have slopes.

The flat roof should not be fixed tightly; it should be possible to remove it during cleaning. The slopes are secured with a canopy, then one half will rise freely.

What kind of maintenance does the house require?

Before settling pets, their housing is thoroughly treated with various disinfectants, iodine, bromine, and chlorine are useful. Make an aqueous solution with the addition of these products and wash each area of the building. Dry in the sun or near an artificial heat source. After final drying, the surfaces can be opened with water emulsion, stain, or iodine mixture. In summer the cage is kept on the balcony, in winter it is brought indoors. In any case, the place should be with good access to fresh air and no drafts.

Upon completion of all construction procedures with the house, they begin to arrange the cage:

cover the floor with bedding
install a litter tray
place a house
attach feeders and drinking bowls

You will need a set of toys:

cardboard tunnel
cotton ball
large rope

The pet store offers a variety of items for any animal, rabbits are no exception. Products for games distract attention from the walls; the pet will move the proposed objects and bite with its teeth.

After moving in, daily cleaning is required; the accumulation of dirt will lead to diseases that not everyone has time to get rid of.

all surfaces are disinfected with solutions
feeders are thoroughly cleaned
water and tray filler are replaced
play equipment is washed

It is better to immediately abandon synthetic products for treating walls or any objects. Rabbits do not tolerate substances very well, which are difficult to disappear from surfaces. You need to wash with the simplest solutions, and every housewife always has manganese and vinegar.

Ideal sanitary condition in the cage and house is one of the essential conditions for keeping decorative rabbits. Regular medical examinations by a veterinarian will not allow you to miss the disease from an infectious source that has arisen. Care must be effective and rational - for this, livestock specialists have developed rules for caring for decorative creatures.

Breeders should remember that even a specimen of extraordinary beauty is, first of all, a living creature, and if it has been tamed, then it is responsible for decent maintenance, provision of high-quality feed, timely cleaning, and, if necessary, treatment.

Cages for rabbits - on video:

Requirements for a rabbit house:

the container should be so free that the eared cat can stand in it on its hind legs: the dimensions are calculated based on the dimensions of their pets,
an enclosure must be attached to the cage, into which the eared animal must have free access at any time,
the internal arrangement of the cage consists of a drinking bowl, a feeding trough and a toilet,
in the corner of the structure it is necessary to arrange a place for sleeping in which the animal will feel safe.

Cage structure

To make a house for rabbits with your own hands, you need to study the main rules for constructing any design:

when kept outdoors, the container for rabbits must be at a height of at least 70 cm from the ground level so that the pets are reliably protected from all kinds of predators,
the frame and all supports must be made of wood,
the walls are made of plywood sheets,
To make the structure look beautiful, the outside can be sheathed with plastic panels,
the rabbit house must be designed so that the owner has the opportunity to freely carry out all hygienic procedures for caring for the premises,
the roofing is carried out taking into account where the cage will be located; if these are outdoor conditions, then it is advisable to use any waterproof material,
the floor is often wood or mesh.

Rabbit cages should not be built from metal sheets. In the summer, in the sun, the metal will heat up too much, which can cause burns, and on frosty days, rabbits can freeze to the metal surface. Any detail must be carefully processed so that pets do not get injured while in the house.

Construction of a cage for rabbits

Cells are divided into several types. The simple design is a very ordinary box with support legs. From the inside, the space is divided into functional sections for feeding and sleeping. Between these sections there is a special opening leading to an enclosure for walking. Drawings of the simplest design can be seen in the photo.

The next type of cells is Mikhailovsky cells. The design is considered very difficult to implement. It is practically an entire mini-farm. This house for rabbits includes a whole complex of crawl spaces and shelves, is equipped with a ventilation system, electric heating, a self-removal function for excrement and many other interesting innovations.

The next design, which is used quite often, is the cage, the model of which was proposed by Zolotukhin. Views from various sides, as well as detailed drawings, can be viewed in thematic photos. The author suggests installing structures in several tiers. The flooring is made of wood, and at the end of the cage a small edge of the floor is made of mesh. The containers of each tier are installed in such a way as to be able to freely remove waste products of rabbits. In the layout of such cells there is no stationary queen cell. A nest for a female rabbit is installed only in winter; in summer, the female places her nest directly on the floor in the hay.

How to create a home for Eared Ears

Building containers for keeping rabbits with your own hands is quite simple. The principle of constructing a complex and a simple structure is the same. Let's look at the step-by-step process using a simple single container as an example.

The first step is to decide on the location. The rabbitry should be located in a place protected from direct sunlight and drafts.

The standard dimensions of a single wooden container are 150 x 70 x 70. Naturally, each owner can increase or decrease the dimensions of the cage, depending on the breed characteristics of their pets. Before starting work, they draw up a detailed plan and make drawings indicating the internal arrangement, additional functions and other things. Then, following your plan, prepare the wooden frame.

Rabbit cage

The front part of the container is installed at a height of 70 cm, the rear part is lowered slightly so that the roof is ultimately sloping. Any coating other than metal is nailed onto the frame. The internal space is divided into 2 parts:

A hole with a diameter of approximately 20 cm should be made in the partition between the compartments. To prevent animals from chewing the partition, the hole should be lined on all sides with tin strips. Having completed all the work on making the walls and arranging the internal space, they move on to the upper part of the building. The box is covered with a removable roof in order to have free access to the cage.

If you plan to keep it outside, and there is a lawn with lush grass next to the cage, you can equip a special hole from the cage. Ladders are attached to the opening leading to the street so that the long-eared animal can safely go out and into its box. You can only let an animal outside into a place that is protected from the entry of other animals and predators.

Containers for females

The rabbit's house, or queen cell, will be slightly different from a regular rabbitry. Females and their offspring must be kept separately.

Some people mistakenly believe that females do not need separate apartments with special furnishings to reproduce offspring. However, in an open cage, the rabbit will be constantly exposed to stress due to sharp sounds and smells and will not be able to fully perform maternal duties. In addition, babies are born completely unadapted to life: blind, deaf and naked. In the first few days, baby rabbits need especially careful heating and a stable supply of mother's milk, which may never appear if the animal is constantly under stress.

According to the drawings, a house for a rabbit is no different from the simplest single cage. To keep female rabbits with their offspring in winter, the containers are insulated and insulated. Foam sheets or mineral wool are used as insulation, and the top is sheathed with an additional layer of wood.

House for a rabbit

The internal arrangement of the box for the female rabbit will differ in the presence of a queen cell in it. It is another small container. It is very important that its dimensions are not too large, otherwise the female, deciding that this is another cage, will defecate there. Too small an area of the queen cell will not allow the female to fully cover the nest with wool and equip it for the birth of the babies. The sizes are selected in accordance with the characteristics of the rabbit breeds.

It is important to remember that first-born females may forget to line the nest with fur, becoming confused. To do this, you need to make the cage in such a way that you can independently put hay and cotton wool into the nest. To prevent the wooden covering on the floor from rotting by reacting with the waste products of the baby rabbits, it must be covered with galvanized sheets. But in this case, you will need to make a flooring of straw of at least 20 cm, otherwise in cold weather the droppings will simply freeze on the cold floor.

You should not build a rabbitry for females from freshly cut trees with a pungent odor: the woody aroma can scare away the female, and she will not use the nest for its intended purpose, in the worst case, she may even abandon rabbits altogether. If you are going to breed rabbits for sale, then this design is an ideal option for the farm. It will allow you to reproduce year-round.

Keeping rabbits at home is quite difficult, but they need constant care. In addition to complying with vaccination schedules, it is necessary to take care of comfortable living conditions. Building a box for a rabbit is a feasible task even for a novice farmer. You can buy a house in a store, but in such dwellings the natural needs of animals are not taken into account at all.

In their natural habitat, animals lead a very active lifestyle, so the cage should be free and spacious. It is best when 1 rabbit lives in a cage, this makes it possible to protect the livestock from infection with various diseases. The dimensions of the cage should allow the pet to stand on its hind legs at full height and feel comfortable. You can view standard drawings in photos on the Internet and add or remove a centimeter or two, depending on the size of your animal species.

Containers for keeping rabbits with offspring and decorative individuals will be slightly different. However, the basis of any, even the most complex building, is the principle of a simple design intended for single housing. When making a home for eared animals, it is important to take into account their need for freedom of movement. If it is possible to walk freely in a fenced area, it is necessary to make a special hole out of the cage that will allow the rabbit to go outside on its own to nibble on fresh grass.

Special nests are installed in containers for female rabbits, which the female independently arranges before giving birth, placing her fur and hay there.

When building, you need to take into account the fact that young individuals may forget to arrange a nest and then they will have to do it themselves, so a person should always have access to the cage. In addition, after the babies are born, all offspring will have to be checked for viability and dead individuals will have to be removed.

Properly equipped housing is the key to good immunity of rabbits. The room must be made so that the owner can freely carry out all hygiene procedures in it. Most often, the flooring is made of wooden boards, and a mesh is placed near the outer wall. Rabbits defecate most often in the far corner of their home, so this move will help keep the box clean and make the cleaning process easier.

Rabbit house: what should it be like?

For normal development and good health, the rabbit must move a lot. It is highly undesirable for him to sit in a confined space, because this can cause intestinal problems. By nature, rabbits are restless and very active, so their home should have enough space. It often happens that cell manufacturers neglect this condition and produce what is profitable from the marketing side.

The cage itself should have a place where your pet can rest peacefully. Its corner should be dry and dark so that the bunny feels like he is in a hole. Such a house can be bought ready-made, but you can make a house for a rabbit with your own hands using our photos and drawings.

If you are still looking at a small house, then use it to sleep your animal. The rest of the time, the pet must move freely around the cage so that its muscular system can develop normally. Animals locked up all day can develop obesity and a number of other health problems.

The material of the rabbit hole should be as safe as possible. If it is plastic, then it should not have a pungent odor. The ideal solution is a wooden house made by yourself, so do not deprive your pet of such pleasure. Also, if you know how to weave, you can make it wicker. The main thing is that the pet is comfortable in it.

Watch an interesting video with a cute bunny from Nadezhda Fost below.

A house for a rabbit should be as simple as possible, because all its functionality comes down to one task - to provide the pet with peace and privacy. In addition to it, the cage should have a tray, a drinking bowl and a feeder. It’s good if there is a small enclosure next to the house, which will become an outlet for the pet when it decides to frolic. As for size, the rabbit should fit comfortably in the house. It is better not to make it bulky and bulky, ideally so that the animal can lie down in it freely and, if necessary, turn around.

The minimum length of the cage itself should not be less than one meter, and the height and width should not be greater than the length of the pet’s body. It is ideal if the rabbit, while inside, can easily stand on its hind legs.

Step-by-step instruction

Before starting construction, you need to sketch out a drawing of the future house. If your rabbit is very miniature, then the size can be 20x20x30 cm. In general, focus on the breed characteristics of your pet.

We cut out blanks for walls, floors and roofs from plywood.
In the front wall we cut out a square or round hole for the entrance.
We coat the joints with glue and connect the walls with nails. Be sure to ensure that no sharp edges are visible or remove them if necessary.
We secure the roof in the same way.
All that remains is to paint the finished house and install it in the cage.

As a result, you will get a compact house for a decorative rabbit that can easily fit in a cage. You can be sure that your pet will definitely appreciate your efforts.

Flight of fancy

If you have a creative streak and the ability to work with various materials, you can easily make houses for rabbits or a place to sleep from any materials at hand. The main thing here is imagination. For example, it is easy to make a comfortable hole from an ordinary piece of tree trunk. To do this, you need to take old wood and simply remove the insides from it. Thus, only the bark frame remains, as in the photo.

Can you weave? Then why not weave something for your long-eared pet. For example, taking strong cardboard, you can make a closed hole out of it, as in the photo in the gallery, and then use glue to braid it with strong rope. To prevent your pet from chewing on its home, the rope can be treated with a safe water-based protective agent. The result will be a convenient and very cute fake - a real decoration for the cage.

Video “Do-it-yourself rabbit toys”

What can you make for your pet from ordinary cardboard? Yes, anything, even a house, even a ball. We invite you to see this in the video from the Friends Pets channel.

Your pet rabbits - ear diseases and their treatment

Rabbit or hare: what's the difference?

Design and sizing

The classic version of the rabbit queen cell has dimensions of 70 x 100 x 60 cm. For young animals, the structure can be made according to the same parameters, shortening the length by 30 cm.

It is important for the builder to understand that the entire area of the structure for the female rabbit and her offspring will subsequently be divided into a walking area and a remote nook. The first zone in most cases is a square with sides of 50 cm.

And the second is a blind box with a length of 25 cm and a width of 50 cm. A removable door is attached to the front side of the structure, and a small hole at a height of 15 cm is provided on the wall adjacent to the walking space.

There must be a tray under the floor to collect feces. The floor can be made of densely placed wide slats. When using gratings, to avoid injury, be sure to cover them with a mat, leaving small gaps around the perimeter.
Experienced breeders advise calculating the height of the rabbit hutch at 55 cm on the front side, and 30 cm on the back side. The slope on the roof can serve as a pallet if placed at the top of the second tier. For reliability, it will need to be galvanized.

Remember that the size of the cages largely depends on the breed of the wards and the way they are kept. Eg:

rabbits about 0.5 is required – 0.7 square meters of area,
adult males- 0.17 m2,
young animals- 0.12 m2.

Materials and tools for work

You can build an abode for long-eared pets from any material that you have on your farm. But, according to experts, among all the available varieties, wood has proven itself best. It is environmentally friendly, durable, retains heat well and does not heat up in hot weather.

Metal is absolutely not suitable for such structures. In winter, animals in such a house can freeze, and in summer they can overheat. You should also avoid using chipboard. This material quickly absorbs moisture, resulting in severe crumbling.
Here is a list of tools and materials necessary for further work:

10 wooden beams 3 m long, 30 x 50 mm (for the frame),
boards or plywood sheets measuring 1.5 by 1.5 m, thickness ― 10 mm (for wall cladding),
meter piece of slate (for the roof),
wooden slats 3 cm wide or welded mesh with cells 15 x 15 mm (for the floor),
metal sheet 1 m long (for the construction of a pallet),
4 canopies (for fastening 2 doors),
boards (for a blind door),
welded mesh with cells 2.5 x 2.5 cm (for the ventilation door in the walking area),
metal rods (for V-shaped hay feeder),
electric drill,
hammer,
wood saw,
roulette,
pliers,
construction stapler,
square,
marking pencil,
coarse sandpaper,
1 kg of self-tapping screws 30 and 70 mm, nails.

Home improvement inside

After checking the safety of the finished cage, you can begin arranging it. First of all, pay attention to the floor. Rabbits often suffer from pododermatitis from mesh coverings. Therefore, if your structure is made of metal grating, be sure to cover it with a rug.

Products made from carpet and wool are absolutely not suitable for this, as they often cause disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal. Do not forget for a second that we are talking about a rodent that can taste everything within its reach.

After this, lay a thick layer of bedding on the floor. In the autumn-spring period, it is important for rabbits that their paws are protected from bedsores. Sawdust, coarse straw or hay of soft, awnless cereal crops are ideal for this. You should be especially attentive to the choice of material when keeping downy breeds.
The awns caught in their fur cause discomfort and pain. Straw is preferable because it retains heat and is safe for the eared one. Remember that the larger the pet, the more bedding it needs. For adults, it is enough to lay a layer with a thickness of 12.5 – 15.5 cm.

In addition to the already provided cribs for hay and grass, you need to put a drinking bowl and a feeding trough in the animal’s cage. It is important that these containers cannot become overturned or become clogged with excrement. Therefore, experienced rabbit breeders advise purchasing a commercial drinking bowl, which is attached from the inside to the front side of the cage. And you can build a feeder yourself.

To do this, attach a wooden block vertically in the cage and attach a wooden rectangle 7 cm high and 30 cm wide to it. Pin a guide block on top at a distance of 20 cm.

And after that, sew up the structure with plywood, so that the sheathing fits up to the top between the guide beams, and at the bottom rests against the feeder, but does not block access to feed. As a result, you will be able to fill the structure through the top.

House care

Rabbits are very sensitive to cleanliness in their abode. It is this factor that largely determines the health of pets. Therefore, the breeder regularly needs:

remove manure from the pan (ammonia fumes have a very bad effect on the health of eared animals),
change the bedding in the cage daily (otherwise the animal will get sick due to increased dampness),
before each feeding, clean the feeders from food residues (rabbits are characterized by increased sensitivity of the gastrointestinal tract),
change water in drinking bowls every day,
Every six months, carry out a general cleaning of the rabbit house and completely disinfect it.

Getting rid of pathogenic microflora in rabbit cells is not so easy. Therefore, this process cannot be started. The rabbit breeder must understand that infections and viruses are extremely tenacious, infecting each new generation of animals that are bred under these conditions. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the death of livestock by timely disinfection of cages and all equipment.
Disinfection of cells and all equipment Since the microbes living in the abode of long-eared animals are very resistant to high and low temperatures and quickly get used to pesticides, they can only be destroyed by special disinfection methods. All surfaces (both internal and external) of the rabbitry, all equipment involved in care, as well as the walls, floor and ceiling of the room in which the cage is located must be treated.

First, the rabbits are transplanted from the structure, and only after that the space is cleared of feces, bedding and dirt. Then they remove all the removable elements and use a hose to wash the inside of the cage with a stream of hot water. Repeat this procedure with any detergents and a brush. The same is done with equipment, feeders and drinkers.

After the manipulations have been completed, the rabbit housing is left to dry and only then treated with disinfectants: Virocide, Ash Lye, Ecocide S, Formalin, Glutex, Virosan, Belizna, Virkon S, formaldehyde solution, soda ash or Bromosept-50.
Now you can return all objects removed from the cage to their place and place pets in them. Their health is no longer in danger.

As you can see, at home, from scrap materials, you can independently build a rabbitry of the required size for a certain number of animals. The most difficult thing in this process is calculating dimensions and preparing drawings. We hope our article will help you resolve these nuances and quickly complete the construction.

Features of keeping decorative rabbits

The decision to adopt a rabbit should be a balanced one. These small rodents are capricious creatures. They are sensitive to the slightest changes in microclimate, often get sick and cannot tolerate excess stress. Pets such as cats and dogs will hunt the rabbit, so keeping these animals in the same house is not recommended. Small children also often injure these fragile animals.

These animals tolerate low temperatures well, but suffer greatly from the heat. They are also harmed by high levels of ammonia and carbon dioxide in the air, drafts, stuffiness and excessive humidity. If you are going to ventilate the room, remove your pet from the draft. Do not place the cage near heat sources, shield it from direct sunlight, and clean the rabbit's litter box regularly to avoid the buildup of toxic gases.

These are nocturnal animals, so do not disturb them during the daytime. Representatives of long-haired breeds need additional hair care - combing and trimming. Rabbits with short hair groom themselves; they do not need to be bathed or brushed. Claws should be trimmed with nail clippers as they grow. This rodent needs preventive vaccinations in the same way as cats and dogs - discuss the schedule with your veterinarian.

Choose food responsibly; rabbits are picky eaters. It is unacceptable to use raw, moldy food and scatter it on the bottom of the cage. If there is a lack of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, rabbits begin to eat their own feces, so take care of specialized mixtures and high-quality cereals. Human food is not suitable for these animals. Give them fresh vegetables and fruits (not exotic), and in winter include fresh spruce branches in their diet. Be sure to sterilize the waterer and feeder twice a week, and change the bedding three times.

Making a house with your own hands

For your pet's well-being, make sure he has enough space. The minimum dimensions of a cage or house for a rodent are 100 x 60 cm. It should accommodate toys, a drinking bowl, a feeding trough, a toilet and a hay barn. The house is a refuge for your pet, so it needs to be made as comfortable as possible, from natural materials.

Size and requirements for the house

A rabbit is an active animal, and if its house is small, then it must spend at least four hours a day outside it. A comfortable house allows the pet to stand on its hind legs and stretch out to its full height. Make a home for the little rabbit to grow into, at least four times the required parameters. The dimensions of a standard house for a dwarf pet are: length 140 cm, width 80 cm, height 50 cm.

Pay special attention to the materials from which you will assemble the structure. Rabbits are sensitive to toxic fumes from synthetic materials. Choose high-quality wood; do not varnish it, as these pets love to chew on walls and trim. A mesh floor is the most hygienic, but it is not suitable for these rodents - their paws are not adapted to such surfaces. Cover the mesh with a natural hard rug, bending the sharp corners of the mesh so that the baby does not injure himself. In two-tier houses, the height of each tier can be reduced to 40 cm.

Designing a drawing

A competent drawing is half the battle. Find proven house plans online or draw your own based on existing designs. Indicate the linear dimensions on it, think about the location of the door, tiers, ladders and places to attach the drinker, feeder, toilet and toys. Plan to have a removable roof, this will make it easier to care for the house.

Making a house: step-by-step instructions

Make the floor. For a standard cage, cut a rectangle measuring 100 x 60 cm from a single sheet of chipboard. Place a sheet of tin of the same size on top and fasten them together with self-tapping screws.
Make walls. Cut out two squares measuring 60 x 50 cm and two rectangles measuring 100 x 50 cm. Using a simple pencil, mark the location of the windows and doors and cut them out. Fasten the walls together with nails and attach them to the floor with self-tapping screws. Cover the window openings with mesh.
Make a door from slats and mesh. Hang it on the hinges and secure it in the doorway. You can make a door that closes with a hook from the outside, or you can make it so that the rabbit can easily enter and exit the house. Just choose the appropriate loops.
Make a roof. You can make it simple flat, or you can make it gable. Secure the gable with nails, make the flat one removable, so you can clean the house if necessary.
If you plan to make a two-tier dwelling, increase the height of the walls by 40 cm. Attach the second tier (60 x 50 cm) to the walls at a height of 40 cm from the floor using self-tapping screws. Make the stairs from chipboard and slats. Make it at least 15 cm wide and install it at an angle of 30 degrees. Place slats horizontally along the entire length at intervals of 4 cm. For finishing, use slats; you can use them to form platbands and make cladding in the style of a hut.

Processing a wooden house

Before moving your pet into the house, treat the home with disinfectant solutions. Pharmacy solutions of iodine, bromine or chlorine are suitable for this purpose. Dissolve them in water (1 part solution to 20 parts water) and rinse the cage inside and out. Dry it by exposing it to sunlight. In the cold season, you can place the house near a central heating radiator or heater at a distance of half a meter. Turn it the other way every hour to prevent the wood material from drying out.

Making a home for a rodent

When the house is thoroughly dry, start arranging it. Start from the floor. Cover it with a soft rug made from natural materials (such as bamboo fiber or cotton) to prevent your pet's paws from hurting. Set aside a place for the toilet. If you have made a two-tier cage, the toilet can be placed under the stairs. Attach a feeder, drinker, and hay bar to the walls. Mount the drinking bowl low so that the rodent can easily reach it. It is best to choose toys from natural materials - for example, a piece of large rope, cardboard tunnels, cotton balls, since the pet will certainly tear and chew them. You can buy specialized rabbit toys at a pet store.

Make daily cleaning of your rabbit's home a habit. Every day, remove soiled hay, leftover vegetables, fruits, grains, and feces from the floor. Wash the feeder and drinker. Change the litter in the tray every two to three days. Rinse the floor and walls of the house with a vinegar solution to remove any remaining dried urine.

Do a thorough cleaning every week. Wash the floor and walls with hot water and iodine or chlorine solution. Wash the rug and replace it with a fresh one. Remove, wash and boil the feeder, drinker and hay box. Wash the toys, dry and ventilate the house. To clean a wooden home, you cannot use synthetic disinfectant solutions, as they do not erode completely and will harm a sensitive animal. Use the simplest solutions of potassium permanganate, vinegar, iodine.

The decision to take a baby rabbit into your home should be a balanced one. Before you take in a furry lodger, think: a rabbit is not a toy! It is a living creature with its own needs for rest, nutrition and reproduction. If you want to bring joy to your child, pamper him with a soft toy. The rabbit and its house need to be properly looked after so that the animal always feels comfortable.

Watch the video: DIY Rabbit Cage Queen Mother Feeder. (January 2020).

Keeping long-eared animals has long been practiced by industrial farms and ordinary people who have decided to organize a small farm on their property. 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, 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 falling on the cages, install them in the shade of garden trees or arrange canopies. 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 starting construction work, you need to correctly select the materials that will be used in the 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;

It is best to line the inner surface of the cage walls with plywood, 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 cages 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 discuss 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 the step-by-step instructions for 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 a wooden beam prepared ahead of time and saw 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 frame structure that resembles a large box in shape.

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
+	-	+	-	+	-
long lifespan; ease of care.	you will have to weld the grate yourself; The cells should be small so that the rabbits’ paws do not fall inside.	easy to install; easy to clean.	may tear; service life depends very much on the quality of welding; rabbits can damage their paws.	environmentally friendly material; easy to install.	if handled poorly, rabbits can get a splinter; rots and requires replacement after a short service life.

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 of 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 there are large gaps between the frame and the roof, 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 such insulation will be useful for long-eared ones.

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 quality characteristics of health and appearance is settled there. 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 sort out suitable individuals in advance 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 larger 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 are talking 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 such a high level of hygiene is maintained inside the rabbit houses, insects that carry the infection 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 heated 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:

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. A rectangular manhole is also installed here, 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 represented by an automatic structure. 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. From the outside of the cage, a tank is suspended from it, 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 of 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.

The Mikhailov cage is an 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, developed this amazing structure that 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:

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 with a welded mesh, through which the feces of the long-eared animals will be discharged.
	Step 3. Now let's start making the walls. The back walls are made of carbonate sheets at a certain angle. The upper part of 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 the necessary conditions for the 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 wooden slats to the bottom of the cage or install a welded mesh made of 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 a wooden frame and metal mesh and place it on the hinges 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 design

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.

Raising rabbits is a profitable and uncomplicated activity. These animals do not require special care or exceptional living conditions, so 2-3 long-eared fluffies can be placed in a summer cottage or even in an apartment.

Many novice farmers are involved in breeding rabbits. And the first thing you should purchase for a rabbit farm is cages.

Rabbits are animals that do not require special living conditions. That’s why you don’t have to buy houses for them: you can make them yourself.

Advantages of handmade houses:

during construction, all the features of the premises, its location and conditions of maintenance are taken into account;
the costs of setting up a rabbit farm are significantly reduced;
Making cells yourself will help avoid defects, which are often allowed at the factory.

An example of a homemade house in the photo.

Advantages of factory cages:

an ideal design that provides optimal living conditions for animals;
the structure is equipped with nests, drinking bowls, feeders, trays;
Factory products are constantly being improved, their designs are becoming more complex: by purchasing a ready-made cage, a farmer can be sure that he will become the owner of modern equipment.

Factory houses are shown in the photo.

Advice! Buying ready-made cages will cost a considerable amount, while making rabbit housing yourself is a very budget-friendly undertaking.

Cell types

If you are seriously going to start breeding rabbits, then you will have to build several rooms:

for fattening rabbits;
for keeping female rabbits with cubs;
for males.

To provide housing for rabbits, you need to build an entire “residential complex”. It can be installed both outdoors and in a barn: it all depends on the natural conditions of a particular region. You can develop drawings for creating cells yourself or find ready-made ones in specialized magazines and on the Internet.

Cages for males

Males are housed in separate houses. This avoids fights, competition for food, as well as unplanned mating (if males and females are kept in the same room). The size of the house should be such that the rabbit can move freely inside it. If the males are cramped, they will become lazy and obese. And this can affect reproductive function: rabbits will stop producing offspring.

Houses for rabbits with rabbits should be spacious enough. They are located in one tier and consist of two compartments: the main and uterine. To prevent the babies from freezing in winter, the uterine compartment must be thoroughly insulated.

Rabbits at the age of 2–3 months are placed in such houses if they were unable to gain the required weight while living with their mother. To give the female the opportunity to give birth to new rabbits, the grown-up babies are placed in a separate room and fattened to the desired weight.

Types of cells

Now there are a lot of modifications, but the most popular design for keeping rabbits is still a two-section cage.

You can make a house for adult animals with your own hands. It will take several hours to create a home, but you can be sure that the room meets all the requirements for keeping furry pets.

The finished cage for adult animals is shown in the photo.

Stages of work:

Drawings for making such cells are easy to find.

Houses for three-month-old rabbits

For up to three months, rabbits are kept in groups of 6–8 individuals, so group housing is used to keep them. They are made in the same way as double houses. The only difference is that a large number of rabbits require a different feeding system: they simply cannot all eat from a small feeder.

Stages of work:

The frame of the house is made in the same way as the frame of double cages for adult animals. However, there is no need to divide the room into two sections. The cage will consist of nesting and feeding compartments. In this case, the nesting compartment should be 1.5 times smaller than the aft compartment.
Cover the floor of the nesting compartment with wood planks and separate it from the feeding compartment with a plywood wall with a hole for the movement of animals. The outer wall of the nest should be made of plywood.
The floor and front part of the aft compartment are made of mesh. In the front part you need to attach a door made of slats.
Place a feeder along the entire length of the feed compartment. It should be positioned in such a way that part of it is in the cage, and part is outside (for the convenience of laying hay). It is made of mesh so that it is convenient for animals to pull out the grass. It is better to raise the feeder 3-4 cm above the floor so that the food is not contaminated with waste from the baby rabbits.

Advice! Up to 12 animals can be kept in such a cage at the same time.

There are ready-made drawings for making such cells.

Two-tier (three-tier) shed

Two-tier and three-tier structures are made according to the same scheme as two-section houses for adult rabbits. But in this case, several cells are located above each other in tiers.

Stages of making a two-tier shed:

Make 3 rectangular frames. They will become the floor and roof of future cells.
Secure them onto long beams. Connect the first rectangle to the beams so that legs 30 cm high remain below. Fix the next rectangle at a height of 50 cm above the previous one, the third at a height of 10 cm above the second.
Attach a galvanized mesh to the first and third rectangles, which will serve as the floor for the aft compartment. Equip both houses in the same way as a regular two-section cell.
The second rectangle will serve as both a roof for the lower house and a pallet for the upper one. Between the second and third rectangles you need to install a removable box into which waste from the upper house will be poured through the mesh.

In this way, you can make not only a two-tier, but also a three-tier shed. If you make several of these structures, you will have a real rabbit farm.

What a multi-tiered structure for keeping rabbits might look like can be seen in the photo.

House for a rabbit with a nest

To make a house for a rabbit with a nest with your own hands, you need to take into account some of the features of this structure. The house for the rabbit is built separately from other buildings. It would be good if it was portable so that animals could be moved from the street to the barn.

Stages of work:

Put together a frame for the house, make the back wall and sides from plywood. This structure should have two compartments: the main and the uterine.
For each of them, make a separate door: to the compartment for the rabbit - from a mesh, to the queen cell - from plywood or thin boards.
To prevent the baby rabbits from freezing, insulate the queen cell. It is advisable to make it a double floor, walls and roof, in the space between which you need to lay insulation: polystyrene foam, straw or any other material. If winters are very cold, then a “warm floor” system is suitable: a heating pad is placed between two floor levels. The wire from the unit is routed outside so that the animals do not gnaw it.
The roof is covered with water-repellent material.

The photo shows what a house for a rabbit with a baby should look like.

Do you need a house with a walk?

If the owner of a rabbit farm has a large green area at his disposal, then houses with a walk in this case are an excellent option. They look the same as regular rabbit houses, only on the back wall they have a door through which the rabbits are let out for a walk.

You can make a walking area with your own hands. Behind the cage you need to equip a large enclosure. Its frame is made of wooden slats, and the walls are covered with a dense mesh. It is better to place the enclosure on the sunny side: rabbits spend most of their lives in dark cages, and they simply need the sun.

Advice! If your farm is safe enough for rabbits to graze on grass, then run houses can be made without legs. Then the animals will be able to eat pasture. And when the grass in the enclosure runs out, the rabbit’s home can simply be moved to another place. If on a farm there is a possibility that mice, cats or martens will get into the enclosure, then the enclosure will be equipped on stilts.

What is the advantage of cages with walking? The thing is, rabbits need space to run around. If they have the opportunity to be in the fresh air and periodically stretch their paws, they will get sick less, gain weight faster and reproduce more actively. In addition, the fur of such animals will be much fluffier and shiny than that of their sedentary relatives.

A house with a walk can be like in the photo.

Place for a house

The choice of location for the house depends on the climatic conditions of the region. If winter frosts are very rare in your region, then rabbit houses can be safely placed outside. However, it is worth choosing a place where there are no drafts and excessive humidity: rabbits are susceptible to colds.

Advice! You can keep rabbits indoors, but the ideal option is combined keeping: in the summer, the rabbit houses are exposed to fresh air, and in the winter they are again sent to a barn or house.

If you are installing shad cages, it is advisable to arrange them in two rows and turn the facades towards each other. An adult must pass freely between the rows.

Rabbits do not like intense lighting, but if the houses are located in a barn, then the room should be equipped with several lamps. They should illuminate the rabbit's home for 8-10 hours a day.

Materials

To make cells with your own hands, it is recommended to use the following materials:

wood (beams, slats, plywood);
galvanized mesh with a small mesh size (it depends on the size of the rabbits);
plastic for finishing work;
slate or tiles for the roof if the cage will be located outside.

Advice! All wooden parts of the product must be well sanded, and the edges of the galvanized mesh must be tightly nailed to the surface. Rabbits are delicate creatures that can easily be injured by poorly processed parts of their home.

It is not recommended to use metal for arranging rabbit cages. Under the rays of the sun, this material heats up greatly, and in the cold season it freezes. In such a home, rabbits will feel uncomfortable, begin to get sick and stop breeding.

Tools

To make a rabbit house with your own hands, you will need the following tools:

hammer;
roulette;
wood hacksaw;
plane;
scissors for cutting mesh;
pliers;
nails, screws, self-tapping screws, corners;
screwdriver and screwdriver;
sandpaper.

Cage dimensions

The size of rabbit cages depends on the size of the animals. A single cage for a male rabbit should have a width of at least 0.6 m and a length of 0.8–1.1 m. If the rabbits are large, then the size of the section should be increased. One rabbit weighing more than 5 kg requires a room with a length of 1.3 to 1.5 m.

The size of the room for young animals depends on the number of rabbits. They can be placed in groups of 5–8, and with compact planting - 12 individuals per house. The width of the cells in this case should be 1 m, the height should be from 0.35 to 0.6 m, and the length should be 2–3 m.

In any case, one adult rabbit should not have less than 0.5–0.7 m2, and one cub should not have less than 0.15–0.2 m2.

After studying these simple recommendations, you can easily equip your rabbit farm. If you make houses for animals yourself, the enterprise will cost a small amount. And rabbits bring considerable income: after all, not only the tender meat of these animals is valued, but also their wool and manure.

Building a house with your own hands has a number of advantages. In addition to the savings, you will be able to design the structure yourself. To do this, you can use ready-made drawings and photos, or you can develop your own project, completely unique of its kind. You can decorate the finished house however you like, the main thing is that it does not interfere with the little eared one.

Another positive point is that you can involve children in the construction (after all, you are not planning to buy a rabbit for yourself), for whom this idea will be very interesting. Read on to learn how to make a good house for your furry pet.

Tools and materials

First of all, you need to decide on the material from which the house will be made. In its simplest form, it can be an ordinary cardboard box. We suggest you make it out of wood - it will be more beautiful and it will last much longer.

To do this you will need:

plywood;
small nails;
wood glue;
saw;
hammer.

As you can see, the list is small, and you will probably find all of this in your home. Let's not delay and start construction right now.

Step-by-step instruction

We cut out blanks for walls, floors and roofs from plywood.
In the front wall we cut out a square or round hole for the entrance.
We coat the joints with glue and connect the walls with nails. Be sure to ensure that no sharp edges are visible or remove them if necessary.
We secure the roof in the same way.
All that remains is to paint the finished house and install it in the cage.

As a result, you will get a compact house that can easily fit in a cage. You can be sure that your pet will definitely appreciate your efforts.

Flight of fancy

How to build a rabbit cage yourself? This question usually arises among beginners who decide to start rabbit farming. Experienced farmers usually develop designs that are convenient for themselves, making it easier to care for animals.

Cells can have different structures and be made from a variety of materials. They are made completely simple or additionally equipped with “conveniences”, such as running water or heating. In the construction of the cage, much will depend on the planned number of rabbits, their breed and size, on the availability of retreat materials and on the place where it will be installed, on the desire and ability to equip it with various devices, as well as on the ability to work with carpentry and plumbing tools.

Cell placement

Rabbit cages can be located in utility rooms, such as, for example, or directly on the street. Therefore, they can be divided into three types according to their location and the method of breeding rabbits:

Year-round outdoor placement of cages, when animals are constantly outdoors.
Keeping pets indoors all year round.
A combined breeding option, that is, in winter the rabbits are kept indoors, and with the onset of warm weather they are transferred outside.

Experienced rabbit breeders believe that the most optimal way to breed these animals is to keep them outdoors all year round, as this promotes the development of immunity to various diseases and the formation of healthy, high-quality hair. In addition, when raising rabbits outdoors, the productivity of females significantly improves, which increases the number of rabbits in the litter and their endurance.

Street cages

Rabbit cages are most often installed outdoors if you plan to breed a large number of animals - a hundred or more animals.

The convenience of setting up rabbit hutches in outdoor conditions lies in the availability of more space and the ease of caring for your “menagerie”, since each of the cages needs periodic cleaning.

Rabbit cage

To build outdoor cages, fairly durable materials are used, since the structure must be reliable and stable - these qualities will help protect rabbits from adverse natural factors, as well as from penetration of predatory animals - dogs, foxes, cats or rats - into the cages.

It is advisable that the building be located under a large front canopy so that any precipitation, as well as direct sunlight, do not bother the pets too much.

If the rabbits will be outside all year round, then it is necessary to take care of insulating one of the parts of the cage. These animals tolerate low winter temperatures well, but it would still be a good idea to create comfortable conditions for them and a special place where they can bask on especially cold days and nights.

Cages placed indoors

Cages placed in non-ventilated areas can be made entirely of metal mesh attached to a wooden frame and have a wooden lattice floor. If breeding pets is carried out indoors, it is important to think carefully about the convenient disposal of their waste.

Combined rabbit breeding option

In another case, if funds and space allow, cages are built in two places - both on the street and in a barn. This method of farming is unlikely to be suitable for those farmers who raise a large number of pets, since installing winter and summer cages will require a fairly large area.

Cell design and size

Rabbit cages can be single-tiered or multi-tiered. In addition, their design may vary depending on the main purpose - for breeding, for raising young animals or for keeping adult pets.

Single-tier and multi-tier structures

Cells can be single-tiered or multi-tiered, but they are arranged in no more than three tiers.

Single-tier cells

Single-tier buildings are raised above the ground by 700÷800 mm and covered with a roof made of or metal sheets. If this type of building will be located on the street, then it is better to choose a slate roof, since the metal heats up quickly, and rabbits do not tolerate extreme heat very well.

To collect and dispose of animal waste, a metal tray made in the form of a drain is often installed in a single-tier cage for the convenience of its regular cleaning.

Multi-tiered cells

More often, multi-tiered cages are practiced, which can have two or three tiers, and on each of which a different number of sections are placed. Such structures are most often made of bars, boards and galvanized mesh, and are used for breeding rabbits, both outdoors and indoors.

Such cage designs are called sheds - in them, tiers with sections are located one above the other, which helps to significantly save space.

A two-tier design is considered the best option, as it will allow for comfortable care and monitoring of pets.

It is recommended to raise the shad above the ground by 500÷600 mm when installed indoors, and by 700÷750 mm when installed outdoors. This cage is considered the best for keeping rabbits, so it is used most often.

When building multi-tiered cages, there must be a space of at least 150 mm high between each of the tiers. A sloping metal roof is installed over the cages. In the space between the tiers and under the lower tier, inclined tides are fixed. They are necessary so that rabbit waste does not fall into the lower cages and does not linger on the lower roof, but flows to the ground or into a common or separate drain for each tier located at the back of the structure. At each of these ebbs, sides are bent on the sides to prevent waste from falling beyond this plane.

Some owners prefer to use removable plastic trays, which are mounted on skids under the slatted floor and can be removed for cleaning and rinsing.

Another option is for the trays to be installed directly in the cages. In addition, sometimes cages are made with a solid floor. Both of the latter options are probably still not very convenient, since the bedding in the cages will have to be changed quite often - once every two to three days.

Cages for breeding

In cages intended for breeding, special chambers are installed on the sides, or space is provided for installing a mobile queen cell. In a design with a stationary compartment, the walls, removable floor and ceiling are made solid, since it must be well insulated and not blown through by drafts, otherwise the rabbits will die.

The floor in the rest of the cage, where the food section is located, is made of wooden blocks or metal mesh.

The mobile queen cell is a completely closed box with a round hole for entry. The box should also have an additional side door to allow it to be cleaned and dried.

breeding cages

A mobile queen cell is convenient because it can be rearranged, if necessary, into different cells, and it is also easier to clean and change bedding.

This chamber is insulated with dry, mold-free hay or shavings. It is not recommended to use small sawdust, as they can get into the respiratory tract of the rabbits, and they will die.

If breeding is carried out in winter, then a few days before it, it is recommended to place an electric heating pad in the queen cell to create comfortable conditions for the female rabbit.

During the cold season, it is often impossible to do without heating the uterine tract, so instead of a heating pad, you can also use a regular light bulb, which is kept constantly on during this period. It is placed in a compartment located behind the wall of the uterine chamber. Having chosen this heating option, it is necessary to take care of fire safety, so the chamber where the lamp will be located must be sheathed with a thin metal sheet.

Another way to heat this part of the cage is, which is fixed to the bottom of the queen cell, and a removable floor panel is placed on top of it. When using this option, it is imperative to ensure that the cable located in the cage is solid, without splicing. This system, installed in accordance with all the rules, allows you to regulate the temperature in the uterine compartment depending on the temperature outside - it can be connected to a thermostatic regulator.

For cages located indoors in barns, it is best to make queen cells mobile so that they can be taken outside for thorough cleaning, ventilation and drying in the sun. If a built-in uterine chamber is planned, then the floor must be removable.

Each section of cells of this type usually has a length of 1000÷1200 mm, a depth of 550÷650 mm, a height on the front side of 550÷600 mm and 400÷450 mm on the rear wall. The built-in uterine chamber is made 350÷400 mm wide.

Cages for young animals

Cages for young animals should be designed to accommodate 8÷20 rabbits at a time, aged from three to five months. A group cage is made with an area of approximately 0.25 - 0.3 m² per pet, with a wall height of at least 350 mm.

If the cages are made multi-tiered and installed on the street, then they must be raised above the ground by at least 700÷750 mm.

In cages for young animals, the warm nesting compartment should also be well insulated for the winter, in approximately the same way as for newborn rabbits. For insulation, hay or straw is used, laid 15÷20 mm thick. You should not choose artificial materials for insulation, as they have a bad effect on the development and growth of babies of all breeds of rabbits.

Cage for adult rabbits

For adult rabbits of medium-sized breeds, cages are made with sections 600÷700 mm deep, a front height of 600 mm and a length of 1000 mm - these are the minimum dimensions for the comfortable development of an adult animal. The same block design is used for these cells; each block contains two cells separated by a wall.

It is also necessary to provide for the union of these cells into one, for example, for the mating period - for this, the partition between them is made removable. It is recommended to make the floor in cages for adults from galvanized mesh.

It is very important to take into account that pets must move freely inside the cages, since their growth and development will depend on this.

Cage with aviary for walking

This cage design is well suited for keeping young animals or for rabbits of reproductive age. The cage consists of two compartments - an area completely enclosed by walls and a roof and a mesh enclosure. The two compartments are connected by a round or rectangular entrance cut into the rear wall of the cage with solid surfaces. Rabbits in such cages have the opportunity to move freely and safely, which is beneficial for their development and growth.

The dimensions of such structures may vary, but usually the depth of a closed cage is 600÷650 mm, and the depth of the enclosure is 800÷1000 mm. Most often, a regular single-tier block is built, consisting of two separate cages, and then, if there is space behind it, a mesh enclosure is attached to it.

Cages for giant rabbits

Large rabbits of the “giant” meat-skin breed require a special approach, since not standard cages are built for them, but those with more significant parameters. Individuals of this breed grow to sizes from 550 to 650 mm in length, and their weight ranges from 5.5 to 7.5 kg. These numbers must be used as a starting point when drawing up a construction design drawing.

For one adult “giant” rabbit, you will need a cage measuring at least 960 mm in length, 700 mm in depth and 600÷700 mm in height.

For young animals of this breed, in one litter of which there are on average eight rabbits, you will need a cage of 1.2 m², at least 400 mm high.

Since “giant” rabbits have quite a lot of weight, the floor of the cage should be reinforced - it is also covered with galvanized mesh, but made of thicker wire, for example, 2÷2.2 mm. In addition, to prevent the mesh from bending under the weight of the animal, when making the floor, you must first secure bars measuring 30×30 mm, laid at a distance of 35÷40 mm from each other, and then lay and secure a metal mesh on top of them.

Some farmers put a solid floor in their cages, but in this case, the best option would be to install plastic or rubber trays in them. If you choose this option for arranging the cage, then you will have to clean it of waste daily or once every two days.

metal aviary

California rabbit cage

This breed of rabbits (a hybrid of the New Zealand breed, the Soviet chinchilla and the Russian ermine) is quite popular due to its ease of care and resistance to negative winter temperatures. In size, adult individuals of the Californian breed are smaller than “giants” and their length is 450÷500 mm, but their weight sometimes reaches up to 4.5÷5 kg. The cage for these rabbits should be approximately 0.4÷0.5 m² in size. The paws of pets of this breed are covered with coarse hair, so they will be quite comfortable in cages with mesh or slatted floors.

When California rabbits are raised exclusively for meat, they are often kept in a pit measuring 2000x2000 and 1000 mm deep. The walls of the pit are reinforced with slate, a plank or mesh floor is laid on the floors, a low fence is installed around the pit and a roof is built.

An earthen niche is made in one of the walls of the pit, which is not reinforced in any way. It is necessary to create conditions close to the natural habitat of these animals. Rabbits will happily dig holes in the ground, and with proper care they will reproduce well and raise young on their own.

Feeders and drinkers for rabbit cages

To make caring for your pets easier, it is worth considering a convenient supply of food and water for them. There are many different designs, both feeders and drinkers. They can be purchased ready-made or even made yourself.

Drinking bowls

Rabbits need a lot of clean water, and if you pour it into a bowl that is not fixed at a certain height, then various debris will fall into it, or, even worse, the rabbit, stepping on it with its paw, will simply knock it over and spill the water.

It is very important to decide on the choice of material from which the drinkers will be made. For example, if you install products made of thin plastic, they will not last for a long time, as rabbits will chew them. In metal cans, water will quickly become dirty and cloudy. Therefore, experienced rabbit breeders have developed several simple designs that allow them to constantly provide the animals with the necessary amount of water.

Automatic drinkers

This type of drinker is often used both on large farms and in small households. The design of this drinking bowl consists of a bowl connected to a container filled with water. Moreover, the bowl is in the cage, and the container is located outside, so it is easy to replenish it with new supplies of fresh water.

The principle of operation of such devices is quite simple - as the water decreases from the bowl, a new portion of liquid will flow into it from the container. In this case, the float system is triggered - there is little water left in the bowl, so the valve installed in the container opens and the drinking bowl is replenished with water. It is quite difficult to make such a drinking bowl yourself, but it can be purchased ready-made.

Nipple drinkers

The nipple type of drinker is convenient and practical, since in this case the animals cannot spill the water - it remains in the tube until the rabbit begins to drink, performing sucking movements.

The disadvantage of this water delivery system is that at low temperatures the water in the container and in the tubes quickly freezes, so this drinker can only be used in the warm season.

Vacuum drinker

There are several ways to make a drinking bowl from a regular plastic bottle, and they should be considered, so the manufacturing process can be carried out independently.

The operating principle of this design is based on the laws of physics, and to make it, you need to proceed as follows:

A bowl with a flat bottom, sides approximately 50 mm high and an elongated shape is fixed to the cage at a height of 100 mm from the floor, so that half of it is inside the cage and the other remains outside.

A regular plastic bottle of two or one and a half liters is filled with water. The bottle is then closed with a cap or even a piece of paper, which is pressed firmly to the neck. Next, the container is quickly turned upside down and placed in a bowl. The neck should not reach the bottom 2÷3 mm. The bottle is then secured to the cage using wire or clamps.
The lid is carefully unscrewed (if paper was used, it is simply pulled out), and the bowl is filled with water by about ⅔. As your pets drink water, water will flow from the bottle into the bowl, filling it to its previous level.

Throttle drinker

This drinker works on the principle of a conventional hand washbasin, that is, when you press the throttle installed together with the valve in the bottle cap, water begins to flow down the throttle through the resulting hole.

The hole in the cover should not be large, but the throttle should move up and down easily in it. A rubber gasket can be used as a valve, which holds the throttle well and covers the hole in the bottle cap in a calm state.

The bottle with this device is fixed vertically on the cage, at a height of 250÷300 mm from the floor.

Hanging drinker

This is a very simple version of a drinking bowl, made from a plastic bottle; it is suspended on wire holders at a height of 250÷300 mm from the floor. To make such a drinker, a cutout is made in the side of the bottle, 100÷120 mm wide and almost the entire length of the bottle, 50÷60 mm away from the lid and bottom.

The drinking bowl is fixed on the outside of the cage so that the hole cut in the bottle is turned inward. In the cage at this level, part of the mesh wall is also cut out so that the rabbits can easily reach the water. Such a drinking bowl will have to be replenished with water quite often, but it is extremely simple to manufacture.

Feeders

It is advisable to plan the feeders at the stage of drawing up the drawing of the entire structure. Feed supply devices can be of three types:

Senniki are most often located between two adjacent cells and have a V-shape. They are made together with the structure of the cell itself - they, in fact, are its integral part. Fresh grass or dry hay is placed in these feeders, and the rabbits pull it out through the lattice walls.

Feeder for filling feed. This product is necessary for rabbits to enrich their body with minerals and vitamins, which contributes to the rapid growth of animals. This food is especially important in winter, when there is no grass, fresh vegetables and fruits.

Feeders for feed can be made of metal sheet used for laying sewers or other materials. An important condition that must be met for the effective operation of this device is the correct and reliable fastening of the container to the cell wall. The principle of operation of such a device is that food independently enters a bowl located in the cage from a container fixed outside it, as it decreases.

A device for vegetables, fruits, tops and other fresh shredded products can be made of any material. It is made spacious and easy to clean. The feeder must be kept clean, otherwise harmful insects may grow in and around it, which can cause various diseases in animals.

Making your own multi-tiered cage

Before purchasing materials, it is recommended to draw up an accurate drawing of a cage or multi-tiered complex. It is necessary to foresee the location of feeders and drinkers on the plan, especially in cases where they will be built into the overall structure.

In this case, a step-by-step description of the manufacture of a three-tier cage with a width of 1400 mm, a height of 1900 mm and a depth of 600 mm is presented.

For work you will need the following materials:

Name of materials or components	Size, mm	Quantity
Board	100×30	10 m
timber	50×30	27 m
Plywood 15 mm	Standard	1÷2 sheets
Metal grid	Wire 0.7 mm, mesh 25×25 mm	8 m²
Metal galvanized sheet	Thickness 0.6÷0.9 mm	3 m²
Self-tapping screws	50	300÷500 pcs.
Nails	60÷70	100 pieces.
Latch locks for queen cells	Standard	6 pcs.
Hinges for securing the hinged doors of the queen cell.		12 pcs.

The table below describes the cage installation process step by step:

Illustration	Brief description of the operation performed
	From the purchased boards it is necessary to make parts for mounting the frame: - 100×30×2250 mm – 4 pcs.; - 50×30×1340 mm – 12 pcs.; - 50×30×540 mm – 12 pcs.; - 25×30×540 mm – 72 pcs.
	Six identical frame frames measuring 1340x600 mm are assembled from prepared lumber.
	Making frames is easy. First, one is assembled with precise dimensions and squareness, and then it is used as a template for making the rest. To assemble each frame, you will need two beams measuring 50x30x540 mm and two beams measuring 50x30x1340 mm. Smaller bars are secured between two long ones using two self-tapping screws at each connection
	The result of installation should be six neat, even frames of the same size.
	The next step is to position the frames and fix them on boards measuring 100x30x2250 mm, laid at a distance of the width of the frame. The distance between the frames forming the frame and the floor of the cage of each tier should be 400 mm. The space left between tiers is 180 mm. The first tier should be raised 400 mm above the ground. The frames are secured with two self-tapping screws, screwed in along the diagonal intersection line at the joints of the frame frame and side boards.
	The next step is to fasten the frames along the top edge with two boards laid parallel to the bottom ones. It is important here to ensure that the frames are perfectly vertical. To check their verticality, a building level is used.
	Next, the blocks for installation of the grated floor are prepared. Their size should be 25x30x540 mm.
	The distance between the sheathing bars should be 15÷20 mm (lightwise). They are installed inside the frame frame, and through it, on the side, secured with self-tapping screws on both sides.
	The floor of the cells on all three tiers is lined in exactly the same way. If it is planned to make a queen cell on one of the tiers, where breeding occurs, and where the rabbits will be kept until a certain age, then in this place the floor of the cage should be solid and removable. The arrangement of the queen cell was described above.
	Will each of the tiers be divided into two separate cells? between which a hay box is mounted in the shape of the Latin letter V. Hay or grass for rabbits will be placed here. The sennik is formed from four bars, which are installed on both sides of the frame. The size of the hay is 150÷200 mm in the upper part, and 6÷8 mm in the lower part. Naturally, it is necessary to achieve a clear correspondence in the location of the inclined crossbars on both sides of the frame.
	To ensure that the doors have the correct rectangular shape, the hay can be made from boards, cutting off one of their sides at a certain angle and connecting them at the bottom from the inside of the cage. Thus, the outer edge of the hay barn will be smooth and will act as a wall to which the door will adjoin. In addition, the front parts of the hay barn can be cut from plywood 15 mm thick.
	The frame of the hay barn is sheathed inside along installed bars (or cutouts made at an angle in boards or plywood) with a mesh of 0.7 mm wire having cells of 25 × 25 mm.
	If you plan to make a queen cell in the cage, then it is separated from the cage by a plywood or plank wall with a small entrance. To make it easier to attach this wall, additional bars are mounted into the structure, to which the plywood jumper will be attached.
	The entrance to the wall can be round or semicircular, but it must be located at a height of 100–120 mm from the floor of the cage - this distance must be maintained so that the rabbits cannot get into the large cage until they can overcome this height on their own. The width of the entrance to the queen cell should be approximately 150 mm. After the hole is cut, it must be cleaned with sandpaper, since its edges must be absolutely smooth.
	The width of the queen cell is usually 300÷350 mm. The jumper wall is fixed to the bars, then the same wall is mounted on the outside of the cage, and then the roof panel is fixed. If in the main space of the cage the roof can be covered with a metal mesh, then in the queen cell it should be continuous. Lastly, a bottom made of plywood is placed in the queen cell compartment. However, it should not be secured to the lower bars with self-tapping screws, since after the rabbits grow up and are moved to other, more spacious cages, the bottom part is removed from the uterine chamber, washed, dried and put in place for the next birth.
	The final stage in the installation of the queen cell is the installation of a hinged external door on it across the entire width of the chamber. At the bottom, the door is secured to the beam with two metal hinges.
	A latch lock or latch is installed in the middle of the upper part of the door panel.
	Next, the cage door frame is made from 30x30 mm bars. It is made according to the size of the opening formed in the cell wall. The door frame bars are fastened together at the corners with two self-tapping screws.
	The illustration shows the finished door frame before it is covered with metal mesh.
	The mesh is fixed to the frame using staples and a stapler - such fixation will be quite sufficient.
	A door with a mesh installed on the inside looks like this.
	Hinges on mesh doors can be mounted at the bottom (in which case the door will be hinged), or on one side of the opening (in which case it will be hinged). It all depends on ease of use in specific conditions.
	If the cages will be installed under a roof, for example, in a barn or other indoor utility room, then the walls and roof of the cages can also be lined with mesh. When installing the structure outdoors, the side and rear walls and roof must be covered with plywood or boards
	It is very important to make the correct tides under each tier of cages so that animal waste from the upper cages does not fall into the lower ones. To make ebbs, a metal sheet is used, on which the edges are folded on the sides - these sides should have a height of 80÷100 mm. The ebbs are attached to the front lower part of the frame under the cage, and its other edge is laid on the rear wall of the lower cage and extends beyond it by 300÷350 mm. Thus, the ebb tides are tilted and they protrude back beyond the structure so that they do not interfere with the approach to the rabbitry from the front side.
	The result should be something like this cell. In terms of complexity, this design option can be called the simplest and most accessible even for beginners.

If you understand the principles of constructing cages for rabbits, then when drawing up a drawing, if desired, you can make your own adjustments. But it is still necessary to always keep in mind that any adult rabbit requires at least 0.5 m² of living space. It’s even better to adhere to the recommended section sizes, about 1000 mm in length, 600÷ 700 in depth, and from 400 to 600 mm in height.

And at the end of the article, there is a video in which the rabbit breeder shares the secrets of the design of improved cages: