Types of Rabbit Hutch

Good materials and good workmanship are always desirable,and in the long run a great economy. Extra time taken in good construction will be fully repaid during the years of use.All exposed edges of wooden frame hutches should be covered with metal strip, and as far as possible asbestos sheeting,if used for walls, or wire mesh to cover door, should be fixed to the inside of the wooden framing. Ledges and difficult corners should be eliminated.

Litter boards, about 5 inches high, placed at floor level across the opening of the hutch prevent the young and the bedding from falling out of the hutch when the door is opened. They can be fixed to the framework of the hutch with hinges or with metal guides.

Roofs of hutches should extend at least six inches to the rear, or, preferably, guttering should be fixed to prevent water drip-ping down the hacks. The roof must slope sufficiently to carry off all water and must of course be completely weather proof.Door fasteners often cause a good deal of trouble. They should be of such a type that they are easily opened by the attendant but not by dogs or the stock themselves. If possible a type which closes when the door is swung to should be used.

No one hutch will be suitable for all purposes, and the types of hutches required will depend on the system operated by the breeder and his reason for keeping rabbits. For meat production breeding hutches and colony pens will usually be',pined. For pelt production, although the young rabbit scan be run on together for a short period in colony pens, they will eventually need separation into single hutches, and the same system, possibly running the young in pairs rather than in colonies, will be used by the exhibition breeder.

When hutch accommodation is limited it is preferable to have hutches of adjustable size which can be adapted to suit either breeding stock or individual animals. Stacks of hutches can be divided with removable partitions, partitions hinged to the roof, or with removable double hay racks which fit the entire depth of the hutch.

The number of hutches for young and single adult animals produced from each breeding hutch will depend largely on the requirements of the breeder, but often the number of these hutches is underestimated. A minimum of four hutches for single animals or pairs of young is necessary for every breeding hutch in the stud of the exhibition breeder, and for adult pelt production, more would be required.

Mordant Hutches

The Mordant system was first introduced by a Major G. F.Mo rant in 1884, the idea at that time being that these outdoor movable hutches in which the rabbits could graze, should bemused for commercial rabbit keeping.

Each Mordant is a large movable hutch with the floor partly or wholly covered with a fairly large mesh of usually about inches. The hutches vary in size from about 21 feet by 4feet, large poultry arks being adaptable to the purpose.

The system has some disadvantages in that a good deal of land is required because the animals should not frequently graze over the same land. The soil should be fairly light, and the surface relatively smooth. Exposure to strong sunlight during summer will fade the coats of fur rabbits. For rearing meat rabbits during the summer the system may prove useful.Mo rant hutches may be laid on rails during the winter and used as colony hutches if a solid floor is placed in them, for it is very rarely good management to graze rabbits during the winter months.

Colony Pens

The colony system entails keeping groups of young rabbits,up to about 30 in each group, in large pens. It is an excellent system provided it is carried out correctly, but is mainly used for meat rabbits up to the ages of about 4 months. In the past large colony pens consisting of enclosed areas similar to poultry sins have been used, but the most satisfactory colonies are undoubtedly those on wire mesh. A solid floor may be divided up by partitions of wire mesh about 3i feet high to form solid floored colonies.

Colony pens should not be too large and the construction of the metal type of pen is based on an angle iron framework with a strong mesh. It may be necessary to support the mesh floor, and for this purpose angle iron may be used, with the mesh supported upon the apex of the angle. It is essential to ensure that the floor is rigid and can fully take all the weight which is likely to be placed upon it. Very often cases of failure in such floors is found to be due to inadequate support.