Rabbit Tractor ? ?

I had some 1" chicken wire and used 2x4 .... Also needed room for the Teen's.
I have been thinking about this for a few months, so I started work.
This is what I came up with...

The unit is 2' by 2' and 4' long ( wished I had made it larger )
It is not yet completed I need to attached the top.
But the 'Kids" are in it and I will check on the through the night ? ?

The bunnies were a little confused at first, coming out of a 30" x30" x18" tall cage and going into this one and also on the ground but in no time they were eating the grass and fall leaves, running, Jumping and having a 'Good old Time'

That's great. I have read about people who raise their rabbits on the ground in pens like chickens. Don't see why a tractor wouldn't work just as well for them. just have to watch they don't dig out.

I had a neighbor who put his rabbits in a similar "tractor" and moved it about the vegetable garden so they could fertilize. Clever idea!

Thanks for the headsup, rentman!
This should meet their need for foraging and contribution to improving the soil for you. Make sure the top is secure -- Mr. Possum and old Mr. Raccoon are skilled at getting into pens and cages.
Gary

Rentman, that looks great!

I hope you have the wire on the bottom part too. I can't tell from the picture, but I would certainly suggest it.

We had rabbits in a wire cage we bought. Our standard poodle kept going over and pushing and pushing on the top until she finally broke it and killed a few. It can happen.

Again, that's a great looking pen.

I started out trying to build something similar for my silkies, 8X4 and 3 feet high. I boxed in one end to give them a warm place to be. I kept adding wood and adding wood, and it is so heavy I cannot move it. It wasn't my intention to make it that heavy, but live and learn.

Toooo cool.. The grass and real outside is so great for them! Keep em safe! You are on to a great idea there.

It does have a wire bottom and I may put wheels on one end. I put a couple of screws in the top, tomorrow I'll finish the top, making a section that will hing open to access food and water.

Thanks Gary, for the 'Heads Up' on Mr. Possum and old Mr. Raccoon, didn't think of that.
It was so funny watching them jumping and running around.

lol they probably love you bunches and bunches right now.

Not a lot of Rabbit people here , but here is 'Willy the Walking Rabbit'.
My daughter gave me a Very small dog harness and Willy now has it ...
I played with him this even until it got too cold (for me) and he loves it.
Dwight

Oh yes Rentman, Ilove Rabbits too! This was my Dearly departed "Rabbit" ! I had him for 3 years... 6 months in a rabbit cage and I just couldnt stand it! I turned him loose in the Barn and for almost 2and 1/2 years he free ranged with my chickens . He would follow me and guests around worse than a Puppy! No one could drive up into my yard without him coming to greet them!
A Silly neighbor kid got a Pellet gun for Christmas and decided to use "Rabbit" for Target practice. It broke my heart. I havent had a Rabbit for 3 years because of it!

Think I might have taken target practice on the neighbor kid. Grrr We've had lots of rabbits over the years for pets and meat rabbits. They are fun pets. I read in Countryside magazine about a lady in Romania who homesteads and her rabbits are kept in a coop like chickens.

I have a plan, 'working in my mind' to fence in part of my garden and let some roam about.
Wounder how deep they can dig ?

the only way to stop them from digging out will be to line the bottom of the penned area with hardware Cloth! They can dig pretty deep and they also make tunnels!

I don't have rabbits and have no plans to get them. But I love your rabbit adventures! The bunny in the little doggie harness is adorable! What fun.....

Hope that neighbor kid got what was coming to him in the "end"!

Thanks, Eufaula, I'll remember that.
Last year I had a 18" ditch dug around my garden and filled it with crushed stone to keep the moles and voles out, so maybe that will contain the bunnies. I will only put out one to start with and see how it goes. It would be nice to have Free Range rabbits.
There is also an issue with hawks, raccoons and other hungry beast.
I have a small area in the corner of the garden which has alfalfa growing and they love it when I feed them.

"I have a plan, 'working in my mind' to fence in part of my garden and let some roam about.
Wounder how deep they can dig ?"

Be mindful of wild rabbits when romance is in the air! You may have an invasion of wild rabbits! lol
Gary

The tractor idea sounds like it would be a good way to grow out a litter for butchering.

I love to eat rabbit more than any other meat. Pork is my seasoned favorite.

I have one package of rabbit meat left in the freezer from the litter of bunnies I butchered last summer. I boil the cut up rabbit for thirty minutes in enough water to cook 1 1/2 cups of brown rice. I add the rice after the rabbit cooks for thirty minutes and let it all cook for 45 minutes more. I throw in a handful of sliced fresh jalapeños and seasoned with a Cajun seasoning.

I don't eat fried rabbit because I let my rabbits grow out to 12 weeks before I butcher them and they are just a little too big for frying but just right for stewing.

I have two New Zealand White does and one American Chinchilla and one New Zealand White buck.

I use to raise California something or others for eating. I had one flemish giant doe.

We had "Chicken Bunny" for 3 years. He escaped the pen when he was only about 2 weeks old and dissapeared. We thought he was gone, but he showed up later in the garden. In the winter he lived in the coop with the chickens (thus the name) and under the coop in the summer. We still see extra large wild rabbits with black tipped ears and noses. He was a very happy boy. I have had several versions of bunny tractors and they always loved them.

Jyl welcome back, haven't heard from you recently!

Thanks Porkpal, I'm still a little gun shy.

Chicken Bunny! LOL, I love it! Thanks for the giggle. =)

jylgaskin
Excuse me, what is a "chicken bunny"? One-half chicken and one-half rabbit? Which half is which?

I don't begrudge anyone for raising rabbits to eat. I remember when I was a young lad my family raised rabbits for that purpose and I also remember that fried rabbit was much better than fried chicken. As I have gotten older I guess I have gotten sentimental and couldn't bare to have my pet Rex, Peter, for a meal. Besides being a pet, Peter supplies me with manure for my garden, another reason for keeping him around.

What a handsome fellow!

Oh, reading this thread makes me want to raise rabbits. Thinking about getting them for my daughter's lesson in responsibility. She is 9, but moderately retarded. Thinking maybe rabbits would be just right for her -- with my supervision. I would not let them suffer because of her negligence.

In the heat of the summer (think TX), would they need to be in a very shaded area, as in no sun or filtered sun?

Next question, any idea on the gentlest breed?

Thanks for your advice and expertise in this area.

G-Thumb, if you want to eat the off springs them the NZW's. a large rabbit and not for pets IMO
There are smaller rabbits which make nice pets, but remember all rabbits have teeth and claws which when they want can be nasty weapons. So with supervision with your daugther I'm sure she will find these pets delightful. Also one of my 'time share' boys came over and wanted to hold a bunny (2 weeks old), he was petting the bunny and the rabbit let go and the boy had 'Bunny Pee' all over his shirt, don't know what his mother said.
There are a lot of sites on the internet that are very help full. I enjoy going out and feeding mine every AM. Which, by the way, as you know, they must be feed every day, by you or a friend.

Good luck and keep in touch

Dwight

I can sure testify that those claws are dangerous. Rabbits are not very intelligent animals in my opinion, and I've had a number of animals. If you must get one, get one that doesn't grow very large, just because of those back claws.

My daughters and I all three had our arms ripped up by the cute little bunnies. You try to hold them and they get excited and yank their feet down real fast, and can just rip your skin big time. It's almost like a knife down the skin. It's a long hard kick, that can rip your skin a good 6 or 7 inches and is sometimes deep. I'm surprised we are not scarred.

As far as the sun, yes they need shade. It's surprising what they can endure though. I was looking to see where you are from, and we are almost neighbors, I'm close to Amarillo, in Pampa.

Mostly they need to have some blockage from the wind, and some shade. They need some kind of covering for when it rains or snows too. I just put a piece of plywood over the top. I had this one rabbit that lived to be 9 or 10 years old. I had read that rabbits only live to be about 5 years old, but mine just kept living and living. I just kept feeding him and feeding him. One day he died.

The most fun we had with them was when they had babies. Those were the cutest things. They looked like little hippos, and were just darling. When they grew up, we had them in wire cages in the back yard and our dogs broke the wire on one cage and killed all that were in there. How heartbreaking. We were all crying, so I guess we liked those bunnies even if they did injure us. lol

Mostly though, I was surprised how they could endure both winter and summer. Like most things the novelty wears off quickly. Rabbits are quite boring in my opinion. Maybe I shouldn't say that, my girls had a lot of fun playing with their rabbits. We had them in the house for a long time, and let them run around. Then they chewed all the wires they could find, and the house started to smell like rabbit urine. That's when they went outside.

Hope that helps. I do know how to ramble. :)

I've been through Pampa several times. You do have rougher winters than us, but I bet our summers as just as hot. And If I remember correctly, you do not have to fear tornatoes as bad as we do. Anyway, cool that we are neighbors. . .distant neighbors.

Thanks for the input -- I see I really need to do some thinking. We just got some baby chicks, maybe I'll be content with that. . . for now. She does enjoy holding them. Maybe when the "new cute" wears off for older brother and sister, I'll let her be the one to keep them fed, watered, and eggs gathered.

We are in tornado alley. :(

gretagreen, I've not had rabbits myself. But I grew up with 4H and had a number of friend who did have rabbits. I guess I can contribute some observational comments. The rabbit set up I admired the most was one that was set up with the help of a Dad. He had built the standard compost bins as advised on Crockett's Victory Garden (OK, so now I'm giving away my age LOL! And if you know show James Crockett was then you are giving away your age, too =D). He then built the rabbit hutches over the top of the compost bins such that the rabbit poo dropped right into the compost bins. It had a metal, slanted roof so that the water ran into the bins below. He said that helped keep the compost moist. I just thought that was sooooo efficient! As far as the bunnies were concerned, my friend had some sort of French type rabbits with lop ears. They did raise them for food and the bunnies did not go in the house. I remember visiting and handling the bunnies. She handled them a lot so they were quite calm (they didn't have any dogs). I helped feed on a couple of occasions and remember putting frozen bottles of water in the cages to help keep them cool in the summer heat. As I said, I'm no bunny expert. But I spent years in 4H and the 4H fairs always featured quite an number of rabbits. Perhaps the local 4H'ers could help advise you regarding your daughter's interest in rabbits. And if you decide to go with them, that compost bin/rabbit hutch set-up was really cool IMHO =)!

The loppy's are really cute.

Terri -- Thanks! I feel bad, I do not know about Crockett's Victory Garden, but I do plan to check it out. Sounds like a great idea. And I adore lop-eared rabbits! They are just too cute!

I don't know how aggressive they are.....That's why I though 4H would be a good idea. Anyway, good luck.

And Crockett's Victory Garden was the first and original Victory Garden on PBS.