House of Blues - Rabbit housing

*re-post from rabbitgeek notes, May 31 2004*

Hi all,

I made a little rabbit shed. I had some rabbit cages on two by
fours and sawhorses and I wanted to get the rabbits under some
proper cover. Using an idea from Pamela Alley in Meatrabbits, I
built a little 8' x 8' shed.

It didn't turn out exactly as I thought it would. I didn't get a
four foot walkway in the middle because our growing cages are 30
inch deep not 24 inch, so it is a little more crowded in there than
I thought. And I made my walls 7 x 7 foot perimeter to get some
overhang on the roof.

An important factor in building was finding these little angle
brackets by Simpson strong tie. I hate nailing with a hammer and I
don't own a nail gun. But I have electric screwdrivers and I was
able to put the shed together with screws and brackets. I spent
about $40 on screws and bracket, but it was the difference between
go and no-go on the project. And I can unscrew and move pieces if
needed. The whole shed except the roof is put together using screws
and can be unscrewed if needed.

I don't have a lot of construction skill. I have more construction
luck than skill, so I'm glad I found those brackets.

I double hung four litter cages on one side 36 wide by 30 deep. The
other side is two hanging cages (24 wide by 24 deep) and a three
hole stacker (24 x 24) for bucks and growers. Total 9 cages. I'm
planning to set up some worm bins under the hanging cages. The
stackers will have their trays dumped into the worm bins as well.

The shed mostly consists of 4 x 4 posts in the corner, 2 x 4
framing, green corrugated plastic roof. I haven't finished the
walls completely yet, but it's good enough with some tarps tacked up
for shade. The roof is almost 9 foot high, great for hot weather
sheds. Also, the shed is in the shade of a large hackberry tree.

When I started to hang the cages, my wife suggested I use it for my
Americans. So I have four breeding does in there (two with
litters), two show and breeding bucks, a junior doe for show, and
our 4 year old Dutch doe who is a retired breeder that first got us
started in Dutch rabbits. And one empty cage for growing out
another rabbit.

So, I have a house of American Blues. What could be better? B-)

Thank you Pam!

Have a good day!
Franco Rios
MFO Rabbitry, Sacramento, Calif.