I like big hutches for my rabbits. One third of the hutch I put plywood in. The rest I use wire. I feed on the wire part of the hutch and put straw on the plywood side for bedding in the winter. When I put the boxes in for an expecting doe I put it on the plywood with a layer of straw underneath it for air circulation. I keep a plastic tote underneath the wired end and the droppings fall through into the tote. Then I just carry the tote out to the garden or flower beds. The droppings are safe to put into the garden without waiting. The dirty bedding and hay should probably be composted first. Air circulation is important for healthy rabbits. A lot of moisture can build up inside of the cages in cold weather and they need the air to keep them cool in the summer. My hutches are inside of the barn so I use wire for the roof and sides. In the winter I tarp off the top. Rabbits will use litter boxes, even inside of an outdoor hutch. I have a 2 level hutch...it looks like a swiss chalet...and the floor space in the bottom is limited so I keep a small wooden litter box in there and the rabbits use it. I just dump it out everyday and put a little hay chaff in it. I use a hand garden hoe to scrape out the cages. They clean up pretty quick. Probably too much info...lol. Take Care

If skinned properly the skins are pulled off and are like a tube of skin and fir on the inside. We used 1/2" plywood forms to pull the skins onto (fur on inside toward the plywood). We made several different sizes of plywood forms so that the hides were stretched very tight. They were then hung up to dry for about a week to 10 days at which time the fats were pealed off the skin carefully as not to tear the skin. Then we would sell them to a fur dealer who would give us $2 for pure white and for the different colored furs as little as $.50 each. That was good for the late 1950's to early 60's. During the summer I would keep them in large fenced in areas and the feed cost was nothing. We buried the fence 1' deep and 1' flat away for the fenced area like an "L" for a total of 2' under ground. We used several 4'x8' sheets of marine plywood and put these on top of cement blocks so the rabbits had a place the was shaded and gave them cover form weather and hawks and owls. There were many bushes and pines in there for them to nest and hide in also. Only one buck and 20 does were in each 3/4 acre pen. We usually culled the young every 30 days or so and pen raise them to butchering size-about 8-12 week depending on the breed. During the winter only the buck was left in the pens. There was enough food for 1 rabbit for the winter months. Sometimes we would give them so hay if we noticed that they were over browsing the shrubs due to deep snow. They were so much healthier this way. Ma would fry the rabbit that she dipped in her herbal blend of flour mix. After they were 1/2 way cooked she would transfer them to her famous 'Dutch Oven' over low heat and added a cup of cheap wine (MD, it was the brand Charlie Weaver used to push on TV) and of course the cook always saved herself a wee bit of wine to sip on while preparing the rest of the meal. VERY TASTEY-the rabbit I mean.

I have 2 goats,7 hens and 3 rabbit hutches all in the same space together.it's a huge fenced area(I'm not good with measurments!) one small barn(that used to be a gazebo) for the goats,and 1 chicken coop. they're separate buildings,but it's one entrance into their yard. The hutches are not in a barn but they have houses attached to the ends of their hutch..I find that they're very happy together,they all get along great! The difference is mine are all for pets,not actual "farming" for milk or meat. Just use the eggs. I find most of the droppings from the hens are in their coop at night,under where they roost. As for water,I have a heated bucket in the gaots house because they won't drink frozen or really cold water,my flemish giant shares the goats house as well,,so she gets water like that. The hens have a heat lamp in their coop with the bucket of water under it so it never freezes,,.and the rabbits in the hutches have a margarine container in the winter so I can pop out the frozen water in the morning and refill with fresh. I do have to carry a large watering can with me every morning down to them,but that's life. Life is just a bit harder in the winter..:( In the summer they all drink out of a water fountain I gave them! as well as having water in their house. That's about all I can think of for now..are you getting ducks?? I do keep my ducks away from the gang,they have their own set up..

Lee, what a beautiful story. I am so very sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing Thumper's life with us and many many thanks for enlightening us about rabbits. Like Josh, I had no idea that rabbits could be litterbox trained. I always thought they just sat in cages, ate carrots and looked cute and cuddly. I'm sorry that Kresha had to go through making the decision to let Thumper go. I couldn't have made it without Neil by my side when we had to give our Chelsea up. I'm not surprised that you wanted Kresha to have Silverbell. You are such a dear, dear man. Neil and I are planning a trip to Apopka soon and we hope to meet up with you and Kresha while we are there. Take care my friend.