[Hebrews12v2]

*Posted April 2, 2022*

Second photo of my Cuniculture setup that is in progress. (I am working on cleaning up area!)

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by  Hebrews12v2.

[Hebrews12v2]

*Posted June 25, 2022*

Finished making my first set of Nesting Boxes. Bred one of my larger does for first time a few days ago, so I had to get this done.

I used mesh so that it is cooler in the summer, but I can still use a cardboard or thin plywood inside box on bottom in winter to keep warmer.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by  Hebrews12v2.

[Hebrews12v2]

*Posted May 31, 2022*

After trying a ground fabric idea for a couple months to catch waste and miscellaneous droppings I found that the fabric developed a strong urine smell after a while.

I have now changed this up to what someone, somewhere, recommended and I am using roofing panels as a catch that rolls down to a gutter that I can very easily clean every couple days. So far this is a MUCH better system, if not a bit of an expense to start with.

Long term though it will be a very good investment. No more “smell” now that I have it all cleaned up and in use!

[RW98662]

GREAT idea!!!

[Hebrews12v2]

*Posted July 29, 2022*

This has been a very tough week for our “In-Stead”, (My wife’s play on our lifestyle).

First the Blessing. Our first Doe to have kits had three kits. All born healthy and plump.

Then the heat wave started. By day 4 after the birth temps were hitting 107 degrees. The kits did well until day 5 and 108 to 110 heat. I had broke down and bought a 24″ Dewalt variable speed fan that seemed to be working. When I got home on their day 5, I found all three had died due to heat exhaustion.

Then yesterday night, I got home (I get home from work at 1230 AM), I found our buck and a pregnant doe who was going to get her nesting box put in on Saturday, had both died of heat exhaustion. I was ok, but unhappy at the loss of the kits, but the loss of our only buck and my favorite doe hit pretty hard. Especially this close to the birth of her kits.

To make matters worse today, After I left for work, my wife had to rush one of our two dogs to the vet. He had gnawed on some bones and apparently they created a severe blockage in his intestines. We lost him a few hours ago.

I am well versed that if you have livestock, you WILL have some dead stock also…….

But the combination has left both my wife and I pretty devastated. We lost over half of our rabbitry this week. We also lost a loved member of the family.

We are, of course pushing on, because time is very short. I located a 4 month old Rex buck that I will pick up on Monday. I put our remaining two does in the house in cages because our 114 degree weather is here for a few more days, and I simply can’t handle the emotional strain of coming home to more dead rabbits.

I was thinking about this a bit more, because one of the group members in this group mentioned they didn’t use fans, misters, or frozen water bottles.

As I considered this, I realize that rabbits in the wild have the advantage of getting into the cool hole in the ground to avoid extreme heat. Our rabbits in cages do NOT have any natural way of cooling off, so in Cuniculture, we need to be responsible caretakers and provide fans, misters, iced water bottles, or if needful, bring them into a air conditioned home.

I’ve learn a hard lesson, and I am sharing it with this community. Be responsible and consider…..how HOT is it going to be today, and how are our rabbits going to stay cool when their ears are the sole way they are able to cool their body?

God Bless folks,

Please educate yourselves on how best to care for your livestock, so that it doesn’t become dead stock, like we have happen this week.

[CALLINTHEWILD]

I’m sorry to hear of you loss. So glad you are moving forward tho.loving to read about you adventures. The good and the bad.

[Hebrews12v2]

*Posted September 19, 2022*

For those that remember my earlier posts, when I lost my buck, these are the last surviving Kits from him. I intend on keeping one of these if I have a buck here to continue his line with unrelated does.

This was first time I caught these 3.5 week old kits eating “real” food. Darn cute aren’t they? This is the only kits I have out of three does impregnated by that now deceased buck.

I lost one doe to heat that was going to have kits in a couple days before her death, The other doe who is still living, lost all her kits to the heat also. So that is why I’ll keep one buck from these 5, as long as they survive……

[Hebrews12v2]

*Posted October 19, 2022*

[Hebrews12v2]

The above posts are all *History* of some pictures and a few posts I took as my Cuniculture progressed over the year. I only moved the relevant posts to this page from my previous site. I now invite you to share your experiences with rabbits here! I look forward to interacting with you on your posts!

[Hanidu-Acres]

Welcome to the Rabbit experience and thank you for sharing!

[MountainSpringHomestead]

Thank you for sharing all of this!

[Hebrews12v2]

I appreciate everyone’s thanks. (Too bad the thumbs up & down features aren’t available yet) I will be adding some more as the week progresses on how well my automatic watering system holds up over the next few days. I will post more pictures and talk about how I set it up as we drop temps into single digits (Fahrenheit).

[Hebrews12v2]

***December 14, 2022 Update #1***

So my food grade barrel I set up for our cuniculture setup has been working fabulously. I tend to keep the barrel topped off, but the Heater and pump have not had ANY issue with freezing thus far. I am pretty confident it will be fine as we approach the coming single digit temps.

While I do keep the rabbits outside under an overhang I built, I decided to add tarps for the winter to keep the winds and snow out of their area. Thus far, this has worked better than I had hoped. Interestingly enough, the plastic roofing panels I used self-melt and slide the snow off once temps hit 35 degrees. I am adding some pictures below to show what my setup looks like with my “winterizing” in place. First 5 are eastward facing views. Notice the cage setups with the insulated PVC waterline both Upper (return line) and Lower (outflow line). I also am starting to add two LED lights, one getting set up in these pictures, second light will go on other side of wall. Last picture is is west facing view.

I have to add a second post since I am limited to 6 photos per post. Most likely people will read it first since that is way threading works on this site. Look for next post in a few minutes!

+1 More Photos

[RW98662]

Here in Vancouver, WA, the temps are in the low 20s. I put cardboard and pine needle branches inside/around my last doe’s box in her cage to help her stay warmer. I too, lost two does and a beautiful buck from the summer heat this year (2022). Decided to keep with just the one doe until spring (2023) and look for a mate for her then.

[Hebrews12v2]

***December 14, 2022 Update #2***

Continuation from Earlier post due to Picture limitations.

First Picture below is a picture of my grow outs and how I have used the same roofing material as a “Poop Catcher” system. I remove all the poop and compost it, or apply directly to our gardens.

Second Picture is the “Bunny Cam” I set up to monitor the rabbits. I actually watch a LOT on my desktop computer because it is so interesting to see what the rabbits do at various times. I have the camera set up so I can see both “sides” of the Cuniculture.

Third Picture is of my youngest buck I kept from our Buck that died last summer. Note in the background that you can see where I have an opening to enter the area for feed, watering and compost removal.

Fourth & fifth pictures are the East side of the Cuniculture, #4 is facing south, #5 is north facing. I have 7 grow outs in the first cage, and my Rex Buck is in the other cage temporarily as I try to figure out where I want to home him.

Thanks for following this thread, Feel free to add your setup or ask questions on mine at our “In-Stead”

[Hebrews12v2]

For those that will probably ask, Here is my “Bunny Cam” view as seen at my computer:

[Hebrews12v2]

The 55 Gallon water barrel water circulation system is still working GREAT! I used the Nipples @MountainSpringHomestead recommended to me when I was visiting them to pick up chicken. These nipples in combination of the barrel, heater and pond pump are providing tempered water to my rabbits all winter long (I hope).

Last night it was down to -6 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 8 degrees during the day. The only issue I have had is that the grow out kits had a mountain of ice under the nipples that I ended up having to chip away. I am super happy that once a week I can take out a five gallon bucket and refill the barrel and be done watering for the week!

[MountainSpringHomestead]

Nicely done!