RNRQ, V1 N4 & V2 N1 1998 Spec. Ed. #2

Husbandry in the Rabbitry

Husbandry, in animal keeping, is defined as the care and keeping of the animal in a profitable condition.  This used to refer to the animals’ profit-producing capacity, but is now used to refer to the care of the animal in a general fashion.

 In the rabbitry, we see many instances across the spectrum of possible care situations. There are animals out there in wooden crate cages who are drenched in rain and bake in sun.  There are also animals which are in raised wire or wire-and-wood hutches which have minimal protection from the elements, and are used to crocks filled with filth and green water. There are the rabbitries which are set up for maximum convenience, using stacking cages and automatic watering, as well as those where greatest care is taken of the animals, such as in a specific-pathogen free herd.  One will also see every possible variation in between.

In future issues, articles will cover health as related to many rabbit issues, but for now I want to look at general care practices and how they can benefit the herd.

The rabbit is a very tough and adaptable animal, able to survive in situations where other species would turn up their toes and die. This does not mean that such situations are good.

The Animal Welfare Act, as well as common sense, suggests that the minimum standard should be that the animals are kept in reasonably clean housing, with protection from the elements; be provided with clean fresh liquid water at all times; and that sufficient food of sufficient quality and quantity ought to be provided as well.

It’s amazing how little these suggestions change over time. The methods of providing food, water, and shelter have changed drastically over the last fifty years, especially in the more-developed countries.

What does this mean to the average rabbit owner/raiser?  Probably very little, as most of you keep your cages reasonably clean and sheltered and your animals well cared-for.

What is not acceptable is animals forced to sit in manure; fed at the whim of the owner; watered by topping off the ice cube in the crock or crocks which have fecal matter in them--euyuch! I know I wouldn’t want to drink out of that...

It is inevitable, in colder areas, that cleaning the manure and general slop from the cages and from beneath them becomes very difficult, not to mention providing liquid water at all times. 

Do the best you can by your animals. If you do so, they will do their best by you as well.

Cleaning the rabbitry is a routine difficult to settle to, especially in poor weather, but is one which rewards the owner with a happier, healthier herd.

Manure clinging to the cages should be brushed or knocked off daily to twice weekly or so, a chore made more difficult in stacking cages. One may simply carry a wire brush on a quick trip through each day, and this practice will make ‘cling-on’ removal easy and routine, as it can be done rapidly as one opens the cage to check the animal in a stacker, or simply as one passes by in a flat-deck hanging setup.

Hay fed or used for nestboxes should be clean and dry, and any excess removed from the cage to avoid manure caking on it.  In systems with automatic manure removal or a piped drainage system, hay feeding methods are still being wrestled with to avoid clogging the system.

Water crocks are easily cleaned when liquid water is available--a Scotch-Brite (green scrubby pad) rapidly scraped around the interior of the crock before the water is dumped will help to remove a large amount of the scum which likes to build up around the interior of the crock.  At the same time, any outside dirt or debris can be removed by the same method.  Weekly is sufficient, daily preferred.

In the winter, when iced crocks are a problem, scum will rarely build to the degree it does in the summer. A good scrub and bleaching monthly may be quite satisfactory. All crocks should be cleaned and bleached monthly year-round.

Feeders in damp weather can be a real chore to deal with.  Crock-type feeders seem to like to accumulate fine particles of feed in the bottom and corners which when wet are a real pain to remove.  Again the scrubby pad can help.   Rinsing will remove all the fines, but make sure the crock is dry before refilling!

Protection from the elements will depend entirely on the available setup.  In a future issue, we will be doing a layout with photos of various rabbitries and how they work.....Please feel free to send us your photos!---Pamela

Storing Nesting Material

Nesting material absolutely must stay dry! Storing shavings is fairly easyany Rubbermaid or other sealing garbage can or container will do...but how on Earth do you store hay?

First of all, when you go looking for nesting 'stuff, go somewhere where the shavings are dustfree and kept under cover. Believe it or not, WalMart or Sams, or even Costco may have entire bales of suitable, fine, dry shavings. Do not buy damp shavings under the impression that you can 'get them dry'. It just doesn't happen, and damp, cold shavings are worse than useless in the nesthox.

For hay, start looking in the summertime for good, fine, soft grass hays. Advise the feed store that you will need a good supply of this kind of dry hay during the winter. They may be willing to store it for you for a small fee. Store what you can at the rabbitry, under cover and up off the ground. A wooden pallet supported on some kind of 'feet' works well. The air circulating around the hay will help keep it dry, even in foggy areas (where you may wish to cover it loosely with a tarp as well).

If storage size is a problem, break the bale of shavings up into manageable amounts, and rebag them, sealed tightly. Hay can be packed into empty feed sacks and hung from rafters to conserve space. Good luck!