i am raising rabbits outside in cages that measure 2'x2'x4'. the cages are on the south side of the chicken coop. i have the cages three feet off the ground. the rabbit cages are in a fenced in area (chicken wire). i have a tremendous amount of wild life around here (the kind with fur and feathers)my question is, how safe are my rabbits. what lengths will certain animals go to get at rabbits. i have only had the rabbits a short time and would like to keep them safe.

i do have an old chicken coop that i use for my gardening tools but could put those in the tool shed and use the old coop for the rabbits. if at all possible though i would like to keep the rabbits where they are provided that they are safe.

my other question is, there are a couple of pet stores in the area that will be interested in buying any extra bunnies that i have available. what is a good price to sell them to a pet shop for? i paid $16.00 each the pet store for mixed mini rabbits with straight ears and $22.50 each for mixed mini lops.

thanks

-- george in nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), November 10, 2001

Answers

have had coons and dogs go thru woven fence to get at rabbits,, would all depends whats in your area,, and how close they get. You paid 16 bucks for a mix?? want any more?,, Ill cut you a good deal

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 10, 2001.

hi stan.

the fence around the cages is woven but the cages are welded wire. as far as cutting me a deal on rabbits, sorry but my last purchase broke me lol

-- george in nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), November 10, 2001.

This never happened when we had rabbits, but a friend's rabbits had their feet and legs eaten off from under the cage. Maybe a bale of hay or so underneith to prevent the animals from coming up from the bottom. I have no idea what did that!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 10, 2001.

Rabbits can tend to be nervous, and even die of terror, or abandon their litters or worse when frightened. Better if you can keep predators far away, rather than having them right up close to the rabbits trying to break in.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), November 11, 2001.

George, I would put them in the toolshed as rabbits do not do well under stress. They can actually die from fright and will eat their babies if frightened by any predator. They really like cool dark places as it is more like being in a rabbit burrow. I wish I lived around your area, I sell my dressed bunnies for $5 and live ones for less. but then I give them to the local kids too. Good luck.

-- Karen in Kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), November 11, 2001.

We used to keep our bunnies under the back porch in the winter and then under a pear tree in the summer. They were in what I thought were very sturdy wire cages.....then I watched a dog drag Bugsy out of her cage one day and break her neck....

Now we have a rabbit barn which is really an extension onto another outdoor building we have here. I have screen doors covered with heavy wire on each end (which I cover with heavy plastic in the winter). There are walls half way up on the outside wall and screen above that. I have pannels which I cover in plastic and these are on hinges and I have chains and hooks so I can hold them open during pretty weather and close them at night. There is also a little play area outside that area and it is wire fencing....I have mostly Angora bunnies for their wool now so I am being extra careful...

I too have heard about rabbits who've had their feet chewed off by dogs under the cages.....

Years and years ago my daughter had a rabbit that lived in a cage on the ground inside a fenced chain link yard and a rattlesnake bit the bunny and killed it!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), November 11, 2001.

I live in NJ and sell my rabbits to the pet store here that I work at. I get $10 a bunny for my dwarf and mini rexes and $15 for my mini lops. They are all pure breeds. We will buy mixed bunnies for $5-8 each. We sell the dwarf and mini rexes for $20 and the mini lops for $30. The mixed we'll sell for $15.

I keep my rabbits in outside coops. I put clear plastic around the cages in the winter and put plenty of hay inside their nesting boxes. (Make sure the nesting boxes are the right size, too big and the babies will die because they get cold) I loved it when I was able to have three does together in a large pen. They took care of each other's babies. It worked great until one doe decided to keep the other pregnant does away from the nesting boxes.

If you can, put an electric fence around the cages. That will keep any predators, dog or wildlife away. I know they make one especially for gardens which may be perfect for you.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), November 11, 2001.

Dogs will go to many more lengths than anyother animal to eat you rabbits. They have torn doors off, attempted to pull a 6 lb rabbit through 1/2 hardware cloth (a trip to the vets and 35 bucks later- the vet was really quite considerate- and now we have a rabbit with a floppy ear and a strait one, and a lopsided face). Doors need to be well constructed. A double layer of 1/2 by 1/2 inch harware cloth- seperated by 4 inches of air- should be on the bottom. Rabbits also should have sitting boards to get away from predators. Gypsum board really works good for this (dry wall) and has the added plus of keeping rabbits feet from getting sores and keeps white rabbits feet from becoming urine stained. Rabbits also need good ventilation. In winter they need to be protected from the elements. We sell pure mini rexes form excellent blood lines plus other breeds, to the local pet shop for 5 bucks a head. That petshop then sells the rabbit for only 9.95 (I think its way too cheap, other pet shops are sellin awful condition mutts for 24.95 to 45.00). To customers that come here, we sell rabbits from 6 to 20 dollars. At shows, we get 10 to 25- but they have got to be right good show quality ones. Much as I hate to say this- dont ever expect to make a cent from rabbits. Unless you are feeding for free (or close to it), the price of feed normally out weighs any rabbit sales. And, dont get into showing rabbits with the expectation of making cash. Shows are EXPENSIVE (3 bucks per rabbit per show, 2 shows per day on the day they hold the event= 6 dollars per shown rabbit per show.)

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), November 11, 2001.

Hi George Any rabbit I ever had has always met its demise by dogs. I had them all while growing up and the pens (several different styles) were not to far from my house. They also do die from fright easily. If there was any way to perhaps use a baby monitor at night you would hopefully hear when anything was attacking them. Just an idea. RI Beth

-- Beth Goodness (goody@netsense.net), November 11, 2001.

I still say the electric fence will work, especially if you put some peanutbutter on the wire. Dog won't go near it again.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), November 12, 2001.

I would put them in the toolshed if I were you too. Mine are all in individual hutches (9 of them right now) that are very sturdy and tall, and have boxes they can get inside if they are cold. There are wind guards on the sides and they are put next to a building out of the wind. I have sold month old bunnies here..purebred mini rexes no papers..to a pet shop for $5.00 each. Well...actually..they had this sweet 3 month old french angora that I felt sorry for and I ended up trading the baby bunnies for him. (4 of them) so I guess I will never make money from selling baby bunnies!!!! Good luck!!

-- Jenny (auntjenny6@aol.com), November 12, 2001.

I have raised many rabbits outside and have never ran into a problem, although maybe I was just lucky. Make sure your cages have raccoon proff locks through, b/c they can open some latches. tm

-- (ttlmanning@hotmail.com), March 09, 2002.