Post by haecklers on Nov 20, 2012 10:44:25 GMT -5
We had a pet rabbit that we were keeping in a chicken run. A few nights ago some coyotes came through and ripped the chicken wire off the wood frame, pulling it out from the fencing staples that were holding it on. They killed the rabbit.
I noticed as I was removing the body (our dogs chased the coyotes away before they started eating it) that the rabbit was really heavy and was surprised because it had quit eating its pellets and was only eating grass it had grazed. It would graze a 4'X4' area every day, sometimes more at night if we moved it enough.
So now I'm thinking about raising some meat rabbits - if they can get that big from grass only, then it's like free meat, right?
But I'm not sure what kind of enclosure would be light enough to move and be more coyote proof. This pen was right next to the house, in the light from the garage, with a dog tied about 30' away. I'm pretty sure it WAS coyotes because after the dogs chased them away I could hear them howling in the pasture, and the dogs appear to have not noticed the dead rabbit in the yard until I removed it in the morning.
I used that thin cheap chicken wire, with the small gauge wire and 1" mesh. I was thinking of maybe using PVC tubes for the pen and thicker wire for the cage and hoping that would work better, but I worry if I leave the bottom open the coyotes would be able to tip it and get to the rabbits. The one dog can chew through zip ties so I'm thinking they're out as a way to bind the wire to the PVC but maybe heavy gauge farm wire could do.
Does anyone here pasture rabbits? What kind of pens/set-ups do you have?
Also, can you graze them on fescue or does it cause miscarriage in them like in donkeys?
I noticed as I was removing the body (our dogs chased the coyotes away before they started eating it) that the rabbit was really heavy and was surprised because it had quit eating its pellets and was only eating grass it had grazed. It would graze a 4'X4' area every day, sometimes more at night if we moved it enough.
So now I'm thinking about raising some meat rabbits - if they can get that big from grass only, then it's like free meat, right?
But I'm not sure what kind of enclosure would be light enough to move and be more coyote proof. This pen was right next to the house, in the light from the garage, with a dog tied about 30' away. I'm pretty sure it WAS coyotes because after the dogs chased them away I could hear them howling in the pasture, and the dogs appear to have not noticed the dead rabbit in the yard until I removed it in the morning.
I used that thin cheap chicken wire, with the small gauge wire and 1" mesh. I was thinking of maybe using PVC tubes for the pen and thicker wire for the cage and hoping that would work better, but I worry if I leave the bottom open the coyotes would be able to tip it and get to the rabbits. The one dog can chew through zip ties so I'm thinking they're out as a way to bind the wire to the PVC but maybe heavy gauge farm wire could do.
Does anyone here pasture rabbits? What kind of pens/set-ups do you have?
Also, can you graze them on fescue or does it cause miscarriage in them like in donkeys?