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Front of barn (shown above) & Back of barn (shown below)
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In 2003/2004, we built a new 24' x 40' rabbit barn. The barn is
well-insulated and equipped with an evaporative cooler to keep the
bunnies cool in the summer. With working full-time jobs and going
to many shows, it took us almost two years to build this barn. It is
made of an all-wood construction with metal siding and roof. We also
added several skylight panels in the roof to allow for natural daylight
(but not direct sunlight) into the rabbitry. Vents are located at the
bottom of the walls along the sides and front of the barn, as well as
gable vents & fans on each end, which combined providing
excellent airflow and ventilation for the barn.
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North side row (shown above) - South side row (shown below)
Sorry, no photo of the
middle row! |
Our barn holds 208 cages in 3 sizes - junior cages, senior cages and
breeding doe cages. We made all new cages ourselves for the barn - they
all have solid metal dividers and all of the breeding doe cages have
babysaver wire.
The cages are arranged into four rows with three cement
walkways, with the middle two rows of cages being back-to-back. There
are two levels of cages with slanted corrugated metal between them so
that all waste falls into the troughs under the cages between the cement
aisles (these troughs will soon be worm beds!) The cages are all
suspended from the trusses by aircraft cable and metal pipe running
through the cages.
The automatic watering system runs along the back of all of the
cages, providing the rabbits with a constant supply of clean, fresh
water. And, all of the cages have J-style feeders, to allow for fast and
efficient feeding, and more time to spend with the bunnies themselves!
Fans suspended from the ceiling above each walkway to provide airflow
and to distribute cooled air from the evaporative cooler during the
warmer months.
Above each walkway, we also have self-rolling water hoses and plenty
of fluorescent lights.
A security system has also been added to the barn to help ensure the
safety of the bunnies.
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Grooming table and cabinets (shown above)
Nestbox and feed storage (shown below)
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Two of our "people" areas in the back of the barn include
our 9-foot grooming table with lots of cabinet/drawer space above and
below as well as a 7-foot tall storage cabinet. And, to one end of the
grooming table, we have a large sink.
Our barn is equipped with
people-comforts such as a computer (which is also hooked up to our
satellite and doubles as a television), phone, CD player and
refrigerator/freezer. Near the back door, we have shelves to hold
nestboxes and feed.
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