Planning a new bunny building

[irishbunny]

TinysMom wrote:

These are the options I'm looking at for when we do our bunny barn. I haven't decided yet which one I like.

I'm thinking that Art's inheritance from his mom will probably come in about 8-9 months or so (not sure how long it will take) and we're going to take that money to do a bunny barn first...and then anything else (like the central a/c getting fixed).

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCoordinatingItemsView?productId=100600002&N=10000003%2090401%20541443&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCoordinatingItemsView?productId=100350372&N=10000003%2090401%20541443&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCoordinatingItemsView?productId=100592111&N=10000003%2090401%20541443&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCoordinatingItemsView?productId=100592127&N=10000003%2090401%20541443&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I want it at least 12 X 16 - preferably something like 12 X 20...and I'm going to put ceramic tile on the floor so that we can let the bunnies out to play in runs...and then powerspray the floor...

Gorgeus, I love that American barn style, we have nothing like that over here either.

 

[BSAR]

Oh man Peg that fourth one is amazing! I would love to upgrade to that!! We have a shed but we don't get the whole thing so i'm not sure how much room we have for our bunners.

 

[murph72]

The hubby was looking at the plans last night. I believe we're going with a 24 x 36 main building for the bunnies with another 10 foot addition for the garage bay (so, a 24 x 46 building overall.) This should give me plenty of room for "expansion" if I need it. I can't wait!

 

[pamnock]

We couldn't do without our automatic watering system



Pam

 

[BlueGiants]

I'll second that!!!!!

 

[sheandg]

that would be nice my French lops drink so much water! I fill their crocks 3 times a day!

 

[tonyshuman]

How does the automatic watering system work? The only picture I get in my head is the sprayers at the supermarket in the produce section! Bunnies certainly wouldn't be happy hearing thunder noises and then getting sprayed in the face with water!

 

[BlueGiants]

Water is hooked up to lines (that run outside the cages!) and drinking valves that when the rabbits lick or nibble, water flows. When they stop, the water shuts off... similar to water bottle spouts.

I use these valves: https://bunnyrabbit.com/price/edstrom.htm (Standard Brass Barbed Valve)

 

[murph72]

Which system do you have? I've seen those that you have to fill a bucket, those that there's a float valve in the bucket which fills up, and those that are just hooked up by a hose?

This is an item on my wish list but probably won't be put in until the rest of the building is complete. My hubby has this huge feel of flooding the building though. I was just wondering if you have ever had any flooding issues with your system? We have two saltwater reef tanks and he's notorious for flooding our fish room when he's making up water for the tank...so I'm sure that's where his fears are coming from. However, in his case it's user error as he forgets to check the water level and leaves it unattended. That's why I had them put in a floor drain in the addition for the fish room...it's been used more than on one occassion for his accidents.

On an eco-friendly note, we're really leaning towards using solar panels on the southern roof to heat a radiant heat floor system. We have radiant heat in our home, but it isn't solar powered.

 

[pamnock]

I got the system from Bass Equipment Company about 15 years ago. I just use tanks, so when there is an occasional leak, the tank empties, but I don't have to worry about water continually running and flooding everything.

A drain system is a good idea in a new building, so cages and walls can be hose washed.

Pam

 

[polly]

Here is the link to my sheds I didnt want to hog your thread

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=49032&forum_id=93

 

[murph72]

Oh geez, I'm not worried you're stealing the thread. The thread is about bunny buildings and I definite appreciate you sharing pictures of yours. It's nice to see what is working for people and also to hear what they would do differently. This thread has already gotten me thinking about things I didn't before. It's much better to change my plans now to better them than to wish I would have after it's already built. I really do appreciate the great ideas I'm getting...and it sounds like others are thinking about their own setups as well, which is great.

I'm excited to say I got my building permit today. Yay! We're going with a "pole barn" structure, so I have to get the treated lumber for the poles and get the contractor to set them for us...which is the first step. I'm so excited that it's finally going to get started.

We've really been thinking about the use of solar power. We're throwing around the idea of doing both the solar panels that heat water that will run as radiant heat in the floor and also a solar panel that will collect energy in batteries to run electricity. The only one we have to really plan for in advance is the piping in the floor. The other can be added at a later time without an issue.

 

[polly]

well I took quite a few piccies for you Lol so I put them all in a thread in the new cages and construction part I meant to add we put lino down in the 2 old sheds but in the new one w ehave laminated the floor which is sooo much better