Thriantas and Housing

[pOker]

WARNING!* THIS IS LONG AND DETAILED!

I have been looking at the breed for awhile now-but it isnt really an easy breed to come by.. So after some searching and a good suggestion, I found 3 reputable breeders---all about 5 hours upstate.. :/

I like the idea of getting from a breeder because I would eventually like to show the buns, but I am really more interested in just owning such a beautiful rabbit..

I must add-although some do not approve- if I do get a Thrianta-it will have to be housed outside... BUT, It will be housed in a completely fenced in area (there are 4 trees with fencing around them making a square) with a heavy large door, the whole top of the cage will be covered with netting to protect from any above predators, there is wood going around the cage underground to keep from any animals digging in or digging out.. I will be putting a 4 foot high fencing around the fencing already there, just as extra protection because the cage is kind of old and rusty..Inside of the cage I am going to lay down some grass seeds and make it look nice-raking out all the leaves and anything like that.. The cage was used as a dog kennel for 3 medium sized dogs and 1 large dog, so it will be plenty of space for a few hutches...
There arent really many predators that would get to them anyways because to the right of that cage is a house, behind it there is all the horses and another house, to the left is a large garden and no woods, and in front is my house and yard..

Since the horses moved here-there hasnt been too many animals like raccoons and all that...but the cage will be completely safe from anything anyways.
By the way--the cage does get enough light to grow grass BUT it is the coolest part of the whole yard..
Now to the rest of the plan-
People often believe that if you house a rabbit outside, you forget about it and dont give it much attention--I must disagree with that in my case.. For 9 years we housed our rabbits outside right next to the cage, and we never forgot to feed them or play with them.. They got alot of out of cage time and some were brought inside for playtime... BUT just to be safe, I am going to put some clear plastic tarp things below the netting in the winter to protect from the elements of nature..I wont keep it up in spring and summer because the grass needs light and because I love to go out in rain so that wont bother me..
I dont mind walking up there during the winter--after all, I love my rabbits and I will brave the weather.

The hutches;
The hutches will be large and roomy to allow for plenty of playtime while I am not home.
They will of course have a slanted roof that will leak off out of cage to prevent too much mud in the rain-I actually plan on putting a gutter that will lead right out of the cage.
I will most likely have 2 hutches that are multi storied..Atleast 3 stories per hutch..
I actually do plan on breeding the Thriantas ifand when I get them.. I will only breed one time to get ONE litter, out of that litter I will keep 4 (or less depending on how many kits I get), then I will alter the mom and dad and hope to bond them-if that doesnt work, Ill still have cage space...
I know that many people will say that I should rescue bunnies and all that-and ya'll are right..I will rescue rabbits, and I hope to open my own rescue, but I refuse to house a rescue rabbit outside (plus it is usually not allowed)...
Which brings me to say--The BunHut is for any rescues and the 3 bunnies I have now. As much as I would love to be able to have more than 3 rescues at a time, it is not a possibilty until my mom moves out again...Maximum capacity in the BunHut will remain at 6.. I hope to begin paying an extra $50 rent to my neighbors that way they will allow me to use the old, very big, chicken shed as my rescue space..But that cant happen until Spring..

Does anyone on the forum have Thriantas??? They are a beautiful breed and I cannot wait to get them..If ya'll have information on them that'll be nice so feel free to share.

Plus-I will most likely be posting here about getting help to get the rabbits here (from upstate to here)...The location will most likely be Newark, Erin or Gouverner NY..but I will post about that later on.

Any suggestions or ideas would be really nice..Any suggestions about the cage, housing, any of that--I am all ears

Lets keep this a civilized topic, please dont jump on me about saying I will breed them..Its one litter and the babies will most likely go to the breeder that way they can continue to breed show quality rabbits.

 

[pOker]

What I mean in the last statement is that all the babies I dont keep will go back to the breeder...I will deff keep 4.

and before anyone asks--I will have lots of money saved up before I do anything..

 

[tamsin]

A rabbit is a rabbit I don't think it makes a difference whether you get it from a breeder or a rescue where it should be housed. They have exactly the same requirements Keeping bunnies outside is much more common here in the UK. I have an aviary for mine with a hutch in. I've also added a shelf to give extra space and a look out spot.

Don't rely on not seeing a predator as an indication they are not there. I imagine you have different predators there to we do in the UK but the principles are the same. Use weld mesh rather than netting, it's much tougher and because it is welded at the joints it doesn't unravel and create a hole like wire netting does.

I wouldn't use wood on the ground, it will rot/be hard to clean. Best option is to lift the turf and lay mesh under it. That way the grass can grow through but nothing can dig in/out. You'll probably want a few paving slabs in winter to walk on too when it gets muddy.

I'm a bit unclear, are you dividing it into three runs with a hutch in each? That sounds fine and will give them a good exercise space.

I'm a bit confused about numbers though, you're going to have the mum and dad, then four babies (which will obviously grow up) will three pens be enough. I guess you could have three neutered/spayed pairs but it might be a bit of a juggle while you are getting them spayed. Any particularly reason you want to have one litter? Seems an odd thing to do if your not taking up breeding. I wouldn't personally breed from a pet because of the health risks. If you ask around breeders you might find they have ex-breeding stock they want to rehome which would be old enough to neuter straight away so could live together more quickly.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Moved to Cages and Construction

As for this topic, I believe Tamsin has hit the nail on the head. Great post!

 

[pOker]

tamsin wrote:

A rabbit is a rabbit I don't think it makes a difference whether you get it from a breeder or a rescue where it should be housed. They have exactly the same requirements Keeping bunnies outside is much more common here in the UK. I have an aviary for mine with a hutch in. I've also added a shelf to give extra space and a look out spot.

Don't rely on not seeing a predator as an indication they are not there. I imagine you have different predators there to we do in the UK but the principles are the same. Use weld mesh rather than netting, it's much tougher and because it is welded at the joints it doesn't unravel and create a hole like wire netting does.

I wouldn't use wood on the ground, it will rot/be hard to clean. Best option is to lift the turf and lay mesh under it. That way the grass can grow through but nothing can dig in/out. You'll probably want a few paving slabs in winter to walk on too when it gets muddy.

I'm a bit unclear, are you dividing it into three runs with a hutch in each? That sounds fine and will give them a good exercise space.

I'm a bit confused about numbers though, you're going to have the mum and dad, then four babies (which will obviously grow up) will three pens be enough. I guess you could have three neutered/spayed pairs but it might be a bit of a juggle while you are getting them spayed. Any particularly reason you want to have one litter? Seems an odd thing to do if your not taking up breeding. I wouldn't personally breed from a pet because of the health risks. If you ask around breeders you might find they have ex-breeding stock they want to rehome which would be old enough to neuter straight away so could live together more quickly.

Thanks for the post--
My boyfriend works for a fencing company and they do lots of fencing for keeping predators out of certain areas--So I will attach a heavy duty fencing around the fence that is already there--the fencing already there is 7 feet high..
I did mention that there will be 2 hutches each with 3 large levels.. That gives me six cages.. That wont be divided into different runs because there is a large rock in the way of putting a run completely out..(its not in the way of the hutches).
Yes, you are right about the predators--they are there, but any really dangerous predators such as coyotes and things like that have no access to my yard because of where the surrounding houses block it off..-But the extra heavy duty fencing will act as a great blockade..The netting on top is also like a thick heavy netting that my boyfriends boss uses to protect his chicken run from any hawks and birds--it has always worked in his case--I am not sure what it looks like though..
I am not using wood on the ground--the wood is under the ground and has been there for years--it is not rotten but it will be replaced with fencing(we changed that idea this morning) The fencing we will use is what some people put around gardens to keep out animals.. It is around the bottom of the fencing already there..Im not sure if I am explaining that right.

I do have a personal reason for why I want the one litter--I have kept it private from everyone here on the forum--I do plan on sharing the story once things pan out..I hope you understand..

Thanks for the extra ideas though-I will keep them in mind---To the putting a paved slab comment--I think I will lay out a path that is a bit raised so I dont have to slop around in the mud--thats a good idea.

 

[tamsin]

It might be a UK/US on what we call things. We usually call the stuff the has hexagonal gaps wire mesh (made a bit like a net by twisting wire together) and the stuff with square/rectanglar holes (welded at the joints) as weld mesh.

We'd worry about urban foxes here climbing over but that sounds like it might not be an issue where you are.

Ahh, I thought you meant you were laying a wooden floor! Where you mean, I think, a sort of board around the edge to stop digging - yes that sounds like a good idea

Levels don't totally replace the need for time in a larger area where they can run flat out but you could provide that by giving them part of the day out each. You might want to pen off a seperate temporary area when you have new rabbits in as quarentine. It shouldn't be an issue once you've just got an established set of rabbits though.

If you are just having the one litter and keeping the youngsters then one thing you could think about would be keeping them as a group once they are neutered. Perhaps when you plan the hutches you could do it in a way that wouldn't make to posible to combine them easily at a later date

 

[NorthernAutumn]

You're going to want to go down a fair ways with the bottom of your fence... would hate for somebunny to pull a great escape by digging to freedom

 

[slavetoabunny]

NorthernAutumn wrote:

You're going to want to go down a fair ways with the bottom of your fence... would hate for somebunny to pull a great escape by digging to freedom

We bunny-proofed our backyard in California. There was only one place the buns could dig out of; the rest of the yard was walled with concrete block. Where the gate was, he dug down two feet and filled the space with bricks. Never lost a bunny!