Nesting

If you’re going to breed rabbits, you are going to need nest boxes.  Best practice is to have one nest box for each doe to prevent cross-contamination.  However, you can get by having enough nestboxes for the most number of litters you’ll have at one time.  I figure it by looking at how many does might you breed in a 30 day period, that way each doe can have her nestbox before she kindles and keep it until the kits are starting to jump out on their own.

Nestboxes can be made completely of wood, completely of metal, a combination of the two, or even plastic.  Plastic is usually only used in emergency cases or by inexperienced “pet” owners.  Don’t use plastic if you can avoid it since it can be chewed on and is no good for the rabbit.

You can make your own nestboxes out of wood if you have a few boards lying about.  Just keep in mind that hardwoods are the safest for rabbits.  Hardwoods are trees like alder, poplar, maple and oak.  Pine can be used, but avoid fresh pine that is particularly sappy or aromatic. And avoid cedar at all costs. Rabbit respiratory systems are pretty sensitive.

Wooden nestboxes are harder to keep clean, and cannot be truly sterilized.  What that means is that if you have a litter that contracts any disease--coccidiosis or mucoid enteritis, for example--you’ll have to destroy the nestbox (firewood, anyone?).  However, if you have a scrap pile of safe wood, it may still be a cheaper option.

Metal nestboxes are the ones you usually end up buying from suppliers and feed stores.  Metal has the advantage of being easily sterilized.  The downside is that because of how lightweight they are, most does will try to move them around the cage, and then may later decide that the corner of the cage BEHIND the box looks like a good nest, which usually results in dead kits.  This can be remedied by using something to secure the nestbox into its corner.  (I use a pair of spring clips attached to the floor to wedge the box into the corner).  Another downside is that metal nestboxes have NO insulation.  This can result in overheated kits during the summer, or frozen kits during the winter (meaning dead kits in either case).  Frozen kits can be remedied through the use of a nestbox warmer (available from most equipment suppliers).  Or, you can bring the nestbox inside your house when the temperature in the rabbit area is getting too extreme for the kits.

Whether you use a wooden or metal nestbox, you’ll find that the floor will wear out the fastest.  For this reason, I prefer to design my nestboxes with a removable floor.  Many commercially available metal nestboxes actually have a removable wooden floor (which helps with the insulation problem a little bit).

There are actually several types of nestboxes in use.  The most common has a rectangular floor, with a short wall on one narrow side, a tall wall on the opposite narrow side, and trapezoidal walls that have an angle cut from the top of the short wall the top of the tall wall.  Sometimes these will also have a bit of a ceiling coming out from the taller waller.  For a meat-type breed, this means a 10”x18” floor, with a 10”x4-6” front wall, 10”x10” back wall, For the sides, take two more 10”x18” pieces, and cut an angle out of it from 4-6” up one 10” side to the opposite corner.

You can also take a regular, straight-sided box, and cut an opening for the doe to hop in through.  Just make sure that it is at least 4” above the floor, and no more than 6”.  This keeps the kits from crawling out of the nest.

Some nestboxes have a “baby scraper” lip on the bottom of the opening ledge.  Essentially, it’s just a lip that hangs over into the nest area and catches any kits still attached to the teat when mom decides to jump out.

Another style of nestbox that is gaining popularity with the “natural way” movement is the “subterranean” nest, which is essentially a box that is dropped into a hole in the bottom of the doe’s cage.  However, this requires that you have a hole in the bottom of each doe’s cage.  You then either have to always leave the nest in her cage or have some way of replacing the floor when she’s not nesting.  This style doesn’t work very well for stacked cages because of the extra clearance you need under each cage.

When choosing or making your nest box, consider the size of the doe you’ll be breeding.  The nest box should be just barely bigger than her.  A nest that is too big will encourage to lounge around in it.  She may choose to turn it into a litter box, or just hang out in there which poses a risk for trampling the kits.  The doe should only be going in there once or twice a day to feed for a few minutes and then get out.  Obviously, a nest that’s too small just won’t get used.

Watering

There are three main options for watering your rabbits: crocks, bottles, or automatic system.  I advise against crocks simply for the fact that they are very prone to collecting pee (especially if you have bucks that spray), feces and fur (particularly if you have wool rabbits or rabbits that are molting).  Crocks also generally require you to reach inside the cage to deal with.  I have seen some people use some narrow hose nozzles to refill secured crocks from outside the cage, though.  The only reason I would bother getting crocks would be if you plan to take your rabbits to shows, since crocks allow you to stack carriers more easily.  If you do get crocks, make sure that you get the type that can be secured to the cage so that the rabbits cannot move them (or hide them) or tip them over.

For the backyard rabbit raiser, bottles are most likely your best option.  There are several options for the bottles, including whether the neck of the bottle is straight down (and the nozzle is curved), or the neck is at an angle; the bottles can be made of transparent or opaque plastic; nozzles can be double ball bearing or spring loaded.  I prefer to use bottles that have the angled neck because those ones usually have a wider opening, making refilling easier.  However, the nozzles that come on the straight neck bottles can usually be transferred to a 2-liter bottle.  There are even some manufacturers (like Bass Equipment, KW Cages, and Klubertanz) that sell “conversion kits” which is essentially just a bottle cap/nozzle assembly and a wire to hold the bottle in place.  If you keep your rabbits outside, I advise getting opaque water bottles because they will last longer in the sun, and withstand freezing better.  UV and freezing temperatures tend to make clear plastic brittle.  Most bottles have double ball bearing nozzles, which are easy for all rabbits to drink from.  You can get spring loaded nozzles, but usually they only come on the bottles that are top-filled.  Top-filled bottles are great if you can take a hose with you out to water the rabbits instead of hauling all the bottles back to the faucet.  But, because the top-filled bottles have a spring-loaded nozzle, some rabbits have a bit of difficulty drinking from it, especially young or small rabbits.

If you are planning to keep a large number of rabbits, it might be better to get an automatic watering system for your rabbits.  They cost slightly more per cage than bottles, but they will save you a great deal of time.  Most automatic watering systems consist of a bucket that is mounted higher than the topmost cage, and is gravity fed into pipes or tubes that distribute water to each cage via nozzle (usually spring-loaded).  Some get fancier by including pumps, water return systems, anti-freeze mechanisms, or medication delivery systems.  I haven’t personally used an automatic watering system since the time I use to gather water bottles doubles for checking up on all of the rabbits.  However, if you decide you want to use an automatic watering system, just contact the supplier and they should be able to help you get exactly what you need.

Feeders

There are a number of ways to deliver the feed to the rabbits.  Pellets are usually provided either with J-feeders or crocks.  Hay can be provided with a pellet-hay combination feeder, racks, loose, or even on specially-designed cages.  Some breeders like to provide creep feeders for their litters which keep the mother from eating the specialized feed.

Crocks
Crocks require you to open the cage to feed the rabbit, must have fines dumped from them, and often collect fecal waste.  However, some people still like to use them.  Crocks can be loose or attached to the side of the cage.  If you choose to use loose ones, make sure that they are the kind that cannot be tipped over, or you will be dealing with a lot of wasted feed.  Ones that attach to the cage make it more difficult to dump out the fines and feces, although you can usually mount them high enough that you shouldn't get as much poop in there.

J-Feeders
The biggest advantage of J-feeders is that it can be attached to the outside of the cage, with the trough inside the cage through a cutout, allowing you to feed the rabbits from outside the cage.  Because they are attached to the cage, the rabbit cannot tip them over.  The original J-feeders were made completely out of metal, and did have to be detached from the cage to remove fines.  Most feeders today, though are made with a mesh bottom.  Most have hardware cloth as the bottom, which sifts all of the fines out of the feed as it is poured in. Hardware cloth can be destroyed by digging, though.  For rabbits which dig in their feeder, I recommend getting feeders with diamond mesh.  The downside to diamond mesh is that it can sometimes catch pellets that will have to be poked back through.  J-Feeders are usually sold by how wide they are, in 3", 5", 7", 9", and 11", and some brands will go wider.  3" feeders are really only useful for small breed bucks and replacement breeders.  I suppose some meat breeders do use the 3" feeders, but some bucks can have rather broad heads that can make it difficult to eat from 3" feeders.  I prefer to use 5" feeders for meat breeds, and even giants can get by with 5" feeders, especially if you get the wide-trough type (also recommended for lops).  Litter pens should have at least 7" feeders, whether for small breeds or larger.  That way, there's more room for everyone to eat.  Keep in mind that in addition to the feeder, you will also need to have water access on all of the cages, so wider isn't necessarily better.

Hay Feeders
Combination feeders are great for people who feed hay with their pellets.  Because the front of the feeder isn't there, combination feeders cannot hold as many pellets.  This is really only an issue for litter pen feeders, since most bucks and replacement breeders can still be fed enough feed in the bottom of a 5" feeder.  For litter pens, you will need a wider feeder in order to provide enough pellets for the litter to have a constant supply without you having to add pellets twice a day.

Another option is a hay rack, just holds hay up to the side of the cage and allows rabbits to pull it through the wire.  These can be mounted above pellet feeders for adults, but should be mounted lower for kits to be able to access.

Some people have also designed their cages to have a sloped roof on one side, usually matching up to the sloping side on adjacent cages, which allows the caretaker to simply put hay on top of the cages, and feed several cages at once.

Creep Feeders
Creep feeders are usually long, short troughs with a cover over them that are slid into the cage along one side, and are usually designed so that the trough can be pulled out through the cage wire to be refilled.  The cover has small holes in it just big enough for the kits to eat through, so their dam can't eat it.  You only need these if you plan to feed kits a special diet that their mother doesn't need.

Cages

For most rabbits, all-wire cages are your best option, since they're the easiest to maintain, and typically cheaper than wooden hutches.  The exception is for giants which carry a lot of weight on comparatively small feet.  For giants, it is best to make floors out of planks with gaps between them (think along the lines of the deck on your house).  Some people also recommend plank floors for the more active full-arch breeds like Belgian Hares as well, since they're rather fine-boned and thin-furred.

All-wire cages are usually made with 14 gauge 1"x2" galvanized wire mesh on the sides and top, with 16 gauge 1/2"x1" galvanized wire mesh for the floor, all held together with J-clips and/or C-rings.  I recommend using the wire mesh siding even if you have plank floors.

Solid floors are not recommended because they collect rabbit waste, and quickly develop a thick ammonia odor if they're not emptied out every couple days.  On top of that, you'll risk urine burn even if you provide plenty of clean straw or other bedding (not cedar or pine).

If you decide to go with plank floors, I recommend designing them so that urine drains into the gaps rather than pooling in the middle of each plank (just a tiny, curved slope is all that's needed).  It is also good for the long run if you make it so that the floors can be easily lifted up out of the cage (by people) in case they ever need replacing.  It is no fun tearing a hutch down just to replace one part.

Generally, all cages should be at least 16-18" tall, and I recommend 20-24" tall for giants.  Meat breed bucks (mature at 8 lbs or more) should have cages that are at least 24"x24".  That also goes for single replacement breeders.  The does and litters should have a cage that is 30"x30" or 24"x36", at the very least.  I use both 30"x30" and 30"x36", but when they're triple-stacked such that the top of the stack is at 6', it can be difficult for me to reach the backs of the top and bottom cages with my average human height.  For anyone shorter than that who plans to stack their cages, I recommend keeping the cages to 24" deep.

If you have giants (mature at 12 lbs or more), bucks and replacement should be kept in cages at least 24"x30", although 30"x30" or 24"x36" would be a better recommendation.  Does need at LEAST 30"x36", and I highly recommend cages that are 30"x42" or even 48".  I don't recommend stacking giant cages more than two high unless you (and any helpers) are pretty tall with long arms.

Whether you use hutches or all-wire cages, the rabbits will need to be sheltered from wind, rain, and direct sun.  This means a roof, and solid sides to protect from at least two directions (three is better).  If you decide to put your rabbits in a shed or barn, keep in mind that rabbits are very susceptible to heat stress (it only has to be 80 degrees), and respiratory irritation (ammonia), so it is important that there be proper insulation and air flow.  I usually set up my hutches so that the open side faces north so that they have protection from as much of the summer sun as possible.  If I can't set them up facing north, east is the second choice, since the morning sun is slightly less threatening than evening sun because of the ambient temperatures.  It also helps that the major weather patterns here usually come in from the south or the west.

When cages are set up without stacking, there is no need for something to catch the waste in.  If you set up the hutch in the garden, just rake it out from under the cages to fertilize.  Or, use a shovel.  Some people have also set up a kind of gutter or funnel that directs the waste into buckets that have holes drilled in the bottom to drain any liquid.

If the cages are stacked up, you have to set something up to keep the rabbits in the upper level(s) from peeing on the ones below them.  With two-tier cages, that can be as simple as an angled board between the two levels (usually attached to the front bottom of the upper cage, and resting on the upper back of the lower cage).  Triple-tier cages usually have to be stacked with less space between levels to keep them from being too tall, in which case, the only option is to use trays.  Trays need to be dumped at least once a week, if not more.  I usually find that a tray under a litter will have to be dumped every 2 to 3 days.

Setting Up

Before you get your rabbits, have all of your cages and equipment ready to go.  You will need one cage for each buck, a larger cage for each doe (and it's a good idea to have two cages per doe so that her litter can be separated for a little more growing after weaning).  You may also want more cages for keeping replacement breeders.  Each cage will need a feeder, and a way to provide water.  You will also need to have enough nestboxes for your does (they will each use it from a couple days before their due until the kits are 3-4 weeks old).  Other equipment that are good to have are nail trimmers and straw (nesting material).

Some nice-to-have items are a scale, feed container (on wheels if you have a lot of rabbits), sifting feed scoop, cornstarch (stops bleeding when you nick the quick while trimming nails; also handy for cleaning rabbit fur), slicker brush, tattoo equipment (so you can identify rabbits, especially if they all look similar), cage cards (handy for backup caretakers), exercise pens, carrying cages, processing equipment (butchering, tanning, etc.), and a grooming table.