New Rabbit Breeding Setup

Just got my new setup installed.

It's a professional commercial outdoor breeding setup. It has 6 holes, feeders mounted on the doors for ease of cleaning, relief foot pads, cnc machined patented watering system, plumbed on household pressure with no need for regulator, auto flush and plenty of room for everyone.

Tomorrow I will be building the insulated shelter over the top for rain and sun protection.

Oh btw I just had a doe drop her first litter of 5 kits today.

Probably going to make some fancy new nesting/kitting boxes tomorrow.

For those curious the holes are 30x30, and the whole setup is just over 16' long. Pretty soon I will be ordering another identical system.

Please pay no attention to the foil in the Window either lol. My wife used to work grave yard and the sun would light up the room haha. Never took it down.

Anyhow, hope you guys and gals enjoy, let me know what you think, and don't be shy to throw out any ideas or criticism. :)

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/21/ytesu2eq.jpg

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Where did you get it? And closer pictures!! LOL Good luck! We tried breeding rabbits in florida and never had any luck!

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Originally Posted by Wapadi

Where did you get it? And closer pictures!! LOL Good luck! We tried breeding rabbits in florida and never had any luck!

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Haha I'll get some closer pictures so you can see the "details."

I got them from a local commercial breeder. Someone who has had over 1500 breedable does. He makes the cages that he uses and he even patented the water system. It uses pressure fed bowls instead of sippers.

What kind of rabbits did you try breeding?

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Curious, I've done no research into rabbits as feeders for larger pythons. Do you feed live or F/T? I'd imagine with those toe nails it could be rather sketchy doing live. Whats the process of euthanasia if you do F/T? How many breeding females are needed per retic on average? How much does the maintanence cost you after the initial setup per breeding pair?

Are the same rabbits you breed to feed your snakies good for eating?

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Are the same rabbits you breed to feed your snakies good for eating?

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Ya actually they are very common food breeds. In fact because of the New Zealand Whites and the Rex I can also use then for pelts.

But the snakes don't care haha. As long as they get big enough.

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Originally Posted by OctagonGecko729

Curious, I've done no research into rabbits as feeders for larger pythons. Do you feed live or F/T? I'd imagine with those toe nails it could be rather sketchy doing live. Whats the process of euthanasia if you do F/T? How many breeding females are needed per retic on average? How much does the maintanence cost you after the initial setup per breeding pair?

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Unlike rats, the VAST MAJORITY of rabbit breeder use blunt force trauma to euthanize the rabbits. Basically you grab their hind quarters at the pelvis and strike their neck on a 90° solid object. It is very fast and very humane. With rats I use cervical dislocation, but the rabbits just aren't built as strong and robust so this method works quickly and effectively. So in short, no I don't feed live, for the sake of the snake and the rabbit.

As for feeding retics, those on rabbits will take one appropriately sized rabbit per week. About 5lbs for the smaller adults and 10lbs for the bigger girls. General rule is about one breeder per snake. I like to have more obviously because you can always sell off the extras(pretty dry on rabbits around here) or eat them if you please.

Start up cost is about $1000 roughly and maintenance is basically the cost of food. They are actually a very economical source of meat and snake food. With a good setup cleaning is almost nill and food is about a tuna can sized portion a day per adult. They actually eat less than rats.

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Thanks for sharing! Are you in the northern or southern half of the state? I want to breed food rabbits in the near future, and it'd be great if I could find some local places for caging and supplies, instead of having to order and ship everything in.

Looks good, only thing I have to add is to make sure that no part of the rabbit can poke through. Predators can and will grab ahold of any protruding portion of rabbit and pull for all they're worth - things can get ugly.

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Originally Posted by Expensive hobby

Unlike rats, the VAST MAJORITY of rabbit breeder use blunt force trauma to euthanize the rabbits. Basically you grab their hind quarters at the pelvis and strike their neck on a 90° solid object. It is very fast and very humane. With rats I use cervical dislocation, but the rabbits just aren't built as strong and robust so this method works quickly and effectively. So in short, no I don't feed live, for the sake of the snake and the rabbit.

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That's basically cervical location, just another means to an end.

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Originally Posted by John1982

That's basically cervical location, just another means to an end.

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Whoops, cervical dislocation I meant! :P

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Originally Posted by Expensive hobby

Ya actually they are very common food breeds. In fact because of the New Zealand Whites and the Rex I can also use then for pelts.

But the snakes don't care haha. As long as they get big enough.




Unlike rats, the VAST MAJORITY of rabbit breeder use blunt force trauma to euthanize the rabbits. Basically you grab their hind quarters at the pelvis and strike their neck on a 90° solid object. It is very fast and very humane. With rats I use cervical dislocation, but the rabbits just aren't built as strong and robust so this method works quickly and effectively. So in short, no I don't feed live, for the sake of the snake and the rabbit.

As for feeding retics, those on rabbits will take one appropriately sized rabbit per week. About 5lbs for the smaller adults and 10lbs for the bigger girls. General rule is about one breeder per snake. I like to have more obviously because you can always sell off the extras(pretty dry on rabbits around here) or eat them if you please.

Start up cost is about $1000 roughly and maintenance is basically the cost of food. They are actually a very economical source of meat and snake food. With a good setup cleaning is almost nill and food is about a tuna can sized portion a day per adult. They actually eat less than rats.

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Very cool. Thanks for the info!

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Very cool. Thanks for the info!

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No prob

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Nice looking set up.
I wish we had space for rabbit breeding. My ferrets would love that.
Can you take closer shots and updates of your breeding set up? Looks awesome.


Whenever we had a live rabbit for feeding, we always just CDed them. I personally don't know any rabbit breeder who uses blunt force trauma.
Hold on to the ears in one hand and back limbs in the other and pull or use the broomstick method. It was instant. I feel like that is easier than swinging a rabbit around and potentially missing their neck and causing unnecessary suffering.

I agree with Satomi. Dislocating a rabbit's neck is much more precise and very quick. Just pull the head one way (I like to put the whole head in my hand, with the neck fitting between my ring and middle finger, palm on the back of it's head), the feet the oposite way, then as soon as you've pulled them tight, ratchet the head backwards, and it pops the skull right off the atlas bone, and dislocates the spinal cord. There is a decent 'pop' noise when it happens, not just the normal crunching noises of the spine joints cracking. I am never personally in favor of thumping. . . I doubt most people actually fully 'kill' many rabbits this way.

You might even want to setup some sort of electrical barrier a fair distance from the rabbits to reduce the risk of flea and tick carrying varmints introducing something nasty to your rabbits.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Nice looking set up.
I wish we had space for rabbit breeding. My ferrets would love that.
Can you take closer shots and updates of your breeding set up? Looks awesome.


Whenever we had a live rabbit for feeding, we always just CDed them. I personally don't know any rabbit breeder who uses blunt force trauma.
Hold on to the ears in one hand and back limbs in the other and pull or use the broomstick method. It was instant. I feel like that is easier than swinging a rabbit around and potentially missing their neck and causing unnecessary suffering.

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Ya I can do that.

There is only one breeder locally that doesn't thump them. They do the manual manipulation of the head/neck for CD. Me personally, I feel that it is more stressful for them, grabbing a handful of their head and yanking and twisting.

When I thump I hold them as I would when carrying a kicker. Thumb and forefinger on either side of the pelvis with one hand, and the other on the ears/scruff/front legs.

And this isn't to be confused with thumping a rat(like when people put them in bags and swing em against a wall). I carefully plan out the action, and very accurately get the neck on a small surface area as to cause the head/neck to whip backward along the spine. Like it was earlier stated, basically it is CD, just a different means to an end.

I'm not just throwing them against a brick wall or anything.

I say blunt force because it isn't a manipulation, it is a release of kinetic energy.

I find with the bigger rabbits this method is much more effective. Especially a big pissed off buck. They don't let you just hold em in place gently to put a broomstick on the back of their neck.

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I can't tell how close the cages are to the house, but if they are within a foot I would put up a pee guard or a sheet of plastic across the back of the house. I would also suggest a little apple cider vinegar in the water system to keep the ear mites down. We use it in all of our waters/systems and we haven't had an issue since. Save your feed sacks and fill them with the poop and sell them on craigslist for $5.00 a bag, you would be amazed at how many people buy them.

Yes rabbits can be hard to breed in warmer temperatures as they can go "sterile" if subjected to temps above 80 degrees for an extended period.

Welcome to rabbits they can be fun, and a great food source as well.

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Originally Posted by txcoker

I can't tell how close the cages are to the house, but if they are within a foot I would put up a pee guard or a sheet of plastic across the back of the house. I would also suggest a little apple cider vinegar in the water system to keep the ear mites down. We use it in all of our waters/systems and we haven't had an issue since. Save your feed sacks and fill them with the poop and sell them on craigslist for $5.00 a bag, you would be amazed at how many people buy them.

Yes rabbits can be hard to breed in warmer temperatures as they can go "sterile" if subjected to temps above 80 degrees for an extended period.

Welcome to rabbits they can be fun, and a great food source as well.

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Thank you. I used to breed NZW's back in highschool. It was fun, but that was never for snake food lol.

Unfortunately I cannot add anything to the water being that it is plumbed from the tap. They do make dosing dealy doos that I can plumb in line I guess.

Oh and the cages are 1'2" from the house. So far doesn't look like any urine splashes on the siding or foundation. We just used the house as a natural shade tool. Probably gonna build a 6' fence around the area too for added shade and to keep prying eyes away.

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