Starlight Rabbitry wrote:
TinysMom wrote:
I'm so excited....the rabbitry is looking so much nicer.
By the way - I know people will ask.
No - I will not take pictures of my set-up to show everyone. Once I get cleared by animal control and certified as a breeder - that is enough for me. But I'm just not comfortable any more sharing stuff like that on the forum.
I trust y'all....but I can't trust everyone!
Sorry for all you are going through Peg.
Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. You are now getting the rabbitry looking much nicer and maybe this will lead to something better 
No one should have to go through this.
For this reason, I have never put pictures of my rabbitry on the web. I fear that someone will not "agree" with something and I will have issues. I do, however, showmy friends somepictures. Ever since reading about other peoples' issues and dealings, I have been much more guarded.
It is sad that this is what it comes down to. I would love to people to see my rabbitry and my setup. I am very proud of my rabbits and my cleaning ritual. I would love to be able to show that off.
*hugs*
Sharon
Sharon - this really was a blessing in disguise...it truly was.
I've had several private pms about what they're looking for in my rabbitry and what was wrong, etc.....so I'm gonna be open and honest here...not that I'm overly proud...but sometimes you have to see something through someone else's eyes to see that you've been wrapped up in other stuff and let some things go.
As many of you may know - I had a number of does living loose on the floor. I let them live this way in sort of a "warren" - and to be honest with you - they loved it. We had several of them going through false pregnancies and I'd been throwing down lots of hay on the floor for them - they'd go under one of the shelves and make a nest - or they'd go into one of the empty cages in the bottom of the rabbitry. Basically - my girls had three large dog kennels to play in - plus 10 open cages plus an 8' long shelf a foot off the floor that they could lay under and be in like a "cave".
They loved the setup - and we were sweeping it daily - but I didn't mop it in a week or so because I didn't want the hay to get moldy and I wanted them to get the nesting out of their system. (Even some of my bucks were nesting in their cages).
In addition - if you can consider 50 or so lionheads molting within a month or two period - it tends to build up on the cages if you're not looking. Trust me - I wasn't looking...
And finally - I'd run of out woody pet a bit ago and not had a chance to get out to get some.
So while they place didn't smell as bad as it could've before when I had rabbits in the garage and it would get warm...it didn't smell "fresh" and it looked really bad with the hay all over the floor.
......
What we have been doing - is powerwashing cages and the floor and walls. Right now - two sides are done - plus the Calis' cage is done.
Tomorrow we're pulling cages out of the garage to power wash them - that way - the girls will have cages in the rabbitry.
I really don't forsee us having any problems passing an inspection when we're done. It's not "military clean" - but it is pretty darn good.
I do plan to meet with the animal control supervisor to speak about our future plans. Going through this has made Art & I think about what we really want...and well...sorry. Can't share here...except to say that we're going to invest in a nice bunny barn when we get his inheritance from his mom's estate (hopefully next spring).
We went and visited a breeder last Saturday and got to see how he made his cages. WOW...they reminded me a lot of Polly's setup...and Art is already designing the cages he'll be building for us. The one thing we didn't like was that the man had cabinet style doors - we're going to do drop down doors out of wood that have a section cut out with mesh so they can get more light in. (His did have mesh in them). I may even have mesh where there isn't a door too...I need to study the photo(s) that Art took with his cell phone (duh...I forgot to bring a camera).
The hardest part about all this is that the girls lost out on having a warren. They have to be caged. I am hoping that when it cools down - I can buy a big dog run and let them live outside with a covering over the dog run....at least for a while.
A lot of that is what we're talking about and planning for. When we build our bunny barn its going to have to be able to be powerwashed on the inside (tile or linoleum flooring) - plus a special type of paint probably....plus I want to have access for rabbits to have "bunny runs" outside...like two large kennels - one for boys and one for girls.
I'll figure it out eventually.
I guess my biggest recommendations for those who PM'd me is to watch that fur when they molt (lionheads are horrible for that and you can get used to seeing it and not realizing just how bad it is)....and make sure to keep any urine odor down....I know in the summer it can get bad pretty quickly if you run out of woody pet or whatever. Also - we used tiles in our wire cages - to give them something to sit on....we're powerwashing those....so they look better.
I hope this helps!
