Hi folks,
We are in the process of transferring a few of our caged rabbits to a colony. Because of rabbit social dynamics (aggressive does, quick breeding) we are starting with 9 rabbits from the same litter. For now, the breeders and other litters will stay in cages so that if something goes wrong, we won't lose too many rabbits.
As for the colony set up, we have a shaded outdoor space about 12'x22'. To prevent much digging (for now we want to be able to monitor closely) and escape we dug up the sod, laid down chicken wire, and put the sod back. We will have three boxes above ground (that can be opened from above) with PVC pipes covered in dirt leading to the entrances. We will also have quite a bit of dirt built up in the caged area for digging and access to higher spaces. There will be an area where we give them alfalfa that can be closed off to easily catch the rabbits when necessary.
We will be introducing the litter in about a week.
Before building the colony I did quite a bit of research. For fencing, it was suggested burying chicken wire 3' down in the ground. If you don't want to allow digging, the chicken wire under or above the ground was suggested. Some people have built tunnels for their rabbits by burying PVC pipes or setting them above ground.
This was a great resource:
http://raisingrabbitsessentials.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Raising-Rabbits-in-Colonies-fljaoy.pdf
