minimum cage size

      I raise Silver fox rabbits for meat. The adults I have average 11 pounds.  I have found it requires three different sized cages.  I can't afford to have wasted materials or space in my rabbit barn.  The breeding does need room for nesting, the breeding bucks need room for two adults to mate, the kits need very little room as they are butchered at two months. The doe with an appropriate sized nesting box is has just room enough to not squish the kits at 24x30 inches, but 30x30 seems to have a better effect on the stress levels, therefore health of the doe.  the bucks would do fine in a 24x24.  that's enough room to do his thing.  mine are 24x30, just to keep everything more uniform.  The kits, after weaning at between 4 and 5 weeks, have separate cages to live the next 3-4 weeks. they average 5 pounds live weight at this time.  Their cages are 15x30.  All cages are fifteen inches tall and 30 inches deep, so as to keep everything uniform.  that helps keep the barn more maneuverable and lets me plan additional buildings that won't have wasted space or materials in their construction.  If I had smaller breeds, I could go with smaller cages.  I am against keeping one large cage for a full litter of kits to grow out, because hey all eat in the same feeder, drink from the same waterer, and walk  each others feces. Disease and parasites can spread too rapidly.

    I am going to try 13 inch wide cages for the kits. that would let me have 12.5 percent more kits per the same space allotted.

That's good to know Jordy, welcome to Permies!

How can one tell when a rabbit is stressed; do they exhibit certain behaviors? Eat or drink less? How long can they be stressed until it becomes an immediate health concern?  (I hope to raise rabbits in the future, but never have before - I'm clueless on this!)

Dustin Rhodes wrote:That's good to know Jordy, welcome to Permies!

How can one tell when a rabbit is stressed; do they exhibit certain behaviors? Eat or drink less? How long can they be stressed until it becomes an immediate health concern?  (I hope to raise rabbits in the future, but never have before - I'm clueless on this!)

They will usually act super shy/grumpy and get aggressive toward you or other rabbits and/or stop eating. Nursing does will loose their mothering instincts and neglect, squish or chew the kits.  With nursing r pregnant moms, it can affect the health of the litter. Decreased food intake lowers immune system response and complicates everything.  Grumpy and aggressive is the biggest tell.