Do-it-yourself queen cells for rabbits
When breeding rabbits on a private farm, it is important for a rabbit with brought offspring to create comfortable living conditions by providing a special place - a mother house for rabbits, which you can make with your own hands.
Do-it-yourself rabbit mother liquor
Why do you need a mother liquor
Many rabbit breeders are inclined to believe that a queen cell for rabbits is necessary exclusively in the cold season, and the rest of the time you can feed the offspring in a normal cage. However, every year there are more and more farmers who are convinced that, in addition to the cage, this construction is necessary for the rabbit at birth and raising healthy offspring.
In natural conditions, animals feed their young in a burrow that gives them privacy and a sense of security. In an open cage, when kept at home, the rabbit begins to feel restless.
Independently made mothers for rabbits allow to provide the rabbit with cubs with warmth, which is especially important in the winter season, protect animals from drafts, and this is of no small importance with weak immunity of only born rabbits.
The design of the mother liquor for rabbits with their own hands looks like an ordinary box with a cut hole, which is not difficult to make on your own.
Suitable material for the mother liquor
The number of components required for the independent manufacture of a mother liquor for rabbits include:
- plywood sheets up to 3 mm thick,
- wooden plank,
- wooden slats up to 2.5 cm thick,
- insulation material,
- door hinges.
It is possible to save on the materials used, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing the structure, when replacing the slats with board trimmings. As a heater, builders usually use sawdust, which has good thermal insulation properties and low costs.
A simple type of do-it-yourself queen cell for rabbits is a universal option for raising offspring in a domestic rabbit farm, it performs its functions similar to the principle of a thermos, maintaining the required temperature even in a harsh winter.
Some people consider fiberglass as a heater, only when it is used in the mother liquor, it is necessary to ensure that there are no gaps, because at the slightest hit of the rabbit with the offspring, its particles will certainly fall into the ears and eyes of animals.
Some experienced rabbit breeders do not recommend putting straw in the form of insulation, for the reason that it begins to rot faster than any other material, spreading bacteria harmful to babies.
Asbestos should not be used as insulation for a rabbit queen cell, as it is a carcinogenic material.
Among the tools that will be required when building a mother liquor:
- hammer and screwdriver,
- small nails and screws,
- tape measure and pencil,
- saw.
The process of assembling the mother liquor
A queen cell for rabbits is being assembled according to a previously made drawing with dimensions that can be seen in the photo.As an option for self-manufacturing of the structure, you can take the following components:
- front wall made of plywood with dimensions of 0.5 * 0.5 m - 2 pcs. and 0.3 * 0.25 m - 1 pc.,
- back wall made of plywood with a size of 0.3 * 0.5 m - 2 pcs.,
- rail 0.25 m long - 6 pcs., 0.5 m in size - 6 pcs.,
- plywood side walls 0.3 * 0.35 m in size - 4 pcs.,
- plywood bottom 0.3 * 0.5 m - 2 pcs.,
- plywood cover - 0.35 * 0.55 m - 2 pcs.
These are sizing standards for medium sized individuals of common breeds, but for large breeds such as gray giants or Californian breeds, the proportions need to be increased.
The assembly technology determines the sequence of how to make a do-it-yourself queen cell for rabbits, which can be seen in the photo and video:
- According to the established parameters, the necessary components are cut out, which are taken in 2 pieces (for the inner and outer sides) in order to create an insulated structure - 2 floors, covers, sides each.
- The slats are being prepared, used for the purpose of edging.
- Slats are nailed onto plywood, then insulation material is placed, covered with a second layer of plywood on top, ensuring maximum wall closure without cracks, as the video shows.
- In the front wall, a round or square entrance is cut through according to the parameters of an adult (usually 15 centimeters for large breeds, for a giant rabbit - 20 in diameter), a round hole is preferable, since it is less traumatic.
- The prepared and insulated walls are assembled in the form of a box (cage) using self-tapping screws: first, the side walls are attached to the bottom, then the back. Artificial heating is installed if the rabbits were born in winter. Heating is not required for large rocks. If this is, for example, an offspring of Giants, they do not need heating because there is enough heat from the mother's body for the babies.
- The top cover is mounted on door hinges to allow observation of the young and to provide care and maintenance of the rabbit nest, as well as an additional source of fresh air during the hot season.
- The size of the queen cell for rabbits should be folded, taking into account the comfort of the future offspring.
If temperatures are too low in the rabbitry, additional heating must be used, as a result of which the required temperature is maintained.
Little tricks
When making their own, experienced rabbit breeders faced a number of problems, the solution of which was taken as an instruction for subsequent constructions.
So, you should not build a queen cell for rabbits larger than necessary, since the animal often perceives the place for reproduction of offspring as a cage and begins to defecate there. At the same time, too small the size of the mother liquor can lead to the fact that in conditions of limited space, the rabbit can crush the rabbits.
For those rabbits in whom the birth occurs for the first time, the floor in the mother liquor must be lined with straw without fail, experienced rabbits do this later on their own.
To prevent plywood from rotting under the influence of excrement, which must be cleaned up in a timely manner, many lay out galvanized sheets on it and cover them with a thicker straw layer (at least 20 cm) so that the cold cannot be felt from the iron sheet, but freshly cut conifers for the manufacture of mother plants for rabbits they do not take, since the well-preserved resinous smell frightens off the female.
The hole is made in the wall not too high, otherwise it will be difficult for not yet grown rabbits to get out of the mother liquor.
Summarizing all the material, it can be noted that it takes no more than half a day to prepare a drawing of queen cells for rabbits and how to make queen cells for rabbits with your own hands, and when using simple tips, the products turn out to be good, durable and effective to use.
Remember that for the Giant breed you need to make a larger queen cell.Since the rabbits and their mother are quite large.