Tools of the Trade

While working in the barn the other day, I thought about the different tools we have tried and what worked and what didn't. I thought it might be neat to share what common tools we have found that work best and why.



The propane torch is used for burning off hair before the pens are scrubbed down. This wire-brush barbeque grill scraper ( available at wal-mart) works wonders for cleaning the floors of the cages while torching them. Gets rid of all the residue from torched hair build-up. Gets into the corners really nice and has a long enough handle to get to the back of the cage easily. We have tried regular shop-type wire brushes, but the nose of it is too long to permit getting the bristles into the corners, and it really isn't long enough to reach the back under the cage.

Bags of pine shavings work well for nest-box material. A wide-bladed putty knife with one edge slightly longer than the other helps get right into the corners when cleaning the nesting material out of the boxes after use.

The feed cart is an absolute nessessity for feeding more than a few rabbits. Just push it along the isles and stop at every feeder to distribute their needed ration. For our number of rabbits, it lasts about half-way around the barn, then needs filled again to finish the job. When there is a high number of fryers being fed , we go thru about 120-135#'s /day, and average about 2 ton /month.

Index cards, pens, and black fine point permanent marker for doe cards, to keep record of when doe was bred, to which buck, when she kindled and how many. Also snack size ziplock baggies are great for putting doe cards into to keep clean and nice. Then the cards are attached to the back of the feeder with a clothespin for extra security. The container of wipes is handy for quick needed "hand wash". The coffee can holds extra hair pulled by does that didn't need that much in their nestbox. During winter it will come in handy for those does that don't pull any, or don't pull enough.

I f you have other tools that work for you or other nifty ideas for your rabbitry, please let us know. We would be glad to have you share with us.