Tradition long ago established the weather report of one’s QTH as a standard part of an initial QSO. In my intro patter, I often mention that my Ambient Weather WS-2902 ‘Osprey’ station is situated 18 feet above “The Rabbit Ranch.” It is quite purposeful that I mention this, as it has served as fodder for many an interesting conversation. So, exactly what is the Rabbit Ranch–and what makes it of interest? Petey and Little Bunny sure hope that you think so!
For the past 35 years or so, my wife Donna and I have always had one or more rabbits. None have been anything unique from a breeding standpoint–rather, the fact being that all of them were bred by others to serve as “meat rabbits.” Our rabbitry journey began with a New Zealand White that was gifted along with an 4’x4′ cage cobbled together out of rabbit screen and baling wire. This later became the home of a blue conure parrot named Pedro, but that is another story…
What has now become “Rabbitopia” began in the late summer of 2023. Our 9 year old bunny had finally succumbed to advanced age and diabetes in early June. It was a sad passing, but she had lived a very nice life. Her domain was an 8’x4’x3′ roofed rabbit screen enclosure I had built, with a large hutch attached to one end. In late August, we acquired two 4H rabbits at the Steuben County Fair. Both were male, but rabbits being rabbits they had to be separated. An extra pen was bought for one rabbit, and the planning began for a suitable hutch. Prices for pre-built hutches are insane, and all are too-small affairs for two rabbits in the greater scheme of rabbit life. It was time to visualize the plan, build a material list, see what could be recycled, and make something happy for ourselves and the bunnies.
About one-quarter of the materials came from recycled lumber–an old ell shaped table saw extension, an old workbench, and various cutoff lengths from the shop wood-rack. At first, I mistakenly bought my new lumber at Home Depot. All told, it took a bit over a month to complete–to be chased in October by blustery, cold weather–and has ultimately cost around $1400USD. Pricey? Not when you look at what you get from a typical outlet such as Tractor Supply–only much smaller and without all my bougie accoutrements! Check out the specifications of this automated wonderland:
Dimensions
Features
- Centralized electrical control and distribution panel for all environmental systems
- Dual 6″ muffin fans for hutch and entry ventilation
- Dual 20″ poultry fans for overall ventilation and cooling
- 12′ Misting cooler system below fans (lowers ambient enclosure temperature by ~10ºF)
- Heated water bowls, temperature controlled for cold weather
- Automated twice-daily fresh water flush/refill system
- 12″x18″ heating pads in top level and in hutches
- Internal radiant reptile type ceramic heating lamps (sensor controlled heat/fan response)
- Cage level seasonal circadian color space lighting
- Photocell controlled perimeter and internal lighting
- Quality kibble & timothy grass feeder bins
- Seasonal detachable weatherization panels for winterization
- Full corrugated PVC roof
- 9′ woven sunshade patio umbrella modified to cover the entire roof extent of the rabbit ranch
- Full remote monitoring, control and scheduling of all systems via Hubspace® Android smartphone app
- Remote visual monitoring through the ‘RabbitCam 2000™‘ security camera
The gallery series shown below follows my project from the beginning, with the two new 4H rabbits temporarily held in separate cages–through the construction process–and onward in how the Rabbit Ranch presents today. I can’t speak for anyone that is not in my immediate family circle, but we here are all pretty impressed with this “Rabbitopia“…
