A rabbit shed in Uzbekistan has two main jobs: keep the animals out of the heat, and get manure and urine away from them quickly. If the roof, the airflow and the floor are right, almost everything else gets easier. The figures below come from hot-climate trials and from practical designs worked out for small farms.
Cage size and stocking density
- A practical module is 90 × 60 × 45 cm (width × depth × height). Using one size for does, bucks and growers keeps building and repairs simple.
- A doe cage holds one doe and a removable nest box. A buck lives alone.
- For growers, seven littermates in a 90 × 60 cm cage get about 770 cm² each, within the usual 700–800 cm² standard. Eight kits in a 75 × 60 cm cage get only 560 cm² each, which is too crowded for an Uzbek summer.
- In hot weather, never go above 18 rabbits per m² or 34 kg of rabbit per m² at finishing weight. In a hot-climate trial, mortality above that density was 20.5% against 9.6% below it. Density matters more than cage size itself.
- Plan one quarantine cage and one sick-bay cage in a separate building, not sharing air with the herd.
Floors: mesh, plastic or part-solid
- Wire mesh lets droppings fall through and keeps rabbits dry. In one study, rabbits on straw bedding gained weight more slowly than rabbits on wire.
- Breeds with dense fur on the foot pads, such as the New Zealand White, cope well with mesh; some heavy breeds, such as the Grey Giant, do not. Check the soles of the hind feet regularly.
- Plastic mesh floors are used on commercial farms in Uzbekistan and are kinder to feet.
- The Soviet-era Zolotukhin cage has a solid floor that slopes towards the back wall, where a 10–20 cm strip of mesh lets urine and droppings through. Rabbits almost always use that strip as their toilet.
- Whatever you choose: no sharp wire ends, no gaps that can trap a foot, and a surface you can scrub clean.
Two tiers, never three
- Hot air collects in the top row.
- Nest boxes in a third tier end up about 1.7 m high, too high to check every day.
- Manure falling from upper cages past the animals below spreads coccidiosis, the main killer of young kits.
- Put does on the bottom tier so nest checks are easy. If you have the space, a single row ventilates and stays cool best of all.
- If manure drops into a worm bed below, raise the cages 0.9–1 m off the ground.
- A central aisle of about 80 cm, with cage doors facing it, makes daily work faster.
Orientation, walls and air
- Run the long side of the shed east–west, and shade the south and west walls with vines or deciduous trees.
- An open-sided shed ventilates itself. A closed shed needs fans, and fans need backup power. Evaporative cooling pads only work in a closed, fan-ventilated shed.
- Put air inlets low and at mid-height, and the exhaust high. Fit the exhaust fan at the end facing away from your house.
- Air speed at rabbit level can reach about 1 m/s in summer but should stay under about 0.3 m/s in winter. Fans blow along the rows, never at the animals.
- Do not keep the herd in a basement. An enclosed space needs non-stop powered ventilation, and even basement rabbitries described as successful ran at 75–85% humidity.
Roof: insulation, reed and overhangs
- Most summer heat comes in through the roof. Insulating the roof does far more than insulating walls; good insulation can cut the cost of controlling the climate to less than half.
- A reed (qamish) roof stays much cooler than a metal one, and reed is available locally. Corrugated metal absorbs a lot of heat; if you use it, insulate underneath and leave a ventilated gap.
- Build roof overhangs of 70–80 cm and add a raised vent along the ridge so hot air can escape at the top.
- Keep any heater or lamp well away from a reed roof and dry bedding.
Feeders, drinkers and waste
- Feeders filled from outside the cage save time and keep feed clean.
- A nipple drinker line saves labour but needs cleaning every week; black tubing grows less algae than clear tubing. Keep a bowl-based backup for winter.
- Under the cages you need either a sloped tray (about 5°) that you empty every 1–4 days, or a worm bed. See our guide to manure and smell for details.
Checklist before you build
- Where does the sun fall at 2 pm in July?
- Which direction does the winter wind come from?
- Which way will smell drift: towards your house or the neighbours?
- Can you reach every nest box without a ladder?
- Where does the manure go, and who empties it?
- Is there a separate place for quarantine?
- Is a shed allowed on your plot? Dehqon farm land allows light structures, but confirm with your district hokimiyat.
Common mistake: Building a tall three-tier rack under a bare metal roof to save space. Hot air and falling manure both end up in the wrong place, and the does' nest boxes end up out of reach.
