Throughout the winter I’m going to work on different projects to turn our little subdivision backyard from a barren rectangle of worn out grass into a self-sufficient, small-scale homestead. My first project was building some rabbit hutches for the mini rex rabbits we plan on getting in the near future. I searched craigslist for a while and couldn’t really find any suitable rabbit cages and I didn’t want to break down and buy wire to build all brand new ones since saving money is one of our main areas of focus lately. So, with frugality in mind, I contacted the builder in charge of the new construction in the back of our subdivision and asked about a big stack of pallets that was next to one of the new houses. He was more than happy to give them away so I went and loaded up about 10 4’ x 4’ wooden pallets and brought them home.
I’ve used pallet wood for a few projects in the past and always struggled when it came to separating the top boards from the bottom skids. I’ve tried hacksaws, pry bars, and hammers with lots of cuts and scrapes but very little success. For this project I bought a Porter Cable reciprocating saw with a “bi-metal” blade from Lowes.
The reciprocating saw was absolutely vital to the success of building these cages. There is no way I would have suffered through using a hacksaw or pry bar on this many pallets. To separate the boards I simply cut through the nails that were holding the top boards to the skids. Each pallet took about 3 or 4 minutes to completely break down. The pallets were all 4’x4’ which made planning the cage dimensions pretty easy, I ended up making them 2’ wide by 4’ long with a 16” box on the end and the roof is hinged on the back to make it easy to catch the rabbits whether they are in the cage part or the house part.
In addition to using the pallet boards I had to buy plywood for the cage roof, paint, caulk for the gaps in the wood, hinges, screws, two different types of wire (1/2” x 1” mesh for the floors and 1”x 1” mesh for the sides) and a lock for the door. I’ve got approximately $50 in each hutch. It would be a little less without paint but I wanted to try and protect them from the elements as best I could.
As of now, I’ve only finished two of the hutches but I have plans to build one more, to house two does and one buck. My next project is to build a fence across the backyard that separates the garden and animal area from the rest of the yard. I placed the hutches are under a couple of oak trees and next to the shed so they do have something of a wind break and plenty of shade in the summertime and I’m confident that the rabbits will be protected from the wind and rain very well and will be comfortable even on the coldest, windiest days.