Building a Bunny Barn - Part One

"You're building this for...rabbits?"  - Well, yeah.

Most people are pretty shocked and then tease me when they learn what the beautiful new house-like 24x24' structure is on our property.  It's not really a bunny barn, more of a hare hotel or rabbit resort.

Ever since I acquired my first Holland Lops a year ago, I've been dreaming, planning, and saving up for a luxurious bunny barn, complete with extra large two-story cages, natural lighting, heating/A.C., indoor and outdoor exercise pens, and a gravity waste system that can be hosed daily and exit into a septic crock that will be pumped as fertilizer onto our crops and garden.  On New Year's Eve, 2015, we broke ground, and we are now three months into the project.    

Here are our original bunny barn plans:

Our original plans for the bunny barn.

Bunny Barn Progress: First Three Months:

Videos showing the bunny barn progression:

Now, this might seem extravagant, and it is, but my talented husband who was previously a carpenter is building it himself with the help of any willing and unwilling family members who get roped into the project!  All of the windows and doors came from a building supply auction, so although pretty, they are a mis-matched hodgepodge.  Some were white with lites, some wooden and unfinished, some brown, some cream.  Needless to say, I've been using a lot of white paint to get everything in harmony!  The concrete was poured by my husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law.  Lastly, I am fortunate to have a cousin who runs a heating/cooling business, so the hot water heater and heat pump/AC units are being purchased at a great price.  None of this would be possible without the great help from my family and of course the funds that I've been working hard to save for the past ten months (and are quickly running out!).  

The next steps are insulation, interior metal siding, exterior vinyl siding, heating/ac, water heater and sink, security cameras, and of course, the cage-building and finally the bunnies moving in!  Stay tuned for part two!