Baton Rouge, LA
225-572-9735
Wendy@magichappensrescue.com

~Bunny Building Blog~

Here's the latest happenings, ideas, and status on our new building!

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~LATEST UPDATES~

10/12/08: The builder is finished! We still have some work to do but it's HERE!

10/9/08: The building is almost completely built! Of course we'll still have more to do to it before the bunz can move in, but pix will be posted soon!

9/16/08: We got enough! We are awaiting one more company's quote and on Monday, will be making the final decision and setting up the time for them to come out and pick out where to put the building! IT'S ALMOST HERE!

9/5/08: Well, the area for the building WAS cleared... ;-) but now we have a little more debris to remove before the land will be ready to move in. The area where the building will be did not have any major limbs fall nor any trees, as we'd previously removed the dead trees and limbs on the ground. We had begun getting more accurate quotes before the storm, and we will continue to do so as the places reopen post-Gustav.
Of course we had some damage to the original place most of the gang was kept at, but as it was in a bit of disrepair anyway, it won't be hard to re-patch it back. Of course, we'd rather just move into the building, but we're just a little too far away just yet!
P.S. Our matching total is now up to $265!

8/24/08: We've received another $50 donation, and an MHRR adopter is now challenging others by MATCHING all building donations up to $500 until Sept 15th!

8/21/08: We have a new floor plan! Look below for the scan.

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~THE LOCATION~

The back of the yard on Elwick (the first and next garage sale location) is the setting for the new building. The area is surrounded by tall, mature trees which offers luxurious shade for rabbit exercising, bunny watching, and future Care Days. The building will eventually have an attached fenced yard of its own that is bunny safe for the gang to run and play in (or if they accidentally get loose!), and can house the large hutches we have and may use if needed. We hope to add a picnic table for hanging out and watching the buns play, and an overhang or lean-to for cleaning the cages and litterboxes on rainy Care Days. As we get started, we'll also have a compost pile for dumping soiled bedding and hay, and have a bunny garden for the rabbits to dig through!





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~THE DESIGN~

We have purchased a 12x24 portable metal building. The windows will have window a/c units with themostats to keep the bun comfy all year long. We will be adding insulation and sheetrock to make it more efficient, and vinyl flooring so as not to absorb odors.





When you first enter the building there will be an office of sorts for adopting families to hang out with their potential new family members and for weary Care Days volunteers to rest. :) The desk will house the rabbits' paperwork (adoption papers, vet history), along with a computer and printer with hopeful internet access (if the wireless router reaches that far!). The computer can be used for printing adoption forms and info sheets (instead of just referring them to the website), looking up history of the adoptables (and adopted!), and photos of all past events. We'll also have a calendar and message center (dry erase board/corkboard) for organization.

For housing the rabbits, We plan to build shelving units that will each hold 3 cages. Each cage will rest on its own roll-out shelf for easy access for both cleaning and removing the rabbit when needed. Each shelf will have an "ID tag" with the rabbits name, feed, and special needs on it. The bottom shelf will be off the floor, and over the top of the highest cage there will be a solid shelf for storage. Along the tops of the cages we will be storing any extra cages, food bowls, water bottles, blankets, towels, hay racks, bedding, food, hay, and event items (our canopy, information binder, fundraiser items, etc.). We eventually hope to add an automatic watering system as well!



In the center of the back wall will be a counter and sink and small storage area. The storage area will have the metal trash can of pellets and a shelf on top for the tote of timothy hay. The counter will serve as an area to examine rabbits and give injections if needed, or hold snacks and drinks for Care Day volunteers. Underneath we will have our mini-fridge to hold drinks and any medications needing to be kept cold, along with the all-important veggies! On the far left of that area will be a 3-section restaurant sink, perfectly sized for bathing a rabbit or guinea pig and cleaning food bowls and fill water bottles or handwashing.



On the left side of the building we will have the resident rabbits set up in their permanent habitat and ex-pens for the adoptables to enjoy. The ex-pens will be the regular ex-pens to start, but we'd like to eventually create a "double-decker" exercise area out of grids (such as the NIC cubes). This will allow for double the area and double the number of rabbits to enjoy free time!



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~THE BUDGET/SUPPLY LIST~

Of course, none of this grand dream is easy, but thanks to adoption fees, donations, fundraisers, and the help of skilled family and friends, we are going to make this a reality! Here is the list of items needed and the approximate cost of each. These numbers will be updated as we head get things in place so we can get accurate measurements and prices from Home Depot/Lowe's. If you have any items you would like to donate, please let us know!

building - $3,525
plumbing hookup - ??
electrical hookup - ??
cage shelving lumber & hardware - $300?
storage shelving - ??
air-conditioning - $225
insulation - $100
sheetrock - $100
floating materials - $30
primer - $20
paint - $50
vinyl flooring - $280
ceiling fan - $25
hose & nozzle - $25
hose casing - $25
shopvac - $40
broom, mop & bucket - $10
large dry erase board - $25
motion outdoor lights - $30
old towels & rags - donated?
totes for storage - $50
NIC grids - $125?
watering system - ??
skirting - ?
fencing - ?
fencing - ??
overhang- ??
picnic table - ??
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~THE CHECKLIST~

clear area for building
purchase building & have delivered
hook up electrical
hook up plumbing
install motion light
add air conditioning and ceiling fan
add insulation and sheetrock
float & sand walls
prime & paint walls
build cage shelving units
build/install storage shelving
add hose & install sink
bring in desk & couch
add ex-pens
install fencing
add overhang
build grid ex-pens
add watering system