How to Build a Shade Arbor for Rabbits
In the midst of the long list of projects we’ve been working on lately, we took a moment to quickly put together a shade arbor for our rabbits recently.
It is already getting quite warm here in southern Oklahoma and our bunnies needed some extra shade. We are actually planning to build an animal village pretty soon so we really didn’t want it to be a permanent structure.
Beginning the Structure
The first thing that we did was to dig the four holes for the corner posts. It certainly the helped digging process that it has basically rained nonstop the whole year. So, the holes went well. We put in the posts, which were actually just excess landscaping timbers that we had on hand. As I mentioned, it needed to be a temporary structure, so we didn’t cement the posts, we just packed clay back around them.
Basic Framing
Once the posts were in, We added a band around the top to hold the structure together. We just ran the band on a diagonal along the same lines as the hutch. It was our intention to simply run slats along the west side and the top. The slats would offer shade as well as a structure for my trumpet vine to climb. The vine will offer additional shade, as well as beauty.
Once the base structure was in place, we began adding the slats. The wood that we used was just some excess that I tend to collect. It didn’t matter to me that they weren’t all the same. Perfect wasn’t my goal. It will be beautiful when my vine covers it.
Shade Arbor: The Finish
When we had the slats attached and ready we added some additional cross bracing to ensure that the structure would hold up to winds and what not. When all of this was complete, I planted my trumpet vine on one corner of the structure. Trumpet vine typically grows about 2 feet per week. I’m really looking forward to what it will look like by the end of the summer!
NEVER MISS A THING!!
This is another post I found concerning a fairly quick, simple arbor if you would like to have a look. For other farm building projects, please have a look at some of our other projects.
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