Dog crates as cages

Hi all,

I need to get a cage for my new rabbit, who will come home onMonday.:bunnydance: He is a dutch. I am looking atgetting him a dog crate, probably the 42 inches long size. Iknow some of you are using dog crates for your rabbits. Whatdo you think of them? I noticed the doors are pretty easy toopen, so I'll be getting something to fix that. Any otherproblems? Just in case, are there urine guards that are madefor dog crates?

I might have my hubby put a shelf inside. Any quick and easy instructions for that?

I think that building an NIC cage would be cheaper and give you more options.

NIC are another consideration. I'm notvery handy, though. I also am hoping to let my rabbits havefree reign of part of my apartment once they can be trusted.Mocha's been gaining more priviledges since her spay (hallway andbathroom- next my bedroom!). So I don't consider a room-sizedcage completely necessary, but we'll see.

Oh, and it doesn't help that James is not interested in NICcages. I've shown him a bunch of pics, explained the costdifference and such, but he's just not comfortable with them.I think he feels a need to buy something prefabricated.

naturestee wrote:

Hi all,

I need to get a cage for my new rabbit, who will come home onMonday.:bunnydance: He is a dutch. I am looking atgetting him a dog crate, probably the 42 inches long size. Iknow some of you are using dog crates for your rabbits. Whatdo you think of them? I noticed the doors are pretty easy toopen, so I'll be getting something to fix that. Any otherproblems? Just in case, are there urine guards that are madefor dog crates?

I might have my hubby put a shelf inside. Any quick and easy instructions for that?

Click to expand...

I HATE my two cages that are dog crates. I originally usedthem for Tio & Kyo and I also have a really large one for Tinythat I may bring back in the house since he seems to miss it...althoughhe mainly has free range of the house.

When I went to get my next cage (for the lionheads), my daughter talkedme into trying cages from WalMart that were designed for "smallanimals". They have wire on the bottom with the panunderneath. They came with bottles and feeder bowls too - andthe price was almost equal to buying the dog crate with the additionalaccessories.

Why do I love the wire cages? They're SO much easier toclean. My cages are small - I forget the exact size....but mybunnies get so much run time and play time- that they seem fine inthese cages.

I can whip through and clean all 7 wire cages in about 10minutes.....but it takes me 10 minutes to do the two dog crates becausethe girls shred the paper and make a mess of it - and those cagessomehow never seem as "clean" as the wire ones. I'm hoping toreplace them soon and only use them as "backups" for when I have babiesto wean, etc.

Unless you're talking about the huge dog crate like Tiny's....that might be ok - but it sure takes up a lot of space.

Peg

I love converted dog crates as rabbit cages.Iconstructa wooden rectangle of 1" x 3" scrap lumber about 2 " above the tray. The down side, nearest the tray is covered with 1/2" x 1/2" vinyl hardware cloth flooring. The sides of the rectangle act as urine guards. News paper is placed on the tray to collect any refuse not placed in the litter box

Top opens making grasping the bunny(s) and many cleaning chores easier. Door opens easily and atlevel that bun needs no ramp(s). Crate is tall enough for bun to standup. I weld castering wheels to the floor frame to enhance mobility. Construction robust enough to keep a dog in, keeps most any critter out. I only buy my dog crates at yard/tag/garage sales, so they are inevitablely inexpensive.

I combined two very large crates to makes a two storied "condo" for two pairs of rabbits with generous living space, and individual opening doors on both sides of both "apartments."It, too, casters about for easier cleaning and maintenance purposes.

Buck

Thanks, Buck! I don't suppose you haveany pictures? The rabbit being able to stand up is a majorfactor in me not buying a "rabbit cage." Do you think thesize will be okay? It's the second largest size- the largestwould block access to most of the bunny room.

Tinysmom, I don't think a standard dutch (estimating 5-6 pounds) wouldfit in a "small animal cage." The biggest I've seen are aboutthe same size as Mocha's cage. I wouldn't put anything muchbigger than a Nethie in it. Not to mention I have this reflexreaction about wire cages. They look uncomfortable to me, andthe rabbits will spend most of the day in there until they can betrusted running free. And their freedom is not garunteed,either. It will depend on them, so it might beawhile. I can definately see the advantage when you have alot of rabbits, though.

I've got a couple and for the most part likeem...Oreo and Corky are in those til they are bonded (well on their waybut I want Corky healed first) then they will get a nic cage of theirown.

Only thing I dont like about em is when Oreo decides to throw herpellet bowl clear to the back....and cleaning it out, Ialmost have to get in there to do so! That one is an older one and Idon't thinkit opens easily from the top..if at all. It didn'tcome with a tray so its got plywood for a bottom...it was free, so whatcould I say! Corkys is a newer one and has a plastic traywhich is nice...I got it from freecycle.org in my area...its a niceone! Thats the one my flemmie will live in when he arrives!

i use dog cages for some of my bunnies. They work out pretty good. You just have to keep them clean is all.

The dog cage is okay for larger breeds but my baby netherlands can go through the wire.bluebird

** " The dog cage is okay for larger breeds but my baby netherlands can go through the wire.bluebird " **

i have nethi 's that did the same thing little stinkers lol

BUt for the next sizeup in rabbits I use them also Ihave 3 and love them to pieces , mosthave weird door latches theturn down with little rodsto keep escape artists fromopening it , what i like about theones that are 24x 18 is I can setit on atable top and lock it downwith strap and screw , so it isalways reachable ( waist high )and comfortable for me , (disintergrating disks ) cleanup is a breeze pull the tray , dump, disinfect , slid back in .

I got mine from the recycling center ,the only out of pocket cost was 15.00 for a tray ,Minimal expense concidering cost ofa new crate . , for urineguard my husband took a pieceof roof flashingrolled what would bethe top over and hammered thesharp edge down so noone would be hurt . cost effective , youcould also use the plasticpanels that come with bird cages.If you got the ones that areused in the bigger birdcages for something like aMacaw or other Large Parrotthey would be high enough notto be able for them toaim for the top .

I find dog crates certainly are better thantypical rabbit cages found in pet stores. I use a modifiedcrate for my Flemish Giant. Basically it's a dog crateflipped on it's side with a custom-made tray with nice, highsides. He's litterbox trained (inside the cage.. grumble), socleaning is very easy. They are awkward to clean if a rabbitisn't littertrained, though.

The cages in pet stores are always so tiny. :\ And not allthat well made, either. I might try a NIC cage when we move,although I'm also nervous about my ability to make one!

Anubis has a dog crate, he aparently LOVES it,he gets time outside the cage, but one problem is he is litter trainedIN the cage... but the minute he is outside the cage he pees and pooseverywhere =p



I am thinking of adding a shelf to give him another level, and the NICcubes fit perfectly in the cage, and with a wooden support beameverything should work well =)

Blackthorn45 wrote:

The cages in pet stores are always so tiny. : And not allthat well made, either. I might try a NIC cage when we move,although I'm also nervous about my ability to make one!


Thats why I preffer hand built cages, and dog cages to the petstoreones. they are more sturdy and last alot longer. I can't see how abunny can live in those tiny things.

it cost me ~$40 to make a gigantic NIC condo!

24 fortwo boxes ofNIC squares (at target they were on sale)

5 bucks for zipties

and 10 bucks for a large sheet of plexiglass

I like(d) using a dog crate as a rabbitcage. When my young male and female started mating beforetheir spay & neuter, I housed Shorty in a dog crate.I was down on my luck and low on cash, and a sweet friend of mine lentme her dog crate. I think it was one of those midwestcages. It worked well, I lined the bottom with cardboard andlaid towels on top of the cardboard. It served it's purpose,was kinda small, but worked very well. I have it in my roomabout to return it, and Shorty lays by it all the time and acts like hewants to get into it. Weirdo...considering his NIC Condo heshares with his sister is HUGE :?...silly wabbit.

By the way, my friend luckly found that cage at the salvation army for$10.00!!!??!!! I bet those cages/crates are almost$100...shop local thrift stores, maybe you will get lucky.

Hugs!

so which bun did you decide on?!?! sorry, I haven't been on for a while! Can you include the piccy?

Kricket wrote:

By the way, my friend luckly found that cage at thesalvation army for $10.00!!!??!!! I bet those cages/cratesare almost $100...shop local thrift stores, maybe you will get lucky.

Hugs!

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I've gotten 2 of em offwww.freecycle.org fornothing...ones not in the greatest shape but it works, the 2nd one waslike brand new!

Thanks for the comments/adviceeverybody! I'm pretty sure we'll be getting a dog cratenow. I don't need it till Monday, so I'll be checking outgarage sales, thrift stores, etc. I'm running in to FleetFarm tomorrow night to see what they have, cause it's usually cheaperthere than at Petsmart.

OH!! Naturestree, I just had a thought...maybe you can look in the newspaper's classified 'For Sale' section too

I've got a dog crate for Pipp that's two plasticshells that fit together with plastic turn-keys to lock thehalves. She's a free run bun, so she doesn't really have tolive in it, but if she did, she'd appreciated the solid plastic, shegets nervous in an open wire cage, it doesn't feel safe.(Mind you, with the NIC cages, you can fit one of those plastics stepstools in, and they make great hutches). I'malso not a fan of wire bottoms, I can't see thembeing atallcomfortable.

For a litter box (which she pees in religiously -- at least when she'sin my/her room), I just use cardboard cat food flats (which come linedin plastic if you get the right ones and open them properly), so I canjust throw itaway rather than scrub it out.

The crate is lined with newspaper, I just take the top half off thecrate, lifttake out the old paper and presto. (Butthat's probably because she only has to eat and use her box in there,if she was locked in and bored, I'm sure the paper would beshredded).

It probably wouldn't be big enough for her (and she's a dwarf) if shewas living in it, it's only maybe two to 2.5 feet deep, 16 or 18 incheswide. But it works for her.

SAS