Housing Big Bunnies

[Lynne_Bunny]

Peter and I are moving, this means his highness is getting a brand new cage! Well I say cage.... That's why I'm posting!

At the moment he is in a little cage with as much hopping time as possible (its from his previous owner, and it is only very temporary until we move) but its far to small, so are all the 'cages' I've found... he is a very big boy! I was wondering how other people house there large rabbits?

I was looking at 'puppy pens' so he has space to jump and climb, he is already litter trained (which i discovered when he peed in the cat box, haha!) and I can get as many toys as he wants, is this the best option? I'm afraid he will jump right out the top though, he's a proper show jumper! I'm going to have a lot of room, so space isn't a problem, howeve he can't be completely free range as I'm not the only one living in the house. He is also an indoor bunny.


What do you think?

Thanks!

 

[whiskylollipop]

What I did was get the largest dog carry cage I could find, those made for Great Danes and such. Pens are a great alternative but if your bunny is especially determined to jump out, you could always secure a blanket/tarp over the top with good strong clips. Some pens even come with top covers.

 

[PaGal]

I have a flemish giant and his cage is an extra large dog cage, one of the wire ones. I haven't had the chance yet but plan on putting a shelf in for him also. The cage is 48" long so plenty big. He has free run of a room as long as someone is home and awake.

I purchased mine from e-bay and actually just order another from the same for a bonded pair of smaller buns. I paid just under $60 for a brand new cage with free shipping and had the cage in 3 days.

The smaller buns are in a cage I built using an X pen and a coroplast bottom. They are chewing the coroplast which is a problem if you have a chewer but it made a cage that is 27" X 7'. This gave them room to run. The X pen is 48" high and each panel is either 27" or 28" wide. I also got that on e-bay. I can't remember the actual cost but it was no more than $70 I believe and I know it took 5 or less days for shipping.

 

[Troller]

I got two Flemish Giants, don't get bigger then that. I have a room set aside for them but I also made a two floor condo cage out of NIC panels measuring 8ft long by 4ft wide by 5ft high for their little home when i need to put them away.

Now I'm not all that handy a guy but I made a pretty sizable and sturdy cage with little difficulty but a very tedious process. Materials cost me about as much as it would to buy a big dog pen but i easily have something far more sizable. Not sure in the end it was worth it but it was fun planning it out and looking at the finished product.

 

[missyscove]

I have a 42 inch dog crate I use for my two buns and it works really well for us. I added a shelf supported by some wooden dowels to take advantage of the height and they love sleeping on it in their favorite cat bed.
How big is Peter? In his pictures he looks like a Dutch which is actually a relatively small breed.

 

[Lynne_Bunny]

Great! I didn't think about Grade Dane Crates!
He is apparently is a Dutch, but he is heaver than the breed average (and not overweight) so I guess he's just big boned! However he is no where near a Flemmish, just bigger than his average. He is bigger than the cat, minus her long legs!
Mostly I'm going to have the space so I want him to have as much room as possible, he loves jumping and running! :rabbithop

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Make your own out of panels and you can control the size to fit any space available. I didn't have jumpers, I had 3 that would climb up and over, so a roof was necessary.

 

[Troller]

I just took some pics of my new cage in the pet room to show as an example of NIC panels, coroplast and some dowels at work (rubber horse stall mats optional). It's a thought for bigger bunnies, but again it took work.

 

[WillowRabbitry]

Do you have an estimate as to how much money it costs to build a whole set up like you have with NICU pannels?

 

[Troller]

Do you mean my set up WillowRabbitry? lets see if I recall correctly.

NIC Panels (6 packs): $130 (average $20 each and taxes)
Zip Ties 1K pack 4in. and some stray larger ones: $20
Peg Board 2ft by 4ft (3): $30. To reinforce the 2nd floor along with the NIC panels and coroplast.
Coroplast 3ft by 6ft (2): $12
Dowels 1/4 in 4ft and 1in 4ft (several): $20
Boards 1ft by 4ft (2): $20. For ramp and steps 1/2in by 4ft (2) square dowels cut 9in into 4 pieces.

Total roughly about $350 ($250 without mats)

That's pretty much it. The rest of the expenses were to by wood glue and tools (I had none). Oh and I'll put down the 6ft by 4ft rubber horse stall mats (2) at $50 each for base flooring. I like them because their cool, provide traction and are relatively easy to clean.

 

[Zeroshero]

I like the ex-pen for my bun, he has a combo of his baby cage that he naps in (which is quite large for him still) and a little courtyard that I made by attaching the ex-pen to his cage. So far it works but I am sure eventually I will have to use my taller ex-pens. I have just started removing objects he could get up on to look over the top of his pen. The ex-pens can be purchased up to 48" high panels. I highly recommend spending the extra money for a step through door. I bought one with a door you actually had to duck down to get through that wasnt a wise purchase I sold it cheap! I have one without a door which works but I have a habit of losing snaps. The two ex-pens I have owned for several years, they have been used inside and out and are nowhere near needing replaced.

 

[lozeldatkm]

I have a Flemish giant as well, and while this isn't how most people do it, she has free roam of the house, just like a dog or a cat. She has a little blanketed corner of the kitchen that is completely her area, with food and water, and the rest of the house is open to her, with the exception of a couple rooms where I keep tools and electronics, and the laundry room. Basically I've rabbit proofed every part of the house she can get to so there's no exposed wires of any kind. The biggest challenge is getting her to stop chewing on the walls but we're working on that.