New bunny owner, questions on cages
- Thread starter kenna219
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RabbitGirl101
Well-Known Member
It depends on the size of the rabbit themselves, 2 dwarf/small rabbits could comfortably live in a 12 square feet enclosure.
Thanks
I would say that that size isn't sufficient for one bunny.
Unfortunately, there are no concrete rules about sizing and much is subjective opinion. Those opinions vary greatly.
I am of the opinion that a rabbit needs far more space than 12 square feet for exercise.
For an alternate opinion, I just pulled this from the House Rabbit Society:
Bigger is better! A rabbit’s home should be at least 4-6 times the size of your bunny when he’s entirely stretched out–more if he is confined for a large amount of the day. Enclosure sizes also should be decided in conjunction with the amount of exercise time and space the rabbit has. One guideline to go by is at least 8 square feet of enclosure time combined with at least at least 24 square feet of exercise space, for 1-2 rabbits, in which the rabbit(s) can run and play at least 5 hours per day.
http://rabbit.org/faq-housing/
So, according to the HRS, that 24 square feet is just the exercise area and is independent of the hutch (and loft). I believe your 12 square ft that you mentioned included the loft.
By chance have you looked through the "2013 cages you've made" thread? That might also give you some other ideas to consider.
Unfortunately, there are no concrete rules about sizing and much is subjective opinion. Those opinions vary greatly.
I am of the opinion that a rabbit needs far more space than 12 square feet for exercise.
For an alternate opinion, I just pulled this from the House Rabbit Society:
Bigger is better! A rabbit’s home should be at least 4-6 times the size of your bunny when he’s entirely stretched out–more if he is confined for a large amount of the day. Enclosure sizes also should be decided in conjunction with the amount of exercise time and space the rabbit has. One guideline to go by is at least 8 square feet of enclosure time combined with at least at least 24 square feet of exercise space, for 1-2 rabbits, in which the rabbit(s) can run and play at least 5 hours per day.
http://rabbit.org/faq-housing/
So, according to the HRS, that 24 square feet is just the exercise area and is independent of the hutch (and loft). I believe your 12 square ft that you mentioned included the loft.
By chance have you looked through the "2013 cages you've made" thread? That might also give you some other ideas to consider.
Last edited:
Here's the link to the other cages:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f69/2013-cages-youve-made-73877/
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f69/2013-cages-youve-made-73877/
Imbrium
Jennifer
It's very important to note that there are two different schools of thought on this. Anyone who says 12 square feet is plenty of space for 1-2 bunnies (unless they specify that they'd need 4-5+ hours a day out of the cage each day) probably breeds/shows rabbits; anyone who says it's way too little (or adds the caveat about out-of-the-cage time) is probably a pet owner. Both are right... to a degree.
The truth is that altered "pet" rabbits and intact bunnies kept for breeding and/or show purposes have two *very* different sets of space (and nutritional) requirements. The requirements most pet owners suggest are correct for their own rabbits but not necessarily suitable for breeding and show bunnies and vice versa - in other words, which guidelines are appropriate for you depends on which category you fall into.
If you're planning to breed and/or show, the answer to your question is "one". Why? Because that's *plenty* of space for a breeding and/or show bunny but because said bunnies can't be spayed/neutered, it is not possible to truly bond them and it's extremely unsafe to house two or more of them together.
If you're looking at getting pet rabbits then the answer varies (between zero and three) depending on the size of the bunnies and the amount of time they spend out of the enclosure running around in a much larger area. For multiple rabbits to be safely housed together, they must both be spayed/neutered and they have to be properly bonded. If one or more is not altered (regardless of their gender(s)) and/or they're not fully bonded, they can get into vicious or even deadly fights. As a note, trio bonding is particularly challenging and volatile, so I *strongly* discourage even attempting it until/unless you've already got a good bit of experience with a bonded pair.
