New Zealands...

[FlopsnWills]

So, since Charlie's passing, I've been thinking about the next animal I'm going to bring into my life, and I've been thinking about saving one of the many meat rabbits in my area. I live in rural Missouri and just browsing through Craigslist, in the farm and garden section, I was amazed at how many more rabbits are being sold for meat rabbits, than pets. :nerves1
My question is, Charlie's cage was a Marchioro cage, I'm pretty sure the biggest one they make. The dimensions are 46x23x20 (or 7.3 sq. ft) Is this big enough for a New Zealand? I know they can get up to about 12 pounds, and Charlie was only 5, but this cage was very roomy for him.
I tried the NIC cages, and I didn't really like them, so I'm wanting to use a store bought cage. Thanks for any comments I picked up Charlie's ashes today... very depressing. I left them at my parents house. It's nice to know I still have a piece of him, but I would rather not see it all of the time. If I did end up getting a NZ, I would probably wait until after I moved. My lease ends in November, not only would it stress the rabbit out, but I'm hoping to get a bigger place in the future.

 

[naturestee]

I think the cage would be ok if the bun gets out a lot. Have you looked into the Leith Petwerks cages? They're really nice and you can get multi-level ones.
http://www.leithpetwerks.com/

And actually, if you'd like to help a meat rabbit then go adopt from the Missouri HRS. They recently took in a huge number of confiscated NZW's from a meat farm. And of course, a bunch of them had babies. So you'd have the whole range of ages to choose from. These guys can be really hard to adopt out due to the size and coloring.
http://www.hrsmostl.com/

:hug:

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

I just looked at the Photo's on the Missouri HRS site and wow those poor bunnies

 

[snap]

There's a huge difference between 5 pounds and 12. XD I have a 4 pound rabbit, and two New Zealands. There is a huge difference...really. XD

The main problem I have with finding them a new cage is height. The one they have now is maybe 14-16 inches tall? They can't stand up straight, it's far too short. :/ I'd really like about 2 feet tall so they can stand up with a few inches to spare, but nobody likes making cages like that that can go outside. XD It shouldn't be hard to find one for inside though.

Do you have pictures of the cage? Because my buns have 9 sq ft pens and they like that, but none of the Marchioro cages I've seen look that big. :/

 

[FlopsnWills]

Wow, I haven't checked their website in awhile and those pictures are so depressing.
Why would you not want a huge white bunny? Is it because of their eyes? People can be so silly sometimes. I was actually wondering how in the world I was only going to pick one if I actually brought myself to a farm that sold meat rabbits. If I adopt through the HRS, I won't have to put myself through that. Thanks for letting me know that they have a bunch available, as I'm sure they'll still have some by the time I move.
Here's a pic of Charlie's cage, it's not his but it's exactly like it...
http://www.rabbit.org/rabbit-center/retail/lrgcageL.jpg
And for fun... I sure do miss these guys

 

[naturestee]

Yeah, a lot of people don't like the size and red eyes. I don't know why. I think Oberon's (my NZW) eyes are beautiful! Even the smaller "cuter" breeds can be hard to adopt out if they have red eyes. Lionheads, dwarfs, etc. usually have longer shelter stays than their dark-eyed siblings. I like the big squishy buns though!

What size are the doors on the cage? A lot of store-bought cages have doors that are uncomfortably small for larger buns. The Leith Petwerks ones have nice big doors though. We have some larger girls at the shelter that aren't quite NZW size and I have no problem picking them up through the doors. Actually I can fit my shoulders through them if I'm careful.

Pens are a great choice if you have the floor space. That's what I use for most of mine.

I loved your little guys.:cry2

 

[slavetoabunny]

That is the size cage I use for my fosters (it's actually a half pen) and personally I think it would be too small for a 12 pound rabbit. My fosters are 3 pounds each and I wouldn't put them in any smaller enclosure. Can you build a larger NIC cage?

 

[terrellflyer]

As a nzw breeder and raiser the cage is large enough,good luck and join the ARABA if you want more good info. on bunnies.

 

[FlopsnWills]

Yeah, the doors are pretty small... I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I have some time to think about it. My sister called me today and told me a man she works with has a daughter that loves bunnies and they had an oopsie litter. They're trying to rehome six baby bunnies. As tempting as it is, I know I want to wait until I move and have a bit more space. I still have my NIC panels, so maybe I'll make a pen instead of the condo. I didn't like my NIC cages because I couldn't really clean them. I had bad flooring, so I just got sick of them completely and bought store bought cages. Maybe I'll look into them again. Thanks for all the replies! Also, thanks naturestee... I loved them too, it's still so weird that they're both gone.