Rabbits and wire flooring?

[supermissdeedee]

My friends family has been breeding rabbits for many years. She says that rabbits HAVE to be on wire flooring (Great time to forget why she says that:expressionless) she says its for their health. I disagree im fine with rabbits living on wire, I wouldn't do it personally though. I say rabbits will live as well as wired rabbits if not better on solid ground. So what do you think is it better to have wire floors or go without?

 

[DandelionHollow]

I also agree that is best for rabbits to have wire-bottomed cages. For one main reason, the wire floor separates them from their urine & cocoa puffs. I dont think it is good for them to stand on the wire however, so my buns have a wire-bottomed floor with a mat on the opposite side from their potty corner for them to rest on. That way I dont have to worry about the illnesses attached to having my bun sitting in their own pee & poop, and I also dont have to worry about my bun developing sore hocks from having to stand on the wire.

 

[MiniLopHop]

All of my rabbits are in the house so they mostly have carpet. One has a grate over the top of her litter to prevent her from digging. The other two do not have a grate, just the litter box. As long as they have a good absorbant material (I use wood stove pellets) in the box with hay then they don't end up standing in urine. The box is cleaned often enough that having some poop in the box is not a big deal. Even the angora manages to keep his fur clean, with the exception of some occasional hay, with this system.

 

[lagomorph]

It really depends on how much space they have. If they are in standard cages most of the time, it will get dirty quickly without a wire floor, and you will have to work extra hard to keep it clean. However, you might be able to get them to do most of their business in one corner of the cage, by spreading some litter there, and putting their food on it. They usually poop and pee where they eat, in my experience.

 

[MiniLopHop]

lagomorph, that is true about the space. My bonded pair have half a room and my single has 10ftx3ft designated as hers, but the gate is never closed so she can roam the room. They all know to go back to their litter boxes to do their thing so it's not all over the room. It wouldn't be possible for them to be on wire flooring all the time. Particularly the one in our bedroom