2019 Cages - add your photo!

[Hermelin]

I really like what you have done, and I miss not having rabbits outside. Here are some of the problems I encountered.

I used to have rabbits outside with a similar set up. I put their cages inside of their hutches so they could go in and out, and I would lock them up in there at night for safety. I had to put wire inside the pen (hardware cloth) on the ground all around the fence to keep them from digging out. I ended up using the coated wire because one of my rabbits cut his paw on the wire trying to dig out. Rabbit tunnels can go long distances, so I would only let them dig so far, then I would fill it in and set something over the hole so they could not dig in that spot again. The pen was close to a tree, and my rabbits got tiny ticks that were brought in by birds. If mice got into their hay, the rabbits would get tape worms. I got some Revolution from the vet, which solved the parasite problem. I do feel that my rabbits enjoyed being outside more than they do inside. I enjoyed having them outside because that is where I like to be in the summer. My dream was to have an outdoor chain link covered pen, but I ended up bringing them inside. We also had a problem with a person in our house having allergies, and outside was where they needed to be. Because of the cost of the Revolution, keeping them outside was expensive, but it allowed me to spend more time with them, so I feel it was worth it.

I now have them inside the house. Coyotes and red fox have moved into our area. I have watched a fox jump over a 4' chain link fence with no problem. I think it possible that a coyotes could do the same. They were not in our area at the time I had my rabbits outside. We also have eagles and hawks in our area. I provided plenty of cover for my rabbits, but one day I saw hawks circling above.

I would like to make it safer but I live at home, so feel bad of changing. When I’m planning after being done with my studies and move to an apartment. I have foxes in my area and also hawks, eagles and my neighbors dogs. But, also a cat that will patrol the yard and spend a few hours with the bunnies.

Most people that own dogs in my area, let their dog run lose without leash because I live next to a forest (2 min walk from my house).

But my dad it’s always home and their cage it’s near our bedrooms. So we can hear them if they get scared. We also installed a lamp that will get turned on if something of the size of a cat move onto the yard during the night.

Myself have seen rats and mouses but never near the rabbits cage. So there are a lot of things to think about.

The net on cage will only keep birds away because they can see it from a distance. Creating a safe space for them, but if it was a permanent cage, I would build a real run instead.

One of my bunnies can’t be indoors, she became really stressed and aggressive. She literally messed the whole house during nights. She only became calm outdoors.

The other bunny was really scared of humans, being outdoors helped him to slowly get used with humans and learn to trust people. He will soon become an indoor bunny.

I always fill their hole up when it become too deep or dig the wrong way. They can never disappear under the ground.

I remember couple of years ago with my first bunny, my dad ran out with a broomstick in the middle of the night with only his underwear to chase away a fox from the yard. Because my bunny started to thumping in the cage, waking everyone up. That was the last time the fox came to the house, that bunny only lived to 8 years (passed away because of GI stasis).

Myself also have to vaccinate all my bunnies and watch everyday after ticks. At least I don’t have to worry about snakes because they’re only exist one venomous snake and there only exist 3 species of snakes.

So it’s not completely safe having my bunny outdoors, I can only make it as safe as I can. Most people often use dog run to build the pen for the bunnies. My neighbor have done that with mesh on top, it become a lot safer. They will often have soiled ground or mesh on bottom of the run.

 

[Niomi]

I would like to make it safer but I live at home, so feel bad of changing. When I’m planning after being done with my studies and move to an apartment. I have foxes in my area and also hawks, eagles and my neighbors dogs. But, also a cat that will patrol the yard and spend a few hours with the bunnies.

Most people that own dogs in my area, let their dog run lose without leash because I live next to a forest (2 min walk from my house).

But my dad it’s always home and their cage it’s near our bedrooms. So we can hear them if they get scared. We also installed a lamp that will get turned on if something of the size of a cat move onto the yard during the night.

Myself have seen rats and mouses but never near the rabbits cage. So there are a lot of things to think about.

The net on cage will only keep birds away because they can see it from a distance. Creating a safe space for them, but if it was a permanent cage, I would build a real run instead.

One of my bunnies can’t be indoors, she became really stressed and aggressive. She literally messed the whole house during nights. She only became calm outdoors.

The other bunny was really scared of humans, being outdoors helped him to slowly get used with humans and learn to trust people. He will soon become an indoor bunny.

I always fill their hole up when it become too deep or dig the wrong way. They can never disappear under the ground.

I remember couple of years ago with my first bunny, my dad ran out with a broomstick in the middle of the night with only his underwear to chase away a fox from the yard. Because my bunny started to thumping in the cage, waking everyone up. That was the last time the fox came to the house, that bunny only lived to 8 years (passed away because of GI stasis).

Myself also have to vaccinate all my bunnies and watch everyday after ticks. At least I don’t have to worry about snakes because they’re only exist one venomous snake and there only exist 3 species of snakes.

So it’s not completely safe having my bunny outdoors, I can only make it as safe as I can. Most people often use dog run to build the pen for the bunnies. My neighbor have done that with mesh on top, it become a lot safer. They will often have soiled ground or mesh on bottom of the run.

I did not use wire fencing. I was lucky enough to have a relative give me dog kennel panels, so I had hutches inside a double size dog kennel. There were no problems with ticks until my neighbor let part of his yard that was close to my hutch grow wild. That attracted the birds and ticks. I did not have a top. For cover I used plastic lawn furniture for them to hide under, and I put up a screen tarp for shade. To chase away mice, I would sprinkle mint oil. I believe that if you can keep your rabbits safe outside and they are happy, you are doing the right thing. Even the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary keeps their feral rabbits outside.

 

[Playdoh52]

Hey Playdoh! I am not totally opposed to outdoor housing but do prefer indoor. Some climates are more suitable than others for outdoor housing (and some climates are not suitable at all). In your video, I like that people can see the stark contrast between the former small hutches and the current large space they now have.

I sometimes refer the following video to people looking at outdoor housing.
I totally agree and should have Barrie's fence at least 2 foot down because they Haven tunneled out and escaped. And I have sometime let them ( when they escape) free roam the yard until my husband's available to help me return them to there pen. Thanks for your info!

With your set-up, (I didn't watch entire video but skipped ahead a couple times so don't know if you mentioned this) I would be concerned about the bunnies possibly tunneling out of the penned area (or predators tunneling in). Some people will put hardware cloth beneath the soil to prevent this - just a thought. Another way some have handled that is to dig down around the perimeter and sink the fence itself straight down (like 18" ? ).

 

[Playdoh52]

I really like what you have done, and I miss not having rabbits outside. Here are some of the problems I encountered.

I used to have rabbits outside with a similar set up. I put their cages inside of their hutches so they could go in and out, and I would lock them up in there at night for safety. I had to put wire inside the pen (hardware cloth) on the ground all around the fence to keep them from digging out. I ended up using the coated wire because one of my rabbits cut his paw on the wire trying to dig out. Rabbit tunnels can go long distances, so I would only let them dig so far, then I would fill it in and set something over the hole so they could not dig in that spot again. The pen was close to a tree, and my rabbits got tiny ticks that were brought in by birds. If mice got into their hay, the rabbits would get tape worms. I got some Revolution from the vet, which solved the parasite problem. I do feel that my rabbits enjoyed being outside more than they do inside. I enjoyed having them outside because that is where I like to be in the summer. My dream was to have an outdoor chain link covered pen, but I ended up bringing them inside. We also had a problem with a person in our house having allergies, and outside was where they needed to be. Because of the cost of the Revolution, keeping them outside was expensive, but it allowed me to spend more time with them, so I feel it was worth it.

I now have them inside the house. Coyotes and red fox have moved into our area. I have watched a fox jump over a 4' chain link fence with no problem. I think it possible that a coyotes could do the same. They were not in our area at the time I had my rabbits outside. We also have eagles and hawks in our area. I provided plenty of cover for my rabbits, but one day I saw hawks circling above.

Blue eyes I totally feel you. I'm thinking of taking my father's old abonded dog pen run with chain link to make my bunnies another outdoor area I could switch them between. Maybe a tarp top could keep air born preditors away?? I do have coyeetes and red foxes that migrate into our rual town during winter, but I hate to saw I have them in there small hutches off the ground or inside during winter.

 

[Blue eyes]

The recent posts have some good info regarding outdoor housing. Perhaps the moderators could move this discussion (from May 20) to a separate thread ("Outdoor housing ideas"). It seems worthy of its own thread.

In the spirit of keeping plenty of visual ideas, here are a few ways to incorporate a standard (small) outdoor hutch into a larger - and still secure - outdoor space.

 

[Niomi]

Blue eyes I totally feel you. I'm thinking of taking my father's old abonded dog pen run with chain link to make my bunnies another outdoor area I could switch them between. Maybe a tarp top could keep air born preditors away?? I do have coyeetes and red foxes that migrate into our rual town during winter, but I hate to saw I have them in there small hutches off the ground or inside during winter.

I had my rabbits outside during the winter. They had electric water bowls, and lots of hay in their hutches. I would let them out of their cages, and they would play in the snow. They would only stay out for about 20 min, and then go back in their hutches. They would be fine as long as they had plenty of hay to bed down in. When the snow was wet, I would not let them out because I was afraid they would get sick if they got too wet. I used tarps to try to create shade in the summer. The sun would heat up the tarps and hold the heat in, making them not a good choice for creating shade. I bought some mesh tarps for dog kennels, and they worked great! The down side is that they are more expensive.

 

[RWAF]

The recent posts have some good info regarding outdoor housing. Perhaps the moderators could move this discussion (from May 20) to a separate thread ("Outdoor housing ideas"). It seems worthy of its own thread.

In the spirit of keeping plenty of visual ideas, here are a few ways to incorporate a standard (small) outdoor hutch into a larger - and still secure - outdoor space.

View attachment 41727

View attachment 41728

View attachment 41729

View attachment 41730

There are a lot also on our RWAF Pinterest boards. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rwaf/outdoor-rabbit-housing/ along with advice about safe outdoor housing on our website https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-housing/outdoor-rabbit-housing/

 

[Butterscotch]

Mine is a work in progress. I took this pic after I had removed the x-pens and collected all of the blankets from the floor to wash them. Normally I have 4 connected x-pens that surround these cages and provide 2 separate play areas. When they are fixed and bonded (fingers crossed) I will sell one of these cages, put the extension kit that I bought on the other, and allow them to free roam in my living room with one of these cages as their home base.

 

[NotaCocoaPuff]

I don't have an enclosure but here is my buns little area. He likes the tile floor because its cool (we live in FL). He recently started using his new house and loves to dig at fleece scraps/blankets. Nothing fancy for him yet but we're working on it

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

We didn’t need a den, so we turned it into a bun room

 

[Bribunny77]

I ended up turning an outdoor hutch into a home base area for my bunny. He has free roam of my room and smaller play areas scattered around.

 

[Niomi]

There are a lot also on our RWAF Pinterest boards. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rwaf/outdoor-rabbit-housing/ along with advice about safe outdoor housing on our website https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-housing/outdoor-rabbit-housing/

Thank you so much for the post. Here in the USA, there is a real lack of information and little help for people who want to keep their outdoor rabbits happy and safe.

 

[Butterscotch]

I ended up turning an outdoor hutch into a home base area for my bunny. He has free roam of my room and smaller play areas scattered around.View attachment 41761

Where can I get a litter box hay rack combo like that?? I love it! My buns need one.

 

[Niomi]

I have seen many of those hay rack combos on Etsy.com

 

[NotaCocoaPuff]

Where can I get a litter box hay rack combo like that?? I love it! My buns need one.

I have one that’s new that I don’t use. It just didn’t work out for my bunny. I could see how much it would be to ship it from Fl

 

[Lauren Kiernan]

Etsy!

 

[Butterscotch]

I have one that’s new that I don’t use. It just didn’t work out for my bunny. I could see how much it would be to ship it from Fl

I don't know how to PM you...do I "start a conversation" with you? I didn't want to respond on this thread, it's supposed to be photos only. I would love to give your hay rack a new home!

 

[Kellyann]

Alfie has become more or less a house rabbit(out while we are home and not during his sleep period) The post of outdoor runs are great!
Here is his c&c cage. It's in our dining room, the sunroom/front room is too hot this time of y ear.

 

[daisyminnie]

brand new bunny parent here! (3 weeks)
this is my pen, it’s about 4 ft x 9 ft and 36 inches high. i keep it in my bedroom so i can keep an eye on my girls!

 

[Leanne1990]

Weve just built this for the rescue bunny we collect today, once the grass seed grows a big run is going on the front too we did it all in less than 2 weeks including building the shed, I'm so glad my partner is a joiner