Cage Building Materials

[ahri22]

I have decided to build a bunny condo, basicallyusing wood and chicken wire. I know that you can't use pine shavingsfor bunnies, but is it okay to build a frame out of pine given that thebunny may well chew it??

I think we also have some Eucalyptus hardwood which we could use. Wouldthat be a better alternative?? I haven't heard any problems withbunnies and Eucalyptus...

Cheers
Fiona

 

[bluebird]

I dont know where everyone gets this info thatpine shavings cannot be used i use them and soo do most of the breedersi know.my outdoor cages are made of pine.i dont use chicken wirebecause racoons will chew right through it.i use welded wire itsheavier.i dont know if you have racoons in Austrailia.bluebird

 

[ahri22]

Our cage will be inside and we don't have raccoons The worst thing we get in the backyard are possums...

I have read a few times on the forum about pine shavings...I haven'thad experience with it myself. We started off having shavings in ourold bunny's cage, but in the end just put in a wadded up old couchcover for him to sleep on, because he didn't go toilet in his sleepingarea anyway...

 

[Crystalballl]

Pine Shavings have been known to cause majorhealth risks in your Rabbits. Liver Disease the majorone.Which is fatal.

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/liver-disease.html

http://www.rabbit.org/care/shavings.html

As for other shavings that could be used. I used to use HempShavings they have no smell whatsoever and I bought them atwalmart. I now use Yesterday's News or something similiar, Ifind it much cleaner.

As for building the actual cage. I'm not 100% sure on that,so I don't want to say for sure. I'm sure someone will comealong with better knowledge on that part.

Crystal

 

[clarzoo]

Chicken wire is a fairly flimsy wire, anddoesn't add much rigidity to any structure. If you have a bunny thatweighs more than a few pounds, the wire will bend if he/she leansagainst it. Not good for a condo. If this is just an indoor cage, I'drecommend hardware cloth at the very least (it is 1/4" square mesh thatcan be found at hardware stores)- but I prefer galvanized welded wire.I've seen some indoor cages made with 1" square wire that look prettysnazzy- I use 1x2" for everything but the floors of my outdoor cages.You can find it at farm supply stores (like Tractor Supply) If you usewood framing, either prepare for the rabbits to chew it- or figure outa way to have it on the outside of the wire.

I read the article about pine shavings. Interesting. I knew cedarshavings were bad for the reasons listed in the article, but havealways been told and read that pine was safe. After re-reading it, thearticle says that aromatic shavings are the ones that cause theproblem. I think if you stick with kiln-dried pine shavings you areprobably fine- they don't have much scent to them. Pelleted woodbedding (like Woody Pet, etc...) is basically just made of chopped uppine shavings- and it seems like most rabbit people (myself, included)highly recommend that stuff.

 

[Crystalballl]

clarzoo wrote:

I think if you stick with kiln-dried pine shavingsyou are probably fine- they don't have much scent to them. Pelletedwood bedding (like Woody Pet, etc...) is basically just made of choppedup pine shavings- and it seems like most rabbit people (myself,included) highly recommend that stuff.

Yes, if it is kiln dried, it is okay. Just not the regularshavings you buy in a pet store or feed store, etc.

 

[Bassetluv]

Just a note: not only can predators chew their way into a cage throughchicken wire, but rabbits can chew their way out through it (I foundthis out the hard way when I was a young teen...I had an outdoorexercise pen for my young rabbits made out of chicken wire with a woodframe, and one afternoon found them all on the outside of thepen...they'd chewed a big hole through one end of the wire...to rabbitsI guess the grass is always greener on the other side ofthebunny enclosure). Chicken wire isn'theavy-duty enough to be used as a cage to keep bunnies in...

 

[jil101ca]

I have an old cage someone dumped off for memade from chicken wire and wood. I hate it! very flimsy and poorlymade. I have on the other hand a cage I made for my flemish out of woodand ckicken wire that I really like. i shopped around and found someheavy gage chciken wire that although it does have a little give whenshe leans on it it is heavy enough that she can't chew through it. Iwould have preferred 1x1 wire but can't get it anymore around here.

 

[clarzoo]

Crystalballl wrote:

Yes, if it is kiln dried, it is okay. Just not the regularshavings you buy in a pet store or feed store, etc.

That article should point that out more clearly, IMO.

It seems most pine shavings you can find nowadays are kiln-dried,regardless of where you buy them. Maybe that's just in my area?

 

[ahri22]

Well, It'll be easy enough to get something morerigid than chicken wire...that was just what I was thinking withouthaving fully investigated, if you know what I mean.

I want the structure to be long lasting and pretty rigid, so chicken wire is out...

I'm thinking that any wood used would be dried wood already...yougenerally wouldn't build anything with green wood. My husband is prettymuch a wood expert, so he knows what's good for building...just want tomake sure that it's bunny safe as well!!

 

[hunnybunny63]

ive always thoguht that chicken wire was unsafe to sue for bunniys cgaes or runs as they can get their paws stuck in it!

Why not make a NIC condo instead of a wooden based cage?

 

[tundrakatiebean]

I'm planning on making a cage as well and I'mplanning to usethisWhichis just welded wire fencing that you can get coated in plastic oruncoated and sandwichthe edgesbetween two pieces ofkiln dried pine (cheaper and safe for bunnies)!