building a rabbit cage... need advice

[stumble_n_mumble]

hey guys i have a pretty large neutered male rabbit. i rescued him and he is the sweetest thing. i live in ny and lately the weather has been so hot. i was thinking of building him a cage that is hardware cloth all the way around including the bottom so he can run around on the dirt and attatch a little house to the end of it. should it be wider then longer or should i have a long run so he can run back and forth. he loves being on the ground but im afraid to let him run the backyard because hes a quick digger. i put him in the chicken coop just to run around and he runs and jumps while spazing out lol. hes the cutest little guy but i want to make him happy and i know he is not happy in the cage we bought for him. thanks to any and all help.

 

[chels23]

When I was younger I raised rabbits for 4-H. When it got really hot in the summer we would fill plastic 2 liter bottles with water and freeze them. The rabbits would lay next to them when they needed to get cool.

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

i tried that he hates them lol. he beats the crud out of them hahaaa.

 

[mom2jedi]

Quote:
That's so funny!

As far as your run goes, putting hardware cloth on the bottom is a good idea as well as having a house on one end. As long as it's tall enough for him to jump around it kinda depends on what kind of space you have available. He'll be happy with either long or square as long as there is enough room for him. I wouldn't make it too skinny and of course the more space the better if you have room. Rabbits like lots of space.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Make it small enough that you can move it easily, because if it's on the ground, droppings and ammonia are going to build up quickly.

The droppings might not fall through the hardware cloth

 

[LV426]

You might try something like this
http://www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-run.html

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

i tried to get the pvc pipes and its just not gonna work

 

[mom2jedi]

Quote:
Very true. A litter box in the hutch or run for them to use will keep the ground from being their potty, just make sure you change it often. There are many sizes of hardware cloth, I agree that droppings may not fall through the 1/2" cloth easily, but there is 1/2"x 1" as well as larger versions - 2" x 3" I think? That would keep them from digging some but they would still be able to make small holes with that size.

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

i might just build a bigger run off the ground like a hutch but make it huge lol. idk i gotta figure this out

 

[mom2jedi]

Ok, so this is what hubby is doing for me for our two rabbits. 4' x 4' x 2' with a divider in the middle and raised 2' off the ground. Each bunny will have 4' x 2' x 2' and it will be high enough to not kill my back when I have to feed, water, etc. The back will be solid as well as the roof and I think he's planning 18" down the side to be solid as well so they have a "box" at one end that will be wind proof. The rest of it will be 1/2" hardware cloth with small cat litter pans for little boxes since I will not have a metal tray underneath. Eventually I will help him build a dig proof run and ramps from their hutch so they can have playtime with more space. It won't have to be very tall just enough to keep them in and give them running room. I'll post some pictures if you like once we're done.