appropriate pen for british giant mix

[tannr]

I’ve had a 5lb rabbit (Fou) for 3 years, and about 2 months ago I adopted a 9lb british giant mix (Frances) who is a master escape artist. Part of this is that Fou never even attempted to get out of the 2ft tall x-pen he had always had, so I just bought a duplicate when I was prepping for a new rabbit. Obviously, at that point I didn’t know I’d be getting a rabbit that is twice as big as my first one, and she pretty much immediately started jumping out of her pen. I then bought 2 new 3ft x pens so that when I started pre bonding I would be able to switch the rabbits’ pens every day, and that worked for a few weeks but now Frances is jumping out of her 3ft pen, and this morning she jumped right into Fou’s and they got in a fight. 

I know Midwest makes wire x pen covers, but when I tried covering the pens before Frances would just jump on top of them and I don’t want that either. Also, those would be useless after the rabbits are bonded because my plan for their permanent, larger set up isn’t rectangular. I also could get 4ft tall x pens, but I am not sure if she’d be able to jump out of that as well. I am thinking of adding an additional foot of height to the current x pen using C&C grids, but I don’t have enough to do both pens, and I am a little scared that if Frances got out of her pen she would get into Fou’s and hurt him. 

Does anyone have any experience with anything like this? I am really stressed out and have been spending like 4x as much money on rabbits since getting the second one, so I am hoping there’s something I can do that doesn’t involve spending at least another $100, although of course I will if I have to. 

[DanaNM]

Oh man! Nothing like pre-bonding to show you how high your bunny can actually jump.

I think you have two options: get two new, 4ft x-pens (or modify both pens to be at least 4 ft), and sell your old pens, and/or modify both to have a roof. You could use CC grids, or even something like wire mesh or chicken wire that could be wired to the top of the pen.

Given that she might be able to clear 4 ft, I’d prob opt to make a temporary roof on both pens with a less expensive material like chicken wire. Chicken wire is annoying to work with, but you can cut it and wrap the wires around the x-pen, which would make a very secure roof for much cheaper than the ones sold online.
That way you will be able to swap who’s on what side during pre-bonding.

You might also check at the hardware store to see what you could use to increase the height of your current pens.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Cocoa]

What I would do is just put a fitted sheet over her pen and then use something to block her from jumping on top

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