Building a bunny cage?

[Battie]

Hello!

Quincy has been living happily in his NIC Condo, but I’m not completely satisfied with my build.  As it is it’s messy and unnattractive, and since I live in a tiny studio that’s kind of a bummer.

I’m pretty sure I could modify/remake the current cage to fix the messy problem, but I’m thinking of going all out and building a wooden hutch.  I figure that would be less expensive than buying one pre-built.

I’m not sure how elaborate my skills and budget would allow it to be, but I’ll probably make it to the hardware store some time this weekend to price things out.  I’m not sure what kind of wood I should look at.  I’ve seen a few patterns made from particle board, but that stuff tends to be VERY heavy. Are there any specific woods to avoid?  I would also love to paint or stain the exterior (I have a vision of a deep cherry or black finish with some kind of brightly colored moulding around the top).  Is that safe?

I will have access to my dad’s power tools and a hand-powered miter saw, but he doesn’t have a table saw.

Edit: The first cage in the Cool Habitats — Other gallery looks like a good idea.  Any idea how much that might have cost to build?

[bunnytowne]

I have no idea about those things.  I tried to make a cage and I kept getting cut by the wire so I threw it out. 

Am not good at the NIC ones either.   I am better off with the store bought ones.

I have seen wonderful ones here. Someone made a cage out of some cabinets.  They put tile in there ceramic tile it looked like. The doors were wire framed with wood.  Was a wonderful idea I loved it.  Wish I could do something like that. Looked easy to do too.

I dont’ know if it is listed with fun habitats here on this site. Or what ever the name of the ones are with their homemade cages.

People here are very creative with stuff like that.

[Ruffles&Daisy]

I also really liked the first bunny cage that looked like a cabinet. I bet it wouldn’t be so hard to construct. I liked that it was on rollers and that it actually looked like a piece of furniture. We have a dog crate currently, but I just recently bought an x pen. My husband just put the flooring in tonight, super easy to do. I would recommend an x pen for sure. I can’t wait to transition Ruff into it. He already seems interested and it’s loads bigger than his current habitat.

[BunnyLiz]

I think BT might be talking about my cage. It was made out of a work bench, looked like cabinets. I would definitely cover the floor and walls to protect against anything wet. I used that stuff that goes in shower stalls, not real tile but it looks kinda like it, pretty cheap too.

[BinkyBunny]

Oh!  You have to check out http://www.rabbitcondo.com.  i will be posting it soon in the cool habitats section, but I was just emailed this great link.  They give you step by step instructions and have video too!

[RabbitPam]

BB, I get a website host page when I click that link.

[Beka27]

darn , me too. can you repost the link BB?

[Battie]

Yep, nothing at the link, but I will look for its posting on the Habitats page.

Using a workbench is a clever idea. I wondered if I should go to a thrift store and see if there are any cabinets I could modify.

[MooBunnay]

I agree – that one is very nice looking. Do you have any pics of your current NIC cage? I built a few different ones for my bunnies, and my husband really likes them, and he is total net-freak-everything-must-match-and-look-nice. I used the black NIC cubes, and carpeted all the levels with black carpet. On the very bottom I put faux tile (and they also have that faux hardwood that would probably look really nice). What is the messy part that you don’t like? Is it the hay getting everywhere? If so, a covered cat litterbox could help with that problem, that is what I use for most of my bunnies.

[BinkyBunny]

OOOP! Sorry, I wrote it wrong. i corrected it up there, but here it is again. http://www.rabbitcondo.com

[TARM]

Ugh. My nic condos are driving me crazy. They’re a mess and I can’t stand them…lol! I really like that same condo everyone else has been talking about but I am not at all handy. Tank, Ranger, Digger and Thumper would really like a better house.

[Beka27]

oh my gosh!  i clicked on that condo link and i scrolled down a bit. 

this is what they say on this site… http://www.rabbitcondo.com/  under a section about shedding…

When we first started getting interested in rabbits, we were told they only shed four times a year. Little did we realize that meant all Summer, all Fall, all Winter and all Spring.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!  so true…  it certainly feels that way! 

[kralspace]

Finishing my second year with house bunnies, I agree that the NIC condos can be messy, but I’m glad we’ve had them. Their big advantage is that they let you try out different sizes and configurations to see what fits best in the house and what fits best in their lifestyle.

I hope this spring to be ambitious and build some permanent houses for each couple.

Pringles and Toby definitely enjoy the big 4 level, 2grid wide by 6 grid long setup, racing up and down the levels by leaping. They use each floor at a different time of the day and enjoy wide open spaces on 2 levels. They spend most of the evenings out roaming the back rooms.

Daisy and Lola have a 2 level (2×5 grid) condo with ramps. It was bigger but they didn’t use the other space so I downsized it to fit in the living room. They prefer several hiding spots instead of wide open spaces to run in it. They’re generally out when I’m home until bedtime.

My nursing home pair (just kidding, they can be very lively) Simba and Hershey have a 2 level (2 x 4 grid) with small hop ups and lots of hiding places. I have 3 different types of litterboxes that they use somewhat, but still pee randomly and a lot, so I keep thick towels on the floors. All I have to do is lift out their hiding box and change the towel and sheepskin blankies each night. Simba likes to come out and explore at night, but Hershey prefers to lay on the ramp and watch.

Having them in NIC condos I can change to suit their needs has really helped me visualize what their final condos might need to be like.

[wendyzski]

I was at Target this past weekend and I noticed that they have their version of NIC cubes on sale through 1/3 for $12.99/pkg.

[Ruffles&Daisy]

Ok I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say YES to the X pen and NO to the NIC condo. We set up our pen put in a floor (super easy) added a few things, and voila, your perfect bunny house is complete. It was a snap, it’s roomy and my bun seems to love it so far. My husband has to build a shelf for him still, we currently have his cottontail cottage in it, a rug, a few sea grass mats, his litter box, and his purple igloo. And he still has room to hop around. My daughter says that Ruffles can still do his bunny laps in there. I’ll post pics tonight or tomorrow. I really like his new pad and I think he does too!

[bitterepiphany]

As another option, you might just consider building a neater platform for the NIC cage.  (Says the girl who is a transient apartment dweller and buys/makes everything knowing full well she will eventually have to fit it into a moving trailer and carry it down the two flights of stairs plus the-worlds-longest-hallway.)

When we built Meco’s cage, we picked up some nice wood at the local hardware store and build a platform with a 4 inch lip on it to set the NIC cage in.  The lip makes things look…intentional…almost like we knew what we were doing and it also has the advantage of keeping everything (including hay, litter and poops) in her cage instead of on the surrounding carpet.  We built it on casters, so it rolls and pulls out nicely and, my favorite part is that, should we want to move her up the stairs, down the hall or somewhere else entirely, we can snip a few tie wraps to collapse the NIC walls and the tray itself is lightweight and can be carried all over the place by one person.  If you’re concerned about overall looks, you might even consider buliding a simmilar, though inverted, tray for the top.  It would look almost like a proper cage, without the hassle.

[kralspace]

I like your idea of a platform BEPY, I may work on that this weekend (translate: sometime next year). Since I’m still and forever remodeling my old house, it would be handy to be able to pull the condos out of the way.

[Battie]

I like it too. Do you have any pictures you wouldn’t mind sharing? I think I get it but a visual would help.

[bitterepiphany]

Sure, but before you look at them and are horrified, her whole cage was just rebuilt and adjusted pending her recovery from her spay, so we’ve removed the piece of wood from the front of the cage to give it a temporary double door set up to give us an easy cleaning access way without upsetting her (she hates it when we loom overhead…) We’ve also abandoned the hope of using the same colored tie wraps for anything during this brief process.

All we did was take the measurements of the nic cubes (they’re each 14×14 but, when you’re being as careful as we were, measure the ENTIRE cage wall from end to end to take into account gaps between them and the space that the tie wraps will take up. Then, measure the width of the nic cubes (i.e. the actual width of the outermost wire) and, once you have that, cut the plywood. Then nail your facing boards (the ones that will create the lip) to the outside of the cage with finishing nails and check to make sure that the cubes fit. If they do, remove the nic’s and measure out the vinyl. Sharpie washes off just fine, so I traced the shape of the BOTTOM of the cage onto the vinyl and cut just inside of the line while the boys flipped the tray over and aligned the supports. They nailed the supports on from the top of the cage, rather than the bottom and then just bent over/cut off the nails to make sure nothing would bother little bunny feet OR snag our carpet while she was hopping around. Then they just tipped it back over and attached the casters.

Eventually, we’ll do a few more things, including drilling two close holes on either wall of the cage that we cna run a tie wrap through to attach the NIC walls to the back of the wood as they have a tendency to bow whenever we touch it

 

Oh!  and the only reason we needed the supports its because she has  a top shelf which she greatly enjoys hopping up and down on. So if you’re using a ramp, they probably wouldn’t be necessary.  And, for a small premium, if you don’t have a saw, you can usually pay your hardware store to cut the wood for you, which also saves on mess.  And, in addition, most hardware stores have scrap bins that you can buy pieces to use as cross supports. As always just make sure to use a bunny friendly wood.

[Beka27]

i went in to edit your pic b/c it wasn’t showing up, but you must have fixed it! do you have any full condo pics?

[bitterepiphany]

Everything I have is here http://www.flickr.com/photos/waxwingedfae/sets/72157610716415049/

[Battie]

Thanks for more suggestions! I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do. I like what’s on the condo site, but I only have room for a two-cube-wide build.

An X-Pen sounds nice and simple, but also messier than even the NIC condo…

[Beka27]

i adore my xpens b/c i find they clean up so much easier than a structure that cannot be fully disassembled. once a week, i pull the whole pen off their rug and i can vacuum and wipe down the bottom half of the walls (to get loose fur off) very quickly and easily, than just move their pen back on the rug.

[Ruffles&Daisy]

I second x pens. We had Ruffles in a dog crate, it was so hard to clean, I had to basically climb inside to clean it out. I recently set up an x pen, it looks nice, it’s so easy to clean, and best of all, Ruffles loves it. For the floor we used plywood to fit the bottom and then layed stick tiles to the floor. We built a little shelf, threw some rugs down, some toys and his cottontail cottage in the middle with one of the openings next to his shelf so he can easily climb to the second level, and it’s awesome. Not messy at all and it looks good. Love it, so glad I bought it. Thanks Beka for the push I needed to get it done. Once I resize the pics, I will post them.

[Battie]

Hmm…

Do you put a top on the xpen? The shelter kept their rabbits in xpens, but they had a blanket clipped to the top of Quincy’s. When I asked why they said it’s because he managed to find ways out to visit the other rabbits. The blanket worked but was ugly.

[Beka27]

midwest does make an xpen top. it’s the same panels that the xpen itself is made of, but it’s just a flat piece.

i found this one on this website… http://www.thepamperedpetmart.com/page/TPPM/PROD/CT/PenTops

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL That’s a fantastic site!! I found this really cute video on the vid page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BIuYm-1amU&eurl=http://www.rabbitcondo.com/videos

I wish I had seen that site when I (err…Dave) was building our condo!!

[BinkyBunny]

cute video KK!

i also like xpens as i find they are easier to clean. When i did have nic condos though, we designed in areas where we could open it up easily without compromising the structure (helps to have an architect hubby)

[Battie]

Eek! The top looks great but it’s expensive!

Just curious — why do you find xpens easier to clean than NIC condos? Mine doesn’t have a floor anyway (the base is a large chair mat, so there aren’t any bars for crud to get stuck under), so I can’t imagine it would be that different.

[Ruffles&Daisy]

I think they are easier, because the door opens so that you can actually walk inside it and it’s big enough that you can actually get in there with a vacuum (my vacuum has a hose). Also, if you did have to move it, it’s simple since there are no ties holding it together. Just my 2 cents. I really love it. I saw a huge chair mat at Costco that I thought would be perfect for a flooring, but we used plywood and stick tiles.

[Beka27]

i can lift our double xpen (by myself!) and move it to the other half of the room to clean. depending on how large and structurally sound a NIC condo is, you might not be able to lift and move. that is where the platforms and castors come in handy, but if you did not want to or could not do that, then you’d have to make do with cleaning where it stood.

[Battie]

Hmm… I see your point. A base with castors *would* be nice so I could cleanup all the spillover more easily. The base probably won’t be that hard… probably even easier than building a framed panel for painting…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

You kind of have to lean into the condo to clean it, whereas an xpen you can just take apart and clean the whole thing; If it wouldn’t crush Dave’s heart to disemble the condo he built I’d have loved an xpen setup! But condo is my next choice!

[Battie]

I think I’m going to redo the NIC condo by itself until I can build a base, because my first one is too poorly done for me to look at much longer.

When time allows I have an idea of a low, square cabinet on wheels for storage with a frame on top to secure the NICs. I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull it off nicely when the only saw I’ll have is a hand-powered miter saw, but I’m sure Dad will have good ideas on how to get it done.

Are stains safe for rabbits? A dark or black stain would go really well in here. I wonder if they make dark shellacs…

[Battie]

Okay, is there some rule that no two boxes of NICs, even if they are the same brand, can have exactly the same connectors? I was working on the new cage using my second set and ran out of connectors, so I tried one of my extras from the other set. It’s too tight! I can probably hammer it on, but what’s the deal with that? I had the same problem blending a large set and my very old small set last time. (I did try using just twist ties like I see in many photos, but I can’t get it stable enough.)

But, on a better note, I got some thin pegboard cut to tie on the NIC shelves to make them feel more stable, a large, soft cat litter mat that I will cut in half to make a shelf lining neater than the towels were, a little cat bed to sleep on instead of the towel, and a HUGE linoleum remnant for flooring that was only $5!

Poor Quincy has been cooped up in his old condo while I do this because in my tiny place there is just no where I feel secure letting him run while I have construction going on. I hope it will be worth it for him, though. Not only will he have a nicer home, but I’ll have plenty of materials left over to go on a super rabbit-proofing spree. If I can figure out how to use the old NICs to gate off my bed (the only place where he won’t behave), I’ll experiment with leaving him free alone for short periods. He’ll love that!

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