Built a new double bunny cage

[StellaMonroe]

I ended up with two bunnies this summer. One has been living in a rubbermaid tub and the other started out in a rubbermaid tub and graduated to a large dog crate. However, the two “girls” turned out to be a boy and a girl, so until i can get Mr Monroe neutered, they have to live separately.

I don’t like the teeny tiny cages they sell and need something secure enough to protect the bunnies from my 4 dogs.

 

So I built my own cage. The unit is 4 feet tall….the cage portion is 3 feet tall, so each bunny has 1.5 feet of head space. It has a 2×4 footprint, so each bunny gets 2×4 of space. They are both litterbox trained, so have their box in the corner.

[RabbitPam]

That looks really nice. They seem content, and will get used to each others’ smell until it’s time to bond them.

Given a choice, I would get her spayed first. She is high risk for cancer being female, not to mention an accidental pregnancy, and it’s a slightly more expensive operation. That way they both will be safer and healthier longer. He will act out big time until he is neutered, but it’s an inconvenience more than a health issue. Ultimately you want to have them both done.

4 dogs???? Are the bunnies ever alone without the dogs around so they can get out time for exercise?

I can’t believe you built that yourself. It’s so good.

[Deleted User]

It is a nice enclosure as long as you also have an exercise area for them. How do you protect your rabbits from your dogs when they are not in their bunny cabinets? I am asking because the topic of dog/rabbit household is always a hot one in these forums. ~

[StellaMonroe]

Well, I’ll be honest…..my dogs would probably be okay with the bunnies. At least 3 of the 4. The 4th is young and obnoxious and still needs time to learn. 2 of the 4 dogs are chicken and duck friendly, but chase wild bunnies…….so its kind of a toss up. I have 2 “old dogs” (a shepherd mix and a toy poodle) who are not chicken friendly but have ignored the bunnies through the mesh so far and are both very cat friendly. I have 2 “young dogs” (a big shepherd mix and a chow mix) who are chicken and duck friendly….1 is very cat friendly, 1 is okay (chow mix) but i wouldn’t trust her alone because she is young and obnoxious.

Thus far, i have simply let the bunnies run around in the extra bathroom for exercise time. Stella ran around the living room thumping at me today when she got loose accidently LOL. She is not very friendly Monroe is Mr Personality.

I haven’t called around to check prices on the spaying and neutering yet….so i could go either way, both, girl, boy…..doesn’t really matter to me. I had planned on getting him done first to avoid him developing any unwanted boy behaviors. He is pretty awesome now.

[StellaMonroe]

I forgot that i had introduced Toby my old shepherd mix (not chicken friendly but cat friendly) to Monroe a while back. He was interested, but did fine.

 

[LoveChaCha]

Hehe, so cute!

I love your layout of the pen for your bunnies!!

Have you considered getting an x-pen to put around the cage? It might be fun to let one out at a time, until both are fixed.

[allegrabunny]

I am also curious about the dog/bunny lifestyle, I currently have them housed on separate floors, the dogs are afraid of the stairs. (rolls eyes, makes tornado season really fun) I would ideally love to have them all live happily together, but I suspect the dogs will only think lunch.

[allegrabunny]

I would also love to have my horse in my house too

[eyorelop]

My introductions went very uneventfull. I was really only worried about 1 dog’s reaction. But they pretty much ignore eachother other than an occasioal sniff. I read to introduce them with dogs on leash so if there are any altercations you can pull back and control the dog. I still never leave them together unintended. But it may depend on temperment and personality of dogs. Mine are older and eat and sleep most of the time.

[Andi]

Nice cage!
When the bunnies are sputered and can live together, will you be making a hole and ramp for two levels? That’d be pretty fun.

I’m affraid of getting a new dog since I know none will be an awesome as my last was around the rabbits and my bun’s get so much of their own space bringing a dog in woould change that to help prtect them better.
My last dog was super bunny/pet friendly… but she too woudl chase wild rabbits and a stray cat that would run from her, but not the neighbours cats.

[Elrohwen]

Very cute!

I would suggest getting the female done first for the reasons listed above, and also because females tend to display far more obnoxious hormonal behavior than males do. They will both need to be done eventually, but I think your female will get much much friendlier after she is spayed. If you wait too long, any mean hormonal behavior can become ingrained.

[StellaMonroe]

Called around today and it will cost $225 to get them both done. $100 for Monroe and $125 for Stella. That includes pain meds.

 

Originally the cage was going to be one big multi level cage. The middle ‘level’ was going to be only halfway across, so more like a shelf than anything else…..with a ramp going to the bottom and a big hammock in the ‘open’ space. Then Monroe grew testicles and i had to abort that mission. I would probably just build a new cage rather than cut a hole in this one. I like to build things

 

My little toy poodle could care less about the bunnies. My old shepherd mix is interested but not aggressive. The two younger dogs are the ones I would worry about. I brought the bigger and older one in to see them last night….he is a 75lb Shepherd mix, 3 years old. He was extremely interested. EXTREMELY. Lots of tail wagging and sniffing turned into whining and agitation, so we’ll count that as a loss for now. The younger chow mix has no real training so far and still struggles to contain her enthusiasm with the ducks sometimes, so there is no reason to attempt an introduction for her until she is older. Either way, this cage would withstand a dog attack…..not that any of my dogs will have the opportunity for that, but just in case. The cage was built in panels, all wire is screwed to the panels with washers and wood screws, then the panels were screwed together over the edges of the wire slightly for double protection. In other words, it’s not going anywhere.

 

My dogs are all very cat friendly……you’d think the bunnies would be treated like a small cat. Apparently not! There are a LOT of wild bunnies out back here (I have just over an acre, a good portion of it is brush and trees) so my younger dogs have spent a lot of time chasing them out of the fenced area. They go craaazy when they see a bunny in the yard. But they do the same for a cat and are perfectly safe with my own indoor cat. We’ll see, it may just take time……..

All dogs are secured in a different room in the house when I am not home or supervising. Gates and crates are man’s best friend. These bunnies are in no danger here and don’t seem too terribly bothered by the dogs. They will come up to the mesh to sniff their noses if the dogs come up to the cage.

 

Stella has been doing crazy runs and binkies in her portion of the cage all night. It’s like having bunny tv in here. They crack me up. Mr Monroe is much more mellow. I have an extra bedroom i plan on letting them out to play in (one at a time) once i get it cleaned out in a few weeks.  until then they will have to enjoy their new big cages and the extra bathroom to run around in. I do plan on getting bigger better litterboxes as well, but these work fine for now. I do also plan on building them a little enclosed area where they can ‘hide’ if they want.

 

 

[Beka27]

AWESOME PRICE!!!!!!!!!!!! In my area (a year ago), a female spay was $280 without pain meds. Male was $200. You are fortunate to find such great prices!

[Elrohwen]

That really is a fantastic price! I got my boy done for $400 – just for one bunny!

[jennyrabbit]

nice cage!

I have 7 dogs so I can relate to the dog/rabbit thing lol but I really havent had too much trouble, and most of the trouble I have had has been the rabbits being nasty to the dogs.

nice price on the neutering! my vet said $179 for Jenny and $129 for Peepers, which sounds really cheap when I am stealing myself for all these $400 for 1 price tags I hear about lol

[allegrabunny]

what kind of dogs do you have?

[jennyrabbit]

2 border collies, 1 JRT X, 1 NSDTR, 1 Borzoi X, 1 Bosten terrier X and 1 who knows what mix.

[StellaMonroe]

Wow, what an assortment LOL

I have 2 shepherd mixes, 1 chow mix and 1 toy poodle. Both shepherd mixes are about 75lb males (neutered) and the chow mix is a young probably 40lb Chow mix female…..Toy poodle is small 8lb female. All are spayed/neutered…….

 

Toby is: shepherd mix male almost 13 years old. He is very interested in the bunnies, but stands at their cage sniffing them nose to nose through the mesh and wagging his tail. He is a very nice old dog. 

 

Bella: toy poodle female who has NO interest whatsoever, and has little to no prey drive. she is also older, probably 12-13 years old.

 

Frankie: shepherd mix male, 3 years old. Great with chickens and ducks and my cat…..way too interested in the bunnies. I let him come over and sniff them through the cage and had to physically remove him from the area after he got agitated and wanted to lunge and bark at the cage. Likes to chase wild bunnies out back, sigh.

Molly: chow mix female, 9 months old. Good with chickens and ducks….so so with the cat….haven’t attempted an introduction as she is young and obnoxious and has no manners. Maybe next year LOL. Also likes to chase wild bunnies out back, sigh.

 

Both bunnies seem super happy in their new cages. I got them both new big cat litterboxes….going to switch from pine shavings to pine pellets this week also. Had used shavings just to hold me over until later. I had Monroe out of the cage last night on my lap visiting. He was enjoying trying to eat my sweatshirt. Stella did not want to come out…..she has been running and jumping in her cage and having a grand ol time.

 

 

[allegrabunny]

I have three siberian huskies, who have naturally very high prey drives, just ask the garbage can, so I think no dog/bunny interaction in my house would be best. I would hate to set them up to fail. I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one here who spends more on vet care than health care. I currently have three vets, one for each species.

[MirBear]

be VERY VERY careful with the chow. Chows have an extreamly high prey drive. Huskies hounds and chows are the only breeds i wont allow near my bunnies, well i dont trust young dogs either but im more open to them.. but my bunnies have been around dogs since birth for bunnies that havent even a sniff through the cage could potentially give them a heart attack. so id be cautious with the cage, even if your dogs cant get at the bunnies they can still give them heart attacks..

[StellaMonroe]

Neither of the young dogs will be allowed near the bunnies. My younger shepherd mix has shown a suprisingy amount of agitation towards the bunnies….tonight i was trying to move the cage into the extra bedroom and had Stella running loose in the house. Both old dogs were in the dining rooom behind a secure gate…..two young dogs were outside. When Frankie could see Stella through the kitchen door he was freaking out and barking up a storm. Had to finally close the curtain to cut off his view. Toby my old dog is very interested but not in a bad way. I had them in the bathroom one at a time behind a short gate and he enjoyed watching them in there.

I ended up putting linoleum squares on both levels tonight and put casters on the big cage so i can roll it. Was able to move it into the extra bedroom as well, so they will have their own space. I need to put hooks to hang their hammocks from and some bumpers on the sides to keep stray pellets and litter inside a bit better. Otherwise it is pretty much done. I put little wooden signs i was going to paint for each of their cages with their name. Gotta make things easy for the petsitter!

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