Cage dimensions?

[Nicoleondynomite]

I am going to build my own bunny cage. What is the minimum cage height, length, and width for a Flemish giant?

[Sarita]

I’m going to move this to the habitat section.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I would honestly just get a xpen. Have you seen a full grown flemish? Its about the size of a Shelty dog. But I would say minimum 30″ high, 36″ deep and 48″ wide. Don’t forget you’ll need a large doorway too.

[Molzy]

For a flemish I wouldn’t go smaller than two x-pens connected (so 4×8 feet total). My 3lb dwarf is in a 28×42 inch cage, but it has three levels. I honestly would go bigger if I had to do it over again, and he is out of the cage for about 6 hours a day usually.

You could build a pen out of NIC grids, but I think the store-bought x-pens would be a little sturdier and might look a little nicer.

[Nicoleondynomite]

When we are home and awake, the bunnies will have a whole room to run around in. When we are asleep, or out of the house is when they will be in the cage, so they will get plenty of exercise. I am getting (male and female) and they aren’t neutered yet so i need two cages. I bought some rabbit pen material from Tractor Supply. The metal galvanized wire made specifically for bunnies. I am planning on welding it so it will be really sturdy no matter what. . I’m still working out the details…. Like what to use for the bottom… I know wire is bad for their feet. I was figured it would be an open top cage, like the x-pens, but i thought a two story would be nice. Again with the wire on their feet though. If i could do a two story bunny cage i could totally separate the top, and each bunny would have their own floor. Then once their neutered and ready to be together i could either open up a whole in the floor of the two story and put in a ramp, or take the top down and make it an extra large one story… Any ideas??

[Sam and Lady's Human]

If you want to add height, cardboard boxes and playhouses sold here at BB work well. Just make sure if you add levels that they are either closed top or fenced really high so bun doesn’t just climb up and out

Also, I have house bunnies, but sometimes its nice to be able to keep them in their pen and know they have plenty of space. Are the bunnies going to be indoor? What is the current flooring? I’ve seen those chair mats covered with sticky-backed linoleum, and I have tile flooring so I just added a few of those foam playmats (they don’t chew them yet).

I personally don’t like the idea of putting one bunny on top of the other. I can’t see how that would work really, a flemish gets up to about 18lbs.

[Nicoleondynomite]

Ya i don’t see the two story thing working out either… Lol They are indoor, and the floor is concrete…. Maybee we will just make the floor wire and cover it with some carpet or something. Im not sure. yes i definitely think i am going to make a cardboard castle. I don’t think it will have ramps to another room, or story though. Just because the Flemish will get sooo big. Actually i might just use those plastic storage bins, then I won’t have to worry about one falling through the card board. Im sure you can tell I’m still brainstorming. Well thanks for the help, and ideas!

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Is there a reason they can’t just be on the concrete? When do you get your babies?

[Nicoleondynomite]

no i guess there isn’t a reason, i think we were just looking for something along the lines of a really big tray pan. We will probably just leave it floor less, like an X-pen and sweep out any extra mess.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

That would probably work better, bunnies litter train fairly easily and there isn’t really any mess besides dumping the litterbox every day or so

[Beka27]

I would definitely recommend two manufactuerd xpens. Flemish giants are big and strong and I’m not sure a homemade enclosure would contain them.  The pens could then be combined into one pen after they are bonded.

Here’s my pen, 4×8 feet… it sits over a large area rug to protect the floor underneath.

 

Before, they were set-up side by side with a few inches between…

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Thats so awesome Beka. I can’t wait until my buns are bonded! And I love the Max Blur

[Sarita]

Flemmies are very big and bulky when the are full grown and they aren’t necessarily jumpers either. And any level you have, needs to be super sturdy. Heck you might even consider an ottoman that is large enough for them to stretch out on.

The stuff you do for a conventional size rabbit just doesn’t work with a large rabbit like a Flemish giant much less a pair. You really have to think outside the box for them – in fact, they probably do best as free roamers when they are full grown and litter box trained.

[AbbyGirl]

Flemmies are big and strong. My Abby can stand on her hind legs and steal things of our 26″ tv trays if she thinks she should be eating it. I also have to stack 2 baby gates on top of each other to keep her out of the utility room that doesn’t have a door yet. She can clear a 3 foot jump with no effort at all.

I never used a pen for either Abby or my previous Flemmie. We kept Hugo in the kitchen when we were sleeping or not home and Abby stayed in the laundry room. Now she has full run of the house. We usually find her sleeping on the couch in the middle of the night.

You definitely need to think outside the box for big bunnies. Plastic totes are the way to go! I only have one cardboard box that has help up to Abby jumping on it and it is from exercise equipment. We also use the under the bed totes for a litter box. For tunnels we use 12″ concrete forms from Menards.

[Beka27]

WOW, Abby can jump 3 feet easily?! I have the 36 inch tall pens, but that’s something else to consider… the 48 inch pens might be necessary if the bunnies are jumpers.

It is going to be more difficult to get appropriate housing and supplies (like litterboxes) for flemish giants. You’re doing the right thing seeking input and I hope the info you’re getting is helpful.

Thank you OneTwoThree… I love my Maxie blur too!

[Nicoleondynomite]

Okay we are building the cages! It will be one stacked on top of another, and the floor of the top one is made out of wood. So there will be NO sore hocks. There are two really big doors, on both. The top one will have a ramp, so we won’t have to invade the bunny castle when getting them out. Ill post pictures when there done… PS- the cages are 4′ by a little less than 3′. Plenty of room since they will hardly ever be in the cage.

[Sarita]

I would not stack them one on top of the other. Side by side so they can see each other would be better. Also I don’t think they would be stable enough one on top of the other…

[Nicoleondynomite]

I read that bunnies can mate through cage wire. That is one of the reasons I don’t want the cages right next to each other. Also neither one of them are nurtured/spayed yet so I think its best we keep them separated until they are ready to begin bonding. If my friend was stuck in a room next to me and i could only see her through the window, but not interact with her or play at all i would be sad. I wouldn’t want my bunnies to think “how come we can’t play together yet?” every time their in the cage. It won’t be long before we can just combine the two… It is plenty sturdy. Its welded together, and the frame is square piping. Its practically tornado proof!! lol ill post pics when its done

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Keep the cages about an 2 inches apart and they can’t do anything.

You can’t really anthropomorphize rabbits, as much as we want to. Are you planning on keeping them in separate rooms entirely and washing in between seeing them? If not, they will smell each other through you or just by being in the same room, so you might as well set them up so they can get used to each others scent. If you wait to introduce until after they are fixed, you’re talking about around 5 months of isolation. And then another 2 months to a year of bonding and separate pens.

[LoveChaCha]

What will you do when they are bonded? They have to live together – so the stackable cages won’t really work out that way once they are bonded.

[Beka27]

Rabbits are experts at taking our “best laid plans” and finding some way to make them completely unworkable. Housing requirements change a lot in the first year with ANY rabbit, what works at 3 months might not going to work at 8 months. For this reason, and the fact that they will be growing for the first 1-2 years, I am against having a permanent structure built.

In your mind, you are quite sure that this will work out perfectly, but the truth is you are on BB asking for the opinions of experienced rabbit owners. When 10 people come and say the same thing (and we give similar advice to other people too) you have to ask yourself if we are saying this because we KNOW WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT and have already been down this road. I don’t sell xpens. I don’t have any monetary incentive for recommending them. I recommend them because I’ve used every type of housing in the years I’ve had rabbits and xpens are the single best thing I have ever found. They are cheap, they are strong, they are easily portable (some people travel with their rabbits!), and if the bunnies are ever completely 24/7 free range, they can be folded up and stuck in the closet or basement out of the way. You won’t be able to “fold-up” a welded two-story cage when they no longer need it.

We understand the habitat requirements of rabbits (especially GIANT rabbits), and we understand what makes them feel secure in their environment and what does not. You are free to take our advice or not, just don’t be surprised if your plan for housing does not work out in this situation.

[Sarita]

I agree, rabbit don’t look at another rabbit out playing and think “I want to come out to play”…

I have some rabbits that are in x-pens and next to each other and they enjoy just seeing each other.

Also your rabbits are going to be VERY TALL and they need to be able to stand upright in their enclosures. Your current enclosures are probably okay for a very short time and as Beka mentions your housing of them is going to evolve as they grow older. I think the x-pens are by far the best investiment for you and a housing them side by side so they can see each other.

I have not had Flemmies but I’ve had quite a few Californians and New Zealands and they get as large as Flemmies and if the best enclosure for them was the x-pens. They weren’t great with ramps either unless the ramps were very wide due to their large frames.

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