How much room do bunnies really need?

[VaTechBuns]

Hello everyone!  

This is my first time on any type of bunny forum so please let me know if its in the wrong section or something is wrong.

So I have never owned a rabbit before but am starting research now with the plans to get at least one in the next 6 months or so.  While looking online I have come across alot of conflicting information regarding how large their enclosure should really be.  Some places say those tiny cages that are maybe 5 or 6 square feet are plenty large for a rabbit to live its entire life but I feel this is wrong to shove an active pet into something so tiny.  Others say nothing smaller than a whole room or its animal abuse.  Im really confused on this whole topic on the size of its main living space.

I plan to use 2 sets of dog playpens/X-pens to keep my rabbit(s) in for the main part of the day and then allow them out every day in my whole room for at least 3 hours.  The carpet in my room will be protected by linoleum and there will be cardboard castles to hide in as well as a litter box or two along with food and water and toys.  Regarding how large their enclosure needs to be would I guess depend on the breed of rabbit and the size of the rabbit.  I can go up to 48 square feet for their X-pen enclosure. Is this an appropriate size for most rabbits to spend most of their day in?  

As for other questions regarding how large the enclosure is, I am going to list the rabbit breeds I am interested in and if any of the breeds would not be suitable please let me know.

Finnish Giant, French Lop, Mini Lop, Thrianta, Himalayan, Mini Rex, and the Holland Lop.

Another question regarding size and breed of bunny is how many would comfortably live together in this size pen?  Or is having only one bun okay?

If anyone has suggestions for any other breeds of rabbits they adore or any improvements that could be made to better my future bunnies lives please let me know!

Thanks everyone for their help!

[Boing]

Welcome to the forum!

Personally, my experience with rabbits has firmly lead me to believe that healthy rabbits, no matter the kind, need a large, rabbit proof room. Do mine have one? No, and it makes me sad. They are really much more akin to cats than to the small mammals they are so often lumped in with.

The first rabbit I knew was a senior. He was happy being penned during the day. I’d watch him when his owner was on vacation. The second rabbit, my Cincinnati, has chronic health issues. He’s so low energy due to them, that he’d literally be happy even if he never got run time. The third rabbit, his pal Daisy, is really unhappy penned, even just when I’m at work.

If they weren’t from a shelter, I’d frankly feel guilty about Daisy. If I ever have a third rabbit, I’ll have a much larger, room sized, permanent run space. It’s impossible now, due to space constraints and a cat.

The idea that they’re all happy with the magical number of 4 hours out a day is nonsense. They’re not. Ask Daisy. To my knowledge, there’s no research backing up that claim. It seems it’s a convenience number invented by well meaning people and certainly better than the previous leave them in a hutch forever mentality.

There does seem to be some truth to the idea that smaller rabbits are more active than larger ones.

That said, your plan sounds very nice! Some rabbits can’t walk on linoleum, so you may wish to reconsider flooring.

I recommend having one bun. Some people seem to be good at bonding them, but the bonding section is more full of failures than successes. Why risk breaking your and some bun’s hearts? It’s also easier to tell what’s what when one bun is sick if they’re not bonded or there’s only one.

I’d suggest getting a shelter bun. My local shelter adopts out spayed or neutered rabbits at excellent prices. They have all kinds. They currently have over 20 of all shapes and sizes. You can find whatever you want at one, and they can help you find one that would be happy in your set up.

I hope this helps.

[VaTechBuns]

Thank you so much for the great advice Boing! I am definitely more interested in a large to xlarge bunny so Im glad most of them seem to not be quite as active as smaller ones. What flooring do you suggest/do others use in place of the linoleum? I am renting my apartment currently and cannot have the carpet get all smelly. Unfortunately my bunny will not be able to have a whole room as I do not have the space but he/she will have about 1/3 of my room to roam constantly and be out for as long as I can manage it. I will look into the shelter rabbit idea but am not to sure I have any shelters near me who take in rabbits. Will most shelters adopt out of their city/county if I find one I am interested in traveling to?

Thanks!

[Daisy]

48 feet is plenty for any breed! I believe the minimum required space for a giant breed (French lop, Flemish Giant) is 4 square meters per bunny, so 2 giant buns need at least 28 square feet together. For small breeds this is 1-2 square meters per bun, so 7-14 square feet for 2 buns.

Furthermore, the space required highly depends on the bun. My Monster likes racing around so he prefers more space while Muffin, who is already 4 years old, never races and prefers on demolishing boxes instead. She naturally has need for less space. If you go to a shelter they will have adult buns with their characters formed that allow you to pick and choose the rabbit that suits your home best. Baby bunnies don’t show their character until their puberty so it’s a gamble on what you will end up with after puberty.

I personally am a strong advocate of getting 2 buns instead of 1. Why?

– Bunnies are group animals and should not be housed alone if you can help it.

– You are starting with bunnies. This means you can get a premade neutered couple from the animal shelter. No bonding or hassle with vets required at all!

– Bunnies alone need A LOT of time from you or your family members to make up for the lack of mate. If you go to work every day or go to a party for the whole evening, imagine your bun will be sitting there all alone being a group animal.

– Bunnies together can easily be alone for the whole day if you want to. They don’t need human interaction to be happy when they have a buddy, they’ll just need you to give them food, water and check if they’re ok.

– It’s extremely satisfying to watch 2 bunnies play, cuddle, eat and sleep together. Especially couples that are madly in love are adorable to watch.

For the shelter location: Where I live they’re totally fine with me traveling to the other side of the (very small) country to come pick up a bunny from a specific shelter. They are overflowing so anyone wanting to get a bunny from them is very welcomed, no matter where they come from.

[Harley&Thumper]

Sorry, I’m in a math mood at the moment. 4 sq. meters is about 44 sq. ft.

1 meter is ~40in

4(m*m) * 40(in / m) * 40(in / m) = 6400 (in * in) * 1/12 (ft / in) * 1/12 (ft / in) = 44.444 (ft * ft)

Everything else Daisy said is perfectly valid

[Author]

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