Peytons Place (XPen)

[KerriS]

I bought a second hand XPen off Ebay today and we managed to make a nice little place for Peyton.  I just want to know if I’m missing something.  What do you all think, does it need anything else?  Have I forgotten something?  I want Peyton to be as comfortable as she can be with her new house so any input would be great.  I don’t have a pic with Peyton in the house yet as she’s hiding under the elevated floor.

[Carrot Lane Bunny]

It looks great to me!!! But one word of advice, some buns tend to use elevated levels as escape launch pads!So just watch her and make sure that she doesn’t decide that jumping out is the coolest thing ever like My bunny did!

[mocha200]

KerriS is that 2 floor just card board held up by sip ties? and if so does it seem to work?

[Monkeybun]

looks like theres grids or something similar under the cardboard. cardboard alone wouldn’t be stable enough to support a bunny

[KerriS]

Yes, the second floor and ramp is made with another grid, we just put holes in the cardboard top and ziptied it to the grid so it didn’t move around (I really couldn’t think of another way to keep the cardboard on the grid)
I’ve been a little worried about Peyton being able to jump out of the pen too but since she’s still a baby bunny I think (well hope) she’s a little too small to make a jump. I will be buying another compatible xpen when I can afford it to make the pen a little bigger and to add a roof to it.

[Beka27]

Looks good, but not very high. Little buns tend to jump higher than big buns, so if you have any leftover NIC grids, you might want to use those to make a top.

[jerseygirl]

If you find you need a top on it sooner, you can peg something like a sheet across the top. I recommend one all the way across….as one time I set up a pen at my sisters house who had Jersey when I was going away. I pegged a sheet only part way across the top. She apparently jumped onto it and spent the night there in her own little hammock.

I have a similar pen.  I used it when I bonded my pair. I did notice the metal rods can slip out the bottom loop when a determined rabbit is lifting pen sides with teeth. So if you have that trouble, you could probably zip tie the rod top to the panel sides. Like you said though, Peyton is young and not likely up to this mischief just yet!

What kind of hay is that? It looks great.

[Elrohwen]

Looks pretty good! Everyone else had great suggestions. She may be a jumper and you may need a top. However, my guy won’t even jump out of a 14″ enclosure, so it’s all dependent on the bunny.

I wanted to suggest maybe removing the ramp. I think she can easily jump onto the second level without it and it’ll give her more room to hop around if you remove it.

Also, how high off the ground is the shelf? I was just thinking you may need to raise it as she gets older because she might be too big to fit under it.

[Bren]

that looks great  It is so exciting when we come up with new bun floor plans!  I am going to have to come up with another one myself. MY boy has the capability of jumping or escaping from almost everything I have put together for him. Right now he is in a large xpen type pen with a large dog crate wtih two floors in it inside the xpen. I can’t put any toys in there really as he launches himself over it!  SO….I am looking for NIC CUBES but nobody in the entire county sells them. How lame is that! so…I guess I will have to order them.

[KerriS]

Posted By jerseygirl on 02/20/2010 05:55 AM

If you find you need a top on it sooner, you can peg something like a sheet across the top. I recommend one all the way across….as one time I set up a pen at my sisters house who had Jersey when I was going away. I pegged a sheet only part way across the top. She apparently jumped onto it and spent the night there in her own little hammock.

I have a similar pen.  I used it when I bonded my pair. I did notice the metal rods can slip out the bottom loop when a determined rabbit is lifting pen sides with teeth. So if you have that trouble, you could probably zip tie the rod top to the panel sides. Like you said though, Peyton is young and not likely up to this mischief just yet!

What kind of hay is that? It looks great.

I sew a bit so I’m going to make a cover for the pen with an elastic hem, I’ll have a look through my fabric stash today to see what I have got (I may even make some matching accessories lol)The hay I have for Peyton is some Lucerne hay, I was told this was the best to feed a baby rabbit.  I bought it from the fodder store in Kilkenny, I will get some Meadow hay when she’s older from the fodder store in Blair Athol.

Bren, I’m in Australia and have been finding it hard to find NIC cubes too   I did find a stockist online though but they were very expensive.  Good Luck with the search 

[KerriS]

Posted By KerriS on 02/20/2010 08:46 PM

Posted By jerseygirl on 02/20/2010 05:55 AM

If you find you need a top on it sooner, you can peg something like a sheet across the top. I recommend one all the way across….as one time I set up a pen at my sisters house who had Jersey when I was going away. I pegged a sheet only part way across the top. She apparently jumped onto it and spent the night there in her own little hammock.

I have a similar pen.  I used it when I bonded my pair. I did notice the metal rods can slip out the bottom loop when a determined rabbit is lifting pen sides with teeth. So if you have that trouble, you could probably zip tie the rod top to the panel sides. Like you said though, Peyton is young and not likely up to this mischief just yet!

What kind of hay is that? It looks great.

I sew a bit so I’m going to make a cover for the pen with an elastic hem, I’ll have a look through my fabric stash today to see what I have got (I may even make some matching accessories lol)The hay I have for Peyton is some Lucerne hay, I was told this was the best to feed a baby rabbit.  I bought it from the fodder store in Kilkenny, I will get some Meadow hay when she’s older from the fodder store in Blair Athol.Bren, I’m in Australia and have been finding it hard to find NIC cubes too   I did find a stockist online though but they were very expensive.  Good Luck with the search 

Oh and I’ve taken the ramp out of the pen as she’s  able to hop up to the food area by herself.  The elevated floor is quite low, perfect for her at the size she is but as she grows it will be a problem.  I will be buying another xpen to add to this one and will make the floor higher when I can.

[wiseleyd]

You are such a good bunny mom! What are you using for a hay rack? I like!

[Elrohwen]

Wow, sounds like you’ve got everything under control! She’s a lucky bun to have such a big cage (that you’re going to make even bigger). I can’t wait to see pictures of her as she grows up.

[KerriS]

Thanks Mellowzmom and Elrohwen. Growing up I never had a pet and in the 11yrs I’ve been married we haven’t had one either, so Peyton is the first for our family. I’m quite suprised at how well my 7yo son is doing with Peyton, he’s so happy to have a little friend. Every morning he wakes up and cleans her pen out, I thought he might have an issue with the poo and pee but he gets down and cleans it all up without complaining He also watches her when he’s home and if he notices that somethings not right with her or if her poo doesn’t look right he’ll get on the net and google it lol
The hay rack is a kitchen utensil holder that I bought from the discount store, I’ve attatched it with some cable ties at the top.
As Peytons pen is in the hallway, I open it up during the day and give her free run of the hallway, it’s the only place that seems bunny proof in the house. She loves sitting in front of the door basking in the morning sun

[jerseygirl]

haha. Your son sounds like another bunny-slave in the making. I love how they google stuff! My 7yr old nephew is big on this too.

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