Set up for Link and Navi over Christmas?

[Lis]

Link and Navi are our now completely bonded pair.

For those of you who don’t remember, Link is a Flemmie. He now weighs 15 lbs and is growing like a weed. He is far too big to fit in a cage.

Normally, these two are free-roam in a bunny proofed bedroom.

However, HJ and I are both going home from the 23rd to the 4th. This means I must house the buns at my parent’s place.

The problem is, Link has learned how to tear NICs apart, and can even jump baby gates. Navi chews everything, so she can’t be on free roam in my parents’ house (plus, while we know the dog gets along with rabbits, I’m not sure how our rabbits get along with dogs). And we don’t want to seperate them over break. 

Does anyone have any ideas/possible solutions? 

[Deleted User]

I would set up a sturdy xpen with extended sides. If you open the pen up in one corner you can create a very large space by using a corner of a room as two walls to the pen. The height extensions can be made with NIC’s or just sheets of cardboard.

[Lis]

We don’t have an xpen, and it would be difficult for us to purchase one on our budgets, without dipping into stuff saved for vet care. And if we were to purchase one, we would have no where to store it once we got back.

[Deleted User]

You mention NIC grids, do you still have them? You could wire them together, in a staggered way so they cannot be pulled apart. NIC’s make sturdy pen walls if they are put together right.

[Lis]

We do indeed still have NICs, and my parents have some too. I hadn’t thought of using wire to attach them. I’m pretty sure Navi can’t chew through thicker wire. How can I stagger them? As of right now, Link just bashes into them, or pulls off the things to attach them. He doesn’t like being denied access to anything.

Also, if I use the walls as part of their boundary, how do I keep him from pushing them away from the wall?

[Deleted User]

I mean you would overlap them and then twist hardware wire in two points for each grid’s overlap to make a rigid panel. To attach them you would have to run NIC grids along the walls of the room’s corner too but they would only need to be one grid high. If you don’t have enough grids I would only go two grids high on your grid side of the pen, and make cardboard extensions. It’s only temporary so looks should not be a first concern. With cardboard extensions I mean you would wire panels of sheet cardboard to the upper section of grids to increase height, they are light so you can go very high. Again, the cardboard would overlap too so to stand up straight.

 

[Deleted User]

if you have grids left over you can build in NIC shelves into the NIC walls to increase the pen’s strength. tell me if this makes sense. It’s hard to explain.

[Deleted User]

Here is a pen similar to what I mean. My friend used an NIC shelf to protect her walls’ baseboards from the rabbits, you could run this along the walls to attach your other sides to

these are my cardboard extensions

[Lis]

Sort of makes sense. We have no baseboard in the basement, where they’ll be, so I really don’t need to worry about protecting the walls.
It’s my understanding that Tidewater Rabbit Rescue is back in operation. I may call them and ask if anyone has a xpen they can spare for 2 weeks. (And ask if there’s any way I can volunteer). I suppose I could probably contact DC HRS too, since they’re near my parents.

[Beka27]

Have you guys checked out Craigslist for anyone selling a puppy pen? You might be able to get it very cheap and they are a nice thing to have just in case. They fold flat “accordian-style” so storage shouldn’t be much of an issue.

[Lis]

I’ve been checking Craigslist and freecycle both down here and where my parents live. No luck.

[Beka27]

I’m not sure what else to recommend. There isn’t anyone that could petsit while you were gone so the buns wouldn’t have to go with you? If so, then caging wouldn’t be an issue.

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