Well, she's not home yet, but I'm in the midst of planning for her.

Our first problem is housing. I found some neat plans for a bunny condo (2 floors- ooh lala!) but I'm still not sure about it all.

I was kind of hoping I could have her in the house without a cage... Like she could have a doggy bed, and her food and a little box to use, but have otherwise free range of certain rooms of the apartment/house.

I would really have to bunny proof the piano and computer wires, etc, but I think it would still be cheaper, and more enjoyable for her, to not buy the 120$ cage kit.

The 'cage kit' they sell is not turning my crank at all. First of all the door is on top, and she wont be able to hop in and out of it to go poop on her own if she needs to. Also, I don't find it big enough, or fun enough. (One flat level?? 3' x 2'? Once she's bigger there is no real room for exercise in there!)

BUt I dunno if cagelessness is at all safe.

My uncle told me that when they got their first puppy about 20 years ago and the kids were little they didn't have enough $$ for fancy kennels and fences etc. So instead they trained the dog in the kids' old playpen and it worked like a charm.

I was thinking if I could find something like that (or a wee fence) I could train her to the litter box and bunny bed in there, (and have her in there when I'm not home).

But do bunnies need a house to feel safe?
If so I will construct the one I'm thinking of. I checked out wood prices today- super cheap to do it...

What do you think?

For those like Rich and Poesia, who have house trained bunnies, what do you use? Are they free free or caged?

He is in house cage now, but I am getting up and taking him out..right now

He is on my lap as i type this :)

Bunny has two cages. His really big one and his "traveling" one. I think it's important to have one that you can use to take them in a car if you need to bring them to a vet. Or visiting. :) He goes to visit Grandma sometimes. Anyway, he has a cage that's about 2' x 3 1/2'. It has a regular floor, not a wire one, and we use Carefresh. That's really important. No wood bedding. When he comes out, he's free to go wherever he wants to. He doesn't chew anything anymore. But when he was little, oh my gosh, he ate: my rug, my remote controls, my plants, my chairs, my futon, my comforter, my vacuum cleaner, my books, he was outta control. There's a bitter apple spray you can get to disuade them but, er, if they're gonna do it, they'll do it. Covering the wires is imperative, as you already know. He has a towel that he like to dig at, bite, sleep on when he's out. He loves to hang out under the couch or in doorways. I call him Guardian of the Doorway. He has a couple of litter boxes. One stays in his cage and I used to leave one out for him when he comes out of his cage but he's pretty well trained to only go in his cage now. Also, all he does it dig at it and spray the litter all over the room when I put one out for him. He does feel like his cage is home base. Sometimes he will go up to it and put his front paws up on it trying to get back in. That's when I know he wants to go back. So yes, I think they do feel like their cage is their domain. But I've also know people who have no cages at home. Just a "bunny room." If you get a fence just be aware that they can jump pretty high. I am surprised at the things he can get over, around, under, and through.

What else, what else. Get her some Oxbow hay. It's the best company and they have all kinds of good hay. Timothy, Orchard Grass, etc. Not alfalfa though.

He also has a leash and loves to go outside and just hang out and eat lawn grass. It's really good for them as long as there are no chemicals on it.

I'm sure I'll think of more. If you do the open room idea, just make sure you have a carrier to take her in in the car in case there's ever an emergency.

omg- rabbits are the ultimate house companion- get one and you'll never be the same again.

My rabbits are housed trained as well, but they don't live free range because we share our house with a (gasp!) cat that I really don't trust. Rabbits are really easy to train (at least mine were)- they will usually pick a spot in their cage or living area and stick to using it- put a litter pan or box there and there is your house trained rabbit!

I think that rabbits like having some sort of den, even if they are free range. My rabbits will quite frequently run around for a while and go cuddle in one of their cages. There are plenty of great articles at the House Rabbit Society website on caging and housing options (including free range) at:

www.rabbit.org

I am about to embark on buildling my rabbit's a cage that they can live in together, built out of "Neat Idea" cubes (at least two levels!) that you can get at Business Depot or Costco. Here are some websites that should plans/ideas:

http://members.aol.com/bunrabtoo/neatcubs.html

www.cavyspirit.com
(go to cavy cages at the top of the page- yes they are for cavies, but bigger versions would also be good for rabbits)

http://hometown.aol.com/FurZooMom/buns.html


If you are thinking about getting a rabbit, you also MUST visit this site:

http://www.bunnybytes.com/

This is my dream store- if only shipping to Canada and the exchange rate weren't so darn expensive!

Another good idea to curb chewing is to provide lots of things for your bunny to do and lots of safe things for him or her to chew. Good things to provide: untreated grass mats, untreated wood, wood chews from the store, toilet paper or paper towel rolls, lots of (free choice!!) fresh timothy hay, cardboard boxes. I like to make structures out of old boxes with holes cut in them for the bunnies to hide in, chew on, jump around in etc. It keeps them out of trouble. They also like to play with hard bird toys- just don't give them any soft plastic because they love to eat it!

I checked out the House Rabbit website actually. IT's a good one! I also looked at the Neat Ideas Cubes cages, and i totally want to do that, but don't know if I can get them in Quebec... :(

What I've been thinking of building is based on this cage:
http://exoticpets.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm

My second design was based on that, but became a double decker Bunny home. I figure the one story is fine if it's just being used as a fairly open-doored homebase.

I can't wait for the little guy to come home. She's growing well, apparently. Weighs a whole 0.6 of a pound now! I got my pic of her today. So sweet!

I think we're going to call her "Willow", -but you guys can help me pick out her middle names. (She'll need at least 3). I'm gonna scan the pic at Trevor's house in the next few days, and post it.

"Guardian of the Doorway", his blankie and his house

Awwwww. I think that's the cage in the store they want me to buy. It's a HAgen kit.

SUCCESS!

I found those Neat Ideas Cubes (well- actually an identical Rubbermaid knockoff) in packs of 13 for $19.93 at my local Walmart.

I got two packs and am now trying to put them all together. This is making for one HUGE bunny cage! I think I might make it condo style after all- she will have more than enough room with it stacked that way, and it'll be more fun, if you ask me!

As I have it laid out now, it's in a 2 x 3 layout, 2 cubes high. I'll finish it first, and see what I think, but I might change it to 2x2 floor, stacked 3 high... It'll save space and give Buns a lookout post up top that she might like.

I am SO pleased right now.

The 2 packages, which make a GIANT Wabbitat, cost me only $45 AFTER tax- the store kit they wanted me to buy would have been close to $150 after tax- and this suits my needs much better!

If I decided eventually to have her living completely cage free- these cubes can be recycled into Bunny Gates and storage bins instead.

I'm lovin' it.

VP- go for it! I'd love to see how you decide to put yours together.

oh Avalon, I'm so excited for you and your new bun friend!

I have actually been having problems finding the Neat Idea Cubes- my Business Depot doesn't sell them- but I'll definately check out Walmart for these similiar cubes!

VP- PM me with where in Ontario you live... If you can't find any, I can get them here, and I will be driving out to T.O. next weekend anyway, it looks like...

In the end I decided to go with a 2 x 2 x 2 cube to start. With just those dimensions it is so big I can get in it and hang out quite comfortably, let alone a bunny the size of my foot.

I'm going to make at least one 'second floor' in there as well, if not a third one. It's GIANT. Bunny paradise! AND, with this more reasonably sized cage set up, there was enough left over to make a 3 tiered corner shelving unit for my livingroom.

The only sad thing is I found out about 2 days after I reserved my baby bunny that there are a number of bunnies (and hamsters) at the SPCA about an hour from here that are going to be put down this week. :( If I had known I wouldn't have gotten the bebe. Next time I will put my name in with them for sure.

Like, maybe once we're really settled in, next year or so, I will leave my name with them for when/if they get any other rabbits in.

I am actually really dangerous when it comes to bunnies at the humane society. I can't go in there without wanting to take them all home with me! GirlBun is orginally from the humane society and BoyBun was an accident bunny from a friend. Once you have one you'll find you become this crazed bunny person who feels one is just not enough. Plus they are fun in pairs. The only thing that really stops me from going out and finding the most pitiful rabbit and bringing them home with me is that I am under penalty of death from a very territorial GirlBun who, when I first brought her home, was even offended that BoyBun was living in her house! I once "rescued" another bunny, YoungBun, from a horrible evil petstore where I couldn't leave her. It took me about a week to find YoungBun a good home- and GirlBun was not happy!

I am currently searching for these Rubbermaid cubes (of course we don't have a Walmart where I am right now either- and I don't have a car- yes, you can all cry for me!) because they are a lot less expensive then even the Neat Idea Cubes- which I can't find either. What are they called exactly? I'm going to call Canadian Tire/Home Hardware etc. to see if they have them.

no walmart here either or i'd check for you. would zellers have them? they do sell rubbermaid stuff i think, so they might
do you suppose this stuff would be ferretproof? i'm wondering, when we're able to get ferrets, i don't want to blow a ton of money on a cage either, they're rediculously overpriced.

The only thing I'd worry about with a ferret is the spacing of the bars- cause they seem to have littler heads, don't they? But then again, if you can house guinea pigs in these, then maybe they're fine.

Do some research and check what the bar spacing should be for ferrets, otherwise I imagine it should be fine.

The packaging on my squares says: "Rubbermaid: Storage cube set- 3 pack"
White label with some blue background on it, and 2 pics of the squares set up.

There was also another more knock-offy brand which looked almost identical, with a different name though. Something-or-other cubes... it'll be obvious when you see them. They were right in the same aisle with the little shelving/organising things. (Like those little cheapie shelves you get to go inside a closet or whatever).

I imagine if my Walmart had it, yours' should too... Walmart is fairly standard in terms of stock. Especially the American imported stock.

i'd mostly be worried about them being able to chew through it.
my friend has chinchillas who chewed a hole through the bottom of their wooden cage, and then chewed through a rubbermaid storage bin next to the cage where she kept several collector's items, boxed sets of collectable cards, various toys in boxes, etc. she's a serious otaku with bins and bins of anime memorabilia. she was very upset when the chins got into it, they chewed up a box of pokemon cards.

Thanks for your help Avalon and LF!

I convinenced my SO to drive me over to the next town where they actually have a Walmart and I bought two packages of the Rubbermaid cubes. However, I forgot about getting ties, so the progress with the cage building today has been rather slow!

I have worked out a plan though. I'm doing a 4 cube length, 2 cube height and 2 cube depth. I wanted to make sure I have plenty of room for my two guys (they are about 5 pounds each). I am also going to add one landing a little bit below the 1 cube height with a ramp going up to a second landing a little bit above the 1 cube height. Each landing is going to be 2 cubes in depth and hopefully the ramp with only need to be 1 cube. I am attaching the ramp each landing as well as to the back of the cage (so as to prevent falling). I will be covering the landings and the ramps with carpet or mats- I haven't really decided yet. Of course, with this design I'll need to make another trip to Walmart (likely to the chagrin of my SO) to get another set of cubes. But I want this cage to be awesome and I want it to last for a long time, so I figure it's best to do it how I want it the first time.

What I'm not really sure of is the base. Avalon, what are you doing about that? I'm thinking about using a piece of plywood, covered in lineloeum (sp!) and adding a lip around the outside to keep the cubes (when they're all together) in place. I'm also thinking of putting it on wheels so that I will actually be able to move it!

Anyways, I'll keep y'all up to date on the cage making progress and hopefully I'll get some pictures scanned in so we can compare designs.

We were thinking either plywood (upon which removable carpets will be placed) or a thick plastic of some kind... One website I saw (I forget which now) recommended getting one of those clear mats people put under their rolley chairs at the office...

We shall see what's around.

As for the shelves- a cheaper way to make them is to use plywood supported by two dowls. (DowELS? sp??) And that way you can make them any size/height you want. That's what I'm going to do.

Dowling costs about $0.75 for 4 feet, and the plywood needed to make a shelf would cost next to nothing. Cheaper than making the shelves out of cubes anyway...

Saw the little bunny yesterday again. First Trevor snuggled her, then I did, then (SO CUTE!!) when Trevor tried to offer her som hay, instead she jumped right into his hands for more snuggling and buried her head up his sleeve...

I think I actually heard his heart melt at that moment. :)

About the bases, have you guys heard of Coroplast? It's plastic sign board, that you can get from sign stores. A lot of guinea pig owners who make cages out of cubes use the coroplast as the base.

Here's a website that explains how to make a C&C page, and has a lot of cute cage ideas. It's for guinea pigs, but they'd be great for bun-buns too! :)

http://www.cavycages.com/

Oh yeah. I had seen that too. I'm not sure where to get it around here, though...

I can't wait till she comes home. Haven't told my mother yet though. :( Not sure how to break it to her. Trevor says he'll take the heat.

It wouldn't be a problem, except that she is currently boarding my parrot, somewhat under duress... It's been one hell of a long weekend visit. Heh heh. I dunno that she'd be too pleased to hear that I'm getting another pet, while she boards mine.

The parrot frequently tries to KILL Trevor. They can't be in the same home at the same time.

i dunno, i think there's gotta be a way to get her used to him so she won't go for the jugular when he enters the room.

you'll definately have to post pics of the finished cage, it sounds really cool!

WE've tried everything. He gets lower than her, submissive pose, feeds her treats, talks in sof voices to her, calls her "good birdy" over an over... most of the time she goes out of her way to run across the room and bite him!


The most exciting news, though is: The BUNNY CAME HOME TODAY! :) :) :)


The lady called me and said she's got a sniffle (which I'd noticed) and I could either pick a new bunny, or take this one home and give her some medication. I'm in love with this one already, so home it was!!

She has some need of a little one on one time. She is super cuddly and loving, but needs 2meds right now and some good fattening up before she'll be in the clear.

The bedding they had in there was very dusty and there was a draft from the door, and a bunch of snotty nosed kids always poking at them, despite the signs not to. Not only all that but also she was one of a pile of bunnies- so now I have her at home where she'll get lots of direct attention to her needs.

She is going to be fed normal pellets, but also a special tempting super mush for the next little while till she gets better/starts putting on more weight.

I also have to keep wiping her nose pretty often, cause if it gets all gloopy she could stop being able to breathe.

I have to go to dinner with Trevor at his mother's place tonight, for his b-day (belated) and I think I will be taking her with me. You are supposed to let them really settle in for the first while, but she seems way happier being held than alone in her new house, (she's falling asleep on me right now) and I am worried about the gloopy nose while I'm gone, cause who knows how long dinner etc will take.

I think I'm going to risk the added stress of the second car ride, so I can keep a close eye on her tonight.

Plus that way I can start giving her some super mush before dinner.

{{omg she's so cute!- I'll borrow the BF's digital camera and take pics soon!}}

aww yaaay bunny! hope she feels better soon

hey where are those pics!! ;)

i just accidentally found this awesome bunny site and thought you guys might enjoy it. http://www.houserabbits.com/
hehe look at the big fat black one, isn't he squeezable? anyway it's bunny info and also info on adoptions and bunny rescues.