To anyone just getting started:
All animals need proper housing!
Rabbits, more than most!



Rabbits in general are a fairly timid creature, with little in the way of defence. They can not protect themselves from the neighbor's dog. Whether in the house, or in the yard, they need a safe haven. This does not mean that you have to build something fancy or expensive. There are many designs to choose from. The main thing is to protect them from the elements, and predators. I will attempt to give some ideas, and perhaps a picture or two. You can go as big as you like, or stay quite small.
Before I begin on this subject, let me just say that I find this a very important one. If you do not have adequate housing, you will not have a successful, and happy experience in the "Rabbit world"
We will break this down into several catagories.
The first consideration is where you are going to keep them. You might want them as a house pet, or perhaps you want to put them in a garage, or other building. You might want to put them in the yard. No matter where they are going to be, they need protection from the elements. In otherwords they have to have shade, shelter from the wind and they need to stay dry. They also need plenty of ventilation. The most important piece of equipment you need is a good cage made from the right material. The proper cage is a safe haven for the rabbit, even indoors. It is a barrier from harm.
There are many ways to cage your rabbit. The kind of caging is a personal choice, and you need to do what works best for you. I use all wire cages. These are made up of the recommended wire. 1/2"X 1" bottoms, and 1' X 2" babysaver wire on the sides. I use the 1x2 on the top and the 1/2" X 1" for dividers. The size of your cages depends on the type of rabbit you own, you don't want to put a giant class breed in a 24x24 inch cage! I would rather have cages that are a little too roomy then to small. Most of my animals are in 30x36 inch cages, or for the smaller ones, a 24x30 inch cage. This gives them plenty of room to raise a litter and get plenty of exercise. If you are a single "Bunny" household, you can probably buy one of these cages at a pet shop of farming goods store. If you are a multiple (meaning many) rabbit owner, or a breeder this will not be cost effective. I suggest that you either order from one of the fine rabbit equipment suppliers, or build them yourself.
The next step is to decide if you want hanging cages, or stackers with trays. This decision is usually made by the space you have available. I use hangers, but I have a 32'x 36' barn. The benefit to stackers is that you can have a lot more rabbits per square foot. The up side to hangers is you get better ventilation, they are easier to keep clean, and don't have as much odor problem.

This article was written and copyrighted by Susan Origer 2000

If you need additional information you can contact me, at the following address:

havafox@uslink.net

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