We have big news at BB’s house!  Rocky and Honey have officially moved in together!  As you may know a little over a year ago we trashed the standard store bought cages and built our Buns luxurious condos.  At the time, neither of the girls were spayed so we constructed them as four separate cages with two stacked on top of one another.  We envisioned that one day when Rocky and Honey were fully bonded we would cut a hole in the bottom of her cage and make them one super cage to live in.  Honey was spayed two months later, then we were told to wait another 6-8 weeks to reintroduce them to make sure all of her hormones had settled and the incision was fully healed and before we knew it we had put it off for an entire year!

Rocky and Honey played together during free-range time but had to go to separate homes at night.  Finally enough was enough!  It was so adorable watching them run to one another and smother each other with kisses when I’d let them out, I hated that they were being kept apart!  I mentioned it to Hubby who said he could use a good weekend project and he planned out the best way to go about it.

In hindsight it would have been much easier to do all of this when we originally built the cages, then fasten a storage cube to keep them separate but we were so exhausted with our four day cage building extravaganza at the time that we just couldn’t be bothered.  Something to remember for next time (what’s that? – I can hear Hubby’s voice in my head right now – there will be no next time because we aren’t getting any more rabbits, our house is full! Me – Yes dear….wink).

Anywho, this is what Hubby did:

First he removed one of the far left cubes from the bottom and cut a hole through the bottom level of Honey’s cage.  He did this by using a large bit and drilling a hole through the floor and then using one of his saws (sorry I’m not very handy I just know that it was a saw) to cut the hole.  Next he measured the hole and built a frame out of all natural wood.  He drilled holes through the sides of the wood and through the bottom of the floor and attached the frame using zip ties since this was easier then trying to bolt the frame to the floor.  This now framed the hole making it look more finished but also stopping the bunnies from trying to rip up the flooring.  He left about 6” off one side of the frame and built a ramp which he then secured with sturdy hinges to the floor and just like that the individual cages were now a super cage!  They now have four levels to hop up and down and can spend all of their time snuggling and being completely adorable!

Then came the big test!  Rocky and Honey get along great outside of their cages but would they be territorial inside their cages?  I cleaned their cages thoroughly and decided to put each rabbit in the opposite cage.  They each spent the first 10 minutes or so chinning and sniffing because they weren’t used to their surroundings.  Finally Rocky saw the ramp….. And hopped down it.  Honey was in her litter box chewing some hay when she popped her head up.  Hubby and I tensed, me with my water bottle in hand in case they started scrapping and….

Success!

Honey jumped out of the box and Rocky started grooming her head!  Honey returned the favour and they began exploring together!

Just in case I spent the next hour watching them and although Rocky got a little frisky at one point, he wasn’t being mean and Honey didn’t seem to mind.

Honey that’s not very ladylike!

I did decide to remove Honey’s litter box.  I know that means I’ll have to remember to clean the other one twice as often but it gives them that much more room in their cage.  So far, they’ve both taken to using the one just fine.  I’m also testing out having only one water and food dish.  So far, so good.  When I filled up their pellets they both hopped over to the bowl but then took turns nibbling from it.  Too cute!  Now they are both completely flopped on separate floors.  They look totally relaxed and happy but it’s funny – Honey is hanging out in what used to be Rocky’s cage and Rocky is hanging out in what used to be Honey’s cage!

May they live happily ever after!