Category Archives: DIY Rabbit Housing

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!

Are you wanting to give your rabbit some out of cage time but don’t trust your rabbit to stay out of trouble when you’re out?  Perhaps the most logical room to let your bunny play in is also the one that would get them in to the most trouble!

Remember those storage cubes we used to make Buns a spectacular, roomy house?  Well they’re also an economical way to make makeshift gates and my favourite – the bunny play pen!

Supplies

• Storage Cubes
• Zip Ties
• Wire Cutters
• Foam Floor Mats (Optional)
• Old Blankets (Optional)
• Lots of toys! (A Must!)

Building Your Bunny Play Pen

Begin by laying the cubes out on the ground, then attach them together with the zip ties.  I recommend securing your cubes by wrapping a zip tie around every other grid.  That way its nice and secure and if a few pop off here and there you don’t have to worry about the entire thing falling apart.  Finish off by cutting the zip ties, leaving a small amount of the zip tie exposed.  That way if one becomes loose you can still grip it with pliers and then tighten it again.

What you’ll need to determine is how tall to make your play pen.  Is your rabbit content to just be out and about or an expert escape artist?  Back in the day, my husband and I frequently found 3 out of 4 of our rabbits would escape from the Ex-Pen we used to have, the 4th was just happy to have some extra space to spend his day in.  So when we built our rabbit pen we built it 3 cubes tall.  I wouldn’t suggest making it less than 2 cubes tall and watch out for secret bunny launch pads like hidey houses that can provide just enough added height for the perfect escape!

For more in depth instructions on assembling your storage cubes please refer to my blog on Building Your Own Bunny Condo under DIY Rabbit Housing.

The doorway is easy!  Just build a long line of cubes and join each end with binder clips!  If you use multiple small clips lengthwise, it provides easy access for you to get in and out of the pen but also securely keeps them inside.

Get Creative!

Originally I had purchased 3 packs of storage cubes to start my bunny play pen.  I had tons of other cubes I had assembled in to pre-made gates to section off areas like under the bed or around the tv which I of course wasn’t using when the bunnies were in the pen.  So I decided to join them together temporarily with binder clips to make the pen even larger!

We also had extra cubes laying around and since we put our pen in the kitchen (where there were lots of spaces completely closed off) I decided to use just a single row of cubes to prevent them from chewing the cupboards but still creating a complete, joined pen making it impossible for them to escape.

Making Your Pen Rabbit Friendly

Depending on where you’re putting your rabbit play pen and how litter trained your rabbit is, you may want to lay down some blankets, mats or my favourite – foam tiles.  These are always on sale at Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire and interlock together.  They’re perfect for adding traction (if your rabbits hate to play on slippery flooring) and prevent your rabbit from digging through your carpet, your tile, scratching up your hardwood or leaving you little presents to try and clean up!

I use as many tiles as I can and then lay old (but clean) blankets on top of the tiles.  That way when they start digging they’re not ripping up the foam or eating through it.  It also helps to keep any urine stains from soaking in to the foam.  To secure the blankets, I put them under the heavy play pen.  It’s very rare that my rabbits are able to rearrange their blankets enough to pull them up from under the play pen’s weight.

Next up is furnishing!  Water, pellets and hay are absolutely essential!  Rabbit’s are grazers, needing a constant supply of ‘munchies’.  I’m sure they’d appreciate some fresh treats too!  Hidey houses, tunnels, cardboard boxes and an assortment of toys will add intrigue and fun!  I always make sure to leave lots of hopping space!  My rabbits are often so excited to have free time that they binky and run laps!

Using Cubes As Gates

Building small gates to corner off areas you want to keep your rabbits away from is inexpensive and easy with storage cubes but if your rabbits are nosy they need to be used with supervision only.  Rocky and Honey will join forces, take an end in their mouths and heave the gate upwards until it’s shifted just enough that they can sneak their little bunny bottoms around the gate!  Our Christmas wrap was full of holes from Rocky pulling this move, then sneaking under our bed where I couldn’t reach him!

Before reading this, please refer to my previous blog which provides reasons why building your own rabbit home is the way to go.  There is also a link to our video to give you a visual of how we built our condos!

That being said, step by step how-to’s always come in handy!

Supplies

• Storage Cubes

Your rabbit condos are going to be constructed out of storage cubes.  These are 14″x14″ wire cubes that come in flat grids to be assembled for storage.  However, partnered with zip ties, you can build pretty much any structure you’d like!

One of the great things about these cubes is that they aren’t overly big so you can just use less or more cubes depending on the space you’re building your condo for and the size of rabbit you have!

We found our storage cubes at Wal-Mart but also saw them at Space Age Solutions (where they were more expensive).  If you’re in the States, apparently Target sells them too.

• Zip Ties

Get the largest pack of zip ties you can find (We got ours at Lowes where 1000 zip ties was $9.99) because you’re going to need them!

Get the smaller zip ties.  They will hold together better than the larger ones which tend to slip on the narrow storage cube grids.

• Wire Cutters

Take it from us – scissors are not the answer!  Your hand will be cramping in a matter of minutes!  Instead invest in a pair of wire cutters.  This will make cutting the extra off those zip ties easy peesy!

• Wood for flooring, to act as a perimeter around your cage and ramps.

Any of those supplies are fairly inexpensive and you can find them at any building supplies stores.  For the frame around the cage you’re going to want to spend a little extra and get all natural wood.  It’s very rare that your rabbit won’t nibble on it here or there and anything chemically treated could kill your rabbit.

• Tile or Carpet to line your floors

This one is really just a preference.  Some people like carpet because it’s warmer and adds traction for their rabbits to hop and play on.  We at BudgetBunny went with tile because it’s easy to clean and our rabbits are not the best at using their litter boxes.  Our rabbits also love to dig and rip and we didn’t want them ingesting any of the fibres.  Plus, they’re in the warmest room in our house (don’t worry it’s not hot or anything, just gets  a lot of midday sun) so the tile is nice and cool for them to stretch out on.

If you’re going with tile any will do!  We picked the least expensive peel and stick tile they had to keep our cost low but if you want to match your decor you might opt for something fancier.

• Drill & Any Necessary Screws and Hinges

Hopefully you or someone handy will have a drill for you to borrow because they don’t come cheap!  You’ll want a drill to secure the wood you’re using for framing to the base floors.

• Any furnishings you’ll want to include such as a hay rack, litter box, toys etc.

Let’s Get Building!

Start by measuring the space you plan to put your rabbit condo in.  You’ll need to worry about the length, depth and height to build your cage.  Remember to think about access to your rabbit and cleaning if you are looking to build your cage taller instead of longer or wider.  Since the grids are 14” across when I broke down mine I thought in terms of how many grids I could fit in to my allocated space.  The largest cage I could fit was 4 grids tall by 4 grids long by 2 grids deep.

BudgetBunny Savings Tip! Get creative with supplies you might already have in your house!  We already had an ex-pen which are really pricey!  It was only a few years old so instead of constructing our second cage from scratch we used a mixture of both the ex-pen and the storage cubes to build the condo that we wanted.

Once you’ve determined your dimensions it’s time to get building!  Start by lining up your storage cubes beside one another and use the zip ties to attach them to one another.  I wanted to make sure my rabbit condos were secure and safe for my rabbits so I put a zip tie around every other grid.  It’s also peace of mind knowing that if some snap you’ve got plenty more to support the cage.

BudgetBunny Tip! I don’t recommend using those little white knobs that come with the cubes to connect your cage together.  Even with zip ties for extra support, they cause too much of a gap between the corners.  Your rabbit could easily get her head stuck in there, or a paw or chew off the looser zip ties….it’s just not safe!  And trust me if there’s a will there’s a way!

Around corners I diagonally zip tied the cubes together to give them extra support.  Cut any loose ends off with the wire cutters, leaving just enough that you’re able to grip the tie if you need to tighten them later on.

This will be tedious, so I spent a few nights attaching the grids while watching my favourite television shows!  Plus it makes it a lot easier for the rest of the construction if you have the perimeter already completed.  You may be worried at first because the grids seem floppy, but once you start zip tying them together you’ll quickly notice how sturdy your cage becomes.

Next you’ll need to cut the wood for the floors.  We used plywood for our flooring.  You’ll be cutting the wood to fit inside the perimeter of the cage.  Once you have your wood cut, you can begin laying the tile or carpet.  If you choose tile I would also suggest using some hot glue on each corner.  It will adhere that much better to the wood and if your rabbit decides to go on a digging rampage it’s less likely she’ll be able to lift one up.  It’s also a good idea to put your tiles to the edge of the flooring, even though you’ll be attaching a frame on top.  That way there are even less edges for your rabbit to try digging at.

After you’ve finished the flooring, you’ll need to cut wood for the frame.  You’ll want the frame to be at least a few inches high so it acts like a barrier to keep whatever your rabbit is kicking and flinging around inside the cage well, inside the cage!  We flipped the floor that we’d just tiled upside down, and drilled a hole through the wood and floor, then used a long screw to attach them together.  At this point, because of gravity, you may want to use clamps to prevent the tiles from lifting.

Once we had the main floor completed, we wrapped the perimeter of the cage around it.  The first thing we noticed was that the cage wasn’t sitting snugly against the floor.  To keep everything as easy to clean as possible and to also prevent an injured rabbit, we drilled holes through the wood in between each grid, then used a zip tie to attach the wood to the grids.  This forced the cage to stay nice and tight to the wood.  Drilling and attaching zip ties to every grid may seem overzealous but between bunnies nibbling on the wood and us moving the cages around periodically, many have come loose.

If you’re building a multi-level condo, you can repeat these steps for additional floors.  Create a base for the floor to go on out of storage cubes, set your tile covered base on the cubes and secure to the cage using cable ties.  Don’t be stingy on the cable ties here!  An entire level of wood is going to be sitting on this so make sure it’s safe for Buns!  You may also want to use a piece of doweling directly underneath a few parts of these additional floors to add extra support.

When building ramps you’ll need to use a sturdy piece of wood so it doesn’t bend under your rabbits weight.  Large hinges to attach the ramp to the floor will also ensure the ramp doesn’t break.  You may also want to build small steps (we cut small pieces of wood and nailed them to the ramp) to aid your rabbit in climbing the ramp.  We also ran a small but sturdy strip of wood up the center back of the ramp to add extra support.

Now it’s time for the fun part!  Decorating!  Fill your rabbit’s new home with lots of hay, food and toys and don’t forget, even though she has a sweet new pad to enjoy, she still needs at least 4 hours of free run time a day to keep her healthy and happy!

Our Cages Completed

So you’re thinking about adding a rabbit to your family but those darn cages are so expensive!  Don’t worry, you’re not stuck buying one of those store bought homes, why not make your own!  There are several great reasons why building your own cage is the right alternative to purchasing one from a pet store….

It’s Cheaper!

That’s right!  You can build your own rabbit cage for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a cage from the pet store.

You Can Customize Your Cage To Suit Your Needs!

Our type of rabbit condos are built using 14″ square storage cubes.  That means you can truly customize them to the space you have available.  Build it taller if you have a narrow space to put the cage or longer if height is a restriction.  It’s also much easier to build your cage according to the size of rabbit you have when you’re in full control of it’s dimensions.

Your Cage Will Provide The Proper Space Your Rabbit Requires

Rabbit Organizations state that your rabbit should be able to hop at least three times from one end of their cage to the other, be able to stand up fully on their hind legs and there should be additional levels to provide good muscle development.  Store bought cages rarely meet these needs or are ridiculously expensive if you can find them.  In fact, other than a ridiculously over-priced Ex-Pen, I have yet to find a cage large enough for a rabbit to live comfortably.

A Larger Cage Is Easier To Clean

That’s right Ladies and Gentlemen.  A larger cage is actually easier to maintain!  Your rabbit is also more likely to develop proper litter box habits in a cage they can move around in and you’ll have more room to maneuver yourself inside the cage when you’re cleaning it.

It Prevents Boredom And Promotes Exercise

Imagine spending your life in a tiny box you can barely turn around in!  How boring that would be!  I know I feel cooped up if I’m stuck inside my house all day, let alone if I spent all day in my one piece bathroom!  By building your own rabbit condo, your bunny will have room to stretch, veg and play!  Plus you won’t feel so bad throwing some extra toys in there to keep them busy when you know there’s still plenty of space for buns too!

Guilt-Free Work Days

Okay I don’t know about you but when I go to work I feel horrible that my critters are at home without me!  Even though it’s hard leaving them every morning I feel confident that they have a happy home to spend their day in and I can make it up to them with a full night of free run play time when I get back!

More Enjoyable Rabbit Experience

So you’re rabbit has sat in a tiny box all day, bored to death and barely able to move around….do you think they’re going to be happy when they see you?  No way!  They’re going to be frustrated with boredom and all that pent up energy they weren’t able to expel while you weren’t home!  This can quickly lead to behavioural problems and I wouldn’t blame that bunny one bit!

Below is a video that will help you create your rabbit’s dream home!  Best of all, it requires few resources and all are easy to find!  A word to the wise, I’m a photographer, not a videographer so my skills are lacking but you’ll get the just of it!

I will be posting step by step instructions in a future blog if you’d prefer to read instead of watch the video but first something to really convince you to make your own cage:

The rabbit condo we built is actually two cages stacked on top of one another.  Each cage is 56″x 28″ x 28″.  To build the entire thing we spent around $160.  That’s it!  That’s only $80 per cage and our rabbits are living it up, let me tell you!  But check this out!  I found this ‘rabbit’ cage in a pet store the other day!  It’s a 42″ cage on sale for $199.99!  On sale!  Check out the photos, it’s nowhere near large enough for a full grown bunny and it’s regular price is $276.99!  Insane!

Bet you’re excited to watch the video now aren’t you?!