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 c
lean 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!
They may have plastic toy balls in the rabbit section of your pet store but generally anything for an exotic (which your bunny is classified as) is much more expensive. However if you go wandering in to other aisles you are likely to find toys that could still work for your rabbit and are probably a lot cheaper!
