# Exercising rabbits...



## Libertyangora (Nov 12, 2015)

I'm thinking about using a large dog crate to exercise my rabbits, I would keep the sides and top to keep the cats and other predators out... Any advice? It would be nice to see other peoples setup so can get some ideas.


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## leanneellison1979 (Nov 21, 2015)

my rabbits are house rabbits so they free range in the dining room most of the time. if they go in the back yard they just go free and we keep the dogs in but if they go out in the front yard they go in a pen thats made up of 18 panels pegged into the grass. mine are pet rabbits and i know it is different for meat rabbits and people that have loads of rabbits too. we only have grass at the front the back yard is paving stones


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## Libertyangora (Nov 21, 2015)

I live on ten acres so space isn't an issue for me but we have five barn cats so that's why I use a dog crate. The holes in the floor are so big that I don't really worry too much about their feet getting caught.


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## Pastor Dave (Jan 13, 2016)

I used the 1"x2" roll of mesh to make an exercise pen. It was 6' long, and the roll is 24" high, so I kept mine simple by making it 2' deep and 2' high. I then fastened a top of the same material by using J clamps to one side like hinges.
I could stake it down and I put it in the yard under a couple maple trees for shade. I just too k each ones' own water bottle and fastened it to the side while they were inside it. It worked good, but necessity took over, and I converted it to a couple grow-out pens with a bottom of 1/2"x1" mesh and divided it in half with leftover material I had of the 1'x2".
This Spring I think I will get another roll of the 1"x2" and attach it in the corner of a chain link fence in my backyard.
I will probably look for chicken wire or netting to put over the top.


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## Lamb Lover (Jan 13, 2016)

I had a friend build a pen for me. It's just mesh and some small panels to hold it together. It's not very big and we need to expand it now that they are bigger but they also have free range of the hall and living room in the house, a hutch and a dog crate. When they were younger I took them on walks, these are pets and very spoiled ones at that. For your bunnies I would suggest a dog run with a top. They're the chain link ones with the swinging door. You could make a good sized one and it would keep the cats out. Then to block the open spots by the door you could just take some chip board or any spare wood panels and block it off. I wanted to do that with mine but we don't have the room. Good luck!


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## Pastor Dave (Jan 13, 2016)

Thanks


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## Lamb Lover (Jan 13, 2016)

@Pastor Dave No problem.  Another thing if you haven't done it would just be looking up runs on google or something and getting some inspiration.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 13, 2016)

Do you have pics? I'm going to need to expand mine soon but I need ideas. I would also need some way to split it in half so the buck and doe can't get to each other.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 13, 2016)

I'm also thinking about leash training the buck. The doe would be a bit to jumpy to leash train her. Any thoughts?


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## Lamb Lover (Jan 23, 2016)

@Libertyangora Well I got harnesses from Petsmart and they were $11 each I think but they're poorly made and broke. Rabbits don't take to leash training, at least mine haven't. The smaller one Monkey would run as long as you were behind her but Clover the dominant one would only move if you pulled. She would only take a couple steps though. I'd say find a harness that works for you and if your rabbit is food motivated give it a try. I don't have a picture of my pen but if you wanted to see I could post a couple. It doesn't have a top or a divider but when I extant it I want both. My ladies have been fighting recently and just today Clover took a chunk out of Monkey. Ah bunnies.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 23, 2016)

I may get a harness for my buck and keep putting the doe in the play pen. The buck is more tolerant than the doe so as long as there's food he'll go anywhere . I would love to see any pictures you have of your set up.


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## Lamb Lover (Jan 23, 2016)

Haha sounds like a typical boy. Ok so the pen as you can see isn't very big but it is tall. Three sides are zip tied together so I can move it around the yard and one end have bungee cords incase I need to open it up. I'm 5"8 and it comes up to my waist so I just step over if I need to get in. The boards on the ground are to hold a tarp on the top because Monkey likes to escapse. The dog crate is for a large dog and they sleep in that with a heat lamp when it's really cold. Then there's the hutch. It's handmade. There's a tray on the bottom that I put a liner in, the floor is mesh like the sides and the top opens up. I fill it with straw after I line the bottom with news paper and I've hung toys from the lid but those were destroyed. Clover has anger issues. At night I cover the mesh sides with two thick curtains, then I put a tarp over the top and hold it down with a rake or broom. They don't get hot but they stay warm. The water bottle is weatherproof so I've had no issues with cracking or anything and I just have a ceramic bowl for their pellets. They eat hay in the dog crate. I line that with puppy pads and newspaper as well. They receive their fruit and veggies in the house and they have play time in here when it's cold. That was a lot but that's how I take care of my bunnies. The brown one in the hutch is Monkey and the black one is Clover.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 23, 2016)

I think I may get a roll of hardware cloth and use zip ties to keep it together. I was thinking about trying to find used dog crates and somehow putting them together into one big pen but, I think hardware cloth would be cheaper and easier.


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## Lamb Lover (Jan 23, 2016)

Yeah for sure. I can try and get you the measurements and materials for my pen if you want. You could always make it bigger and it's relatively cheap. Another thing you could do is run chicken wire through your yard like a tunnel. That way they can run and eat but they can't get away. I've seen it done with chickens, check it out on Pintrest if you have it.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 24, 2016)

I do have a Pinterest so I'll check it out on there tonight. The reason I'm thinking about using hardware cloth is because I'm nervous my barn cats might stick their paws through the holes.


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## Lamb Lover (Jan 24, 2016)

Yeah that's true. Whatever works best for you.  Pinterest has some really good ideas. I might have to build a new hutch or get another pen because my rabbits are fighting (One got hurt really bad today, almost cut to the bone) so if I find anything I'll let you know.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 25, 2016)

That doesn't sound good! Hope your rabbit gets better! I'll look some more today to see if I find anything better.


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## Pastor Dave (Jan 25, 2016)

Libertyangora said:


> I think I may get a roll of hardware cloth and use zip ties to keep it together. I was thinking about trying to find used dog crates and somehow putting them together into one big pen but, I think hardware cloth would be cheaper and easier.


I have a roll of hardware cloth or mesh that is the same guage as my cages. It is probably 1" x 3" at the top. 28"-30" tall, and between 1/2" x 1" and 1" x 1" at the bottom. It is intended to keep rabbits out of gardens, but I plan to connect it to my chain link fence in the corner to make a nice sized area. I also got a pretty long roll of chicken wire that is 48" wide to fasten to the top to keep hawks and cats, etc out.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 29, 2016)

My plan is to just have walls made out of hardware cloth and have no floors or roof. They'd only be out in the pen for about a half hour day and the pen would be set about 8 feet away from my garden so while they were out in the pen I would garden while they were playing.


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## Pastor Dave (Jan 29, 2016)

Mine will have no floor either. They made the roll of mesh a smaller size near the bottom than they did at the top for some reason. The smaller spaces at the bottom are probably between 1/2" x 1"  &  1" x 1".
I will have chicken wire over the top though. I have eagles and hawks here that would swoop in and nab one for sure.
I just saw a hawk the other day swoop down by our bird feeder and make an attempt, but I do not think it got any birds.
It was so fast, I barely saw the action. Just a streak of feathers to an obviously much bigger bird than usually visits our feeder.


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## Libertyangora (Jan 29, 2016)

We have about four or five Hawks surrounding our property so I would definitely be careful about leaving while they were in it. 

I don't really know what gauges I would need yet, I'll probably end up just seeing what they have at my local farm store and decide there.


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## Pastor Dave (Jan 29, 2016)




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