Keeping rabbits in an apartment or in your own house has its own characteristics. In many ways, they are related to where the pet will live, eat and walk. It is necessary to equip the animal with its own corner, where it will be comfortable to stay awake and relax. For these purposes, you will need a cage for a decorative rabbit.
DIY decorative rabbit cage
Cells can be bought at the pet store or made independently. Having decided to build a house for the animal with your own hands, you should know what materials to get and how to make it the most correctly.
What should be the cage for a decorative rabbit?
Bunny cages sold in specialty stores are not cheap. The only way out is to start making a home for your pet yourself. But without proper knowledge of how big it should be and from what materials should be made, doing this is inappropriate. In addition, the constructed cage should not take up much space in the premises of an apartment or house. It should be convenient for a person to approach the animal, feed it and clean the cage.
Decorative rabbits are fragile and delicate animals. It is necessary to provide them with the most careful care so that these pets are not disturbed by health problems, developmental problems, etc. In many ways, such care depends on the main habitat of the eared, therefore, a cage for decorative rabbits is made precisely for their convenience. So, special attention must be paid to the floor of the house. It is best to use a plastic pallet. Metal lattice surfaces can harm the animal, injure its paws. Plus, you'll need soft bedding.
Keeping decorative rabbits at home without a designated area is impossible. In addition, the arrangement of a separate house with everything necessary allows you to maintain order in the home. The fact is that most of the animals have an animal instinct to mark territory, as well as relieve themselves outside their habitat. In their own home, they are clean and can even restrain themselves for hours. But as soon as they get out into the open, they leave traces everywhere. This is the reason why a beginner breeder needs, in addition to building a cage, to teach a pet to walk in a tray. In addition, these 2 devices are easy to connect together so that the animal can go about his business when it is convenient for him.
Size Details
If the cage for a new pet is expensive, you don't need to give up. Making yourself a house for the eared is easy and even fun.
And the first thing a breeder will face when planning a cage for decorative rabbits is the correct size. Whether or not it is worth keeping a furry in a small cage largely depends on whether it has enough room to move around. The minimum size, by all standards, should be 4 times the size of the animal itself. If your house has a lot of free space - it does not matter. A large cage or even an aviary can be a reason to find a mate for your pet.
Cages for decorative rabbits are often made to specific standards. The most simple and popular do-it-yourself cell models have the following sizes:
- 100 cm long and 50 cm wide;
- 100 cm long and 60 cm wide;
- 80 cm long and 60 wide.
We must not forget about the most suitable height for the animal structure.
The upper floor should be located at such a height that can allow the animal to stand on its hind legs. In addition, some breeders prefer keeping their pets in two-story cages. Whether it is worth making such a house for a rabbit is determined by the owner himself. A structure of several tiers should also have a length, width and height suitable for free movement.
It is also important that even the largest size of the house for a decorative rabbit will not replace its freedom of movement across the expanses of the apartment, therefore it is necessary to release the animal into the wild for several hours a day. If this is not done, decorative rabbits begin to get sick, they show signs of obesity and the activity of internal organs is disrupted, and this is a direct path to death.
How to make a cage for a rabbit. Runaway bunny duplex penthouse.
How to make a 2-story rabbit cage.
How to make a cage for a decorative rabbit with your own hands.
Some tips from experienced breeders
When building cages for decorative rabbits, the advice of already experienced owners of such pets should be taken into account. The fact is that ignorance of the characteristics of the animals themselves can lead to serious problems in the future. Therefore, when deciding to create a house for a pet on your own, you should consider that:
- Bunny rabbits move only on a flat, flat floor with litter. These animals do not have pads on their paws, like other pets. Without them, it will be inconvenient for the crawl to move along the grate, or some uneven surfaces. In addition, the softness of the bottom of the house avoids inflammation of the animal's limbs.
- The cell must not be painted or coated with any other synthetic toxic substances. We must not forget that these pets love to chew on everything. And such a human error can even cost the life of an animal.
- Only durable materials should be selected for the construction of the cage. The reason is the same: animals gnaw everything that comes in their way.
If the new rabbit owner has any doubts about the design features of the pet house or any other questions, you should go to the store with ready-made cages. You do not need to buy anything. The fact is that specialized products for the eared ones are made according to all standards. Having studied several models, it is easy to translate their similarity to the most of those materials that are on the farm.
If on your own it does not work out what you want, do not give up. On the Internet there are a large number of manuals and tips from already experienced breeders on how to build a home for your own pet. It remains only to prepare everything you need and follow the step-by-step instructions.
What you need to build a house for decorative rabbits
At the beginning of construction, a person should have the most important thing in mind - a drawing of a future structure. If there is one, you should start looking for the necessary materials. For these purposes, you will need:
- plywood sheets;
- wooden beam;
- metal mesh;
- awnings (hinges) for the future door;
- linoleum or other litter option.
It is equally important to prepare the tools:
- a hammer;
- nails;
- self-tapping screws;
- screwdriver or screwdriver;
- scissors for metal;
- saw on wood.
For construction, you will also need a construction tape or a sewing centimeter in order to correctly calculate the required dimensions of the future structure. Having prepared everything you need, you should start assembling the frame of the future cell. But, before that, you should make the markup. How many centimeters in length, height and width the house for the animal will be depends on the chosen model of the structure.
Some breeders may have questions about which litter is best for animals. Decorative rabbits are sensitive to any materials. But often what is convenient for them brings unnecessary trouble to a person. Pets feel good on a floor covered with newspapers or natural fabrics. Some breeders prefer to put sawdust on the floor in the cage, but from such materials a lot of garbage spreads around the apartment. There is no ideal option, everyone chooses for himself what he likes best.
Making a house for decorative rabbits
Building a cage for decorative rabbits is not a complex, difficult task. It can be handled by anyone who has at least a little bit of ordinary tools: a hammer, a saw and a screwdriver. The pet cage is made like this:
- The frame of the future crawl house is constructed from the pre-prepared bars. All wooden elements are fastened together with self-tapping screws.
- The floor is cut out of a sheet of plywood according to the specified dimensions and nailed to the bottom of the finished frame.
- The frame is covered with a metal mesh. Its edge is fixed from one of the corners of the structure with nails.
- On one side of the house, a place is selected for the door. Sheds are screwed to the wooden frame, to which the door leaf itself must later be screwed.
- The door frame is assembled, which is covered with a mesh. It should be hung on a loop and checked for correct operation.
- The roof is being made. It is best to make it removable, which will facilitate easy access for feeding the rabbit, as well as cleaning his house.
After all these actions have been completed, you should proceed to another important part of the construction: to equip the future residence of the pet with everything necessary. Proper maintenance of a rabbit requires a person to perform several actions that are important for the life of an animal. The owner of the big-eared must provide him with convenience during meals, in leisure, as well as in trips "according to need", therefore, a feeder, a drinking bowl and a tray should be installed in the manufactured house.
It is equally important to find a suitable place for the house. It is better to install it on the floor so that the eagle can go for a walk on its own. In addition, in this place the air must move freely, forming the necessary ventilation. At the same time, drafts should be avoided. Animals are very susceptible to living conditions and from any such human error can be injured or sick.
Another popular option for building a rabbit house
Decorative rabbits love space, and it is important for their owner to provide it. In search of a solution to the problem, where to find a suitable corner for these animals, some things and furniture items that have not been used for their intended purpose for a long time can help. One of these is a wooden table. If somewhere in the country, in the pantry or in the shed there is this unnecessary item, he should be given a second life.
A novice breeder was lucky if he managed to get a rectangular or square table with four legs. Its design already has the necessary wooden supports, which will serve as a frame for the construction, as well as a cover (countertop). The only thing left for a person is:
- Strengthen the design of the future house with missing wooden lintels. The bar is screwed to the table legs with self-tapping screws.
- Screw the canopies for the future door to the table leg.
- To cover the structure with mesh.
It is not necessary to round the table with a net. If the pet's house is located against a wall, one side of it can be sheathed with boards or plywood. The same actions are carried out with the doorway. Each pet owner can choose a convenient and economical version of the model of the future structure.
A table cage has many advantages. One of them is the ease of cleaning. In order to clean the floor in the house, it should simply be moved aside. And if linoleum is used as the basis of the litter, it will also be easy to get out from under the table to wash and dry in the sun.