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?
Cages for decorative rabbits, which are sold in specialized 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 cell should not occupy much space in the room 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 bothered by health problems, development, etc. In many ways, this care depends on the main habitat of the eared, so the cage for decorative rabbits is made just 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. In addition, soft bedding is required.
The content of decorative rabbits at home without the territory allotted for them 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 hold themselves back for hours. But once they get out into the open, they leave marks everywhere. This is the reason why a novice 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 their business when it is convenient for him.
Size Details
If the cage for a new pet is expensive, you do not need to give up. Making yourself a house for the eared speaker is simple and even fun.
And the first thing the breeder will encounter when planning the design of the cage for decorative rabbits is the right size. Whether it is worth keeping a little fluff in a small cage, largely depends on whether there is enough space for movement. 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 cause a couple to find their pet.
Cages for decorative rabbits are often made to certain standards. The simplest and most popular do-it-yourself cell models have the following dimensions:
- 100 cm long and 50 wide;
- 100 cm long and 60 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. Is it worth making such a house for a rabbit, the owner himself determines. 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 sizes of the house for a decorative rabbit will not replace his freedom of movement through the expanses of the apartment, so it is necessary to let the animal out for several hours a day. If this is not done, the decorative rabbits begin to hurt, they show signs of obesity and the activity of internal organs is disrupted, and this is a direct path to death.
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, deciding to create a home for a pet on their own, it should be taken into account that:
- Decorative rabbits move only on a flat flat floor on which there is a litter. These animals have no pads on their paws, like other pets. Without them, the rabbit will be uncomfortable moving around the grill, or some uneven surfaces. In addition, the softness of the bottom of the house allows you to avoid inflammation of the limbs of the animal.
- 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 owner of the rabbit 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 eared goods are made in accordance with 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 you do not succeed in fulfilling your desire, 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 - a drawing of a future structure. If it is, you should search for the necessary materials. For these purposes, you will need:
- plywood sheets;
- wooden beam;
- metal mesh;
- canopies (hinges) for the future door;
- linoleum or another litter option.
It is equally important to prepare the tools:
- hammer;
- nails
- self-tapping screws;
- screwdriver or screwdriver;
- scissors for metal;
- sawing wood.
For construction, you will also need a construction tape measure or sewing centimeter in order to correctly calculate the necessary dimensions of a future structure. Having prepared everything you need, you should start assembling the frame of the future cell. But, before that, markup should be done. How many centimeters in length, in height and in width will be the house for the animal, 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 the 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. Anyone with at least a little command of ordinary tools can handle it: a hammer, a saw and a screwdriver. The cage for pets is made as follows:
- From the previously prepared bars, the frame of the future house for the rabbit is built. All wooden elements are fastened together with self-tapping screws.
- The floor is cut from a plywood sheet to the specified dimensions and nailed to the bottom of the finished frame.
- The frame is fitted with a metal mesh. Its edge is fixed from one of the corners of the structure with the help of nails.
- On one side of the house, a place under the door is selected. Awnings are screwed to the wooden frame, to which the door leaf itself should later be screwed.
- The door frame is assembled, which is fitted with a mesh. It should be hung on a loop and checked for proper 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 important actions for the life of an animal. The owner of the big-eared must provide him with convenience during meals, on vacation, as well as on 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 eared one can go for a walk on its own. In addition, in this place the air should move freely, forming the necessary ventilation. Drafts should be avoided at the same time. Animals are very susceptible to living conditions and from any such human error can be injured or sick.
Another popular option for building a house for rabbits
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 pieces of furniture 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 barn there is this unnecessary item, he should give a second life.
The 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). Man can only:
- Strengthen the design of the future house with the missing wooden lintels. The beam is screwed to the legs of the table with the help of screws.
- Screw 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 grid. If the pet's house is located against the wall, one side of it can be sheathed with boards or plywood. The same actions are carried out with a doorway. Each pet owner can choose a convenient and economical version of the model of the future structure.
A cage from a table has many advantages. One of them is the ease of cleaning. In order to clean the floor in the house, you just need to move it. And if linoleum is used as the basis for bedding, it will also be easy to get from under the table to wash and dry in the sun.
