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Which type of run should I go for? Wooden or metal?

Which run to buy?

  • The Metal One

    Votes: 3 16.7%
  • The Wooden One

    Votes: 14 77.8%
  • Other (please specify!)

    Votes: 1 5.6%

  • Total voters
    18

Hanlou

Mama Doe
I'm hoping RU can help! I can't decide what sort of run to go for!

Metal Run (I like (( The Giant Version of this one like the Zooplus one )) .

Advantages: good size, probably lighter - main advantage being that it will fold up for winter.

Disadvantages: wider bar spacing, not as secure as wood, fiddly to put up.

Wooden Run (Like (( This One )) )

Advantages: Sturdy, strong narrow mesh. Won't fall apart when being moved etc.

Disadvantages: Heavy, doesn't fold, awkward to store. Has to be repainted each year.

I don't want to make one out of aviary panels because it will be *just* for safe grazing for the buns' and the piggies (not at the same time!) so I need it to be movable. I plan to construct a permanent run for the rabbits out of aviary panels on the patio - this will just be for grazing purposes for the lawn or for the piggies to have some safe time on the patio. Either would only be used when I'm in the house.

I'm moving away from the idea of a wooden folding run as they seem to be flimsy according to what other people have said.
 
We have wooden folding runs here for the boarders and they have been great. Had them 4 years and they will probably need replacing next year with some minor repairs to the hinges this year. The metal ones we found were not very stable on a windy day;)
 
We have wooden folding runs here for the boarders and they have been great. Had them 4 years and they will probably need replacing next year with some minor repairs to the hinges this year. The metal ones we found were not very stable on a windy day;)

Where from? Or do you sell them and I haven't noticed lol? :D
 
We actually bought ours from a roadside unit we were just passing somewhere in Derbyshire that were a fishing bait specialist so no idea what they are called or even if they are still in business, they just looked good and were waht we wanted :). We do sell runs but dont know if they are what you are looking for as they are only a set size and not made to measure ones.
 
We actually bought ours from a roadside unit we were just passing somewhere in Derbyshire that were a fishing bait specialist so no idea what they are called or even if they are still in business, they just looked good and were waht we wanted :). We do sell runs but dont know if they are what you are looking for as they are only a set size and not made to measure ones.

Yours is the wooden one I've linked to as it looks really well made and from a trusted company. ;)
 
I really do prefer wooden! This is mine! :D

DSCF4064.jpg
 
Ooooo that's a lovely one, how big is it?

Hanlou is the run for buns or pigs?

It will be for both for lawn grazing. :wave:

That is a lovely run Mischief and Tinker's mum (sorry I don't know your name! :oops:) - a lot of the nice-looking runs on ebay are really low or don't mention the height. I've messaged a few sellers and they've never got back to me about height. :(

There's the seller on here who has a website too and seems reasonable but I don't know anyone who's had one off them - they did the run prize for know your rabbit day and do a large selection of runs. They do larger ones.

I *dreamt* about runs last night! :roll:

Very interesting poll results though - and probably have swung it for me. I think it will be wood of one sort or another......
 
I like the idea of the metal one as it is less 'obvious' in an aesthetic sense, and I do have a high metal fence run around the front of the playhouse, but my runs that I use for being out in the garden when I am out are the heavy wooden folding ones. I just feel that are more secure if a fox or dog was in the garden as they are heavier and could not be pushed or tipped. Maybe the metal ones are heavier than that though ?

My two runs for the guineas were from the happy hutch company, the 7 ft x errr something size, but now my last guinea has died I have a plan for the those runs. They were rather pricey compared to some you have had suggested on this thread, but they are very good quality and solid. I am going try and engineer a way today that the two can be put side to side next to each other and have one of the panels on each of them removable at the side, so that they can form one large area for Mint. When I go out in the day I don't like leaving him out in the playhouse run, as although it is high and secure from his perspective, it has no top to it and so another creature could get in.
 
Thanks for that Charys. I hadn't actually noticed that the Happy Hutch runs are folding..... :oops: ...... I may end up getting one of these in the 7ft x 4ft x 30" size. They are expensive but if they are solid and will last I don't mind paying out a bit more money. :) x
 
If you do go for the metal run you may wish to reconsider where you get it from. I had loads of problems with zooplus when I ordered mine & their customer service had no interest in any of the problems when I contacted them by phone & didnt even bother replying to my written complaint. Furthermore you may wish to look at missysj thread re Pebbles. Apparently several rabbits have managed to get their heads wedged between the bars of the metal runs
 
I am now replacing all our metal runs after one of our bunnies got their head caught in the gaps. If I hadn't have been there she would have broken her neck. I know of 2 other rabbits it has happened to on here with the same run.

So I would never recommend a metal run again
 
Were the metal ones you are replacing the 'dog crate sized' gap....as I have a metal bunny fencing round the playhouse and that is only an inch wide (I think) gaps. I think what I am asking is are there some pens with much wider gaps between the struts ?
 
Were the metal ones you are replacing the 'dog crate sized' gap....as I have a metal bunny fencing round the playhouse and that is only an inch wide (I think) gaps. I think what I am asking is are there some pens with much wider gaps between the struts ?

It was similar to the one in the link given in the first post and purchased from Zooplus
 
...and a bunny got it's head through those gaps, blimey ? Were they tiny baby bunnies ? I know that mine couldn't even get a nose through that. Maybe the gaps are wider than they look on the picture, that's why I was wondering the distance between the struts.
 
I'm hoping RU can help! I can't decide what sort of run to go for!

Metal Run (I like (( The Giant Version of this one like the Zooplus one )) .

Advantages: good size, probably lighter - main advantage being that it will fold up for winter.

Disadvantages: wider bar spacing, not as secure as wood, fiddly to put up.

Wooden Run (Like (( This One )) )

Advantages: Sturdy, strong narrow mesh. Won't fall apart when being moved etc.

Disadvantages: Heavy, doesn't fold, awkward to store. Has to be repainted each year.

I don't want to make one out of aviary panels because it will be *just* for safe grazing for the buns' and the piggies (not at the same time!) so I need it to be movable. I plan to construct a permanent run for the rabbits out of aviary panels on the patio - this will just be for grazing purposes for the lawn or for the piggies to have some safe time on the patio. Either would only be used when I'm in the house.

I'm moving away from the idea of a wooden folding run as they seem to be flimsy according to what other people have said.

I have just bought this fold up wooden run which a few other people on here have too
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6ft-x4ft-x2ft...t=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item2a0203db59
 
I think the trixie metal ones have bars too thin for bunnies heads. I'll take a close up pic later for you to compare.

_IGP7133-vi.jpg
 
I have just bought this fold up wooden run which a few other people on here have too
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6ft-x4ft-x2ft...t=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item2a0203db59

Thanks - but a few people have said that after a few months the hinges have come off etc. Which has put me off it really..... I'd rather spend another £50 and have one that I know will last.

Liz -thanks for the information! The guinea pigs are even more vulnerable than the rabbits gap-wise so it's a definite no-no then. I still haven't forgiven myself for when one of the piggies got stuck in the wall basket style hay rack. (Which has been replaced with a safe one.)

I think I'll go for the (( Happy Hutch 7ft one )) when we get back off our hols as soon as I can afford it. :D x

Better safe than sorry........
 
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