New to indoor bunnies, looking for housing advice :)

Hi everyone, long time stalker first time poster here lol. I have two bunnies Albie a (small) English spot and Finn a mini rex who currently live outside in one of our spare 10ft x 10ft stables. I've always wanted to keep them indoors as they're such little characters and I really don't feel as though I spend enough time with them outside.
Anyway after a lot of thought, I've finally found the bunny business large metal puppy pen. It looks well built, isn't too expensive and has plenty of headroom so that I can attach some large shelves (at hopping height hopefully so that there are no ramps to take up floor space). It's 125cm long, 80cm deep and 90cm high.
Would this be an adequate amount of space for two relatively small bunnies? Would the lack of a roof be an issue? Ideally they would only use it as a base, perhaps I would shut them in at night if they proved to be really destructive although neither of them seem to be chewers.
Any other tips on keeping bunnies indoors would be appreciated as well, I want to make sure I'm going about this in the right way [emoji4]

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Here's a picture of the bunny business large metal puppy pen.



Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

I am not an expert on these things but I don't think it would be large enough for a permanent setup for them to be stuck in it for 24/7 but if it was a base as you said before it would be ok maybe a dog crate would be better as they won't be able to jump out at night because of the lid?:wave:

Some people enjoy keeping their rabbits indoors but it can be difficult as they are natural chewers so it may involve bunny proofing cables and furniture. It can also be awkward as they are at their most active at night.

Unfortunately, the pen you are talking about is too small to house them except for the odd 10 mins.

The minimum housing recommended by the RWAF is a hutch of 6ft x 2ft x 2ft with a permanently attached run of at least 8ft long x 4ft wide and it needs to be at least 2ft 6ins high.

Have you looked at the links on Indoor Housing - there are some good ideas.

Could you use that pen as a base for hay/litter trays etc and leave the door open 24/7 into a smallish room you have rabbit proofed? I do that with mine, they have an indoor cage with litter trays and hay racks and full access to the kitchen/dining area. We've had no issues. Good luck!

Mine live under the stairs it's a wasted space usually



They have the whole space it's blocked off by puppy panels that are 60cm high no roof as they are not jumpers, then I let them out when I'm home


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Mr Higgins is in the bigger version of that puppy pen (4ft x 4ft). I open it in the morning when I'm dressed and he has free range of the landing, down the stairs and the living room. I do put him in the pen if I have to go out. I guess most people would say that's not good enough but to be honest when I open the pen in the morning he usually runs around the landing for a while and then jumps straight back in the pen. He doesn't usually want to come downstairs until the afternoon. Then he's free range until about 10pm when he settles down for the night. Maybe he's a bit unusual for a rabbit but he really doesn't seem to need or want the recommended space.

Thanks for your replies, I had a feeling it might be too small which is a pity as it really did seem pretty good. But the bunnies come first!
So the general consensus is that it would be OK as a base but not to be locked into for any amount of time? I was thinking of giving them the spare room which I could no doubt bunny proof fairly easily. As I said mine aren't really chewers so I'm not too worried about them being out and about.
I did find another similar pen which is 156cm long, 80cm deep and 100cn high. It still isn't the 6ft x 2ft x 2ft recommended but with the extra levels I plan to put in, would they be alright in that at night? I really do like the idea of them being somewhere secure at night as in the event of an emergency I will know where they are and can get to them quickly.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

I am afraid that is still too small for them to be in at night. They really do need the size recommended to hop about - so putting extra levels in wouldn't achieve this.
Sorry to sound so negative but I'm thinking of your rabbits' welfare. Did you look at the indoor housing examples?

You don't sound negative at all! ☺ To be honest I find it a bit silly when people ask for advice on a forum and get defensive when they're given it.
I've been looking through the indoor housing threads on this forum, and a lot of people seem to have dog crates. Originally I was going to use a crate but the largest I could find was 48in which is the same as the first puppy pen I asked about. Overall I preferred the puppy pen as I thought that I could give them supervised time out on the grass, which I'm sure they'd enjoy.
It looks as though I'm going to have to completely bunny proof the spare room and use the pen (the larger one) as a base, I'm pretty sure it would be roomy enough for them to chill out in whenever they please.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Boyle's pet housing make fab indoor pens any size you like. That way you can protect your walls and skirtings but still give them plenty of space. My pen is 200cm x 140cm and 1m high. It is used as a base and I give plenty of free range time in various other rooms in my house.
http://boylespethousing.co.uk

Think that makes sense. When I first got Rosie, everywhere said that a dog crate was an alternative so that's where she slept for a grand total of 2 nihts before it stresed me out seeing how little space, never mind poor Rosie - so now she has free roaming with more limited access at night but still range of a room and hall and she really is much happier, though she keeps to one area most of the time, she's still got proper wriggle room. =]

I think the idea of room + base (+ outside) pen is a really good idea there are some amazing examples I've seen in here and on Pinterest (that site takes my creative life, I tell you)

Shrinkie said:

Think that makes sense. When I first got Rosie, everywhere said that a dog crate was an alternative so that's where she slept for a grand total of 2 nihts before it stresed me out seeing how little space, never mind poor Rosie - so now she has free roaming with more limited access at night but still range of a room and hall and she really is much happier, though she keeps to one area most of the time, she's still got proper wriggle room. =]

I think the idea of room + base (+ outside) pen is a really good idea there are some amazing examples I've seen in here and on Pinterest (that site takes my creative life, I tell you)

Click to expand...

Lol, I spend way more time than I should looking at pictures of indoor bunny setups online. Some of them are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
If only I had more money and space!

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Thanks for your replies everyone ☺
I've just purchased the ellie-bo puppy pen from amazon. It is 158cm in length, 79cm wide and a huge 120cm high so there will be plenty of space to add extra shelves. I will be using it as a base in the spare room as suggested and want to thank you all for helping me make an informed decision for the good of my bunnies.

Niamh, Albie & Finn x

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Shrinkie said:

Think that makes sense. When I first got Rosie, everywhere said that a dog crate was an alternative so that's where she slept for a grand total of 2 nihts before it stresed me out seeing how little space, never mind poor Rosie - so now she has free roaming with more limited access at night but still range of a room and hall and she really is much happier, though she keeps to one area most of the time, she's still got proper wriggle room. =]

I think the idea of room + base (+ outside) pen is a really good idea there are some amazing examples I've seen in here and on Pinterest (that site takes my creative life, I tell you)

Click to expand...

I agree, Boyles indoor pens are so fab! Its a lot of money but well worth it