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Anyone made an indoor pen?

Casco

Casco

Mama Doe
Our current set up (dog crate & attached puppy pen, free range when we are home) was intended to be relatively temporary when we first got the rabbits, to see if we got on OK having them indoors and to work out a better solution once I could see how they fitted in to our everyday lives. I have been thinking of ways to improve the set up and I'm now considering making something - has anyone done this and was it difficult to plan and to build? Are there any online idiots guides to doing this?!

I'm not a joiner by any stretch of the imagination but I do like to give things a go! I made a run for my last rabbit (18 years ago now!) so I'm sure I could give it a bash. I notice you can buy pre made run panels on eBay, so I'm wondering if this might be a better option then I only need to join the panels together. Or maybe that wouldn't look great in an indoor setup.
 
Have you checked out the indoor panels at manor pet housing? They may be a good starting point. I had mine build as I am rubbish at diy... but those pen panels may be just what you need. I can recommend them and their service. Totally a great team and great products

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Yes I have looked at them, they look lovely but quite expensive. I'm guilty of changing my mind / moving things around etc quite often so I'm reluctant to spend that much incase I change my living room around again and the pen doesn't fit with the new layout. The same could be said about making one mind you. It does give me a few ideas if I was to make my own though.

I do quite like the metal puppy pen I have just now as they are quite versatile shape-wise, I'm just wary about them jumping over as mine are only 60cm high and also as I've mentioned before my rabbits lift the panels up and have once escaped underneath. I'm between making (or possibly buying) a wooden pen and buying a larger heavy duty one.
 
yeah makes sense. well if you were to get those panels, they all can be moved about anyway, I believe.. they (MPH) may know more. But re them being expensive... I was very much thinking the same before I got my set up... but I am glad I did. it is super secure, they love it, and most important so easy to keep clean. so well worth considering. maybe do it in stages? get bits and pieces as you go along until you have it all how you want to.
 
I'm going to attempt to start this over the next few days - does anyone have any tips on the best materials to use? My plan is to make it in panels joined by hinges so that I can fold it away if necessary or even move it outside to let them have time outside in the better weather (though it may not turn out to be practical to move it around!). I will also need to incorporate a door so that we can get in and the rabbits can get out!

So far I'm planning on buying this mesh http://www.screwfix.com/p/apollo-13mm-galvanised-welded-mesh-0-9-x-6m/76864 along with lengths of timber, hinges, wire cutters and either a staple gun or just staples to hammer in to hold the mesh. I have loads of screws already, and nails if I need those. I may have to buy a new saw as I don't think mine is up to much. It all sounds so simple :lol:
 
I do like the look of those, and they seem quite adaptable however I'm not convinced they would be strong enough to keep my 2 in. More so where they are joined - from what I've read it tends to be cable ties that are recommended to hold them together and my 2 just bite off cable ties. I had tried cable ties as a way of stopping them being able to lift the puppy panels (they have escaped under the panels a couple of times!) and I found most of them on the floor when I went downstairs the next morning :lol:
 
Casco said:
I do like the look of those, and they seem quite adaptable however I'm not convinced they would be strong enough to keep my 2 in. More so where they are joined - from what I've read it tends to be cable ties that are recommended to hold them together and my 2 just bite off cable ties. I had tried cable ties as a way of stopping them being able to lift the puppy panels (they have escaped under the panels a couple of times!) and I found most of them on the floor when I went downstairs the next morning :lol:
Click to expand...

:lol: naughty rabbits :love:

i always use both connectors and cable ties which works well for us. although bisc and matt never tried to eat them luckily!
 
Casco said:
I'm going to attempt to start this over the next few days - does anyone have any tips on the best materials to use? My plan is to make it in panels joined by hinges so that I can fold it away if necessary or even move it outside to let them have time outside in the better weather (though it may not turn out to be practical to move it around!). I will also need to incorporate a door so that we can get in and the rabbits can get out!

So far I'm planning on buying this mesh http://www.screwfix.com/p/apollo-13mm-galvanised-welded-mesh-0-9-x-6m/76864 along with lengths of timber, hinges, wire cutters and either a staple gun or just staples to hammer in to hold the mesh. I have loads of screws already, and nails if I need those. I may have to buy a new saw as I don't think mine is up to much. It all sounds so simple :lol:
Click to expand...

That mesh looks fine. I'm certainly no DIY expert (in fact I'm rubbish!) but my tips:

Manual staple guns can be had economically. You can also get electric reasonably priced (Screwfix). You can finish staples off with a hammer.
Invest if you can in a decent battery drill / screwdriver. I have a Bosch PSR model which I love, I got it from B&Q a while ago.
Pre drill for screwing with a fine bit - this reduces risk of splitting.
You can handsaw everything - I have up to now. You can get various straight edges to mark lines at various angles. Screwfix now do a jigsaw for £15. Useful for cutting panel wood.


FWIW :)

Thanks
Rowan



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Thanks :) I do have a battery drill (which I love :lol:) and I think I would also love a staple gun! I think I have a jigsaw but it's not up to much, I can borrow my dads or my brothers if I need to. I ordered mesh from Amazon in the end so I should have that midweek, and might start working on the wooden framing today if I get time. I'm quite looking forward to doing this, although I am aware it could be a disaster with my limited skills!
 
It's built now - not going to win any awards but it does it's job :lol: I can safely say I hate sawing. Shame I didn't think to use the same company for all the wood - got the last pieces of wood I needed today and they cut the wood to size for you, could have saved myself a bit of time and probably money. Oh well, at least I'll know that for next time I'm making anything!
 
Casco said:
It's built now - not going to win any awards but it does it's job :lol: I can safely say I hate sawing. Shame I didn't think to use the same company for all the wood - got the last pieces of wood I needed today and they cut the wood to size for you, could have saved myself a bit of time and probably money. Oh well, at least I'll know that for next time I'm making anything!
Click to expand...

excellent. Do we get photos?
 
I plan on adding shelves etc but don't have enough time st the moment so that will need to wait, maybe get it done when I'm off over Christmas. This is it at the moment:



Quite basic but functional! Ideally it would be a bit bigger but I do need to leave space for us humans in the living room too :lol:
 
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