Pen

I am looking at getting two house rabbits. Is it ok to leave them in a pen for 8 hours a day, if so How big would the pen need to be for them? Finally any pen recommendations? Dog proof preferably


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not at all "dog proof" but our house bunnies live in an 8'x4' puppy pen when we are not at home

Nothing I can think of is going to be 100% dog proof.
You could get a made pen from Manor Pet Housing or Boyds which shouldn't bend if dogs put their paws up onto the edge.
I'd recommend a size of at least 48sqft

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

Rwaf now recommends the equivalent of a 6ftx2ft hutch and an 8ftx6ft permanently accessible attached run. Which works out at a minimum of 60square feet. It is very difficult to make a run dog proof, it needs to be fastened down and have a secure lid, and be made of a wood frame with strong weld mesh 16g or 19g or stronger with small holes of 1cm.

Also you need to be aware that the rabbits would probably be very stressed if dogs were outside the enclosure and they could see them constantly. They would be better of beng kept completely separate in my opinion.

The only thing that may be dog proof is a dog crate (although one of mine can escape from them). A 48" one could be used as a base indoors, with a wooden run or puppy panels attached. Taller ones eg 48" are available. Lids can be attached eg. by using extra puppy panels. You can also put a shelf in the dog crate to increase floor space and things for the bunnies to do.

As others have said, dogs can cause a lot of stress to rabbits and shouldn't be left unsupervised. The best bet is to have them in separate rooms - either shut the door between them, or get a tall baby gate to use on the doorway and add finer mesh to stop the bunnies getting stuck in the bars. Then you can see them and have better access to interact with them.

Rabbits can jump 4' high so standard baby gates may not be appropriate. It also depends on the size and ability of the dogs. Our dogs can easily clear a standard baby gate and would easily push through puppy panels.

Examples:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ellie-Bo-...712472?hash=item3f67e09a58:g:aIAAAOSwqBJXVtLn
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quality-8...hash=item2334d35ec3:m:mfw2ecAoJ41e1VNOSP3ditg