NIC Cubes - Okay for Netherland Dwarf? Cheapest place to buy in UK?

[~ILoveMyBunny~]

Hey everyone,
I've been planning to do something new to give the bunnies some more space for a while now and I think the best solution for them would be the NIC cube-type cages as I can build them in the most efficient way to give everyone the maximum space and add on to them when(if!) I am successful in bonding any of them once they've all been neutered.
We will be moving at some point and if there's space we're hoping to have a proper bunny room without any cages at all (though with at least one divider as I know at least two will never get along :roll, but for now I want to give them as much space as possible, even though I give them a lot of time out of the cage. What they have just doesn't feel big enough to me.
Where is the cheapest place to buy them? Are there any places I should avoid?

The other thing is Pixel is a Netherland Dwarf and quite the escape artist. I'm worried about the gap being too wide to be safe for him? Especially after I saw this on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTC-_bUg0LA I saw another one with an adult doing a similar thing, though can't find the video now. Any ideas?
I don't want one with too big a gap anyway as it always worried me that they might stick their heads through and get them stuck. After seeing the bunnies getting suffocated in that puppy run for sale on amazon I've been very cautious of anything with large gaps.

 

[Silverleaf]

I made a NIC cage for my Nethies before I brought them home at 8 weeks. It turned out that they could both put their heads through the gaps so I attached weld mesh which has sorted out the problem.

I don't know if their heads are big enough now that they won't fit but they are 14 weeks now so not fully grown anyway.

I got my cubes from Amazon, and about a million cable ties from Screwfix. I also used Correx to cover the steps/upper floors and then cut out pieces of fleece which cover the Correx and tie on to the cubes.

 

[chelle]

I bought mine from B&Q and ot be honest after using them for bonding i decided to use them ot fence off an area of my garden so the buns dont eat my plants..lol

i just found if I build them they just were not that sturdy and I would def cover with a welded mesh and the holes could get a bunny head stuck in for sure. I would also be concerned about a sudden leap of faith over the top and their back legs getting caught through the holes...so yeah def mesh it if you want to use it. The new place sounds wonderful - a whole room with no cages - wahooooo!

 

[Silverleaf]

I definitely recommend using cable ties rather than the connectors that come with them, it's much stronger that way.

And I built a roof on mine so no chance of escape!

Even with the unexpected expense of the weldmesh my cage turned out way cheaper than a commercial cage, and I got to design it how I wanted it to fit into the room.

 

[janisbyrne]

I made a NIC cage for my Nethies before I brought them home at 8 weeks. It turned out that they could both put their heads through the gaps so I attached weld mesh which has sorted out the problem.

I don't know if their heads are big enough now that they won't fit but they are 14 weeks now so not fully grown anyway.

I got my cubes from Amazon, and about a million cable ties from Screwfix. I also used Correx to cover the steps/upper floors and then cut out pieces of fleece which cover the Correx and tie on to the cubes.

Hi there - can I asked how easy it was to put together and how you attached the Correx and fleeces to the steps etc? What did you put on the floor - we are considering making our bunnies cages from these NIC cubes too - sorry for all the q's. Do you have a pic of how you set it up - many thanks in advance - Janis

 

[Silverleaf]

Hi there - can I asked how easy it was to put together and how you attached the Correx and fleeces to the steps etc? What did you put on the floor - we are considering making our bunnies cages from these NIC cubes too - sorry for all the q's. Do you have a pic of how you set it up - many thanks in advance - Janis

Mine was more difficult to put together than I expected, but it wasn't that bad. The reason why is because I went for a complicated design over three levels with a kind of stairwell, which was a bit fiddly. I'm going to redesign and rebuild it in a simpler way after my boys are neutered and rebonded.

The whole cage rests on a sheet of Correx and I cover it with newspaper to soak up the occasional missed-the-litterbox accident.

A simple design is pretty easy. I recommend making each side as a separate flat piece first, and then joining the sides together as a 3D shape. If you're a perfectionist like me you'll be annoyed that the grid squares aren't perfectly square, so just be aware it'll look a tiny bit wonky no matter how careful you are!

I found it easier to make the basic cage structure without any doors, and then just removed some cable ties later to make the doors.

For the shelves, I attached the Correx to the mesh with little binder clips. I added fleece covers to make it more comfortable and less slippy - it's hard to describe but I basically cut the fleece so it was the right size with two longer strips off each corner to tie the piece to the mesh. It's holding on very well.

I think in the new build I'll use wooden shelves instead of grid+Correx+fleece. Now my rabbits are older and more agile they can jump higher so I don't need so many steps, and this will free up the internal grids so I can use them to make the cage bigger.

That's one of the nice things about NIC cages though, you can redesign as much as you like. Just buy loads more cable ties than you think you'll need!

And feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

 

[janisbyrne]

Mine was more difficult to put together than I expected, but it wasn't that bad. The reason why is because I went for a complicated design over three levels with a kind of stairwell, which was a bit fiddly. I'm going to redesign and rebuild it in a simpler way after my boys are neutered and rebonded.

The whole cage rests on a sheet of Correx and I cover it with newspaper to soak up the occasional missed-the-litterbox accident.

A simple design is pretty easy. I recommend making each side as a separate flat piece first, and then joining the sides together as a 3D shape. If you're a perfectionist like me you'll be annoyed that the grid squares aren't perfectly square, so just be aware it'll look a tiny bit wonky no matter how careful you are!

I found it easier to make the basic cage structure without any doors, and then just removed some cable ties later to make the doors.

For the shelves, I attached the Correx to the mesh with little binder clips. I added fleece covers to make it more comfortable and less slippy - it's hard to describe but I basically cut the fleece so it was the right size with two longer strips off each corner to tie the piece to the mesh. It's holding on very well.

I think in the new build I'll use wooden shelves instead of grid+Correx+fleece. Now my rabbits are older and more agile they can jump higher so I don't need so many steps, and this will free up the internal grids so I can use them to make the cage bigger.

That's one of the nice things about NIC cages though, you can redesign as much as you like. Just buy loads more cable ties than you think you'll need!

And feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

That's really useful - I was swithering between NIC cages or a puppy pen with an XL dog crate - but I am definately swaying towards the NIC's with a smaller puppy pen - seems like it would be more interesting for them. Can I check, just one more thing, is the shelves sturdy enough made from the cages? Thanks again Janis

 

[Silverleaf]

That's really useful - I was swithering between NIC cages or a puppy pen with an XL dog crate - but I am definately swaying towards the NIC's with a smaller puppy pen - seems like it would be more interesting for them. Can I check, just one more thing, is the shelves sturdy enough made from the cages? Thanks again Janis

It sort of depends on the shelves, really. Mine are all well supported on three sides so they work fine. I've seen other designs where multi-grid shelves are supported with wooden doweling underneath, and that looks like a good idea.

I wouldn't bother with grid shelves again though, they were a bit difficult to put in.

I actually have a dog crate as well which is Nemesis's temporary home until he (hopefully) gets to share with Meeple again after they are neutered. I got a long 12" wide untreated pine shelf from B&Q and cut it to make two shelves - one goes across the back and one higher up along one side.

Nemmy also has an 8-panel puppy pen attached which he only gets to use under supervision as he can just about jump over the 30" panels if he feels like it, and I don't want him to injure himself or get into a fight with Meeps who exercises outside the pen.

I think wooden shelves are a lot less work to install. I just drilled a couple of holes near each end and fastened them to the crate bars with string wire.