Rabbit proof baby gate/ other ideas?

[KatyS]

Our bunnies have been getting very naughty recently. They are obsessed with getting into our bedroom (which they are not allowed in, mainly because we're not tidy enough to keep it bunny-proof all the time but also because Trixie has a spot she likes to use as a litter tray in there and it's ruining our carpet!) We used to keep the door shut but they started gnawing on the door which woke us up in the middle of the night and destroyed the wood. So now we put some panels from a puppy play pen in the doorway. I like to have the door open during the day so it can air and to get some light onto the landing, but closed when we're asleep. Unfortunately in the last few days they've worked out how to move the panels and now they think it's a hilarious game (especially at 4am!!)

Does anyone have any recommendations for baby gates, and also, if we had one could we remove it easily to shut the door at night?

 

[batian]

hi,baby gates can work well depending on breed of bunny(my little dutch can fit between the bars).i have 1 that attaches to the door frame,as opposed to a pressure fit 1 in our hall doorway and we can still shut the hall door with it attached.just make sure there is nothing nearby they can jump on first and then use as a platform to jump over the gate like 1 of mine worked out.

 

[daphnephoebe]

We have a pressure fit one and can still shut the door. Both of them can squeeze through the bars so we've threaded a thin plank of wood between the bars to prevent them fitting through.


Eta: picture

 

[Shimmer]

You could use the puppy pen panels still, but fasten them to the door frame eg screw in some big vine eyelets roughly in line with the top and bottom of the panels on both sides, then use keyring clasps and rings on the panels to clip them on to the fixed loops. They are easily unhooked for you to use as a gate and can be positioned where they won't affect the door.

short 75mm vine eyes:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Screw-Eye...184645?hash=item3ac54bd5c5:g:qS4AAOSwsN9XCBcb

trigger hooks:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Dut...t-70mm-/152045109903?var=&hash=item236698428f

Heavy duty split rings:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quality-5...hash=item2ca1c7566f:m:mipiUlnwg9H6KlTDmnH34Rw

 

[KatyS]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Shimmer that is a great idea, thinking outside the box! Thank you

 

[KatyS]

Also good point about making sure they don't have anything to jump onto, they would be fine outside our bedroom but they have discovered that trick already downstairs!

 

[WillowAndBiscuit]

If it were me I would just use an average baby gate and then put some kind of mesh across the bars because it is relatively easy for someone without a lot of DIY skills [emoji38]

 

[William]

I have what I guess are dog gates. They're meshed like this one http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15143
Barred ones worry me since I have various species and would worry that one of them would get their head or something stuck!

 

[KatyS]

We went with a baby gate in the end, as one of the problems with the puppy pen was that the rabbits could pick it up and shake it with their teeth which was very noisy and annoying.

We haven't yet got a permanent solution for covering the bars, Peter is busy doing this...



But we will work it out eventually!

 

[rowan.godfrey]

I would go with a bit of weld mesh (wire mesh) and secure it with cable ties.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BumbleBee'sPets]

If you are into DIY at all you could make a wooden frame and mesh it so then make it into a gate. This way the bunnies would still be able to see you but wouldn't be able to get into your room.

 

[KatyS]

I just thought I'd update this thread with the end of the story. I'm quite pleased, I managed to come up with a solution with minimal DIY:



We attached one of the panels from the playpen we already had to the gate, using cable ties. The bunnies still try to get through it but they are giving up more quickly these days and going off to find something else to play with! And it's fixed on nice and tight so no more 5am rattling