Question about cages

So i'm interested in getting a netherland dwarf rabbit and was curious as to if i could use an old bird cage as a home.
it's completely clean and safe to use, i just don't know about the size as i am not sure about how big this species can grow.

this is the cage https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01D1BSZ42/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
these are the dimensions 52 x 79 x 131 cm

i saw a video earlier and the one the person uses looks the same size, if not smaller than mine.
i was planning on reforming it with a run, and ladders and such and just wanted a second opinion.

Thanks!

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I'm afraid that is much too small, even the smallest of rabbits needs a lot of space, they are very active. They need a minimum of 60 sq ft (6ftx2ft hutch with a permanently attached run of eight ft x six ft.

As Zoobec said, unfortunately this is much too small. Rabbits need a lot more space than some people realise and their hutch or indoor cage should be permanently attached to a run so they can exercise whenever they please - in other words, they should never be confined to a hutch/cage. There are some really good ideas on here for indoor housing.

The bird cage is much the same size as rabbit cages you can buy in pets at home, but as others say, it's much too small to keep a pet in 24/7 - you need to provide access to a large exercise space in addition to any cage like this. We had a cage when we first picked up our rabbit, but it was simply a base while we let him settle in to our home (we wanted some time to monitor him and learn any bad habits before letting him be a full time free-reign bunny). It was very cramped though, we felt bad shutting him away in it.

I think if you do it up right, the cage could make an ok home, but you'd need a permanent run available. Also consider whether any doors are big enough to lift a bun out through (rabbits hate being lifted, ours stick their legs out to make sure they don't fit through small doors).

It is still popular around the world to keep rabbits for meat, and so the small housing persists even though it is not humane or ethical.

The RWAF have loads of info advocating larger hutches: http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/walloffame.htm. The leaflets down the right hand side are especially helpful to demonstrate the dangers of small housing. I have just adopted a 4 year old bunny who was kept in a 4ft hutch his entire life and he has muscle wastage in the back legs because of it.

The minimum recommended size is a 6 x 2 x 2 ft hutch + 8 x 6 x 2 ft run, although if they are housed inside then an 8 x 6 ft space would be fine as they do not need a shelter.

The size of the rabbit does not matter (except that giants will need a larger space), as netherland dwarves tend to be one of the most active rabbits!

If it wasn't a full time home you could lay it on it's back and put something solid inside for the floor and 80cmx130cm for a floor area wouldn't be too bad for a base (if the depth gives enough height) - you'd want your bun to free range or have a pen attached though, so that might be more fuss than just starting from scratch.

thanks for the insight everyone, much appreciated!
i'll be sure to provide the best i can if i do decide to go through with my decision.

As the cage came as a d-i-y package i could reform it into one huge pen possibly, i'll have to see where that leads me.

anyway, thanks again for everyone's help and advice!