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Pen sides, how tall?

Mark1

Young Bun
How high do you guys think pen sides should be? I see some as short as 700mm (2 1/4) feet and some over 1m (3 feet).
 
At least three feet for them to stand up tall. Mine were mini-lops. Also, they could jump clean over that, when young, so the taller the better.
 
Mine is 1m high, I have hides etc all against the side that’s next to a wall to try to prevent them being able to jump out from on top of something. No escapees so far. I would say 1m minimum height if it’s an open topped pen, although that would also depend on your own rabbits. Mine don’t tend to jump high.
 
I think it depends on how likely your rabbit is to jump. Ours is an opened out puppy pen which is only 65ish cm high (just over 2 feet) surrounding a small hutch with the doors permanently open. I think it has never occurred to them to try and jump it but I'm sure another jumpy rabbit could scale it.
 
I think it depends if buns are inside or outside. If outside would the pen be covered ? My Treacle, mini lop, used to clear a 4 ft panel, no problem. She's indoors now, and older, and never attempts the high jump these days :D
 
I think the OP is planning an indoor set up but not sure? For an indoor pen I would say at least 3ft possibly 4, depends on the rabbit really. For example my last indoor rabbit wouldn't jump or climb anything, but a half wild i.e. I had climbed 4ft up the aviary mesh :shock: If you have other pets such as cats it needs to be lidded to stop them getting to the rabbits
 
How high do you guys think pen sides should be? I see some as short as 700mm (2 1/4) feet and some over 1m (3 feet).


It depends on how high your rabbits can jump :)

I helped with a bonding recently with a rabbit that could literally climb up the CC grid pen to over five foot and jump out ... :shock:
 
Yes, it's for an indoor run, sorry I wasn't clear. The cats no concern, he's an old boy now, just the rabbits being escapologists. The bonding area I have them in is separated from the rest of the house by a sheet of plywood that is 800mm (2.6ft) tall, they've been in here a week without escaping, although they do try to look over it they can't reach the top. I think some more height on the new run for peace of mind would be better, thanks.
 
I feel I tempted fate answering this thread :lol: went downstairs this morning and found one of the rabbits outside the pen. It was my female who is most definitely the more adventurous, the 2 boys rarely even jump on the sofa. Will rearrange their setup today & order a taller pen!
 
I feel I tempted fate answering this thread :lol: went downstairs this morning and found one of the rabbits outside the pen. It was my female who is most definitely the more adventurous, the 2 boys rarely even jump on the sofa. Will rearrange their setup today & order a taller pen!



Oh Casco :shock:

I really shouldn't find this amusing, but having seen a rabbit scale the sides of a pen 'wall' just as a squirrel would - in a heartbeat - I don't think I would underestimate any rabbit's climbing/jumping abilities ever again!
 
I know :shock: no escapees in over a year of them being together until I happen to mention the fact on a forum (do you think rabbits can read?!) I have actually seen Millie attempt a squirrel like escape when they had a wood & mesh pen although she only made it 3/4 of the way, they have a metal pen now which is harder to scale.

Don’t think she was out for long - I heard a fair bit of scuffling or chasing just before I came downstairs. I think she’s made the leap from the top of one of their hides which I’ve now moved to a better position.
 
I remember reading a while ago that in rabbit showjumping rabbits hadn't quite broken the meter (at that time, anyway) but I have seen Lunar jump a meter like it was nothing :shock: I meassured it and everything :lol:
It's worrying because we're building new pens with panels that are 1m x 1m and we're trying to figure out how to increase the height at the moment :lol:
In hindsight I really think they should be over a meter high if they have no lid but unfortunately we're tied to it as I've already bought the perspex!

Edit:
Just thought of another thing - I'm thinking of solid-sided pens. Mesh-type/metal bar pens are a completely different matter! Personally I wouldn't risk them without a lid at all. This is because shortly after bringing him home I found my sweet, timid, quiet, inncocent little Pixel climbing out of his temporary metal-bar cage. And he didn't just do it once. Oh no. He did it a lot.
And yes, he escaped from it easily. A little hop at the top and he was out. I remember the first time he did it I caught him out the corner of my eye and dived like a rugby player and just managed to catch him from the jump :roll:
 
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Just thought..... could adding a piece of wood at an angle help? Bit like they do to keep cats in gardens etc? It's meant to act as a shield so they can't see what they are jumping up onto/over.

Attached terrible picture to try to show what I mean.
63fd8c2864d6f8308436dba68a97bef0.jpg


Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
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Yes, I was thinking of something similar myself, my sketches are also similar:D

@Casco - sorry......

My English spot can sure jump onto the sofa and elsewhere no problem, strange how she does not attempt to escape the current pen with sides only a little over 2 foot.
 
Just thought..... could adding a piece of wood at an angle help? Bit like they do to keep cats in gardens etc? It's meant to act as a shield so they can't see what they are jumping up onto/over.

Attached terrible picture to try to show what I mean.
Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
Oh wow, why didn't I think of that?! I was thinking of something vertical at the top but this makes much more sense! What a brilliant idea :D
 
Just thought..... could adding a piece of wood at an angle help? Bit like they do to keep cats in gardens etc? It's meant to act as a shield so they can't see what they are jumping up onto/over.

Attached terrible picture to try to show what I mean.
63fd8c2864d6f8308436dba68a97bef0.jpg


Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk


This is a great idea, particularly if the sides themselves are solid and not grids/mesh :)
 
I know :shock: no escapees in over a year of them being together until I happen to mention the fact on a forum (do you think rabbits can read?!) I have actually seen Millie attempt a squirrel like escape when they had a wood & mesh pen although she only made it 3/4 of the way, they have a metal pen now which is harder to scale.

Don’t think she was out for long - I heard a fair bit of scuffling or chasing just before I came downstairs. I think she’s made the leap from the top of one of their hides which I’ve now moved to a better position.


Hi Casco :wave:

Any more jailbreaks recently? :)
 
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