Flooring in Run

Hi I am getting a rabbit for manure. Building outside run, the top and sides will be hardware cloth. Not sure what to use for floor, need it big enough for droppings to drop though, but small enough that a raccoon can't pull a body part though. What are your suggestions ?

You really don't want to use hardware cloth for the floor as it is quite rough on the bunns feet. I'd question using hardware cloth for the walls and ceiling as it would just trap shedded rabbit fur even worse that the 1" x 2" wire in standard rabbit cages.

The flooring in my cages is 1/2" x 1" galvanized after welding. I have no idea what you have available in your area, but have you considered just buying a cage from a group that does rabbit cages? There are several good websites, bassequipment.com is one of my favorites and depending on the size of your cage don't forget the floor spreader. That is a bar, usually "Z" shape that helps keep the floor wire from stretching.

Best of luck with your garden bunn!

Thank you for your reply. This will be a outside rabbit, at my city home. While a cage is right housing for a rabbit, I need something more like a hutch. Being in the city,is like living in a fishbowl, I have about 3 or 4 houses that can see in to my backyard. I kind of need the cute factor when dealing with housing. Don't want any calls on animal abuse. My big worry are the raccoon, my top goal is rabbits safety. I know they are famous for pulling their prey though fences.

the bottom of my bucks cage is 1/2x1 inch and the bottom of the doe cages are 1x1 inch and are made of a heavier wire. half by half inch wire isn't big enough to let the poo and hay fall thru. i can see a nice hutch that is closed on the back and sides and wire covered on the front to let in the sunshine. painted white with a nice shingled roof. will that satisfy the neighbors? just remember to have something under it to catch the fertilizer that they drop. I'm so glad i don't live in a fishbowl. hope this helps

I can appreciate your concern over the neighbors, nevertheless, get creative... it is all about how you disguise the rabbit domicile. For example, let's say you have a 30" x 36" cage, 18" tall (unless you are going to have a small breed rabbit which would be happy with 16" tall). You could make a wooden frame from which to hang the cage, from the four corners of the cage, cover three sides with lattice board and put a solid roof on it. Plant a nice vining plant around the base and voila within a year it will just be a backyard decoration. Think miniature gazebo! Wow, let me run with this for a moment... I see an octagon shape with a copper roof (allowed to age to a beautiful patina) with some lovely clematis, or blackberries, no, wait, roses. Bunnies love rose leaves.

Now, not knowing your weather patterns, and taking into consideration I live in Texas, we have two outside cages that we used for a couple rabbits and put a solid wall on the side that got the bad weather. Our worst weather always seems to come from the Northwest. We had a tarp piece that we would attach to the other sides if really high winds accompanied the rain, or occasional snow. You may want to put a solid wall on the side that got the bad weather. Did that make any sense?

Seeing that you plan to use the bunny berries in the garden you could let the berries fall through the cage floor onto the ground. You would want to put board, tastefully decorated, around the base with one board being removable -- for easier shoveling of the berries. That way you wouldn't need to deal with the urine. From what I've read about the problems encountered with city rabbit keeping, it is primarily the odor that wafts over to the neighbor. If you don't have an odor you don't have a problem offending any noses. Bunny berries by themselves don't smell, and an added bonus is the pile under the cage makes a lovely earthworm condo.

What do you think? And yes, before you say it, I know it is easy to dream up something, and that upkeep is forever.

I like the idea of dressed up cage !!!!

@Nyboy, remember it is a garden feature not just a rabbit house! Let that creativity take over... Oh, the possibilities!

i have to say @Nyboy i really like animalmom's plan better than mine. poo with pizazz . i think as the designer you should fly her to ny to see the area the bunny will be in and i think i should also go along as technical advisor. great idea right? and could we please come this fall before the snow flies?

Nothing prettier then the Hudson Valley in the fall. Artist come from all over the world to paint it.

I love Animalmom's idea and it should do the trick. Buy the cage on line like she says - you can also get 30x48 if you want more room but 30x36 is plenty for the larger rabbits and once you start, you might want to add another rabbit or two for more manure/worm beds. Once you have the "hidden" manure bin under the cage, a little wood shavings on top will soak up the urine and you will not have any odor. My husband housed a large bunny barn under the deck to our aboveground pool for years and there was no smell at all and we used the pool all the time! When we build our large rabbit barn I top dressed the manure pts weekly with a light layer of shavings and you couldn't smell anything.
Also, since you are probably doing organic gardening, shavings are almost 100% carbon while urine is almost 100% nitrogen. Carbon requires nitrogen to decompose and release its nourishment so . . . . Combined with the manure pellets (which can be applied to plants without aging) this becomes a perfect soil additive. I knew several breeders who housed their rabbits in buildings build in their large vegetable gardens because the manure access was closer! One guy had misters on the outside of his rabbitry - he also had berry vines planted on the outside of the rabbitry. The misters kept the bunnies cool and the berries watered.
Cute cute bunny gazebo, fruit, veggies, flowers - it should be a totally lovely space coveted by those noisy neighbors! I assume this is in a small yard, not a rooftop patio where weight would be a problem. Have fun!