Bunny 'Playpen' Advice

[BunnyAuntie]

I have a single (very spoiled ) pet rabbit and I'd like to build him an outdoor exercise yard. He would only be out in nice weather, during the day and he would be supervised. If he was left unsupervised it would only be for 5-10 mins max at a time, after I got used to him being out there. He's about 8lbs (maybe a bit more), so medium size. Should I use welded wire or can i use chicken wire? How tall should it be, 3' or 4'? Any and all suggestions would be apprieciated inkbunny: TIA!

 

[Nymphadora]

If you have a nice area that you don't mind setting a more permanent structure on, why not set up a dog kennel (or even a hoop coop) with a roof? You would have to bury some hardware cloth around all the sides from the inside, to prevent him digging out maybe, but I've seen some really cute "bunny play yards" on Pinterest. Maybe clip the hardware cloth around the bottom perimeter up to 2" high, as well, but as long as he's not spending the night it should be adequate protection.

The added bonus to having a bigger structure is that you could get in there and hang out with him comfortably outdoors... some of the inspirations I've seen go so far as to bury some large tunnels and set up small stumps like mini cat trees!

Short of that, I'd recommend having some areas that maintain shade throughout the day, and wire no larger than 1" x 2" around the sides. And of course protections against digging out!

 

[SableSteel]

Rabbits can pretty easily jump over 3' fences. I had some learn how to climb fences too; if left to their own devices I wouldn't trust them in any pen without a roof. I would also want a roof (even just a chicken wire one) to protect against hawks and predators. Id want something more secure than chicken wire if I was leaving them alone for any amount of time.
Best of luck

 

[olafthebunny]

I'm probably not much help, but we built a pen on the side of our house for our bunnies. it's quite large and we made it so they can't jump over. we just always supervise as one of my hyperactive bunnies loves to jump over and escape :lol: as long as he's supervised it should be fine
also, on the very spoiled part....my buns are so that :lol:

 

[akane]

Chicken wire does not keep anything in or out except pretty much poultry. It's weak, stretchy, and easily ripped by even herbivore teeth. Rabbits are quite notorious escape artists. I've had tiny, young netherlands climb out of 3' high walls and adults easily climb a sturdy wall higher or use a side to bounce off a wall to get extra jumping height. They also dig surprisingly fast. There's a vid somewhere online of a rabbit staked out on a leash and harness supervised digging a tunnel that they could only measure to 8' long in one afternoon and I had a mini rex tear through plywood to dig into compacted crushed limestone until I couldn't reach the bottom of her burrow the next morning. A hole just big enough to squeeze under a wall could be done in minutes in soft soil.

 

[BunnyAuntie]

SableSteel, I love that picture!
I'm not too worried about him trying to escape, he'll be well supervised. I think I'll go with 4' welded wire, but I still need to decide where it will go and how big it will be. Thanks for the advise everyone.