DuMor Rabbit Cages from Tractor Supply

[MountainViewRabbitry]

Considering getting some of these cages. Any have experience with them? My plan was to stack 3 high. 24x24 in ones, wish I could afford and have room for bigger ones but for now these are just going to have to do unfortunately. I’m going to use j clips to hold them together better. my plan is to attach 1/2 x 1/2” wire at the base 4” or so to keep kits in. Does this seem like that would work…? They will be inside a shed. Thinking about English Spot rabbits possibly. I know this could fit a buck. I don’t want to put a doe and litter in one of these, but do you think it would work if it’s temporary? the lines I might get are about 5.5lbs (size of Dutch)

 

[Alaska Satin]

Considering getting some of these cages. Any have experience with them? My plan was to stack 3 high. 24x24 in ones, wish I could afford and have room for bigger ones but for now these are just going to have to do unfortunately. I’m going to use j clips to hold them together better. my plan is to attach 1/2 x 1/2” wire at the base 4” or so to keep kits in. Does this seem like that would work…? They will be inside a shed. Thinking about English Spot rabbits possibly. I know this could fit a buck. I don’t want to put a doe and litter in one of these, but do you think it would work if it’s temporary? the lines I might get are about 5.5lbs (size of Dutch)

That will probably be fine. English Spots are small but they're a normally particularly active breed, so I'd just be careful to watch for signs of stress in does with litters, in case you find that they need a bigger space. Overcrowded animals tend to have health and/or behavioral problems. You might ask the breeder you're going to buy the rabbits from what his/her experience has been.

Below are two charts from the ARBA (ARBA Recommendations for the Care of Rabbits and Cavies) describing the minimum cage size according to the Animal Welfare Act, based upon each breed’s maximum senior weight (rabbit at mature size), which includes a note that individual animals may be housed in smaller cages based on their weight. The running breeds have asterisks because their activity level makes a difference to comfortable cage size. I've observed that having cages taller than 14" is nicer for both rabbits and humans, but these are minimums, of course. Your 24 x 24 cages more than meet the minimum guidelines for individual rabbits (Chart 1-B), so I wouldn't worry about using them unless you see signs of distress in the rabbits. They do fall a bit short of the recommendation for does with litters (Chart 1-C). I don't necessarily follow official guidelines slavishly, but they are a start; more important to me is the health and behavior of the animals themselves. One size doesn't fit all (no pun intended ).



It appears that Tractor Supply also sells a 30 x 30" cage and a 30 x 30" tray, and you can buy both for the same price as the one you're looking at; you'd just need to add a $17.99 cage support kit to make it stackable. Perhaps it would be possible to get a couple of those for your brood does to start with.

 

[MountainViewRabbitry]

That will probably be fine. English Spots are small but they're a normally particularly active breed, so I'd just be careful to watch for signs of stress in does with litters, in case you find that they need a bigger space. Overcrowded animals tend to have health and/or behavioral problems. You might ask the breeder you're going to buy the rabbits from what his/her experience has been.

Below are two charts from the ARBA (ARBA Recommendations for the Care of Rabbits and Cavies) describing the minimum cage size according to the Animal Welfare Act, based upon each breed’s maximum senior weight (rabbit at mature size), which includes a note that individual animals may be housed in smaller cages based on their weight. The running breeds have asterisks because their activity level makes a difference to comfortable cage size. I've observed that having cages taller than 14" is nicer for both rabbits and humans, but these are minimums, of course. Your 24 x 24 cages more than meet the minimum guidelines for individual rabbits (Chart 1-B), so I wouldn't worry about using them unless you see signs of distress in the rabbits. They do fall a bit short of the recommendation for does with litters (Chart 1-C). I don't necessarily follow official guidelines slavishly, but they are a start; more important to me is the health and behavior of the animals themselves. One size doesn't fit all (no pun intended ).

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It appears that Tractor Supply also sells a 30 x 30" cage and a 30 x 30" tray, and you can buy both for the same price as the one you're looking at; you'd just need to add a $17.99 cage support kit to make it stackable. Perhaps it would be possible to get a couple of those for your brood does to start with.
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Thanks, I think we’re going to do 24x24 for them all for now but upgrade in the future when I know more about what breeds I want to do!

 

[Rabbit Tree Farm]

Thanks, I think we’re going to do 24x24 for them all for now but upgrade in the future when I know more about what breeds I want to do!

I started with dumor because theyre 'cheaper'... but they are actually more expensive because each component is sold separately. But they have served me well and allowed me to break up the expense a bit. Mine are almost 2 years old and showing wear.. but i do have 9lb nz in them. Id advise to forgo the bolts and use something like wire or steel cable ties to secure the stacking frames. The movement shakes the tiny bolts loose fast.

Im currently switching to midwest wabbitat cages...the dimensions better fit my hoophouse and the one i have so far is better built than dumor. However theres no stacking kit. For me thats easily worked around.

Best of luck!

 

[TamiPac]

I have both my bucks in 30 x 30 Dumor cages. There are some small issues but nothing that would make the cage unusable. I did however J clip the entire cage because I have Tamuk's and they're just too heavy for the cage unless it's reinforced. Personally I would reinforce these no matter what breed I was using them for. I also have 2 extra clips on them because one of my bucks managed to get his cage open.

 

[judymac]

I agree that these clip-together cages need more support. I have a few of these, and needed to re-do them with J-clips. The wire is thin, extra support was needed when hanging. My old heavy-duty wire pens were able to be suspended on the walls by simply attaching two large nails at a 45 degree angle on the wall, and slipping the pen over the nails near the back top of the pen. The wire was strong enough to hold the pen securely.

The new pens can't do that. The wire just bends. (The new nail spikes bent as well, they just don't make steel like they used to. Just like the new safety-pins that bend instead of holding things together, but that's another story. . .)

The flooring of the pens didn't last as well, either. While the pens were cheaper, and did the job I needed them to do in the short term, they weren't necessarily a good investment, long term. I have old heavy-gauge wire pens that are decades old and still doing their job. While these easily-purchased light-duty pens were a blessing in the short term, I'd suggest saving for eventually purchasing the heaviest-duty wire pens you can get, in the bigger size. Even with my light-weight English Angoras, 30" x 30" pens are recommended, 30" x 36" for breeding does. The bunnies appreciate the extra space, and you'll appreciate having happier bunnies, they're less destructive that way.

You can always keep smaller rabbits in larger pens, they'll enjoy the room. But larger rabbits don't do well in small pens. So, if you have room for the larger pens, I'd start off with them, even if it's in the cheaper wire.

 

[Her Farmstead Rabbitry]

I have heard and seen that the dumor cages are awful. They fall apart even with the j-clips and they rust pretty quickly too. Like alaska satin said, they do offer bigger cages. It would probably cost more to buy the legs seperate though. BUY THE RURAL KING CAGES they look so much better and they are about the same cost. I would stack it using the method TEAL STONE HOMESTEAD uses, it would probably save you money.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

My curent cages are from rural king and tractor supply, whichever had them or was cheaper at the time. I'm not happy with them. They were fully intact for maybe 4 years. Now I'm just hoping these three will hold out until I build my new ones. The worst one is the one that had the grey/black coating. Which is now all flaking off and very very rusty.

My caveat to this is management. I've never been particularly precious about their care. They've always been outside and have spent time not under a roof.

However I have a big grow out cage from many years ago, some of the first cages I built. It has been outside in the open for at least the last three years. It is intact. The only rotted away wire is at the corners, which were already bad from being pee corners back when I had alot of rabbits. This is made of the rolls of wire from rural king.

 

[HTAcres]

My experience is similar. I have Dumor cages under cover and in use for 3 years. Mine are still going strong functionally.
I use hog rings to reinforce the edges and corners (easier for me to do than J clips). I also add a spring latch. You do not want
to trust the latches that come with! I cover the side bottom space with wire for kindling pens. I have some 30x30 and some 30x36.
These cages are just big enough for my Tamuk (males 8-9 lbs and females 9-10 lbs). I would personally be uncomfortable with
smaller cages for them. Eventually I plan to replace with my own builds and a little bigger.

 

[TKT]

I started with dumor because theyre 'cheaper'... but they are actually more expensive because each component is sold separately. But they have served me well and allowed me to break up the expense a bit. Mine are almost 2 years old and showing wear.. but i do have 9lb nz in them. Id advise to forgo the bolts and use something like wire or steel cable ties to secure the stacking frames. The movement shakes the tiny bolts loose fast.

Im currently switching to midwest wabbitat cages...the dimensions better fit my hoophouse and the one i have so far is better built than dumor. However theres no stacking kit. For me thats easily worked around.

Best of luck!

I have 10 of the large Midwest Wabbitat cages. They fit in the shallower part of my rabbitry. In the wider area I have two 3 stack KW cages. I wish I could afford all KW 30x36, but my midwest's are 37x24 and are acceptable. It would be hard for me to redo my whole run. In the future I can add on to it and fit another three stack KW in. But right now I have room for 15 combined max.