Sean
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and how big are these flippin rabbits that they need steel and weldmesh, wood and chicken wire are the norm
- Thread starter stef1
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and how big are these flippin rabbits that they need steel and weldmesh, wood and chicken wire are the norm
marlinspike
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marlinspike
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What the OP is looking for, I think, is the kind of wire panels that a run like the one below is made from.
They are rigid and much thicker than wire mesh and you don't cut your fingers on them. This small run costs £80, so if you could find the panels cheaply enough you could make a decent saving on building a hutch or run. I couldn't, so ended up with panels of mesh from Wickes and rolls of mesh from Wilkinsons. I built a pretty big run for about £30, but it isn't fox proof and the edges are very sharp.
They are rigid and much thicker than wire mesh and you don't cut your fingers on them. This small run costs £80, so if you could find the panels cheaply enough you could make a decent saving on building a hutch or run. I couldn't, so ended up with panels of mesh from Wickes and rolls of mesh from Wilkinsons. I built a pretty big run for about £30, but it isn't fox proof and the edges are very sharp.
Yup that picture above is basically what I want to create.
Sean, I know wood and chicken wire are the norm but I don't do norm. I wanted a unique rabbit hutch and run built to last and easy to clean. Wooden ones that we have built or bought only tend to last about 5 years before they are past it. So with this I can simply swap out the hutch with another and paint the frame if required. To add to that, I don't think a 4x2 pressure treated frame for the hutch is the norm either to be honest but I got the wood for free
Sean, I know wood and chicken wire are the norm but I don't do norm. I wanted a unique rabbit hutch and run built to last and easy to clean. Wooden ones that we have built or bought only tend to last about 5 years before they are past it. So with this I can simply swap out the hutch with another and paint the frame if required. To add to that, I don't think a 4x2 pressure treated frame for the hutch is the norm either to be honest but I got the wood for free
marlinspike
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Our first hutch from Pets at Home was £130 and by 4 years old it was falling to bits, damp and starting to rot. We recently bought another from PAH for £80, which is actually better quality than the first one. If you can get the wood and mesh cheap enough, a bespoke hutch is a better option. Most commercial hutches are poor quality and just don't last. First thing you do on a commercial hutch is replace the cheap bolts with good ones as they aren't fox proof.
If we had the space I would have got them a small shed as they would have loads more room for not much more outlay and you can attach a permanent run.
Stef - post some pics of your hutch/run when you've completed it. There are lots of ideas on the Rabbits United forum of self built hutches.
The only other alternative I can think of for cheap strong mesh panels is to buy a set of wire storage cubes to use as hutch 'windows'. No good for runs though as they aren't big enough.
They used to be about £12 plus vat at Costco, more on ebay. We made them into an indoor pen when our bunnies fell out and had to come inside to be re-bonded. That wasn't much fun. Very strong though.
If we had the space I would have got them a small shed as they would have loads more room for not much more outlay and you can attach a permanent run.
Stef - post some pics of your hutch/run when you've completed it. There are lots of ideas on the Rabbits United forum of self built hutches.
The only other alternative I can think of for cheap strong mesh panels is to buy a set of wire storage cubes to use as hutch 'windows'. No good for runs though as they aren't big enough.
They used to be about £12 plus vat at Costco, more on ebay. We made them into an indoor pen when our bunnies fell out and had to come inside to be re-bonded. That wasn't much fun. Very strong though.
