# Input on outdoor x-pens? *Pictures up!*



## Spring (Mar 29, 2009)

Hi there!  Since buying my two x-pens, I'm quite excited to try them out with my guys! 

I just have a few questions/concerns. With living in rainy BC, my lawn is actually more moss than grass. Is moss dangerous to bunnies? I have no idea what kind it is, but I've looked on safe plant sites (some for cats) and a lot of the mosses seem to be safe. So not really sure. 

What other dangers/concerns should I look out for with having the bunnies outside in pens? Of course I'll be either sitting in the pens or right next to them at all times (can't trust the eagles and hawks here) with a sheet covering a large part of the pen anyways. 

I hopefully will be able to section off an area and totally clear it out, bunny proof it, plant oat grass and other bunny safe flowers to be my outdoor area for the x-pen. But until then, the lawn will have to do! 

Any input or pictures of your outdoor x-pen/pen set ups would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Spring!

:sunshine:


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## Spring (Mar 30, 2009)

Guess outdoor set ups for runtimearen't as common as I thought! 

Will just have to play it by earand try stuff out tosee if I can come across any solution that works for me.


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## Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears (Mar 31, 2009)

I saw the sale but wasn't able to get down there. I would of loved to have a small outdoor run for the bunny's on nice days.


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## Pet_Bunny (Mar 31, 2009)

*Spring wrote: *


> Guess outdoor set ups for runtimearen't as common as I thought!



We still have 2 feet of snow in our back yard. 

Luvabun uses her play penin the house to separate Shadow and Jester.


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## mouse_chalk (Mar 31, 2009)

Meee! Me! I have outdoor pens! :wave2

I didn't see this thread, sorry 

I do live in the UK though, so hawks etc like that aren't really so common, although we do have neighbourhood cats, so I sit out there and watch them the whole time. I get Steve to bring me cups of tea, and hang my laptop charger out the window! Last weekend, I sat in the pen with my laptop writing the Today thread with Dotty jumping over me lol.

Anyway, this is what we have now:

One pen:







Second pen:






Dotty is hiding in that pic but you can see that they're quite big! 

I make mine from 28 grids cable-tied together, 2 high. I use the.... carabiner (I think?) clips to hold them together at either end, because that way I could make a massive pen out of the 2 if I wanted. I prefer the big pens like that- it gives them so much room to run about and binky!

If I was in an area with hawks etc I'd probably only put one 'set' of bunnies out at a time- easier to keep an eye on them...

I have NO idea about the moss though, sorry! I have it in my garden but only right on one side by the hedge.... :expressionless


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## snap (Mar 31, 2009)

My buns have to play on concrete because the stupid lawn people didn't understand we did NOT want pesticide on the lawn and we're unsure of how long it will last. >.< I'm not taking any chances, though.

Always keep it covered with something. Always always. You never know what might come along.

You don't have to watch them if you're making the run permanent. Just put the fence down a few inches into the ground and keep it covered.


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## Leaf (Apr 3, 2009)

I have an xpen I use on occasion for my guys.

I really like using it, but have bought some clips (dog leash clips) to help stabalize the latch on the pen, as running and bumping into it seems to cause it to come undone at times.

More energetic jumpers need to be watched depending on the height of the xpen, because escape is possible.

I like adding a box or something to the middle of the pen as well so the bunnies can hide if they feel the need to.


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## Hazel-Mom (Apr 3, 2009)

We don't use x-pens or runs, but we do have this:











And our new tent:





We wanted something that we could sit in while watching the buns, and that was mosquito proof because of West Nile Virus occuring here. White Chocolate LOVED "her" tent, she even had "her" chair in it, just like her mommy, LOL.

Luckily none of them were interested in digging out. White Chocolate did have a "digging box" with soil in it, that she loved to dig in. Plus they had the other toys, which we changed out once in a while to keep it interesting.

They felt really safe in it, because it was covered overhead too, and although see-through, it had walls on all sides. Can't wait for the rains to be over, so we can put it up again .


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## hartleybun (Apr 3, 2009)

:yeahthat:leaseplease:leaseplease:from the paws of roxy and hartleybun otter rex


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## Spring (Apr 3, 2009)

Thanks so much for the tips/suggestions!

Hopefully I will get lots of use out of these, since our weather is pretty mild during the spring and early summer, so going to take any advantage to use them that I can! 

I LOVE your set up Jen! Nice and spacious! Also love the tent idea, how cool!

I've used them three times so far. First with just Georgie, then Bruo, then tried a bonding session with Pebbles and Georgie (went really well.. so might try outside bonding more often!) It seems to be working well, although it has these awkward doors that are annoying. So I mostly just sit in the pen with them, which is fun when it's nice out!

I'm looking into grassing a raised garen at the side of the property in hopes that the house next to us stays vacant.. because if someone moves in with dogs, will be too dangerous to risk the rabbits getting spooked by dog barking, or potential dangerous dogs (not unlikely from past experiences of the tenents unfortuantely).

Will hopefully charge up my batteries and take some pictures this afternoon (if the sun stays out!)


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## Pet_Bunny (Apr 4, 2009)

*Spring wrote: *


> It seems to be working well, although it has these awkward doors that are annoying.


So you got the ones with the door? How high are your pens? Do you think Bruno would try jumping out? Will wait to see the pictures.

I got the giant size pens at the PetCetera Blow Out Sale.I think they cost $170.00 but the manager charged me $38.00, so I bought two of them.They are 48" highbut I know Bebe has jumped that high in my basement run. Mine can open like a 16' long fence orshape it to any square, rectangular or circular configurations. There is no door to get in or out, buttwo small food latch openingsthat you can reach in with. However I can use separateclips to open and close the ends of the pen to get in or out.


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## Spring (Apr 4, 2009)

Yeah, I didn't realize they had doors until I brought it home. It's the large style, so I think it's 36 high? I was going to buy the giant ones, but I didn't think it would fit in my trunk. Mine can open to the 16' as well, with the large bar that you put inbetween the two ends to secure the pens together. At least wtih being tall, if I ever need to get in the pen quickly I can manage to barely hop over, so at least I wouldn't have to fiddle with the silly doors.

The buns home cages are 2 grids high (28) and Bruno only jumps out if he goes on the shelf first and pops out, so I don't think he would try to escape. With him being 12lbs, does have a lot of weight on him too. Either way, I will be either right outside the pen or directly sitting in the pen at all times, so hopefully if anyone does try to escape, I would be right there.

Just heading out now, so will have pictures up in a few hours!


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## Spring (Apr 4, 2009)

Picture overload!  Tried to pick out the best ones.. I have literally hundreds I had to sort through.. haha! Everyone did superwell except Jasmine, who did ok but mostly hid out under boxes or snuggled up to the others. Poor baby, wasn't sure how she would take to it (she lived abandoned in a park for 2 weeks - would really like to meet the morons who released her :X). But she didn't get too panicky, though, so I'm sure she will come around!





























































































(Sorry, some didn't want to turn the right side up! PB not registering it, gah!)

:biggrin2:


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## Flash (Apr 4, 2009)

Great set ups and that tent is awesome. I use my x-pen at the park for my bunnies since I don't have a yard. I put a blanket on the grass to protect them from the fertilizer and I put them in a shady spot and I either sit in there with them or sit outside. I get more people come over and want to pet them and the questions are endless but it's so much fun and the buns love all the attention.


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## BlueCamasRabbitry (Apr 4, 2009)

I have an outdoor exercise 'system' that needs to badly be upgraded! lol. 

Me & my sister took all of our NIC grids, plus a baby gate, an ex.pen our friend made for us, a large baby-xpen, and a 3-1/2 foot-tall 3 panel dog pen and secured all this together to make our system. 

The largest pens, which are the baby xpens and the dog panels are for Sippi & Minnie. Their about 5 feet by 3 feet. 

The other ones, made out of the NIC grids are 2x3. These are about the same size as the bunnies cages, just a tad larger, if we spread them out to the max. So they're not that big. 

Pictures {VdownV}. Iwant to redo our exercise pens, and have a couple of really really big ones, and then about 8 or so smaller ones. That way everybun gets a turn in the large ones, but everybun can still be outside. Mostly these pens (below) are for interacting, digging, grazing, and just getting some fresh air. 






What it used to look like: 









We redesign it every couple of months. I think it's due to another re-design. The next nice day! lol. In the meantime, I think going to garage sales and looking for things that would work would be a good idea. 

But yes, outdoor exercising is really popular; especially since some people don't keep their bunnies indoors, like me. I love taking my bunnies out to exercise.  They have fun and I enjoy watching, and interacting with them. 

Emily


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## Pet_Bunny (Apr 5, 2009)

*Spring wrote: *


> Yeah, I didn't realize they had doors until I brought it home. It's the large style, so I think it's 36 high?



Looks like a nice day. And you got green grass. We still have (deep) snow on our lawn.









I got the same pen as you except it's 48" high. The door in door is basically to reach in to put a water bowl, as I would never fit through it. There were ground stakes that came with it too to anchor and stabilize the pen.


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## Pet_Bunny (Apr 5, 2009)

*BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote: *


> I have an outdoor exercise 'system' that needs to badly be upgraded! lol.


I see you have a trampoline. Why don't you use that and build the run around it, and it would provide a cover for your bunnies too.


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## BlueCamasRabbitry (Apr 5, 2009)

*Pet_Bunny wrote: *


> *BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote: *
> 
> 
> > I have an outdoor exercise 'system' that needs to badly be upgraded! lol.
> ...



That's a good idea. lol. We don't use the trampoline much, except for sometimes during the summer. But,we'd have to use all the NIC grids to go around it, and then only one bunny would be able to exercise at a time. 

Emily


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## BSAR (Apr 5, 2009)

*Pet_Bunny wrote: *


> *BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote: *
> 
> 
> > I have an outdoor exercise 'system' that needs to badly be upgraded! lol.
> ...



I just have to add to this that we also move our trampoline quite often. So it might be hard to find fencing or something to go around it and still be able to move it.

That would be cool to split it in half, under neath, and have two big runs for the bunnies though.


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## Hazel-Mom (Apr 5, 2009)

*BSAR wrote: *


> *Pet_Bunny wrote: *
> 
> 
> > *BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote: *
> ...


Maybe a roll of hardwarecloth, fixed to stakes? You could still roll it up that way after you're done using it.

Or if you make a fence with NIC grids, you can fold it away after.

The split underneath would be harder though, unless you can use a fence of NIC grids or something?


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