Rabbit cages all wire cage floor

[Xerocles]

I am about to expand from just chickens to chickens and rabbits. I have visited several rabbit Forums on the internet. Please! On most of those sites, I think if you asked what day of the week it is, you'd be hard-pressed to find more than two people who agreed. Now on byc everyone doesn't always agree but there's usually a consensus, well thought-out reasons, and understandable explanations for opinions. There must be some people on here that keep chickens AND rabbits so I thought I would try here.
I'll tell you what I'm going to do, and if you would, please tell me how badly I'm screwing up. First, I was given over 200 feet X 36 in ,1 inch X 1 inch hardware cloth, 14 gauge. I intend to make all wire cages, and use this wire on all sides (including floors) and dividers. The buck (when I get him-cages first, then rabbits) will be housed in a totally separate Hutch, so no through the wire breeding. My concern is rabbit feet. It seems the recommendation is 1/2 by 1 wire. Is using one by one on the floor going to give me major problems?

 

[Chicks 'n ducks]

I keep rabbits, have for 5 years. All wire floors are fine, but it is very important that you have a box in there so they can get off the wire if needed. The one by one might be too large, I have only ever used 1/2 by 1. What king of rabbits will they be? I keep dwarfs and on 1 by 1 wire, their legs would slip right through.

 

[Eggscaping]

They can get sore feet from just being on wire. You have to give them some blocks of wood, usually long enough/wide enough to lay on. Also, I'd think that one by one would enable small feet to go through and possibly get caught and/or twisted.

 

[townchicks]

I've never kept my rabbits on wire, as they were all housepets and litter box trained. Lots of people do keep rabbits on wire, to make cage cleaning easier, but I do think 1x1 is too large, legs will slip through. Other problem with rabbits on wire floors, include sore hocks, and not getting enough of their cecal pellets, which they need to eat. Often they grab them as they are coming out, before they would slip through the wire, but I have known of rabbits that had digestion problems because of that. Just some thing to watch for. I would recommend smaller wire for the floor. Also, depending where the cages are, there is the usual caveat about raccoons reaching through the wire.

 

[bluemerle]

If you have smaller predators (raccoons, mink) then they can fit or reach through inch-wide gaps. And while you can keep rabbits on a wire floor (just like you could keep chickens on a wire floor) it's not comfortable for them and you are inviting bumblefoot issues. Best to give them a comfortable, solid floor that you simply clean every day.

 

[yickenscarf23]

I keep rabbits, have for 5 years. All wire floors are fine, but it is very important that you have a box in there so they can get off the wire if needed. The one by one might be too large, I have only ever used 1/2 by 1. What king of rabbits will they be? I keep dwarfs and on 1 by 1 wire, their legs would slip right through.

What should the box be made out of? I gave my rabbits wood boxes and they chewed them completely in 3 days.

 

[Xerocles]

Okay, update for my original post. Yes I already know that there has to be a resting board inside the Cage for the rabbits to lie on and get off the wire.
I'm in South Carolina so no minks to worry about. According to the DNR only limited pockets of weasels and I'm not in one of those pockets. Raccoons yes. There will be an additional false bottom 6 in below the actual cage floor to stop raccoons from reaching through and grabbing feet. Although in 8 months of being here and having chickens, I see no indications of raccoons. Or coyotes, or wandering dog packs, or foxes. And my dog is very adept at taking care of a few feral cats that have come around.
After kindling, I intend to put an additional resting board extending several inches beyond the Nest box. I'm primarily concerned in the first 4 weeks of the kits life, how much danger there may be to their front feet on one by one wire. Slip through and pull it back out, or slip through and get the elbow hung.

 

[Chicks 'n ducks]

1 by 1 will be WAY to big for kits.

 

[Chicks 'n ducks]

What should the box be made out of? I gave my rabbits wood boxes and they chewed them completely in 3 days.

I have used cardboard boxes, which they eventually destroy but are easy to replace, but now I use wood. I personally haven't had many issues with them chewing the wood. Maybe you could offer your rabbits other things to chew on, like twigs and pinecones. If that didn't work I would order a metal nestbox online for your rabbits.

 

[Xerocles]

I keep rabbits, have for 5 years. All wire floors are fine, but it is very important that you have a box in there so they can get off the wire if needed. The one by one might be too large, I have only ever used 1/2 by 1. What king of rabbits will they be? I keep dwarfs and on 1 by 1 wire, their legs would slip right through.

Thanks Chicks'nDucks. Yep, I already know a resting board is needed. Breed is still to be determined, but most likely Silver Fox. My concern is kits legs slipping through and getting caught. Someone MUST have used 1X1 in the past. Otherwise, how do we know that 1/2 by 1 is the optimum?