Cages:

Since Flemish Giant rabbits are so large they tend to require very big cages. The smallest cage that should be considered for a single animal should be at least 4 feet by 3 feet. Ideally this would be a great size for a rabbit that lives in the house and is able to get out and run around. There should be enough room for a litter box, water and food bowl, as well as room for the rabbit to streach out some. If your going to make your cage you can give the rabbit extra room by putting a shelf in the cage.

Brood cages for a doe and her litter should be at least 6 foot long by 3 feet deep. Cage height should be no less than 24 inches, or else, they may not carry their ears erect. I also have some brood cages that are 8 foot long by 3 feet deep. Most of my does live in their brood cages all year long if they are expecting of not.

Because of the considerable weight of these rabbits, wire floors should not be used, since it would lead to the rabbits developing sore hocks. Some breeders use solid floors bedded with straw, aspen shavings, computer paper, or wood chips, while others use wood slat floors.  I use a combination of plain solid wood floors in some cages and soiid wood floors with straw on them. Some of my hutches have litter boxes in them others don't. I found that when I started to put straw down on the floors some of the rabbits stoped useing their litter boxes. So some have straw some don't. But all have solid floors.

I also have some cages for holding rabbits after they are weened. Those cages have wire floors. The name brand is KW Cages. There are plastic trays below the cages that catch everything, and those are cleaned out about 3 times a week. The rabbits can only stay in these cages till they reach 10 pounds or some of them start to get sore hocks. 

We currently have two different sized hutches or cages.  The smaller ones are 6’x3’x3’ with a center dividing partition that would make the large hutch into two separate hutches. I have also added a 12” raised shelf along the entire back of the cage for the rabbits to jump up and stretch out.  They love their shelf, and use it quite often. The larger hutch is 8’x3’x3’, also has a solid dividing partition, thus giving me the option of making two separate hutches or compartments.  Additionally, I can remove the center partition, and thus have a wonderful grow out hutch for a doe and her offspring if needed.  These hutches also have the shelf along the rear.

Litter boxes:

We have trained  some of our rabbits to use a litter box.   Actually, I think they train themselves.  All I have done is provide the litter box, place it in the corner where they like to relieve themselves, and bingo… They begin to use it.  I use pine pellets, that I purchase from TSC (Tractor Supply Company) in 40lbs bags. The pellets are fresh smelling, highly absorbent, cheap ($5.00-$6.00 a bag) and last for a long time. You can also use wood burning pellets as well. They are the same thing as the litter pellets and you can get them very cheap during most of the year. We only use up to an inch of pine pellets per litter box. I have found that adding more than one inch of pellets to the litter box will be a waste, and it also makes it more difficult to clean later on.   Remember, the pine pellets will expand once exposed to moisture, it will easily double in volume, and thus not much is needed.  I also add 1/2 a cup of Plaster of Paris to the bottom of the litter box to help control the ammonia, which will develop because of the urine over time. Plaster of Paris is mostly gypsum which you can purchase it at any hardware store.

I change out the litter box once a week or more if needed, but that’s rare.   I would avoid wood type shavings since they don't absorb the urine very well and are dusty, and tends to stick to the bunny's feet.  I initially used newspaper type pellet bedding, I found them dusty, and the cost made it impractical.   Some are good, with added gypsum that will aid in keeping down the ammonia odor, but the added cost was just not practical, and thus I stuck to the pine pellets. 

Some of my rabbits are super tidy, meaning that they use their litter box exclusively. Then, others leave pellets everywhere, but thankfully, they all use the litter box for urine.

As far as finding a litter box that works for a flemish, good luck. The larger sized litter boxes that you will find at Pets Mart or Petco are too short. The rabbit tends to back into a corner and potty. But with these litter boxes it often goes right over the edge of the box. So I bought some 20 gallon rubbermade containers. I then cut them to the right height. I have had no more trouble with the rabbits pottying over the edge of the box.

Housing & Litter Boxes

Housing & Litter Boxes

Housing & Litter Boxes

This is one of our Litter Boxes - As you can see, we add a light layer, just barely enough to cover the bottom.   It doesn't take much in pellet volume, to get the job done.   Once the pellets are exposed to moisture they will expand.  By the end of the week, you will find that the volume inside the litter box has increased substantially, all inclusive of their own fecal pellets as well.

Sub-Pages

Page last updated: September 29, 2011

Fuzzy Buttz Rabbitry.com