Bun-servation Tower

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Chase

Our bunnies are spoiled. That much is certain. They sit in our chairs on the porch constantly, and I think part of it might be that it gets them high enough above the screened in porch edge to be able to see the yard. So, I built a bunny tower they could climb up in to chill and observe their domain. It took a few iterations to get it right, so hold on.

First I thought a two level floor plan with ramps coming through the floor would work. Take some 2x4s, notch them with fun hand tools, notch the plywood and screw it all together. I wrapped the two levels in 1/4″ metal mesh to keep the buns from jumping out and hurting themselves.

And there it sat for weeks. No takers. I made the ramps too steep. I saw one or two try to climb up, but they weren’t able. Eventually I relented and made a longer gentler ramp for the first level that entered at the edge instead of the floor. That went over well.

I couldn’t figure out how to save the top, so I eventually cut it off. The ramp has a cleat every 4 inches. I started with that, but they would slide on the plywood in between the cleats. I added non-skid tread material in-between the cleats and they seem to be able to handle that really well.

It is less of an eye sore with the second floor removed and the new ramp is working well. As a bonus, I set the top section down, and they started using it. We moved it back from the edge so they wouldn’t try to jump through the screen. They have been using their carriers as a step to get on top. I guess I should have gone with stairs instead of a ramp.

In short, if you are going to build something for your buns, they are going to disapprove. Just get used to it. Aside from that, do any ramps at no steeper than around 1:2 rise to run. My first ramp was closer to 1:1 and they couldn’t do it. Use cleats and non-skid to help their feetsies. Last but not least, they will chew on everything you make, so keep that in mind.

I am Tyrion the bunny, and I approve this message

Bunny Fence Upgrade

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Chase

Our ravenous rabbits know no bounds! We have a baby gate we put up across the porch door to their area when the weather is nice. The only trick is that they have taken to chewing on the fence from time to time. It was cute at first, but they have been making headway on an escape.

I cut out all the gate material below about 15 inches to clear out the chewed spot and make way for the new barrier.

I could have upgraded to titanium coated steel mesh, but I figure they would chew through that in a few months as well. Instead I went with thin acrylic sheeting.

Covering just the bottom half kept the cost down and I doubt they will be able to reach high enough to do significant chewing above the clear plastic line. I attached the left piece over the outside face of the frame because there was room. The sliding action of the gate wouldn’t allow the right piece to be attached the same way. Instead, I used some of the remaining white gate material as a backer, and drove screws in at an angle to wedge the plastic in frame.

The Reaction

How was it received? Pretty well I guess. They have nosed it a few times, and tried to paw at it a bit. Here was their first introduction.

The window is clean for now, and provides an unobstructed view of extreme cuteness. The way these buns are, I will come out one time to find them all raiding the fridge with a 4″ perfectly circular hole cut in the plastic window. Clever buns!

New Bunny Hay Feeder

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Chase

I made a quick feeder for the new buns in kind of a rush and without a lot of research. It was a shallow 3 sided box with vertical dowels to hold the hay in across the front. The dowel spacing was bad. First it was hard to get their heads in because it was too narrow, then when I removed a few dowels it was too wide. They tended to pull a ton of the hay out into their box.

A solid box with two holes is the right way to go. I used some 1×12 pine to give a nice tall body. I wanted to engrave a bunny silhouette and the words “Chow Time” on the front. Unfortunately I didn’t center the piece well and my CNC hit a hard limit. It got to the “h” and I knew the rest would be ruined. So skip the words and make the bunny bigger instead. Had it gone well I would have taken the time to do some color inlay. oh well, next hay box.

I assembled the front with sides and a back to make a box with no top or bottom. Instead of a flat bottom I used a plane to put a rough angle on the two edges of a board. Once installed at an angle it made the bottom ramp towards the two feed holes.

This picture shows the ramped bottom better.

I installed it to the bunny fence set at a good height for their litter box. There was going to be a lid, but I decided against it. No reason really, just dump hay in when needed! UPDATE: As it turns out, they can get inside. A lid might not be a bad idea.

This box has a ton of capacity, and because of the smaller openings than my previous attempt they tend to pull a lot less into their litter box. This means less filling and less waste. They can often be found with their little faces stuffed in nomming on bits of hay.

New Additions To The Family

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Chase

There have been a lot of changes happening on our back porch. Some furniture was removed and arranged to allow for a Jurassic Park style raptor fence.

Hmmm deadly raptors need a litter box and hay? What kind of monsters are these?

Beware the two terrors of Melbourne!

Yup, we got rabbits. They are adorable vicious killer poop machines. Seriously how can something so small produce so many poops!? The bun loaf on the left is Honey. She is sweet, soft and super curious. The lion head on the right is Tyrion (aka Mr. T, and Sir Buns-alot). He is always chasing Honey around, and is probably about ripe for getting fixed. Now on to gratuitous cute shots.

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They are a hand full, and we are working to get them accommodated to the porch before we open up the escape hatch and start working on the backyard. Until then, we can rest assured that they have 100% fluffy cottontail butts.

Seriously look at that butt.

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