Often when you see rabbits on TV, they are in cages with wire floors. It seems to be made out of half inch hardware cloth (wire). We know from this question that rabbits can be litter box trained, so a wire bottom cage is not required.
What are the benefits and risks of a wire bottom cage for my pet rabbit?
Regardless of floor choice, remember that they need a burrow-like "safe" area to cope with stress. Many pet rabbit hutches have BOTH a mesh floor portion and a little "house" like portion that has a solid floor with bedding. These are not used industrially because they take up much more space and require bedding changes.
You'll need to decide based on your personal factors, but basically: MESH IS EASY FOR PEOPLE. RABBITS PREFER LITTER/BEDDING if you keep it clean like you're supposed to.
"Movies" are not a good role model because animals are always provided by a trainer who keeps multiple rabbits and possibly other animals. They will generally opt for the "easiest" and most "industrial" style methods.
- The rabbit cannot be seen when in its "house" - so it is not used in TV or rabbit farming.
- The pan can be swapped out quickly as soon as it's dirty so that viewers do not see waste. With litter/bedding, they might have to change it in the middle of filming, which would take time and also disturb the rabbit (make it nervous).
- It is very possible that a trainer would have bedding for his rabbits - but uses a classic cage temporarily during filming/on set.
Compromise with both. Have a large mesh-bottomed area for easy clean-up (eating, pooping, etc) PLUS a "hut" with litter/bedding for warmth and comfort. The hut can be made to have a big hinged lid for easy access and cleaning. Make sure the wire mess will not hurt the rabbit's feet. (see below)
OR
Just give the rabbit what it wants and change out the litter. Using a litterbox makes everything even easier, but you should still change all the litter occasionally.
Example from Bunny Hutch HQ (.com) This hutch provides THREE levels of protection: a hut, a semi-protected area, and an open area. A simpler hutch would be something like the top portion only, with the left side being either mesh bottomed or solid bottomed with litter. An indoor hutch could be more open on the left side.
![![From BunnyHutchHQ.com]](https://i.sstatic.net/SMOV3.jpg)
Mesh doesn't allow rabbits to chew their pellets (soft poo) for nutrition. - This is similar to a cow chewing its cud. Plant material isn't "finished" on the fist pass through, so the rabbit will re-eat some poo pellets. These will be soft and round and you usually don't see them. They are pooped during resting (such as inside a hut) and eaten immediately. The "finished" poo will be hard and the rabbit usually poops these in one particular corner of the cage. (That's where you put the litterbox for training. You're not training the rabbit, you're just putting the litterbox where it poops.)
http://www.fao.org/ag/portal/index_en/en/
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690e/t1690e08.htm#uses%20for%20waste
Litter helps the rabbit maintain warmth and temperature regulation.
- Too much mesh can allow too much airflow making temperature regulation difficult.
- Indoor housing will help counteract this (do not put near sunlight, drafts, doors, etc where rabbit may be forced to endure a bad temperature or quick changes in temp)
- *Some mesh is good - and usually provided from at least half of the cage being wire mesh on the top and sides. Less for outdoor cages. Most pet cages meet the fresh air requirement.
- All mesh makes rabbits rely COMPLETELY on YOU for temperature and airflow regulation.
Litter can encourage certain parasites to be spread from one rabbit cage to another nearby rabbit cage.
- This is a bigger problem for rabbit-farming than pet ownership.
- You are unlikely to have this problem is changing the litter and/or using a litterbox.
Wire mesh can irritate the feet, causing bacterial infection. Make sure the wire is fat and the holes are small so their weight is distributed.
- It is even more likely when the area is warm and/or moist.
- It is also more likely if the animal thumps their foot a lot (stress).
- It is more likely in heavy breeds and nervous/excitable breeds.
- "New Zealand White or Californian breeds" were mentioned as being better adapted to mesh flooring.
It can be difficult to find proper mesh for just 1 pet rabbit.
- Just because the pet store sells it doesn't mean it's any good.
- Plastic coated mesh can fatten the wire and provide a little more comfort - but rabbits can chew the plastic right off. Depends on the rabbit and mesh size.
Wire thickness: "Diameter 2.4 mm, minimum 2 mm"
Size of "hole": "diameter 1 to 1.3 cm, but narrow enough to prevent the feet getting caught in the mesh"
Even the best mesh isn't that comfortable.
- Provide at least some non-mesh area for the rabbit to rest on.
Wire mesh can be disinfected. Wire mesh is easy to clean.
- Again, this is more of a concern for rabbit-farming type conditions. Wood is naturally anti-microbial, but it's not microbe proof. The site recommended changing a wood floor every 2 years, but their focus was on farming conditions.
As you can (hopefully) see, mesh is just easy for people to deal with. It's the standard for farming lots of rabbits in a tiny space. This concept has carried over into the pet rabbit, but it isn't necessarily appropriate. Traditional rabbitry in Europe uses straw litter. Modern rabbit farming uses mesh with waste collection pits or troughs (with rabbits stacked above each other - the site has diagrams) so that no one has to change the litter in each cage. This allows maximum rabbits in minimum space. You can collect waste and distribute food and water without opening each cage.
Wire mesh cages are almost always a bad choice for rabbits. They may get an infection on their feet called sorax from having wire bottom cages. Rabbits, Chinchillas, and Ferrets can all get sore hocks. Also Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, and gerbils may get their feet stuck in between the wire which good result in a broken limb.
Pros:
Much easier to clean and access poo and waste. Don't need a litter box. Rabbits do not ingest poo, waste, or bedding.
Cons:
Can give some small animals infections in feet. Most small animals are burrowing animals. So they like to snuggle or dig under things. Not available with wire mesh cages.
These are things to consider before buying a wire cage. I don't consider a wire mesh cage. This is from a 12 year old boy with a lot of experience, but make sure to research the topics with great consideration before buying one of these cages.
Since the risks and pitfalls of wire floors are largely mentioned, I'll mention pros...
If you are a gardener, the waste of a rabbit can be the best fertilizer you've ever used. My vegetables go absolutely crazy on rabbit poo.
The wire also allows the non-hutch area to remain cleaner. There is a sweet spot where the wire squares are small enough to be comfy for feet but big enough for rabbit poo. Also, if the rabbit has digestive problems, you'll notice the mess not falling through and be able to adjust diet issues. The rabbit's edible poo can still be munched in the hutch.
Wire is sturdy. I've found that plastic can be scratched up (thus harder to clean after a while), and I imagine a dog getting into your yard would be more dangerous if you have plastic instead of metal wire. (Of course, keep dogs far away at all costs anyway.)
Wire is one of the easier materials to work with when you have some lumber around. I enjoy the project of building my rabbits a cozy castle. They don't always do what I think they will (for instance, two rabbits will live in the same hutch instead of their own rooms), but a home built house makes me smile.
Wire mesh is clinically proven to be better for rabbits than flat hard surface such as wooden floor. In their natural environment, the claws on their feet sink into the ground. On flat surface this is impossible, causing their feet to be positioned incorrectly when at rest. I'm fact, in the experiment when given choices of different substrates to rest on, rabbits even sometimes choose wire mesh over natural soil. You should not worry about bunny comfort, when it comes to properly sized mesh floor.
Also rabbits do not eat their feces, this is a commonly repeated false information. Rabbits make two different kind of droppings. The hard round droppings that are most common are NOT eaten, they are 100% waste. The bigger problem is urine. The moment the bunny urinates into bedding or on wooden floor, they are at risk of coming into contact with urine - sore hocks, urine burn, ammonia. No matter how diligent you are at cleaning the cage, you will not avoid this.
