Rabbit door

A quick guide to making a elegant door to keep your pet in your room of choice. Complete with window, door knob and latch.

This is documented post-build, but the steps required to get to this stage should be simple enough, a few hours in the shed will probably suffice.

Our rabbit is a semi-tame wild rabbit that was rescued from a cat as a baby (is levret the correct term for a baby rabbit?) So it has access to a network of hutches tunnels and runs in the garden. As well as permenant access to the conservatory. This door is to allow it access to the rest of the house, when it's appropriate to have a mischivious rabbit nibbling our plants and peoples toes. She does have a name, but like Red Dwarf's Cat, she's just refered to as 'Rabbit.'

Most of the cutting was done with a jigsaw (for my door) and a bandsaw (for the rabbit's door). A drill, hammer and mesuring devices are also required.

Step 1 The Basic Rabbit Door

The basic door is 2 pieces of wood, the same shape, fastened together with a piece of transparent plastic squashed between them for a window. Later it became apparant that there was a significant draft around the edges of the rabbit door, so thin fabric was also sandwiched between the layers, then trimmed to fit.

My original intention was to paint the door a lovely forest green, like the hobbit's front door. But various family members were not keen on the idea, so it remains unpainted, and the line of nails remain looking out of place.

Comments

[fangfriends]

Oh my goodness, this is the cutest thing ever! I might have to put one of these on the door that separates my bedroom from the rest of the apartment. Sometimes the house bunny is allowed to roam, but sometimes not.

[Sarkazmo]

Instructables: Creating more latch key bunnies than any other website since 2006! :P

[mrmath]

I have two rabbits at home, and they do their business anytime, anywhere. Does your rabbit go all over the house?

[miseleigh]

You can train them, tho it's easier when they're younger. After one makes a mess (and I mean as quickly as you can, and this applies to either variety of mess) stick the bunny's nose in the mess, say 'no' loudly and firmly, and then put the rabbit (again, firmly) where you want it to go, like a cage or litterbox. It shouldn't take long for them to get it. The chewing, tho... I haven't figured out how to prevent that yet.

[42ndOddity]

Funnily enough she's really tidy, and keeps to one spot outside on the lawn. It does mean we have a small mound of droppings, but the surrounding grass grows much quicker than the rest of the lawn, so it's usually hidden.

[MrAngryPants]

do you let your bun run freely outside or do you have it in a pen or fenced in? Im considering moving mine outside as he seems to think my home is his litter box. (P.S. i have tried scooping his pellets into the litter box. the face method. and just about any feasible idea on the web)

[mrmath]

Mine are in hutches. They poo and poo and poo. One of the completely ignores the litterbox. He didn't always. Just decided one day he didn't want to use it any more. Hate them!

[42ndOddity]

Circumstances have changed now and we have another two rabbits that need to be kept separate from this one. They now have the garden during the day, and a hutch at night. This one has the house and an outside run connected to the house by a cat flap and tunnel. Still no mess in the house though, wild rabbits must still have the instinct not to contaminate their burrows.

[MrAngryPants]

another thing, do your buns have a 'thing' about slick surfaces? mine spazzes out if you put him on anything other than carpet or grass.

[42ndOddity]

A startled rabbit on a hardwood floor is a very amusing sight. Rabbits are rear wheel drive animals, and therefore can perform spectacular powerslides going around corners at speed. But no, no problems there, they are all happy on all the surfaces we have, grass, paving, carpet, lino, wood and tiles.

[gallatea]

where is the rabbit?? LoL

[42ndOddity]

Rabbit was hiding out in the garden somewhere...she doesn't like people poking around with her things. In reply to your message below, when I said rescued, I meant my sister and father chased a cat away and nursed the rabbit back to health. No medical interference at all. She does occasionally hide under a table and 'pounce' on peoples feet though, gives them a quick nip and runs off.

[gallatea]

Great instructable. Adopting a rabbit from a rescue means it will usually be spayed or neutered 1st. That will make the litterbox training easier and they can bond more easily w/ other buns w/o accidental kits. Of course, there could be exceptions. I have both (neutered and unneutered buns). The neutered/spayed ones are super clean housekeepers and don't spray on everything (the males especially are worse). I use some hard wood in my rabbit's houses for them to munch on. They sometimes ignore it it's so hard.

[SacTownSue]

Very cute. My only interior door is the bathroom door, small house, so I don't have any place to put one. mrmath - I have three house rabbits and they are all litter box trained. Sometimes I find little brown marbles outside the cage but they are 95% perfect. You can get more information from the House Rabbit Society at rabbit.ORG.

[Lftndbt]

That's so cute it's not funny!! Great job!!

[carpespasm]

Reminds me of the tiny door in Alice in Wonderland. You should mount a tiny table to the door with a wooden cookie that says "eat me" on it. Your rabbit would likely take this invitation seriously though.

[42ndOddity]

Indeed, the reason there're no photos of the other side of the door, is that she's already chewed a fair bit of it away. No invitation necessary.

[carpespasm]

I wonder how much using a solid hardwood would prevent it from doing that.