Wire Flooring for Rabbits - The TRUTH (Tips for the best rabbit cage flooring) 

Thank you for being brave enough to educate on wire flooring!!! I agree with everything you have said. It's a touchy subject as so many people are against wire flooring, maybe this video will help show them that rabbits can be comfortable, happy, and healthy, (in many cases healthier) on PROPER wire. 😊

I have rexes, mini rexes, lionheads, Netherland dwarfs ,holland lops, dutches ,and mixed breeds i breed and they all do great on wire bottom also Lennon the bunny is one of my least favorite RU-vidrs she says the opposite of everything you say Edit: blow this up so she sees it

I found the information in this video invaluable ❤ You said that it’s unfortunate that you have to defend yourself about the wire flooring that you use however I’m so glad that you did, lol. I am sorry that you felt attacked. I always try to phrase my questions and concerns carefully so as not to make the subject feel attacked. I think that your thorough research & articulate explanations of wire bottoms should convince anyone who thought all wire bottomed cages were bad. I am just getting into rabbits and was concerned about my wire cages. I had planned today to go out and put some wood platforms in all of them due to the poor press on wire bottoms that I’ve been seeing. Now I know that I just need to check the gauge of wire in the cages & possibly replace the bottoms. The only thing missing from this video is how to determine the current gauge of a wire - I’ll have to look that one up. Also loved the tip that you burn off the fur on the wire with a torch - good tip😊. I’m definitely subscribing to your channel. Thank you

This is a very good video. The way you explain the qualities of wire floor cages is sure to be beneficial to those not as familiar with rabbits. Great job.

I have only been doing this for 1yr. I raise lionhead and cashmere rabbits. For most part I have them on 16 gage wire bottoms. They seem to like them. I sell and use them for eating.

I had a bad experience with the wire from Tractor Supply. The rolls themselves were full of defects and the welds failed quickly under the load of a large Rabbit. The wire from Lowes seemed to be manufactured well enough but would only be good for sides. I ordered wire from Klubertanz and I was very happy with what I received but shipping is crazy. I'd say that it's very important to keep Nesting boxes clean and dry. Some does will use them as a litter box and get their feet saturated with waste build up in the box. I have one in particular that we have to keep a close eye on.

Tiny thing I wanted to add that: GAW (galvanized after weld) is much better, at least for these heavier breeds but especially if hanging your cages. I made the mistake of picking up GBW (galvanized before weld) wire locally and after a couple of months (tops) all the welds were popping and I had to replace them all. You might be ok to get GBW if you also add the supports that many cage suppliers offer for sale. (Testing this now with a couple of cages here at WTF: GBW with support, GAW without support, GAW with support).

Funny how it was rainy and chilly for you! Up in Alberta, Canada, yesterday was in the 80s (29 ish Celsius), I think we skipped spring up here haha. Usually doesn't happen that way! Also, really love your videos, you're a real inspiration to me! I'm wanting to start raising more animals, I grew up on a grain farm and we had cattle for a while. You have the kind of animals I really want to start with, meaning Netherland Dwarf, Nigerian Dwarf goats, and chickens. I also am starting to raise miniature horses, I'm sending my first double registered mini mare off to be bred in about a month! I'm so excited to have found someone who is raising most of the exact breeds of animals I want to have, I subbed a couple months ago when I was doing rabbit research 😊 we have a chicken coop so we're ready for that, but I'm in the middle of building a rabbit hutch (will probably get them in June) and then the goats won't probably be coming till later this year or early next year, so we don't have a solid plan in mind yet for their housing. So excited to follow your journey further!

Also it is good to have the 1/2" side facing up so that there are the smallest gaps closest to the rabbit's feet. Thanks for your vids. If your two little lovebuns have kits it is going to just be the cutest- sooo teeny

So happy to see you back, I learn a lot from your videos even though I run a more commercial type of rabbitry. Much love from Nigeria🫶

I've just started raising rabbits. Did lots of research before started. I.have 5 small pet rabbits. Not for food but for the grandchildren and mostly for "fertilizer" that's what I want and I want the absolute best for them. I'd like to find 12 or 14 guage, but 16 guage is the best I can find locally. They will be in my barn. They are going to be in a very large play area about 8' X 8' . I want them happy. I'm thinking I can use the 16 guage which I have along with supports about 16" apart. What are your thoughts?

wow... clicked on this video ready to be educated but you did such a great job! loads of detail, all practical and for the rabbits' benefit. love to see people thinking critically with their animals. Question: are the plastic sections for optional wire relief? because love that inclusion too

Great video! We have rex and mini rex. We use all wire bottom cages and just give those breeds restin mats.

Thank you for posting this and going into great detail. No doubt that your rabbits are thriving just fine on wire. I had a pet rabbit about a decade ago, and I was under the belief that wire-bottom flooring, small cages, etc. were all the pinnacle of cruelty. Pet people can be a little... crazy, to say the least. So keep in mind that a lot of these people just flat-out don't know any better and go off of what the house rabbit society and other sources say is right and wrong.

I just got a long ear rabbit, and she is a beauty. I was wondering if you have any advice for these cages at home. Please 🙏

Any idea how crucial it is for the wire to be GAW (Galvinized After Welded)? I am seeing some information on that being very important but having an incredibly difficult time sourcing that type of wire. I've only been able to find one manufacturer in Indiana and they charge more to ship than they do for the product.

Wow what a great video on rabbits! As a family we raised rabbits back in the 50s. We did it mostly your way... great video!

please Can you tell me where I can buy the mesh 1 inch x 1/2 inch 14 gauge ?

You are very knowledgeable on the subject of flooring for rabbits and I agree with your thoughts on it. The comments about wire flooring being not good most likely come from people who don't know squat about raising rabbits. They just don't know any better, but they sure know how to post comments.

Another great video!

and what are you doing with the waste from the rabbits? I see you use collection bins under the cages.....easy to clean, sanitize?

I have Rex rabbits for meat. I've been raising them for over a year now and have never had a problem with sore hocks on wire floors. I even use the cheaper 16 guage option that you mentioned and haven't had a single rabbit with issues. A year in, the floor is starting to bow for my doe cages that have had several litters, but other than that, no problems. I haven't noticed much difference in how the fur on their feet grows compared to other rabbits either.

Thank you so much.

Rabbits eat certain bits of their Poo called cecotropes, have you allowed for that Teal?

I am getting my 1st rabbit for my grandson to do a 4-H project. I wonder if there is any concern for their nails getting caught. My son was able to get some interesting material for flooring, the holes are basically Dimond shaped. The wiring is actually all flat, no bending as demonstrated in the video. Anyone w more experience, insight will be appreciated.

We have mini rex. We had to move with the herd and waited on a shed, which resulted in them staying in flemish carriers. Each carrier had a plastic rest board like you use and we started seeing sore hocks pop up. Transitioning to their permanent cages, we found it best to have them on wire only (pvc coated 14ga) in their 24x30 24x36 cages and hocks healed right up. We tried packing cages with straw, putting half rest surfaces to full rest surfaces, letting some have full run of the barn, to switching rest surfaces. Our conclusion is a combination of genetics (we have one older doe who's fur pads are slow to grow back), lack of room to hop, and the plastic rest boards rubbing the fur pads. This is the first it's happened to us. Rex fur is prone to thin fur pads. I know pet rex rabbits with whole rooms to themselves get sore hocks from poor genetics. Ours do best with the right kind of wire.

Is it ok to put adults together in 1 cage?

When the wire bottoms are installed using the 1/2”x1” wire, there is a “top and bottom” to the wire. Kind of hard for me to explain but if the “cross wires” are down, the rabbit only walks on the smooth wires on top.

Could you use the chicken mesh over the 14 gauge wire so new babies don't fall through? Just wondering. Have been watching your videos to learn more about raising rabbits as a meat source as well as chickens, which I want to grow for meat and eggs.

One thing I’d like to add for pro wire bottom floors(and you totally got a great shot of this exact point) when rabbits run on dirt, their claws dig into the dirt. Wire flooring let’s their claws go down and creates a more natural movement of legs and joints.

I breed standard Rex and yes, wire flooring is the best. No sores here! :)

You need different wire for floor like 1/2"x1"

I did research and being someone who has worked for years with animals air flow is always key to staying healthy, the best air flow is a wire floor. Also any housing/tools can be harmful if not used properly or people not paying attention and being neglectful....there are more than one way to do things, wish people would look at the animals and their happiness/health before spouting off 🙄

Nice 👍🏼

Hyvä video 😊

Wire flooring isn't always good (if done wrong) but its better than urine scold. I dont believe its better than xpens or freeroam at least for pet rabbits (as I know its not quite possible for breeding or meat rabbits or just many in general as upkeep would take a lot of time). I also believe just because the rabbit is going to be ate doesnt mean it should have no quality of life, but honestly the thing I dont agree with most is the tiny tiny cages that people keep their rabbits in to where they can't even run or stretch their legs properly which a lot of wire cages are, plus the fact that their skin is thin and it keeps no heat in and their nails could get caught. - Someone who free roams their bun (netherland dwarf)

As an owner of a Rex rabbit, I personally would not recommend wire bottoms for them. I have had struggles with sore hocks for years and I’ve tried everything that I know. Nothing helped until I retired him and moved him inside to a carpeted room. This could be because of his genetics, but I know rex are prone to sore hocks because of their fur type. Hope this helps someone out there❤

I have Palominos and got called Abusive bc I have wire bottom flooring!😂

What about using Hay in the cage not thoroughly but in most parts,I know the poop zone needs to be open :)

Where in the process of making a rabbit shed for my 13 breeders and 18 babies and I would love if u could FaceTime me to see it u my favorite RU-vidr

Rabbits naturally don’t run on wired surfaces! Wired floor is not that clean as the pee and poos will trapped between holes which makes even harder to clean. Not mentioning those pee and poops will fall on the ground and create awful smells if not cleaned often! Give them a litter box change it every other day and tile their floors for cooler surfaces to lie on

OK. So how to the rabbits do their natural behaviour of digging on a wire floor? Also, how do they get to eat their own poop, as that is important to their health? It's no life for such an active animal to be kept in these small wire cages for their lives. Have some compassion and house them in large outdoor pens, with burrows, grass to eat and soil to dig in. I bet you have enough space.

Wire flooring for bunnies is not recommended and hurt their feet, is uncomfortable and should be avoided at all cost. I recommend solid wood or plastic flooring with mats or paper pellet bedding. Also your rabbits cages are very much too small and can cause depression, obesity and all kinds of problems to bunnies. Please please invest in proper rabbit housing or don't have rabbits at all. Recommend a minimum enclosure size of 3m x 2m x 1m high, however please always think bigger is better. Please everyone don't follow this advice if you have bunnies, follow Lennon The bunny or The Bunny Lady for proper rabbit care.

I breed Std. Rex and use KW cages with wire flooring. I have found that providing several resting mats in the areas they enjoy laying in to be helpful. You do have to pull and clean the mats regularly.

I breed Rex and keep all of mine on wire bottoms. I give them resting mats or a hide box to lay on top of. It comes down to genetics for sure. The proper Rex coat is super dense and is not too soft. Having the density and making sure the fur had proper texture will help prevent sore hocks.

I raise mini Rex, Holland lops, and lionheads and I’ve previously tried solid bottom flooring before and all i gotta say is just don’t. If you have just one pet rabbit sure I suggest you give them some space in your house let them be your friend and be happy and focus on that one rabbit, I wouldn’t put it outside by itself unless it had another rabbit to socialize with. But when I had my rabbits on solid floor I dealt with fungal infections, a loss of the majority of the fur on my bucks hind end from sitting in his own pee, sore hocks, stained fur, it was just horrible! But as soon as I switched them back to wire flooring, all my problems went away. They were staying clean, fur grew back, no more sore hocks, and my rabbits were overall just healthier. So all I gotta say is don’t listen to all the anti breeder, adopt don’t shop people who just believe what they read on the internet. Listen to people like Tiffany who actually know what they are talking about and have experience with rabbits. That being said I wish you all the best of luck however you keep your rabbits. God bless y’all! 🤍🥰

Excellent video! Would also like to add, plastic resting mats are a great thing to have on the wire floors. Easy to clean and helps prevent sore hocks especially if the wire is a thinner gauge. It also just provides the option for them to get off the wire if they desire.

Great video. Very informative. I love that you make most your videos in the barn or outside. Hearing the rain falling on the barn roof, an occasional bunny thump, the chickens cackling and an occasional rooster crow. The real life sounds of a true homesteader and I love it!! Thank you for being authentically real!!

Thanks for more information 🙏🙏🙏👋👏

Thank you for all of your video they are so helpful

The reason GBW is inferior is because the process is backwards. You galvanize then hit the joints with an arc which welds but burns off the galvanize. Cheaper that way I suppose but not as durable. Great video and you logic is sound. Heaviest wire you can afford. Bass Equipment that I’ve used for 40+ years has 12ga wire and also coated. Great company.

Maybe this is a crazy idea of but just a thought, what if you got the 16 gage wire from Lowe's and then spray coated it with flex seal so it would make it a little thicker gauge and be kind of like the PVC coated wire 🤷

Do you sell any of your litters Tiffany? We are trying to find meat rabbits, but we can’t find any that we particularly want. We need a buck and a doe to breed. If you don’t have them, your totally fine!! Love your videos!!!!

I had to look extra close at the thumbnail because I seriously thought you were Sarah Jessica Parker. I think that’s her name anyway

I have a lot of different breeds, Rexes being one of them, from my experience with both plastic bottoms and wire bottoms. Rexes prefer the plastic, but I will say I currently have some on the wire and as long as a have a plastic mat in there(or something similar) to allow them to get on and off wire as they please making sure that plastic is getting washed every 2 days they are great with that. As for my angoras, I made the mistake of getting the tiny squared wire at first and now im having to redo it all. Also for people who are saying wire is bad, like she said plastic isn't the best either. If your not cleaning at least every 3 days their cages get nasty and could make then sick. So wire is definitely the best way to go just make sure you have something for them to get off as needed, and you have the proper wire. Also 1 last thing for people using zipties to make there cages and fix them, please stop, I'm always seeing those then they eat the zipties and your back to the same problem

Alright I am on the hunt for the 1/2 x 1in 14 g wire. KW cages doesn't carry it. Could you point me in the right direction? Thank you!

I’ve heard that older rabbits just get sore hocks from a couple of the older breeders around me. As I’m still figuring things out, I don’t know if you can breed for older rabbits also not getting sore hocks.

I have Rex (and a few others) & I keep them all on wire bottom flooring. My rexes have never got sore hocks. My Netherland dwarf doe did once though.

I breed Rex and I would have to agree with genetics. I provide tiles and resting mats on wire floors. My breeders do not have sore hocks.

Wire flooring is the way to go, no problamo with my Rex's.

Plss make a day routine with the animals one theme plsssss

So I have a question I see that you are in a more rural farm area. We have a large yard. Probably about an Acre of yard in. An Acre with our house. My grandchildren have 2 rabbits which my daughter no longer once. But I would like to put the rabbits outside and bring them in when the weather is bad. Not sure because they are. They are domesticated, but I would like them to get used to being out 5 more and then bring them in. Win the weather. Really bad if you have. Any advice I would love that I would love not to have them at all but I'm humane and I can't see letting these poor rabbits go to somebody who may hurt that so any information you can give me. I would so appreciate it. Thank you so.

Thank you for making this video!! It has been much needed as a response to people who completely misunderstand wire flooring! I mainly breed Netherland Dwarfs so many go home as pets and this is always a question from people who do not spend much time in the rabbit world.

I have Rex (not minis) and I use PVC coated wire. I’ve never had issues with their feet. I do also have rest mats in the cage. My experience is that the rest mats make all the difference in Rex feet.

Definitely mention resting mats too, I believe they're important. I've kept rabbits that came to me with sore hock on wire flooring, and provided nice resting mats, and they've had no issues with sores since I got them healed up. But yeah, I've bred rex. I believe the 'rex can't be on wire' is more of an excuse, the breeders with this issue won't cull for the issue and it just keeps producing more animals with poor fur density (which is what causes sore hock in rex).

We have New Zealands, Jersey Woolys, Britannia Petite, and Netherland Dwarf. We've also had fuzzy lops, Californians, meat mutts, and Dwarf Hotots. All our rabbits have lived on wire. And we've never had issues. A few of our does go into solid bottomed cages to kindle (specifically the Britannia Petites) and let me tell you. It is a NIGHTMARE. We may be getting a stack of Cavy Cages to help with cleaning. The rabbits get gross, all of the bedding needs to be changed daily, and the hutch stains are not fun to keep up on. I'm definitely convinced if they stayed on the solid bottom longer than 4-6 weeks they'd end up with sore hocks and infections.

14 gauge galvanized after weld all the way! angora were a clean up nightmare. I've never raised giants but french lop did fine on wire and English spots and Tans as well. A lot of breed types have their little quirks that are weird as far as management.

thankyou for answering all the questions ive had, and some i didnt, about cages. also, the tail trick for butchery is great!

Started with wire bottom cages and then went to colony on dirt to deep litter. I'm going back to cages for the cleanliness!

with 16-gauge wire could I overlap it and put the plastic foot pads for comfort

Big Respekt and Suport from Serbija . Ekselent .

This is kind of off topic but have you ever thought about making a tiktok?

That blowtorch method looks great to me

Love this!! Your videos are always so helpful, factual and supported by real-life experiences. Or if you’re not sure, you do your best to make a mention of it but are transparent about your background level of the information. Your honesty is a driving force behind your credibility. The rain on the roof did not bother me. In fact, it was very relaxing and calming. When are you going to release a TSH soundtrack?! lol.

So Beautiful ❤️

Where do you get the black pans under the wire? I'm using tarps but those look tacky and aren't as durable. We like to use the droppings for fertilizer mix-in.

Cleaning wire bottom when wire is clogged and hardened!

This is very enlightening. In EU we tend to use wooden floors so good to hear the other side of the story

You didn’t touch on wire spacing. I’m having an impossible time finding 14g in 1/2 by 1 inch.

Let the rabbit pet owners cometh. Let thine rage boost the algorithm l!

We have Flemish Giants, Continental Giants, and Rex. All of them have done extremely well with proper gauge wire flooring. The only time I've ever had an issue with wire flooring was the first one we had which was hardware cloth and was quickly changed out once we realized the problem with it. We did get one rabbit with a sore hock from that, she was treated and healed fine but we've never seen the issue pop up again since we've corrected to proper gauge flooring. We have high ground water and flash flooding, I'd love to do a full colony style but we just can't so we have a modified raised colony, and some single rabbit pens as well all of it with wire bottom.

I breed Flemish, Continental, and Velveteen Lops.. I used wire bottom when I ran out of other spaces for a bit and had no issues but I wanted bigger than what wire cages could offer. My husband built 4' x 3' wood cages with wire on 3 sides for ventilation. Started with vinyl flooring but that was causing sore hocks, so we've been changing the flooring to rubber mats like they use for cows/horses. Cleaning is just... not fun. It takes a good hour, sometimes a bit more to clean +/- 20 cages.. some aren't so bad, they keep their business all to one little corner and it's not a big deal.. then there are the ones that have their own compost going within 2-3 days.. that would be the giants lol, my VLops are angels. I'm considering getting a few wire bottoms again and if I prefer them, making the switch.

Just cruel anyway. This is no way to live. Plus their cecotropes will fall through the wire.

amazing!