I think the most important things when housing a rabbit are to make sure the bunny area is kept quite clean (they are messy creatures in many ways) and that it is large enough.
I sweep up and clean the bunny pens twice a day. I empty and clean their litterboxes each day. In order to streamline the process, I have double items for each pair of rabbits (two litterboxes, two water bowls, two pellet dishes, etc.) That way I always have a clean item to replace a dirty one in the morning. I mop down the floors of the pens regularly as well.
Current thinking for rabbit housing is that bigger is better and that rabbits should not sit on wire flooring (bad for their hind paws). When we were first investigating getting a rabbit, we asked around about cages and read up on housing for rabbits on various rabbit rescue web sites.
We read most about four different options: NIC Condos, Leith Petwerks Condos, X-Pens or other types of pens, and letting the bunnies roam freely through our home. After experiencing the incredible chewing action of our rabbits (I once caught PG trying to chew through a brick) we quickly realized that letting them roam freely in the home was a recipe for disaster and destruction.
The other options were much more attractive.
NIC Condo
On the House Rabbit Society web site, we read about building our own cage out of Neat Ideas office storage cubes -- often called a NIC Condo. There are a lot of places on the web where you can get a view of what these cages look like. We initially chose this option because it cost less to construct one than to buy a pre-made condo cage. We also liked the fact that this type of construction is very flexible. We were able to easily add floors, make the cage longer, add doors, etc. In fact, we changed the size and placement of the doors several times before finding the right configuration. The condo we built had a ground floor, a short jump shelf, and a top floor. It was approximately 42 inches long, 28 inches deep, and 42 inches high. It was a good choice for us, and fit into the available space in our living room. Our rabbits were young and healthy and they enjoyed jumping from shelf to shelf. They had plenty of room in the condo and were able to get some good exercise while confined to their home.
There are two disadvantages to this type of housing.
1) This condo is more difficult to clean than an open pen. If your bunnies are slobs, you may want to be aware of this factor. It's awkward to crouch down and try to reach all the corners.
2) There is a spot on the upper shelf in the condo where it is not possible to reach. If you have a bunny that doesn't want to leave the condo, he can hide out in this corner, where you simply cannot reach him.
For more information on this type of housing (including photos), see the links below.
When we got another pair of bunnies, keeping two condos clean became too much of a chore, and we switched to x-pens (see below).
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Leith Petwerks Condo
A friend of ours purchased a two-story rabbit condo from Leith Petwerks, complete with plastic floors and a ramp between levels for her rabbit. She has been very happy with her choice. This condo seems very nice indeed and looks good in her living room. But it's really quite expensive, and I wanted to spend less than that on the bunny home. It comes in various lengths, too, which makes it helpful for finding the best fit in the home, and ranges from one to three levels.
X-Pen EnclosuresX-pens are metal fences that come in varying heights. They can be set up in a circle, square, or rectangle; or used to enclose part of a room. Some of them come with a built-in door that swings open and locks shut.
The bunny's litterbox, toys, food, and any other items are placed inside with the bunny. Zooh Corner Rabbit Rescue has a very nice example of how one of these can be set up. And the San Diego HRS has a fantastic page with photos of various pen set-ups of different sizes and shapes.
if you have the space to set one up, this type of enclosure is extremely nice.
Currently, we have a 4' x 8' x-pen enclosure set up for Owen and Gazelle, our biggest pair of bunnies. It was not too expensive, required no construction, is relatively easy to clean, and has plenty of space for the bunnies. Hay and other items can get behind the fencing, but it's fairly easy to fold the fence back to sweep behind it.
We also have a 4' x 4' pen set up for a PG & Reese, and another 4' x 4' pen for Thatcher & Rain.
The bunny room is small, so all the pens are directly adjacent to each other. Because Owen has a hormone problem and is a tremendous slob, I placed boards up to guard the walls behind the pens. I also put boards between the pens, to keep the bunnies from fighting through the wire walls.
I used 2' x 4' pieces of hard-board and just slipped them between the pens. I also have some thin 2' x 2' pieces of plywood clipped to the front of the pen, on the section without the door. I drape towels over the pen doors during playtime, so that the pair that is out playing doesn't see (and fight with) the other pairs.
After looking at the San Diego HRS page, I think I may try to build platforms for the pens, just to keep the pens in place and protect the floor a bit more.
Of course, my big dream is to someday have an art studio out back, built around an interior courtyard, where the bunnies could safely live and have an indoor/outdoor lifestyle, and I could putter about and visit with the funny animals. And as long as I'm dreaming, why not go big and wish for the studio to be an energy efficient straw-bale structure, with room to store two bales of hay for the bunnies, and all their supplies. Plus a nice big utility sink, for cleaning litterboxes. Heh.
