Housing two rabbits

The published minimum of 3m x 2m x 1m — about 64.5 square feet — is already stated for two rabbits, so a pair does not need more than the figure and a single rabbit does not need less. What changes for a pair is provisioning: two shelters or one with two exits, two litter areas, two hay sources, and a realistic plan for separating them if the bond breaks.

Rabbits are social and RWAF's position is that they should not be kept alone, so a pair is the normal case rather than the exception. Which makes this page less about a bigger enclosure and more about what a shared enclosure needs that a single one does not.

Why the figure does not double

Because it was never a per-animal allowance. RWAF derives 3m x 2m from what one rabbit needs in order to run rather than hop, and says explicitly that a single rabbit needs the same minimum. Two rabbits share the running space in the same way two people share a corridor.

That said, 64.5 square feet is a floor for two, not a target. A pair in an enclosure at exactly the minimum has less margin than a single rabbit in the same space, because two animals occasionally need to be apart and a minimum-sized enclosure gives them nowhere to go. If you have the room, going above the figure matters more for a pair than for a single.

Two of everything, or one with two exits

This is the practical content of housing a pair, and it is about resource competition rather than area.

• Shelters: two, or one with two openings. A single-entrance shelter can be guarded by one rabbit, and a guarded shelter is not available to the other. Two exits removes the chokepoint.
• Litter areas: two, in different corners. Rabbits are territorial about toileting, and a shared tray can become a flashpoint.
• Hay: two sources, well apart. Hay is the resource most worth guarding because they eat it all day. One rack for two rabbits is the most common avoidable cause of friction.
• Water: two sources. Same reasoning, lower stakes.
• Hides and tunnels: more than two, with through-routes. A tunnel with one entrance is a trap in a squabble; a tunnel with two is an escape route.

You need a way to separate them

Bonds break. It happens after illness, after one animal is taken to a vet and comes back smelling different, after neutering hormones shift, and sometimes for no reason an owner can identify. A broken bond between rabbits can escalate to serious injury quickly, so the practical requirement is a way to separate them today, not a plan to buy something.

The cheapest version: an extra exercise pen panel or two, kept aside, which can divide the enclosure into two halves. Mesh-divided halves are also how re-bonding is done, so the same kit does both jobs. This is the single most useful thing to have and not need.

What to buy for a pair

#	Product	Best for	Score	Price
1	Illustrative MidWest Homes for Pets 48 in Exercise Pen, 8 panels16 sq ft (2,304 sq in) enclosed as an octagon	Building a footprint that actually clears the published minimum	8.7out of 10	Check price on Amazon→ We do not print prices. #ad Disclosure
2	Illustrative Omlet Eglu Go Rabbit Hutch with 2m Run9ft 6in x 5ft 5in = about 51.5 sq ft of enclosed footprint	The shelter half of a compliant setup	8.5out of 10	View at Omlet→ We earn no commission here. #ad Disclosure
3	Illustrative Aivituvin AIR28 Rabbit Hutch with Large Run17.46 sq ft (2,514 sq in) as stated by the manufacturer	A large shelter inside a bigger pen	7.2out of 10	Check price on Amazon→ We do not print prices. #ad Disclosure

Scores are our own assessment of published specifications against the thresholds set out in how we assess products. They are not test results and not customer ratings. Tap a row to read the full assessment.

Exercise pens come first here for a reason specific to pairs: they are modular, so the enclosure can be divided and rejoined without buying different equipment. That is exactly the property you want when a bond is uncertain. Four pens make the footprint; a fifth divides it.

The assessments

Our pick · Building a footprint that actually clears the published minimum

MidWest Homes for Pets 48 in Exercise Pen, 8 panels

The cheapest honest route to the 64.5 sq ft minimum, because four of these pens joined together get you there and a single hutch never will.

✓ Clears our thresholdFour pens joined clear the 64.5 sq ft minimum; one does not

Dimensions

Eight panels, each 24 in wide by 48 in high; 16 sq ft enclosed

Continuous floor

16 sq ft (2,304 sq in) enclosed as an octagon

Bar spacing

Mesh aperture listed as 1.5 x 6 in

Material

Heavy-gauge wire with an e-coat finish

Expandability

Add-on panels sold separately; pens clip together into one footprint

What it gets right

• +16 sq ft per pen, and add-on panels let you build one large block rather than several small ones
• +48 in height clears the 3ft 3in RWAF asks for
• +Folds flat, so it can be moved or stored
• +Ground anchors are included, which most pens leave out

What it gets wrong

• −1.5 x 6 in mesh apertures are wide enough for a small or young rabbit to push through; line the lower section
• −No roof, so it is not predator-proof outdoors on its own
• −Wire floor is the ground, which means digging out unless you lay mesh underneath

Who should buy something else

Not an outdoor enclosure by itself. Without a roof and a dug-in mesh skirt it is an exercise area, not secure housing, and a fox will treat it as a bowl.

Specifications read from MidWest product listing on 27 September 2026. Floor-area arithmetic is ours and is shown above so you can redo it.

Illustrative

Our assessment8.7/10

• Footprint vs threshold10
• Predator resistance4
• Height9
• Material durability8
• Flexibility10

Check price on Amazon→

We do not print prices. #ad Disclosure

Number 2 · The shelter half of a compliant setup

Omlet Eglu Go Rabbit Hutch with 2m Run

The best-engineered shelter in the category, on a package footprint of about 51.5 sq ft that still falls 13 sq ft short of the 3m x 2m minimum RWAF and the RSPCA both publish.

≈ Clears part of it51.5 sq ft against the 64.5 sq ft minimum; needs a run extension

Dimensions

Hutch 2ft 6in x 2ft 5in x 1ft 11in; with the 2m run, 9ft 6in x 5ft 5in x 2ft 7.5in overall

Continuous floor

9ft 6in x 5ft 5in = about 51.5 sq ft of enclosed footprint

Bar spacing

Run is double-layer fully coated steel weld mesh; gauge not published

Material

UV-stabilized twin-wall polyethylene shelter, coated steel weld-mesh run

Predator and dig protection

Underfloor wire supplied to stop digging out; anti-tunnel base

What it gets right

• +Twin-wall polyethylene does not rot, does not harbour mite, and hoses clean
• +Double-layer coated weld mesh is a genuine step above stapled chicken wire
• +Underfloor wire against digging is supplied rather than sold separately
• +Run extensions are made to fit, so the footprint can be grown to the real minimum

What it gets wrong

• −51.5 sq ft as sold is short of the 64.5 sq ft RWAF asks for
• −Mesh gauge is not published, so you cannot check it against a fox before buying
• −The shelter alone, at 2ft 6in x 2ft 5in, is smaller than RWAF's 6ft x 2ft shelter figure
• −Costs more than a timber hutch of the same footprint

Who should buy something else

Not a complete enclosure straight out of the box, whatever the product page implies. Budget for at least one run extension from the start, or it will not clear the published minimum.

Specifications read from Omlet product listing on 27 September 2026. Floor-area arithmetic is ours and is shown above so you can redo it.

Illustrative

Our assessment8.5/10

• Footprint vs threshold7
• Predator resistance9
• Weather performance10
• Material durability10
• Cleaning10

View at Omlet→

We earn no commission here. #ad Disclosure

Number 3 · A large shelter inside a bigger pen

Aivituvin AIR28 Rabbit Hutch with Large Run

The largest timber hutch-and-run package we could verify at 17.46 sq ft, which is about 27 percent of the enclosure RWAF publishes as a minimum.

✗ Falls below our threshold17.46 sq ft against the 64.5 sq ft minimum

Dimensions

Manufacturer states 17.46 sq ft of inner space

Continuous floor

17.46 sq ft (2,514 sq in) as stated by the manufacturer

Bar spacing

Galvanized wire mesh; gauge and aperture not published

Material

Solid fir timber with waterproof asphalt roof and galvanized mesh

Dig protection

Wire mesh floor panel on the run section

What it gets right

• +17.46 sq ft of stated inner space is at the top of the timber hutch class
• +Two stories, so the shelter section is genuinely separate from the run
• +Asphalt roof and treated fir handle rain better than untreated pine hutches

What it gets wrong

• −17.46 sq ft is far below the 64.5 sq ft minimum, so this cannot be the whole enclosure
• −Mesh gauge and aperture are not published, which is the spec a fox cares about
• −Timber absorbs urine at the corners and needs re-treating annually
• −Wire mesh run floor is hard on rabbit feet without a solid mat over part of it

Who should buy something else

Wrong as a standalone home. It is a shelter, and it works only inside a pen that brings the footprint up to the published minimum.

Specifications read from Aivituvin product listing on 27 September 2026. Floor-area arithmetic is ours and is shown above so you can redo it.

Illustrative

Our assessment7.2/10

• Footprint vs threshold4
• Predator resistance6
• Weather performance8
• Material durability7
• Cleaning7

Check price on Amazon→

We do not print prices. #ad Disclosure

Height and shelter for two

RWAF's shelter figure of 1.8m x 0.6m x 0.6m is stated in the context of the same two-rabbit enclosure, so a 6ft x 2ft shelter is sized for a pair. In practice two shelters of half that length each work better than one of full length, because it removes the guarding problem entirely.

The 1m height requirement is unchanged and is the figure most products fail. Both bodies require enough height for a rabbit to stand on its hind legs without its ears touching the roof — see rabbit welfare minimums for the exact wording and the spinal reasoning behind it.