2" inches good thx :o)
we allready have a fence for my dog, and the bunny eats on the other side of the fence (he eats the peanuts i leave for the birds) but now we are getting an inground pool and a fence that goes completely around our property, so i wont be able to see him anymore, so i figured if i leave a little space he can fit through and continue to enjoy the peanut treats. i will also be adding one of those small garden edger fences to keep my dog out of the peanuts. alot for a bunny i know but ive grown to like him very much, he lays out on my lawn and stretches his legs and just looks adorable :o)

HI again RS,
Will your dog try to get under that 2"? Also, something like coons and opposum, stray cats, etc. will also try to get under. Also.......I wonder if your little bunny friend could drown in the pool??

my dog has gained so much weight in the past few months that unless he digs he wont fit, and it will be closed off with the garden edging (small area with feeders so he cant eat, hes such a gavone lol)
well right now near the fence opening theres a space, id say about 2" and i dont think anything bothers to come in, but maybe because all the feeders are located outside the fence, now once i move all the feeders inside the fence that may change. ill try it out, if strange creatures start visiting i can always back fill it and close it up and say goodbye to the bunny and squirreloso.
rabbits can swim really well, and im purchasing a critter escape ramp that i found on a website just in case my dog gets daring, but i will be watching him 100 percent of the time. dang im so paranoid i may have to have hubby add another fence so the dog cant get to the pool. theres still so much planning, i want safety for everyone :o)

lol RS, I can relate to worrying about safety alot! It can really keep you busy, and wear you out!
I used to have bird feeders in my back yard, but the stuff that fell out attracted coons all the time. I finally had to quit using them, when I got chickens, and was afraid the birdseed would attract too many coons.
That's good to know that rabbits can swim. My daughter stopped her car on a bridge once, to look at a rabbit, and it jumped over the bridge! She ran over and it was gone. She was so afraid that it had drowned, but I imagine, it just swam away!
We added a fence to our backyard a few years ago. Actually, to keep the deer and rabbits out. The rabbits were eating all my flowers and plants. We lined the bottom of the fencing with extra chicken wire, because those rabbits can squeeze through just about anything. Then I worried that the frogs couldn't get in and out........but they do! I don't know how they do it, but they're alive and well and living in my stocktanks (where I grow lotus and lilies), and they're making tons more frogs!

i want a coon!...i dont think we have any here *shucks* lol
the rabbits ate all my marigolds, the deer broke my bird bath and they drain my fountain everynight. dang how much do they drink lol. but i dont mind, when they learn to use matches thats when ill get mad! but its nature they do what they can to survive and i see it as WE are on their turf.
thats good to know about the frogs getting through, my tadpoles should be turning within the next month, their back legs got so chubby lol.
are you on the pond board too? they kicked me out over there lol, i got into a scuffle with webfoot over poisonous plants, i know i should watch what i say with these boards but sometimes i cant help it lol i gotta put my 2 cents in :o)

I can send you LOTS of coons! lol!
Yes, I'm on the pond forum here, but don't spend alot of time. I usually just get on when I have a specific question.

A rabbit can fit through anything their skull can fit through. Measure his head and that'll tell you. Since he's your friend that shouldn't be a problem.

dragonthoughts lol you made me crack up with that
im crazy enough to do it but i can only get within 2 feet of him before he hops away
like catherine said 2" i think is fine

I'd opt for 3 to 3 1/2 inches. Catherine brings up a good point about the soft ground, however.

One of the few times I saw Nacho Beeler digging, he scratched up ground to rest in the newly rearranged cool soil under a shade bush. Most recently on Sunday, June 5th. We did take pictures of NachoBlr resting which'll put an a website link eventually. (1 or two of my indoor house companions SURE know how to dig in sturdy carpeting! :-) Two inches is great for little ones. Thinking ahead to adults, I'd opt to make the opening larger. Our gazebo occupants, in the winter, chewed a bigger space in the diagonal lattice panel pieces which have 3-inch openings. Their spines are fragile and they'd have to compact their legs enough to move thru a tiny opening and scoot to safety. Lemme tell ya, I've seen our big Papa house bunny squeeze through his Timber Hide-a-Way hole that measures 4 1/2". Amazing. Use your judgement when it comes to keeping out predatory animals, too, which are diggers... I'd make the 2" a bit larger.

but ive grown to like him very much, he lays out on my lawn and stretches his legs and just looks adorable - rs

They *are* adorable when they do that, FCF

rabbits can swim really well, and im purchasing a critter escape ramp that i found on a website just in case my dog gets daring, but i will be watching him 100 percent of the time. dang im so paranoid i may have to have hubby add another fence so the dog cant get to the pool. theres still so much planning, i want safety for everyone :o)
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RodeoSquirrel, Our neighbors have an inground pool. Sandi's fished out several baby critters and animals. Rabbits can swim well (well, sort of) if they see shore. If a rabbit falls into a pool and can't leap out, or doesn't head right to the walk-up steps and safety ramp, don't count on him having the stamina to tread water and swim long enough to save his life. Rabbits can swim if they need to, but prefer not to, or be stuck in a pool of water.

The people we purchased our house from had a sunken plastic pond. Grrrr. Nine feet in back of the garage. Mosquito breeding headquarters. Our son ended up retrieving several dead squirrels and chippies that fell into the pond and had no way to escape on a slippery surface. Didn't take us long to remove the death-trap. Smart idea to incorporate an escape ramp. Buy two.

oh the nightmares im having lol
yes 2 is a good idea one on each side. im also considering a beach entry, which sounds like a great option, but we will have to see how much more the pool will cost with it.
we are surrounded by inground pools here, theres one to our left and one to our back all within 30 ft from our yard. and these people dont even lock their gates, ive watched the deer walk around our neighbors pool, i had one hand on my mouth and the other over one eye watching in horror! but they were fine (for now) but i wish they would close their gate!
our other neighbor is ok and puts the latch on and i know they find mice in their pool often, never mentioned anything large though. but still i want the safest pool around.
ill have to measure my dogs head to see if he can fit through 3". hes a 13 lb pekingese, hes over weight hes only supposed to be about 9 lbs lol, hes only a year and a half and gaining weight by the day. its my 2 yr olds fault he throws food everywhere in places sometimes i dont know of and well Chip the peke finds it quicker than my eye ever could.
i guess everything will fall into place once the fence and pool are in, ill send a pic when its done bunny hole and all hehe, the rate their going i figure will have a nice cold swim in october, oye

I live out in the country. My neighbors almost lost a pig in their pool!! Fortunately, they came home in time, to find it, before it drowned!

omg! pot belly? or a huge farm pig? that has to be the biggest animal to land in a pool yet, yikes!

It was one of their big farm pigs! I wasn't there, but I guess it was a challenge getting the thing out!

It’s been 15 years since y’all had this convo...so? What size hole did you end up using? lol im trying to build a tunnel system & was looking for suggestions but caught up on how super cute this thread was. Hope the pool ended up being the safest & your RS, your 2yo is now 17? Wow! & OMG! Ive always wanted a pekingnese! FCF, you mentioned furmates? Did you create a digging area? I just want the best for my bunnies (holland lop and dwarf lionhead) plus, my fat (not really-just fur) shihtzu gets so excited when they play, id like for them to have a place to run when Chou gets too rough. I blame the bunz, as the two of them used to play punch the puppy when Chou first came home-now he’s bigger than both combined!

well, maybe i will get lucky and all y’all still follow this site.

regardless, at 430am, reading this thread and how super cute you all are will start my day off just perfect!