Advice for new shed for rabbits

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MichiganMike

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I'm in the beginning stages of planning a new barn/shed for my wife for rabbits and could use some guidance. We had originally talked about sectioning off an area of the chicken coop for rabbits, but due to noise, dust, and other concerns I'm leaning towards putting up a 10x20 or 12x24 gambrel style shed/mini-barn and keeping it as a dedicated rabbit house. While we did talk about it in the fall, she knows very little and I plan to surprise her when she is away for a weekend.

What I'm looking for is the ideal flooring, windows, etc. If you were doing it, what would you want?

Do rabbits need an outdoor run with shade like chickens? I know they dig, so I figure trenching and burying fencing should keep them from digging under.

Flooring inside the building- what's ideal? Concrete, wood, etc. My wife grew up with rabbits, I remember her saying cages are hard on their feet (hocks?).

I'm sure I'll be adding to this, thanks for the help!
 
Is housing them outdoors a must? You may have noticed that many here on RO house our rabbits indoors. By housing indoors, one can develop a real bond with the rabbits. They become family pets. It is quite amusing to see how they binky and dash about. Perhaps indoor housing is something you are willing to consider? If so, you could get creative with indoor housing instead.

I'll attach a photo of a cage we made using an old kitchen oven cabinet. Please know, though, that we keep the cage door open all day long. Otherwise, this size would be too small to house a rabbit.

Your wife is correct that wired flooring can be hard on bunny feet. But those of us who house our rabbits indoors just litter train (very easy) and the cage floor is solid.

Oh. Looks like I found a collage photo. The cage is in the upper right of that.

I'll also attach a video showing how bunnies like to dash about on the carpet indoors.

Just some things to consider. :)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf7cT5HnGKU[/ame]

collage Mocha & S inside low reso.jpg
 
I had been considering keeping the rabbits indoor, she had rabbits growing up all the way through college and they were all indoor- even when she moved with me the rabbit lived with my dog and they got along great 24/7 (my boxer is an incredible dog- used to lick her mini-rex like it was her baby). The Vet was even amazed at the pictures of them together. The problem is now we have a cat too, and I don't trust him at all. Having 3 kids under the age of 7 raises the odds of the cat getting to the rabbit. Anyone maybe have experience with them coexisting?

If the cat wasn't an issue, I'd be happy to keep them inside. I know they can be litter box trained (other than poop, which my dog usually got to before I could), I figured with a large shed they'd have tons of room to run and play.
 
Our dogs have always gotten along with our rabbits too. :)

I don't have any cats, but there are several on here that do have cats. Here is a short thread showing some cats and rabbits together. It is not at all uncommon for them to get along. Probably more rare for them to not get along.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=87915&highlight=cats
 

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