Hutch Building... Im Crazy.

So after spending all morning searching for a hutch to buy for tundra and hating the prices (300$ for anything close to what I wanted.) My boyfriend decides we can totally build one with all the scrap wood and material around our farm!

I have zero idea how well this will turn out but we are excited! haha Hopefully Tundra loves our effort! Ill keep you guys updated on the final product!

Plus side, Boyfriend also agreed to adopting a second bunny friend for Tundra! We are currently debating between a Holland Lop or a Mini Rex!

Have an awesome day guys!

PS: Has anyone ever built their own outside hutch and run area?

Here is a good representation of decent outdoor housing:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXKe5tuw47A[/ame]

Is Tundra fixed? I wouldn't make the decision yourselves about which rabbit to get as a companion. That is something Tundra needs to decide. Once fixed he/she should meet other fixed rabbits to pre-screen for potential compatibility. It is ultimately up to Tundra as to which companion will be acceptable.

Getting a second bun will also complicate things. You would want to do the bonding in a neutral area (where neither bunny has been). If you are building a new cage, you don't want either rabbit in the new cage until they are fully bonded. Otherwise one rabbit may stake claim to that cage as being their own territory. They should both be fully bonded and then introduced to the new hutch at the same time.

Also once bonded, if they are happily living in the new outdoor hutch, bringing them indoors at night could cause territorial issues. It is a separate territory from the outdoor area. Plus, Tundra has already claimed the indoor area. This may not work well.

It's always a good idea for outdoor bunnies to have a bondmate since they get less human time. But it can also complicate matters (need to be bonded, changing environments can cause issue).

Tundra is fixed yes and I would have the second one done as well! they will not be together permanently until I have fully bonded them. I do plan to bring Tundra inside at night or locked in the safe upper area of the hutch to avoid any potenial predators trying to get at her. We will be moving slowly with a second bunny it wont be any time soon.

Aah. You might want to consider - when it does come time for bunny #2 - to let Tundra meet some already fixed rabbits. If you just get "a 2nd rabbit" and then have it fixed later, there is no way to know whether or not they will ever bond. Getting them fixed does not ensure a bond. It is very possible, if you get an intact rabbit and then have it fixed, that the two will refuse to bond. In that case, you'd have to house both separately - two hutches, two everything.

Just making sure you are aware of the risks of not pre-screening among other fixed rabbits.

:yeahthat:
Case in point: I am now on my third and last attempt to bond a rabbit to my stubborn and rude Cali. I truly believe it's harder to bring a male home to a female than vice versa. They are so territorial.

Actually, my dad did build a rather fantastic hutch for Butterscotch and Ellie when they lived on the farm. He basically made a large rectangle base, and made half of it a floor, and the other half 1 cm hardware cloth. He made little boxes inside for them to sleep in, and used 4x4 boards for each of the sides. He also made a divider in the middle so each bun had it's own side. The 4x4's in the front are higher than the ones in the back (so the roof would slant). On the back side of the hutch, he used solid wood, and on the sides and the front, he used more of the hardware cloth to make it cage-y. He made a square section on each side with a hole in the middle, and used hinges for the doors (also solid wood), and one of those bolt-locks to secure it. He finished it off with tin on the roof.

This is the only photo I have of it currently. I will get better pictures tomorrow. As you can see, Butterscotch and Ellie live outside. Dad and my husband built a roofed rabbit condo for them, and we do still use the hutch for closing them in at night. The plastic (which is just feedsacks from the farm stapled onto the hutch) is on the outside to keep the wind out since it's still chilly here. (I live in West Virginia, USA)

Since they've been spayed and neutered, Butterscotch and Ellie are inseparable. They refuse to use each side of the hutch, and they both just live in Ellie's side. We tried the whole keeping them inside the house thing, but our Holland Lop, Pippi, became super territorial, my allergies went absolutely haywire, and Butterscotch and Ellie became really depressed because they weren't outside. Once the condo was built, and we put them into it, they went nuts! We have an area that they can dig and a concrete pad where they like to sunbathe. They love chasing each other, and hopping up and down the stairs to the garage, and hiding under the stairs. Sometime this summer (hopefully sooner though!), I hope to expand the pen area so that they can munch on the fresh grass. ^_^ That area will probably not be roofed, so the grass can still get sunlight, and I'll just let them in the section when I'm home.

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BlueMoonBunnies said:

Tundra is fixed yes and I would have the second one done as well! they will not be together permanently until I have fully bonded them. I do plan to bring Tundra inside at night or locked in the safe upper area of the hutch to avoid any potenial predators trying to get at her. We will be moving slowly with a second bunny it wont be any time soon.

Click to expand...

I'm in the minority here, as I think 'bunny dating' pre adoption is stressing, potentially dangerous as you are exposing your rabbit to others who could be ill (most rescues refuse to do it now, in France and I wouldn't put two rabbits together without a quarantine for the new guy) and useless (you are not on your rabbit's territory, the travel and strange place / people / rabbits means that your rabbit won't act like she would in a normal setting, and she has no understanding of what she is 'agreeing' to). I never did it and never had a problem with bonding male / female desexed couples.
How you do it is up to you, but considering everyone seemed to give you the opposite advice, I thought I would give my point of view too.
This conversation already took place on several other posts, you can find them on the forum if you want the full argument on each side ^^.
What I'm more worried about is your plan to bring Tundra inside at night. If you are planning to do that everyday and that by 'inside' you mean inside the house, it's not a good idea. You can't get a rabbit inside and outside all the time, you will get her sick as she won't be able to get used to the temperatures, especially during the colder months. A rabbit is either an inside or an outside rabbit. She needs to get a coat that is adapted to the temperatures and she can't do that if she is in hot / cold places all the time. What you can do is having a hutch in an outbuilding or something where there is no heater. Locking her inside the hutch sounds more reasonable to me, you just have to rodent/cold/wind-proof it well so that the rabbit is kept safe and comfortable. There are several topics on the subject, and I can't really help you about this as my rabbits have always all be house rabbits.

This is the Hutch i have made. Furby and Snickers love it.

Hi guys thanks for all the advice!

Pre-screening Tundra to meet others is impossible based on where I live. I would have to take her four hours to a city to even attempt that and then like the other member mentioned I risk it being a total flop because they aren't in a home territory! I understand the risks of bonding and if it doesn't work out I have full intentions to house separately and be okay with that!

As for the bringing her inside at night, she will never live outside in winter. It's simply way to cold (-45 C is one of our coldest temps we've reached) so the hutch housing is only a summer time thing. I could lock her up in the hutch at nights in the summer but the temp difference outside and in my house is fairly similar so I don't see a huge problem there. Of course if I notice her stressing or not doing well I'll adapt to what suits her needs!

Again thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it!

Taylor & Tundra