Bunny Hutch Floor Covering

[Bill Jesse]

I cover the floor with hay over newspaper but am getting tired of very dusty hay which is also affecting my girls. I have tried everywhere to get seagrass mats that have not been dyed but to no avail. Would an untreated cocoa mat work or would it be dangerous? I am sure they would chew it, They are almost 5 years old and not litter box trained. They are outdoors in a hutch almost 8 hours a day.

 

[Blue eyes]

Is it a wood flooring? Have you tried wood pellets for litter/bedding?
Sea grass mats will be chewed up, of course. And if your buns aren't litter trained, the mats will get peed and pooped on before they can be consumed, so that would probably just make a smelly mess and not serve as any odor control.

 

[Bill Jesse]

The floor of the hutch is engineered floor strips/panels. The type which snap together. The rabbits do not actually touch them as there is a layer of wood pellets covered by newspaper and covered with hay. The hay and newspaper are changed daily.
I understand what you mean by soiling the mats. Even if I could put them in an area where they do not pee on them it would help.
In my two other pens I have an area with fleece which is good but I do check it to make certain they do not chew it.

 

[Blue eyes]

You've piqued my curiosity. Is there a way you can post a photo of your set up?

 

[Bill Jesse]

I do not have any photos yet. Briefly I found an old armoire and took the door panels off and replaced them with mesh. I turned it on its side and put a floor for a second hutch. It is about 4 feet long. The floor is removable and covered with engineered floor covering which is water proof. On the floor I put down a layer of pine pellets and cover them with layers of newspaper. I put hay on top of that. The hay and newspapers get changed out every day. I go through a lot of hay and newspapers. Thankfully I can recycle the paper. The "bottom" floor (which really is the side of the armoire) is done the same. Hope that helps.

 

[Blue eyes]

I think I get the picture. I actually made a cage out of an old oven cabinet turned on its side. I used actual tile (and grouted) for the floor. Have you considered putting rolled linoleum down on the floor to make it wipe-able?

If you do that, I bet you could also litter train those rabbits.
With a solid floor of something like linoleum and a large litter box that had the pellets topped with hay, I bet they would get the hang of it fairly quickly. They won't want to 'go' on the solid floor and will likely hop into the tray -- especially if you put some of their used pellets in the box too.

If they litter train, it would be sooo much easier for you. Then you'd only need to pull the litter box out and dump it, sweep the floor, and, voila!, clean cage!

 

[Bill Jesse]

The engineered flooring is water and stain proof but the pee never gets that far. The pine pellets would absorb it. Actually the pine pellets do not get changed often as they are very seldom wet.
If I put a litter box in it would take up too much room I think. One hutch has 2 bunnies and although they are outdoors most of the time there are times when they must stay in.
I had seen a large box with litter in it but there was a plastic grate/grill over the litter. The kind of grate you seen under fluorescent lights. Hay was on top.
I have tried litter boxes but they are usually tossed around and a big box would be a room problem. Although I wish they were litter trained.

 

[Blue eyes]

Just for comparison sake, I'll attach a photo of my oven-cabinet cage. You can see the size of the litter box in the cage. The placement and size of the box rather prevent it from being tossed about.
Is this anything similar to what yours could be like?
I've got 2 buns sharing that cage but are only locked up at night.

 

[Bill Jesse]

My hutch is almost the same. Yours is very nice and I presume it is indoors and it looks like you have a second floor for the bunnies. Mine is wood and although it is inside it is in a bunny barn, a small shed I converted for their use. Lying on its side I have a floor separating the two as one bunny lives alone downstairs and two live upstairs. The upstairs has a ledge for them to go on but the one downstairs is removed. That little bunny had/has EC and cannot jump up to it.
My bunnies are only inside at night or if I am not home which is seldom. They have outdoor pens.
A litter box like yours would be nice but it would take up half of their running space as they do run. However having said that I should really try a box. They do use one end of the pen now to do their business so it might be doable.
Thanks for the photo. Looks pretty deluxe. Never heard of an oven cabinet though.

 

[Blue eyes]

Thanks. If yours are already pretty much going on one end, then, yeah, you'll probably be able to get them trained without too much trouble. I have found my cage to be so easy to clean. I've had other types of cages (NIC, etc) but have found this one to be the easiest.

The 'oven cabinet' is just a kitchen cabinet that is made so that an oven can be inserted into it. My husband does kitchen remodels, so that's how we got it. Making the cage was a fun project. Since we already had some materials on hand, it only cost about $25.
And, yes, mine are indoors. It is rare they go outside since we live in the desert and it is just too hot most of the year. We're still having daytime highs around 90F here in mid-October.

If you ever get the chance to take photos, I'd still like to see how that works with your cage and the shed and outdoor pen. Sounds like an interesting set up.

 

[Bill Jesse]

I am in the Pacific Northwest and the bunnies do get out 12 months of the year. We do get rain and very occasionally snow. My outdoor pens look awful at this time of the year because I cover them with industrial tarps to keep them dry.
I will try to take some photos and it would be easier if I emailed them to you. Let me know at [email protected]
Thanks

 

[Blue eyes]

sent you an email