curiouscarrot
Well-Known Member
Sorry for all these questions, but I know nothing...
My adopted bunnies have come with 2 hutches. One is a little house with an upstairs "bedroom" at one end, and a low run underneath the bedroom and an "outdoor area" (about 50cm high) at the other end. Both the outdoor area and the bedroom area have a roof. I've put that in the garden. The other is a metal cage with removable plastic bases, and a "nesting box" on one end. That is open on the top.
Our climate is mild, it doesn't get really cold. At night, in winter it is "really cold" if it gets down to about 5 celsius (41F), sometimes it'll get below that, but rarely. Mostly it might get as low as 8. It does get hot in summer, over 40 (104F) is not uncommon.
I don't yet know whether the hutch roof is completely sound above the bedroom. It doesn't rain often (we are in chronic drought) but it does rain. There are no eaves to speak of, so any wind will probably blow rain into the run (although the new fly wire should stop some of it). I've got hay on the floor which will probably get wet when it rains. The hutch is currently on the ground, so there'd be a bit of damp, but I'm looking at raising it up, either with some pavers, or a constructed floor on legs. At the moment, I've meshed the base and put in a partial floor of marine plywood.
The family I got them from had the indoor cage to bring them in in summer when it gets hot in the hutch. As the cage is open on top, any hot air would vent, but in winter they'd be exposed to draughts (before I set up the hutch, I just covered it with a fabric cover, it is under my carport adjoining the house (house wall on one side, garage door on another, fence with open bit at the top of the fence on the third side and completely open on the other side).
I'm trying to get organised so there are no dramas. Would another timber hutch under the carport be a good idea to put them in during winter when it rains, or am I worrying unnecessarily and they'll be fine outside, even if there's a bit of moisture about, or in their other cage with a cover over? I quite like the idea of having options to move them into when cleaning or something breaks or one needs quarantine or whatever, the question is whether the open cage is sufficient for that purpose or I need something warmer.
Also, I'm a bit confused about "bedding" and litter trays and... I've just put hay in the bottom area, to cover the wire mesh so they aren't on it. I put their litter tray with some recycled newspaper litter in a corner of the bottom outside area, but they'd pooed upstairs, so I put another in the corner they'd pooed in up there. The upstairs has a slide out metal-lined tray underneath and it's all marked so they've obviously "done their business" on it and not in a litter tray. I put some absorbent hemp "bedding" that I got up there. The family that used to have them had them in pine shavings and she'd put hay in the litter tray. If they are going to poo wherever they like, do I need the litter trays? Will they start using them if I leave them in there? Should hay be in there? (If there's hay everywhere, how can they tell the difference between their "loungeroom" and their toilet??) If they've chosen to poo "upstairs" can I take out the "downstairs loo"? They seem to jump in there, but don't look like they are going to the toilet, just hanging out. I'm a bit confused about what materials are meant to go where, and what arrangements for their toileting I need to provide.
Thanks.
My adopted bunnies have come with 2 hutches. One is a little house with an upstairs "bedroom" at one end, and a low run underneath the bedroom and an "outdoor area" (about 50cm high) at the other end. Both the outdoor area and the bedroom area have a roof. I've put that in the garden. The other is a metal cage with removable plastic bases, and a "nesting box" on one end. That is open on the top.
Our climate is mild, it doesn't get really cold. At night, in winter it is "really cold" if it gets down to about 5 celsius (41F), sometimes it'll get below that, but rarely. Mostly it might get as low as 8. It does get hot in summer, over 40 (104F) is not uncommon.
I don't yet know whether the hutch roof is completely sound above the bedroom. It doesn't rain often (we are in chronic drought) but it does rain. There are no eaves to speak of, so any wind will probably blow rain into the run (although the new fly wire should stop some of it). I've got hay on the floor which will probably get wet when it rains. The hutch is currently on the ground, so there'd be a bit of damp, but I'm looking at raising it up, either with some pavers, or a constructed floor on legs. At the moment, I've meshed the base and put in a partial floor of marine plywood.
The family I got them from had the indoor cage to bring them in in summer when it gets hot in the hutch. As the cage is open on top, any hot air would vent, but in winter they'd be exposed to draughts (before I set up the hutch, I just covered it with a fabric cover, it is under my carport adjoining the house (house wall on one side, garage door on another, fence with open bit at the top of the fence on the third side and completely open on the other side).
I'm trying to get organised so there are no dramas. Would another timber hutch under the carport be a good idea to put them in during winter when it rains, or am I worrying unnecessarily and they'll be fine outside, even if there's a bit of moisture about, or in their other cage with a cover over? I quite like the idea of having options to move them into when cleaning or something breaks or one needs quarantine or whatever, the question is whether the open cage is sufficient for that purpose or I need something warmer.
Also, I'm a bit confused about "bedding" and litter trays and... I've just put hay in the bottom area, to cover the wire mesh so they aren't on it. I put their litter tray with some recycled newspaper litter in a corner of the bottom outside area, but they'd pooed upstairs, so I put another in the corner they'd pooed in up there. The upstairs has a slide out metal-lined tray underneath and it's all marked so they've obviously "done their business" on it and not in a litter tray. I put some absorbent hemp "bedding" that I got up there. The family that used to have them had them in pine shavings and she'd put hay in the litter tray. If they are going to poo wherever they like, do I need the litter trays? Will they start using them if I leave them in there? Should hay be in there? (If there's hay everywhere, how can they tell the difference between their "loungeroom" and their toilet??) If they've chosen to poo "upstairs" can I take out the "downstairs loo"? They seem to jump in there, but don't look like they are going to the toilet, just hanging out. I'm a bit confused about what materials are meant to go where, and what arrangements for their toileting I need to provide.
Thanks.