New Hutch

[Bill Jesse]

I am just finishing a rabbit hutch which I built from a stand up clothes cupboard. I placed it on its side and the two doors open up or down. It is 4 feet long inside and divided horizontally making it 2 feet wide and two feet high. (4x2x2) I put newspaper on the floor covered with hay. There is a litter box in the corner and water bottles. This is the first time I'll be keeping rabbits in a hutch as my other bunny runs free in the house and outdoors as long as I am there.

The hutch is located in my wood garden shed which is sealed against other critters albeit quite airy. As my new rabbits are rescues I do not want them living all the time in the hutches so am building an outdoor run for them where they will spend most of the time unless the weather is bad and at night.

It will be strange knowing they are in the hutch at night when my old bunny is in the house with me but that is the way it has to be. I hope they will adapt although they won't get the attention my bunny does now. There are 3 of them.

Any suggestions or hints will be appreciated.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Is the hutch built to be standing off the ground? That helps to repel bugs. You could build a ramp down into a chickenwired area under their pen, so as to maximize run area. Kind of like this: http://www.swish-uk.com/shopimages/products/thumbnails/rabbit hutch and run.jpg

You might consider caulking the outside cracks to prevent bugs and drafts.

A linoleum floor would prevent the wooden floor from rotting if somebunny misses the litter pan.

A peaked roof with a bit of a gutter or an overhang would be better than a flat-top roof, considering the rainy BC weather.

Another good place to look is in the outdoor hutch thread, pinned at the top of this section

If you can take a picture of your work in progress, I'm sure other folks will have plenty of suggestions

 

[Bill Jesse]

The hutch is in a garden shed so its not exposed to the weather. One of the buns is litter trained and the one which is not quite, will live in an area that is easily removeable for cleaning.

It sits on a shelf about 30" off the ground. The front is screened with 1" x 1" wire so any bugs would get in no matter. However we do not have many bugs and no mosquitoes which seems odd but true.

Now that I have decided to build a permanent run against the garden shed I realized I built my hutch on the wrong side. I could have made a doorway out from the hutch to the run. Not the end of the world though.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

lol, my apologies... I missed the part where it was already contained in a shed

Makes everything quite a bit easier, then!

You could still do a run under the shelf where they are so they have a bit of room to boogie about on inclement days.

 

[Bill Jesse]

Not to worry I usually read/miss every second word myself!!

Good idea about the run although it is quite small and as its my garden shed I have garden junk under there. But the rabbits are numero uno and I'll have to find a place for that garden junk. Will try to figure how to post a picture.