Outdoor bunny hutch - DIY

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Zephyre

Member
Joined
May 7, 2018
Messages
24
Reaction score
6
Hi!

I know most of the people advocate for pet rabbits to stay indoor, but in my case I absolutely could not convince my parents so I had to figure something out.
I now house Misha in an outdoor hutch. It is not perfect, but I did my best, and figured I could maybe help some people who also want/need to keep their bunnies outside by showing my setup. It is the third year I am using it, and it did its job pretty well. If anyone has any advice on how to modify things, please share.
The weather in my country is quite harsh, but all the better for people who read this, I guess, since your temperatures are not likely to be much worse.

First of all, this is a photo of how the hutch looks:
20200403_180957-01.jpeg
(yes, we also store the wheelbarrow there, but it has become her favourite hiding spot, so win-win I guess).

Temperature range: (-20 degrees Celsius) in winter to (+40 degrees Celsius) in summer.

However, these are as worse as it gets, and only for a few days every year. Winter averages (day+night) around -4 degrees and summer is around +25 degrees (again, day+night).

When it freezes I also add hay in the sleeping box and put a thick blanket over the hutch so that it covers the roof and the second floor floor. My vet also suggested adding an infrared heat lamp (the kind that is used for reptiles). I didn't get the chance to buy it yet, but it is something to keep in mind if the bunny is on the smaller side, if the winters in your area are colder, of if you just want your bun to be cozier. I never used microwaveable pads since the best I found only stayed warm for 6 hours, and I figured it would go cold just as the temperature reached their lowest at night, so it wouldn't do much good. I also never used electric pads because I was worried she would chew through the cables and/or pee on it.

I never did much for the heat of summer. She goes underneath the hutch where the tiles are cool and spends the hotter hours of the day there. I never saw signs of heatstroke, thank God. I do replace her water with cold one in the middle of the day though.

Here are some sketches showing the structure. I lost the original one and made these just for posting, so apologies if any important info is missing.
  • Setup of the whole run. We put the hutch against a wall so it would be better protected, and it was also built facing north so that it would be cooler in summer. The entire run has a roof of its own, so in summer the sun only really gets there at late afternoon. The big roof is imho a better idea than only having the hutch roof. It keeps the whole run dry, shaded and it also stops predators. The litterbox is outside now because she never used it when we placed it inside.
  • Front and side views of the hutch. The roof is slanted so it would be easier to open than with a flat roof. If you use the hutch without a big roof overhead, it also helps rain and snow fall down. The hutch is separated in two areas, one closed with wood panels, meant to better protect against the weather, and one with a net front. The sleeping box from the second floor also has a cat door so the wind doesn't get inside. It's her favourite :D
  • 3D view.
  • Insulation. The pink walls are the ones that are insulated. We sandwiched Styrofoam (I believe it was 4 cm thick) between wood panels for the sleeping boxes. Didn't add insulation for the roof though.

Here is a pic took while we were building the hutch:
20200403_214351.jpg

There is currently no step between the first and second floor. I planned to add one but I got excited and let Misha test the hutch when it was not yet finished and she had no issues hopping up and down so I postponed adding it. I have a smaller bun too (dwarf lop) and he could also jump up to the second floor but was scared to jump down. Consider adding a few extra steps depending on your bun's age and size.

If I were to change something about this setup, I would add a thin something (metal sheet?) underneath the insulation on the ground floor. When we built the hutch we thought the space between the ground and the floor was too small for her to crawl so we didn't bother sealing up the ground floor insulation. She constantly chews on it, to the point where I now wonder if there is any left. I keep finding small bits of Styrofoam all over her run. It is near impossible to replace now that the hutch is completed and will leave the ground floor without insulation.

Here are some other ideas I had while brainstorming ways to build this hutch. Maybe one of them will help you more.

If there are any questions I will be more than happy to answer them.


I hope these sketches will help. Like I said, it is the third year I am using it and had no major problems, even though the temperatures can get pretty wild. Didn't had any issues with any predators either, and Misha seems pretty happy overall.
Thanks for reading!
 
Good job on the hutch! I also keep my bun out side and just got done putting together a new hutch for her!
 
Good job on the hutch! I also keep my bun out side and just got done putting together a new hutch for her!

Thank you! Congrats on your new hutch! I hope she will be happy in it <3
 
Could you show a picture of the whole area -- including run-- so people can better see how much space they have? (Otherwise they may think they are confined to just the hutch.) ;)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top