Rabbit Hutch

[Romeo-Girl]

My father is a good carpenter, he has his own business. He's agreed to make me a rabbit hutch. I know he'll make it up to standard and safe, he's already seen many photos of well-constructed hutches that are good for rabbits. My favorite image was this one: http://burnspetfooddirect.co.uk/images/45184_trixie_kleintierstall_1.jpg

I have a few questions as I've never housed rabbits outdoors. We have standard petstore cages for our rabbits and because they're so small, we let them have the run of the living room/kitchen during the day when we're home to supervise them.

We plan to have the hutch insolated so it stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Is it okay to house rabbits outside during the winter as long as there's insolation, hay, and a blanket? If it's too cold, I was going to look into whether it's too difficult or not to have a heating light/lamp safely built into the hutch for them. Is cedar safe to use to build it? Is there a safe water/urine repellant kind of stain to put on the wood so the rabbits' urine doesn't soak into it?

Underneath the hutch, where the ground is, we were going to lay down something like wood or the like, to prevent them from burrowing and escaping underneath. Is this a solid idea?

If there's anything else I should know, please advise me. I want nothing but the best for my rabbits and safety's first.

 

[majorv]

It's a nice looking rabbit house. I wouldn't use cedar, nor would I paint the wood, at least the part the rabbits can chew on. With the house being on the ground you'll be either moving it or crawling underneath to clean up poop, or you could teach them to use a litter box. Rabbits digging is a valid concern but I'm not sure about using wood for a floor. Also, with them living on the ground they'll be more suceptible to worms.

Our rabbits live outdoors. We have a more traditional hutch that's off the ground and we used pressure treated wood. We haven't lost a rabbit yet due to heat or cold. We use fans and water frozen in liter bottles in the summer to keep them cool. In winter we cover the sides of the hutch with either a tarp or plastic. During a hard freeze we bring them in the garage just to be safe.

 

[Sweetie]

All I can say is cedar is not safe for rabbits.

 

[Romeo-Girl]

majorv wrote:

It's a nice looking rabbit house. I wouldn't use cedar, nor would I paint the wood, at least the part the rabbits can chew on. With the house being on the ground you'll be either moving it or crawling underneath to clean up poop, or you could teach them to use a litter box. Rabbits digging is a valid concern but I'm not sure about using wood for a floor. Also, with them living on the ground they'll be more suceptible to worms.

Our rabbits live outdoors. We have a more traditional hutch that's off the ground and we used pressure treated wood. We haven't lost a rabbit yet due to heat or cold. We use fans and water frozen in liter bottles in the summer to keep them cool. In winter we cover the sides of the hutch with either a tarp or plastic. During a hard freeze we bring them in the garage just to be safe.

I didn't think we would stain the wood, it didn't seem safe, so my dad suggested making the floor a hard laminate (that can't be chewed)so the pee won't soak into the wood. I always teach my rabbits to use a litterbox, but often they miss or get careless. My dad is always good about making dog kennels/cages easy for cleaning, so I'll be sure to remind him that I'll have to be cleaning up poop. I'm small, so it's easy for me to be able to clean it even if I do have to move it around or crawl underneath.

We were planning on having them come inside during really bad cold spells in the winter, and I'm aware of havinga tarp to block the wind and such during the winter.

Thank you for the tips, this helps a lot.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

On the ground I'd use concrete paving stones. They're relatively cheap at the building supply and there's no risk of digging, they're easy to clean, and they'll stay cool in the summer.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Romeo-Girl]

funnybunnymummy wrote:

On the ground I'd use concrete paving stones. They're relatively cheap at the building supply and there's no risk of digging, they're easy to clean, and they'll stay cool in the summer.

Hope that helps!

Rue

That does help, thank you! I'll tell my dad about it, he's already come up with a million good ideas and I think this will just fuel him for more.