Rabbit Shed - Please help (Breeders especially)

[Nela]

Well, it is confirmed. I will not be housing Smores and Maybelle togetheranytime soon. Now my question is this:

We have a really nice shed, double doors, big enough, quite cute. I have been eyeing this shed since the day I saw it and I keep thinking I would love to house the buns in there. I do have a few concerns though, especially with climate control. I'll post the questions here and see if anyone can help...

- How do you guys control the bugs? I wouldn't want bugs getting into their food or hutches, etc. I would also want something that's more of a repellant (and safe of course), I don't really want to kill the bugs if possible.

- The shed has an outlet inside so I was thinking I could plug a fan in there or even AC if necessary. Of course I could also throw in frozen water bottles and other things that could help keep them cool. Would this be a good idea? How safe is it to leave things plugged in a shed?

- Same question as above, only this time it concerns a heater... I don't think that would be too safe. How do you keep your buns warm enough? I know they need hay and all but anything else? I'm guessing if you heat it it must rack up quite an electricity bill?

- If they were housed in the shed and I left the double doors open during the day, would they get enough fresh air you think?

- I have a hutch I can keep outside the shed. Would it be a problem if I rotated the bunnies and gave them each a day in the outdoor hutch?



Hmmm okay those are the questions that come to mind right now. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to share. I really appreaciate the help.

 

[TinysMom]

What is your normal temperature range there throughout the year?

 

[irishbunny]

So are you letting them just have full run of the shed? Or keeping them seperate? Breeding them? I am kind of confused lol! Going to add more bunnies?

 

[Nela]

Oh no no, I will have hutches for them. I'm not planning on getting into breeding but I *may* add in the future. I was thinking of guinea pigs as well but I have to finish my research on that to see if it would be safe. Of course they wouldn't be housed together though they'd be in the same shed. Would that be a problem anyway?

In general, I'm basically looking for a better setup as I'd prefer not having multiple hutches in the yard itself if possible. Right now, with the situation with Smores and Maybelle, it would mean having two hutches in the yard. So I was thinking of getting a double hutch and putting it in the shed, and then allowing them to run in the yard (under supervision).

Peg temperature conditions are as follows (and confirmed by Jeff):


The Netherlands has a maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. The average temperature is 2° C (36° F ) in January and 19° C (66° F ) in July, with an annual average of about 10° C (50° F ). Clouds generally appear every day, and in the winter months fog often abounds, while rainfall occurs frequently. Average annual rainfall is about 76.5 cm (30 in). The mild, damp climate is ideal .

 

[Nela]

Oh I wanted to add that the house isn't off limits. Even if it is raining and they can't run outside let's say,I can bring them inside to play.The only reason for not wanting to house them indoors isdue to how sick I get.

 

[irishbunny]

The temps are kind of similiar to Ireland Bugs in the hutches should not be a problem as long as the hutches are kept clean. They don't have to be perfectly clean all the time, but make sure they get a full hutch clean out once a week if you aren't using litter trays and using shavings as bedding. I have never had a problem with bugs with my bunnies that are out doors (some in a shed some outside). Flies are normally not a problem either as long as the hutch is again kept clean, and their bowls washed regularly. As well as checking the buns at least once a week, especially in the Summer, to make sure they don't have any poop stuck to them which could lead to fly strike. You might find the odd bug or two in their hutches, but never a bit load of them in my experience anyway.

The Summers do not sound very hot at all, In Ireland a roasting, hot day for us is like 26 degrees celcius (78 fahrenheit) and the bunnies barely seem pushed about it, I just make sure they have shade and cold water, and sometimes give them a frozen bottle of water to lean against but they hardly use it. Having a fan might be nice for very hot days, but AC would not be needed. The fan would only have to be plugged in on a few occasions and by the sounds of your average temps, just for a few hours during the hottest parts of the days. 12pm-6pm in Ireland, not sure about your country though.

During the Winter, it can sometimes get to very cold temps, we had a very bad Winter last year where it got to -10, but the bunnies weren't bothered at all. They grow a thick Winter coat and felt so warm and toasty 2 degrees is not too low at all and they would be totally fine in it. When the weather was -10, I had hay and blanket and warm food in their enclosed part of the cage but they still prefered to lay out in the open part of the hutch not phased at all. A heater wouldn't be neccessary and may do more harm then good. It wouldn't be safe to have it plugged in while your not home really, heaters can be dangerous and it is very bad for rabbits to go from warm to cold quickly. A lot of people buy Snuggle Safes for really cold nights.

www.zooplus.co.uk has them, they deliver to most of Europe so will most likely deliver to you. You can have a look and see plus they have a lot of other cool stuff on there

Rotating the bunnies doesn't sound like it would do much harm, although I think the scent of the other bunny before them may annoy them and they would spend a lot of their time scent marking and trying to make it their ''place''. I'm not totally sure about that one.

Everything above is all my personal experience over the last few years, hope it helps!

 

[Nela]

Thanks Grace! Your post helped a lot. I'm not sure that the temperature is really that mild but it's not extreme either. I will discuss this with Jeff and see what he thinks. Thanks again for replying :biggrin:

 

[Nela]

I have discussed it with Jeff and I now have the shed for the bunnies :biggrin2:He has offered to install a weather station so I can monitor the shed temperature from inside the house as well. We have discussed the windows on the shed and in the summer we will place screen windows to allow better circulation to help with the heat and I can plug in a fan in there as well without a problem. For the winter, we will have full windows and since it doesn't get cold enough, it really shouldn't be much of an issue. I will also definitely look into getting the snuggle safe that Grace mentionned as back up as well.

I have found a hutch that can either be used to house 2 separate bunnies or simply have 2 stories. The floor is lockable so I can play with it. It's 125x46x114cm so it may not be the hugest but please keep in mind that these buns will get plenty of run time as they will not be spending all their days in the hutch. I also have my current hutch that can be used. All hutches will receive the same modifications the current one got. Meaning, I will mesh them to make them safer from predators as well as add locks on them.

I am very very very happy right now :yahoo::clapping::bunnydance:

 

[Nela]

Jeff surprised me this morning and ordered the double hutch :wiggleHe foundthe other modelthat was a bit deeper so he got that one instead. They only charged 2.95 euros for shipping :biggrin2:

 

[TinysMom]

Jeff sounds like a real keeper.....give him a big hug from the forum.

 

[Nela]

Thanks Peg, he definitely is! I can't wait to get the hutch! :biggrin2:

 

[Nela]

The hutch is here woot woot!!! :bunnydance: Good thing too because they are making me quite sick now with them being 3 I can't wait to have everything setup.

Here's a picture of the rabbit house/shed:

I'm hoping to add flowerboxes under the windows in the future. We'll be looking into ways to fix the windows to help with airflow. The one issue with it is that it is in the sun so it can get hot in there. I'll have to make sure to open those doors in the morning and provide them with a fan/frozen bottle on the hot days.