Some indoor cages come with wheels for easy portability and if you live in a single story home with only a few stairs, the cage/hutch can easily go back and forth between the indoors and outdoors.  Depending on how you convert the cage, it’s also possible to add handles to the cage/hutch roof, allowing you to pick it up and carry it back and forth, provided of course it doesn’t weigh too much.

You’ll have to have some basic carpentry skills to do this, but if it is an idea that appeals to you, you can also select a wire dog cage for the conversion.  Wire dog cages have the distinct advantage of being much taller, allowing a truly skilled person to create a second floor living quarters for that precious pet.  While no dog cages come with wheels, wheel caster assemblies can be attached to the bottom of the cage.  How would you start?

First, check the Internet or your local pet supply center to see examples of commercially available wooden rabbit hutches for outdoor use.  All you’re looking for here is ideas.  Visualize your final design and then sketch out the details of each step on paper. 

The first step will be to enclose the wire cage with a wooden frame of 2 x 4 or even 1 x 2 lumber.  For the walls you’ll most likely want to use exterior plywood, attached to the frame.  If you have the skills you can top the wooden shell with an A frame style roof.  A simpler alternative is to extend the framing lumber on one side higher than the other and then attach a sheet of plywood to create a slanted, shed style roof.  Regardless of which you use, you can shingle the roof for better protection and beauty, although it will add to the weight of the hutch if your plan calls for mounted handles to pick the hutch up and move it.  For a lighter alternative, you can cover the roof with sheet plastic.

 The floors of both indoor rabbit cages and door cages are made of welded wire, and in the case of rabbit cages, with drop pans underneath.  Some dog cages don’t have drop pans, and in either case, your cage/hutch will be resting on the ground so the drop pan can be eliminated when outdoors.  Cleaning then is a simple matter of moving the cage and collecting the rabbit’s droppings.  Welded wire is generally spaced so wide that it can provide a painful surface for some  rabbits to walk on.  You can either install a narrow mesh wire, like hardware cloth, directly over the existing wire, or you can cover a portion of the floor with wood or plastic.  Avoid a continuous solid wood floor as rabbit urine may soak into the wood and begin producing ammonia like fumes over time.  This is a tough project, but you’ll be proud of your creative result if you decide to do it.

If you’re searched the Internet using either “rabbit cage” or “rabbit hutch” you know many commercial pet web sites use the terms interchangeably.  All commercially available indoor rabbit cages are made of wire and although some owners make use of larger cages both indoors and outdoors, special precautions need to be taken if you do.

If your home is a single story with minimal stairs, some wire cages have wheel casters mounted to their bases for easy portability, and transforming the indoor cage into an outdoor rabbit hutch is a simple matter.  However, wire cages are completely open and even though you might be able to place the cage in a shady area of your yard to protect the rabbit from the sun, the pet will also need to be protected from the wind.  At best, wire cages used outdoors have their place if you prefer to space out major purchases and want to wait before investing in a rabbit hutch.  For long term use, you really need to get a commercially available rabbit hutch created specifically for outdoor use.

Outdoor rabbit hutches are available in a wide variety of styles and price ranges.  There are single story and two story and even three story styles.  They’re typically constructed of wood treated with weather resistant preservatives.  Some of the better ones have asphalt shingles on attractive sloped roofs.  What should you look for to get the best hutch for your new rabbit?

The average life span of a domesticated pet rabbit is 8 to 9 years, although smaller rabbits well cared for have been known to live as long as 14 years, so you’re going to need to pay careful attention to the quality of construction.  Saving a little money in the initial purchase of a cheaply made rabbit hutch almost guarantees you’ll need to replace it within the time you can expect your pet rabbit to share with your family. 

Size is also a primary concern.  Rabbits like to run and the best rabbit hutches have large enclosed exercise areas along with the living quarters.  Exercise yards can be found on both single story and two story models.  Generally speaking, the bigger the better, with a minimum size of 1.5 – 2 meters a better rule of thumb than the standard advice of four times the size of the rabbit.  Many very attractive commercially available rabbit hutches are simply too small.

Rabbits love to chew, so make sure any wood components the rabbit can get at are safe.  Cedar is a special concern, as it contains harmful resin oils.  While many rabbit hutches have wire floors in the living quarters to make owner clean up easier, they are uncomfortable for the rabbit to walk on.  The better ones have split floors, with a section of solid surface on which to walk. 

The final and perhaps most important consideration is safety from predators.  If you live in an area of free roaming predators, you may need to take additional measures to secure the hutch to the ground so it can’t be tipped or so that predators can’t dig under it to get at your precious pet.

If you have basic woodworking skills and tools as well as the ability to study a picture of a structure and determine how it was constructed, you can design and build your own Rabbit Hutch.  What proud rabbit owner would not want to stand back and point to his creation, exclaiming “I built that totally on my own.”  Besides the obvious pride benefit you would get from building your own, there are a variety of functional benefits to be gained as well.

You can tailor the size of the hutch and the number of separate compartments it contains to the number and size of the rabbits you own.   Perhaps the most significant functional benefit to be gained is safety.  Generic Rabbit Hutch plans are generally “one size fits all” in order to be attractive to as many potential users in the market as possible.  Designers of these plans are totally unaware of your unique situation when it comes to the type of predators your Rabbit may encounter in your outdoor environment.  

If you have to worry about large dogs, your design can include reinforced post foundations to eliminate the possibility of the hutch being tipped over.  For environments where cats and raccoons may come snooping around, you can use hardware cloth enclosures around the base, instead of the larger open welded wire recommended in most Rabbit Hutch plans.

If you feel you are not up to the task of designing and building your own Rabbit Hutch you can turn to the Internet as a source of building plans.  Some are free, and others you will have to pay for.  Some are for wood hutches, others are for wire hutches.   You may be aware that many experts feel wire hutches are superior to those constructed of wood.  Without debating that point, you should know that building your own wire hutch from plans is far more difficult and requires more specialized tools than a wooden hutch.  Why?

Wood is easy to cut and join together, while wire is not.  For a wire hutch you’ll need special pliers to bend the wire to the dimensions you need and special joining hardware and additional pliers to join and secure the hutch enclosure.  Wood can be cut with any saw and joined with screws, staples, or non-toxic glue.  Regardless of whether you opt for a plan for a wooden hutch or a wire hutch, there are things you need to look for in a good building plan.

If you’ve already searched the Internet you know there are plans out there that are little more than a series of written steps, with no illustrations or diagrams.  Do not try to build a hutch from a plan unless the plan has clearly illustrated step by step instructions.  As a check, build the hutch in your mind as you read through the steps in the plan.  If you find logical inconsistencies or discover materials you might need that do not appear on the plan’s materials needed list, exit the site and go look for another plan.  Good luck with your hutch!

More often than not house rabbits have access to the garden, out onto lawns and patios, even if you are in the house watching or busy in the garden some foxes are bold enough to take pet rabbits. Pet rabbits are of course most at risk after dark and you should never let your house rabbits outside at night.

You must also make sure your house is fox proof. Make sure all ground floor doors and windows are closed, foxes can squeeze through a 10cm (4”) gap. Also think about any cat flaps you might have.  Consider investing in one that is activated by microchip and will not let the wrong animal in.

If you use some or all of the deterrents we have looked you will be able to keep your rabbits safe and secure from even the most persistent fox.

Single Wire or Bungee Style.

This is usually a single or double run of wire wrapped around  the rabbit hutch or run at fox level, with a ‘tripwire’ over the roof of the hutch or run. It should be placed outside the hutch or run to avoid it being nibbled when it is switched off.  You will of course need to switch this off when your rabbits are within reach of it.  If a fox is nosing around it will get a nasty buzz and soon learn to stay away. Most single wire fences run from small batteries. It is advisable to invest in a good electrical tester so you can check that the fence output is good, it should not be allowed to fall below 2500 volts. Before replacing batteries check the earth rod and look for vegetation touching the wire.

Mesh Electric Fences

This type of fencing is generally used for poultry and must be kept on at all times. If you turn it off pet rabbits would quickly nibble at it and dig underneath it. This type of fencing is not suitable for small gardens with children or slow moving pets like tortoise who can’t move away fast. It is however great for large gardens and can be used to fence of large areas for your rabbits to play in. This type of fencing is usually sold in kits of 25-50 meters of fencing plus all the bits. You would also need a large car or tractor battery (or a mains kit so you don’t need to keep charging the battery). This type of fencing, though relatively expensive is no doubt effective if used in the recommended way.

It is possible to protect your garden and your pet rabbits by planting thick hedges of thorny pyracanthus bushes, rambling roses or hawthorn.  The effectiveness of this technique is questionable as you may well end up providing ideal cover for the foxes, an established thorny hedge that is very thick would however act as a deterrent and this may be a factor when you think about where to put your rabbit hutch.

There are some newer devices on the market that are a cross between a sprinkler and a motion detector that will spray the foxes with water as they approach. This is sure to be a hit with all action film fans and several used in combination would no doubt give foxes and everyone else something to think about.

They do however need a hose permanently attached and could quickly become a nuisance when mowing the lawn or using the garden and may end up at the back of the shed with all the other toys!

If anyone has used these please let us know how good they are!  It is important to remember that in this miniseries we are looking at all options available and it may be that you need to use a range of deterrents to keep your pet rabbits safe.

The best of these devices have motion detectors similar to security lights and will be triggered by motion. Correctly placed these will protect your rabbit in its hutch or run.  The fox will very quickly learn that they trigger the device and will avoid the area, over time the garden will become a no go area but be sure to keep the batteries good as if a new fox or cub comes into the area you will still need the device.

These sonic devices are finely tuned and will not upset humans or pet rabbits. This type of deterrent may not be an option if you have pet dogs or a puppy, unless of course you want to keep them away for your bunnies also!

Beware the Deaf Fox!!

One way to protect your pet rabbit is to use the foxes own natural behaviour. In the wild foxes scent mark their territory with urine. Foxes will not generally cross into another foxes territory and will keep to their own patch. There are now a number of Scent Markers that you can buy to mark out the boundary of your garden with a fox like scent. These have proven effective if used regularly and after heavy rain.

Some people say that humane urine will do the trick, but be warned this can lead to considerable neighbourhood scandal!! If there is evidence of foxes in your garden you may want to try scent marking before you get your pet rabbit so that your territory is marked out before you add any temptation.

In part 3 we will look at sonic fox deterents.

Firstly you need a good strong rabbit hutch with a firmly attached roof.  Large preferably locking door bolts if not provided should be fitted. It is possible now to buy very cheap combination padlocks or suitcase locks that can be used to make sure rabbit hutch doors are locked and secure. Any Modern rabbit hutch should have strong wire mesh, this should be a weld-mesh minimum 19 Guage. Cheaper chicken wire was designed to keep chickens in, not the fox out. Ensure that the the back and sides of the hutch are sturdy and try to place the hutch close to the house if you can.  If you have a persistent fox problem you might also consider shutters for the mesh doors or a cover for the hutch so that the fox can’t see the rabbits. If you do this however you must ensure there is enough ventilation of the hutch and never forget and leave the shutters on all day. In most cases this would not be necessary.

Obviously Pet rabbits should not spend all day in their rabbit hutch, so you can either dedicate your life to watching then on the lawn or invest in a large sturdy fox proof rabbit run. To Be worthwhile the run should be large enough for the rabbit to run and excercise. A good strong wire is essential and also lots of hiding places, tunnels and bolt holes so that your buns feel safe. If the run is a permanent addition to your garden consider making it large enough to walk into. Also consider placing slabs around the outside edge so that the fox can’t dig his way in.

In short large sturdy hutches and Runs with Good Door bolts and strong wire are now the minimum for keeping your pets safe. In part two we will start to look at ways of keeping foxes out of your garden altogether.