Making a Rabbit hutch A Home.

Creating the right habitat for a rabbit – one that will keep Thumper happy and alive for as many years as possible – is a challenge, and one worth spending money on. As family pets (ranking third in popularity in the UK) rabbits provide a great deal of pleasure. Sociable and highly watchable soft-furred, docile creatures, they can give endless pleasure.

Rabbits are popular for several reasons: 1) they are fairly inexpensive to keep, their dry food and hay being quite cheap to buy, not to mention the fact that they thrive on leftover peelings, stalks of vegetables discarded during food preparation, carrot tops and unwanted old lettuce leaves. As a supplement, the contents of used teabags do them a world of good; 2) they are uncomplaining, don’t sleep all day, as hamsters and guinea pigs tend to do, welcome human attention, and are big enough to pick up and cuddle.

It isn’t too much to ask, therefore, that they be housed comfortably. Even though a bunny’s facial expression is not exactly easy to read, there can be no mistaking the listlessness when a rabbit is suffering from depression. To ensure Bunny’s mental well-being, it is important to provide a spacious, draught-free rabbit hutch and to site it where he will see activity and, above all, will be visited frequently.

The standard wooden structure, often made of lapped planks of one type or another, is attractive-looking and breathable. Any other materials for the construction of a rabbit hutch should be viewed with scepticism. A sloping roof – ideally an apex one – which has been covered with Asphalt is a good idea. The roof needs to overlap sufficiently for rain to run off. (It is not a bad idea to apply house architecture principles – I have seen a young IT-literate pet owner designing her rabbit hutch using Sketch-Up software.) A completely flat roof guarantees that sooner or later Bunny will be the victim of damp. Rabbits have fairly delicate constitutions and can easily become ill if living in a damp environment. Flat-roofed hutches are on the market, but are entirely intended for indoor use. None of these decisions would normally present any difficulties, but for the fact that there are so many woefully inadequate hutches on sale.

Rabbit Shack, Trixie, The Rabbit Hutch Shop and Happy Hutch are just four of the many rabbit hutch brand names and each company offers a range of models. The advice to all rabbit owners or prospective owners is always the same: the larger the dimensions, the happier the rabbit Ryedale Pet Homes is a company in Yorkshire building their own hutches, many of which have quite grand dimensions. Few rabbits would sniff at Ryedale’s Double Whopper, with an impressive width (Length) of 6ft, a height of 40 inches and depth of 2ft. The listed price of is £281.00 with discounts for telephoned orders.

In addition to decent housing in a well-constructed rabbit hutch, in good weather your rabbit really ought to get some outdoor fun. Placed on a lawn, it is also a convenient and free diner for your rabbit who was, after all, designed to pull up grass. The obvious thing to do is to move the run from one spot to another, ensuring that no one patch of lawn ends up bare.

Constructing a run or pen (and making regular use of it) is one of the very best things you can do for your rabbit. Ideally, this is totally enclosed, the cheapest and easiest being triangular in shape. If, however, you are willing to take a little extra trouble, or run (no pun intended), to a little more expense, a conventional cuboid with six sides including a mesh floor is likely to give your rabbit the most exercise without the risk of escape. Gnawing and burrowing are habitual behaviour for every rabbit. A floorless run, no matter how well anchored, can be got out of. When you aren’t looking, your Houdini-like furry friend is likely to make a break for it with some superfast burrowing. Equally, an unroofed run, no matter how tall the fence, represents an invitation to Bunny to practise the high jump. No matter how well enclosed, however, you need to check regularly for any gnawed wire. Thumper could easily be working, Prisoner – of – War style, on gradually enlarging a hole that you haven’t even noticed.

There are many comprehensive rabbit care guides out there, such as the RSPCA’s “Care for Your Rabbit” and “Rabbitlopaedia: A Complete Guide to Rabbit Care”, co-written by a vet and published by Ringpress Books. Finally, when it comes to choosing your rabbit hutch or rabbit pen, don’t rush into the decision, and spend your money on space, space, space.

How do I Choose a Rabbit Hutch?

Rabbit Hutches now come in Many Different Sizes, but how do i choose the right hutch for my pet rabbit. The First thing to remember is that a rabbit hutch can never be too big. As a Minimum your hutch should be 6ft x 2ft x 2ft or equivelent floor space. Ideally your rabbit should have constant access to A Large Exercise run. Also you should remeber that your rabbit will continue to grow. Starter hutches are too small even for young rabbits and need to be replaced almost striaght away so are never a good idea. There are also alternatives to a traditional rabbit hutch. many people now keep House Rabbits or convert an old garden shed or dog kennel to a extra large rabbit hutch.

your also need to think about where you are going to put your rabbit hutch, how mutch space do you have. How mutch sun will the hutch get. Will it be exposed to rain or wind? What syle of rabbit hutch will make it as easy as possible for you to look after your rabbits. How many doors should the hutch have. do you need a roof that opens? Can you have an adjoining run or will you need a seperate run?

You should also consider how long your rabbit will live (7-10 years) Many mass produced hutches are made from thin plywood, they are too small and even if they were big enough and you looked after them they would not last long.

The best option really is to go for the largest best quality hutch that you can afford. This rustic hutch however may not be suitable for the british climate!