How To Set Up A Rabbit Hutch

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Setting up your rabbit expanse outdoors allows your rabbits to live a more natural life with lots of room to run and dig. But information technology's very important to take precautions to go on your bunnies safety and comfortable. Allow's take a look at the basics for a proficient rabbit space.

The Hutch

A practiced rabbit hutch is vital to your rabbit enclosure. A rabbit hutch is a secure identify your rabbits can slumber at night or a safety infinite where they can be when y'all are away for extended times. Information technology is their home base, and where you volition likely keep their food, water & hay.

The ideal rabbit hutch is at minimum six feet long by 2 feet wide. Your rabbit should exist able to accept a few hops across the length of his cage. He should also exist able to stand up up on his back feet without hitting his caput, so it should be at least 2 feet tall. If you are keeping multiple rabbits in the aforementioned cage, get as big as you can to give them plenty of space. Click here for a more in-depth view of my first rabbit area. Click here to view my current rabbit area inside my barn.

At that place should be a space with solid walls that is enclosed where they can "hide". If the hutch is all wire with no private infinite, your rabbit is going to experience very exposed, especially when information technology's night. Rabbits in the wild live in cozy, hush-hush burrows. Without their safe space, they will be stressed and will probably have a difficult time sleeping. Information technology will too provide a place for them to escape the weather. Make the enclosed space cozy with deep hay or straw to snuggle in or even add some onetime blankets or a true cat bed.

If you alive where it snows or if yous get a lot of rain, your hutch should be raised off the ground. You can build a simple base of operations to enhance up your hutch – click hither to read how we built our rabbit hutch base of operations. Even if you lot don't live where extreme weather is a problem, raising the hutch provides another pace in predator protection and make rabbit chores easier on your dorsum.

Install duel locks on all doors to the hutch. Some predators, like raccoons, accept deft little easily and can manage elementary locks. Having ii unlike kinds of latches ensures they aren't going to go in. Around sunset each dark, you will demand to become outside and lock the rabbits in their hutch. You can open them upwards in the morning time. They volition get used to this routine quickly, my rabbits know when it'south getting nighttime it's fourth dimension to head into the hutch so I just have to shut them up.

Locate the hutch out of direct dominicus. Rabbits can handle cold much more than they can handle rut. When temperatures get over 85 degrees, rabbits can experience heat distress and can fifty-fifty die of heat stroke. It's vital to requite them shaded places to relax. Consider planting some bushes or trees nearby, or install a shade sail or awning over their play area.

At least some of the flooring should be solid. Many people like to install wire floors in their rabbit hutch so the poop tin fall through the holes to keep the hutch clean. That is peachy for the homo caretakers, just isn't smashing for the rabbit'southward feet. When rabbits walk on wire, information technology puts pressure unevenly on their pads and makes them comport their weight awkwardly fifty-fifty when resting on all fours. This can lead to sore hocks, and left untreated could crusade a deadly infection. Click here to read more about sore hocks.

I have read horror stories about predators pulling at the rabbit's exposed anxiety from under the wire floor trying to get to them – and then that's another reason to give them some solid floor! If y'all want to use wire floor in part of the hutch that is fine, just be sure in that location are parts of the hutch where the rabbit can rest on solid flooring. We employ ceramic tiles for the entire floor of our hutch. They keep the bunnies cool in the summertime and are piece of cake to sweep upwardly daily with a small hand broom & dustpan.

You will want to supply the hutch with h2o, a feed bin, hay manger and possibly a litter box. It is important your rabbit has access to food, water & hay at all times so putting information technology in their hutch makes the most sense. You tin get the type that attaches to the wire walls. Hang them in places that will be easy for you lot to access for cleaning & filling.

I like to hang the hay manger over the litter box so they can munch on hay while doing their business. It helps keep the area cleaner when they are litter box trained. Click hither to read more about litter box grooming rabbits. During the wintertime, it is helpful to bandy out the water bottle for i that plugs in and has a modest heater to keep the h2o liquid. So it is helpful if you lot take a power source nearby.

The Exercise Chiliad

The hutch is important for keeping your bunny safety, but the exercise yard is where they will really want to spend most of their fourth dimension! click hither to read more than nigh colony raising rabbits

32 square feet per rabbit is the minimum recommended space. The more space you lot tin give them, the better though! Just brand certain you don't give them a space too large that you lot have a hard fourth dimension properly securing it.

Rabbits are diggers. They volition dig all kinds of holes & tunnels in their practise yard, and so just putting a fence around the space isn't going to cut information technology. You lot will want to dig downwards two feet and bury a wall of hardware cloth wire. Do this effectually the unabridged perimeter of the g.

If possible, it is best to fully enclosure your rabbit exercise yard. Think of it similar a screened in porch (but with solid hardware textile wire not screens). Making it six anxiety alpine will make information technology comfortable for you to walk in and visit with your rabbits.

Putting a solid roof on the yard will arrive then the rabbits can enjoy the chiliad even when information technology'southward raining or snowing and will provide some shade from the summer lord's day. It will protect your rabbits from aerial predators like hawks. A solid roof will also make it more pleasant for you to get your daily rabbit chores done even in the rain. Alternately you could gear up your rabbit "outdoor" area in a befouled, garage, shed, screened porch, or three season room.

Our rabbit stall inside the barn at our new house

Infinite for digging. One of the all-time advantages to letting rabbits live outside is that they can dig to their heart'south content without destroying your home. And then leave them lots of infinite for earthworks. Inspect the holes every solar day. When my rabbits get besides close to the fence line, I will fill in the hole just in case. If they brand a tunnel that has gotten as well long (over 4 feet or then) I volition also usually collapse it so it doesn't accidentally collapse on them or on me when I walk over information technology. I always experience bad because they worked hard on information technology, but they never seem to mind and are always happy to start digging a new 1!

Places to hibernate, things to jump on, in or through. Rabbits like to keep busy and so providing them with things to do will keep them happy! My bunnies similar to hibernate under the hutch and weave under and around the benches. I took two large plastic nursery pots I had from buying fruit trees, cut the bottoms out and duct taped them together. Blast! Gratuitous rabbit tunnel! I added some shallow, square planters for them to hop in and out of. In the planters I seeded some timothy grass and dandelions to give them snacks for munching.

Benches or chairs – If you have a comfy place to sit and enjoy your bunny'due south company you will be much more than likely to hang out with them!