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Do I need a bigger run?

babyboysmommy

babyboysmommy

Young Bun
Rabbit has got a Thistle Hall hutch & a fennel fold run attached. Is the fennel fold run big enough or should I get a second one as they can be joined together? Rabbit is a dutch cross but we don't know what he's crossed with (he came from a children's farm) so no idea how big he will grow.

http://www.petsathome.com/find/product-is-13207

Would you recommend putting chicken wire or similar at the bottom of the run? So far he's not really been digging (just over 4 month old & due to be nutered next week).

Many thanks, Anna
 
I think that run is about 4ft x 3.5ft. Most rescues require a run of 6ft x 4ft and some 6ft x 6ft so yes I would recommend upgrading at some point. Should be okay to leave it for a little while if he is still a little baby. Joining two together sounds like it might be a good option. I would attach a bottom of some sort to it if he gets access unsupervised as rabbits can suddenly decide to start digging.

ps galvanised wire mesh is better than chicken wire. Chicken wire can be chewed and bent out of shape
 
timb0h said:
I think that run is about 4ft x 3.5ft. Most rescues require a run of 6ft x 4ft and some 6ft x 6ft so yes I would recommend upgrading at some point. Should be okay to leave it for a little while if he is still a little baby. Joining two together sounds like it might be a good option. I would attach a bottom of some sort to it if he gets access unsupervised as rabbits can suddenly decide to start digging.

ps galvanised wire mesh is better than chicken wire. Chicken wire can be chewed and bent out of shape
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'll get another one. We don't have a big garden but there's enough room to attach another run. I'll get some mesh as well.

If the mesh is in place is it OK for Rabbit to have access to the run even when we are out weather permitting? At the moment I shut him in the hutch but as I've got a toddler we are in & out all day so he still gets lots of time outside.
 
One other thing...

When it's raining I shut Rabbit in the hutch (it's got a rain cover). My husband says I'm daft doing this as Rabbit can go inside if he doesn't want to get wet & the run is part covered by the rain cover. Is it OK for rabbit to be out in the rain if he wants to?
 
Mine love sitting out in the rain. I take the view that if a run isn't secure enough for night, then it isn't secure enough for the day either, as foxes etc do come around during daytime now. If you're happy that it's secure enough, I wouldn't see a problem with leaving Rabbit out in it when you're not there, or in all weathers as long as he has shelter...mine sit out come rain, wind, hail, snow...it doesn't seem to bother them!
 
I might suggest reinforcing the joins between the hutch and the run by using standard latches from a DIY store, so that they can't be pulled apart. If you can make the run secure then they should have permanent access to the run. Rain shouldn't be a problem, my rabbits enjoy coming out for a while in the light rain and soon disappear if it gets too heavy for them. I think it's one of the ways they keep themselves so clean and tidy, it's like a bath for them. As long as your hutch is kept dry inside I'd let him out in the run all the time :)
 
mine have got 2 fennel fold runs that i have attatched together with hinges and bolts.
dont worry about them getting wet, mine seem to love sitting out in the rain even when they have got a nice warm and cosy hutch to be in :roll:
 
timb0h said:
ps galvanised wire mesh is better than chicken wire. Chicken wire can be chewed and bent out of shape
Click to expand...
We were OK with chicken wire on the bottom for a while, but Choco started gnawing through it and doing lots of digging - that was before we realised she was pregnant. It lasted about 6 weeks...:roll:

The stuff you want is also called weld mesh - it's what most runs are made of. Unless you want a 6m roll of it (about £35 ISTR), Wickes do 900x600mm (3x2 ft) panels for under a fiver. With central spars, we covered the bottom of our 6x4 ft run perfectly. I found out the above by googling it and spending an hour so surfing hardware sites and ebay.
 
may I suggest

Look there are lots great ideas for accommodation on here but rather than spend more money on yet another run you still cannot get into easily , sit with your buns easily , change easily or be protected from the elements can I suggest the following......

Obtain an old greehouse(often for free with most of the glass missing) replace the roof with 1/2 inch ply allowing a good overhang at the sides and front and cover with lightweight roofing felt or similar.

Then replace all the glass roung the sides with mesh (including the door)...

Hey presto you have a run you and the kids can get into with a sliding door you can lock, it will not rot and all you simply have to do is put your existing hutch into it. The rabbits can then be free to come and go as they please , not get wet and you will be able to put cardboard boxes in the run ect.

oh and this combination equates to roughly 50square feet as the average greenhouse is 8ft x 6ft.......put it on slabs or concrete and you will be well away.

It will take a bit of effort on your part to start with but if you go down the route you are contempating then you will have to put in a lot more effort over a much longer period and still not have great rabbit accommodation.

I hope this helps

Alan.
 
sounds a good idea...only thing i would say as a bonus is when you lay slabs in the run /greenhouse dig them down about a foot...and put bricks around like a mini wall(foundations) then lay turf inside the run...water it every few days the buns can graze happily and they will not get sore hocks(not sure what breed you have but some are more prone than others)also they can dig if they want to (natrual rabbit behaviour) and you wont have to worry about filling in holes or escapees! i put tunnels in my runs too xx


rspcarabbits said:
Look there are lots great ideas for accommodation on here but rather than spend more money on yet another run you still cannot get into easily , sit with your buns easily , change easily or be protected from the elements can I suggest the following......

Obtain an old greehouse(often for free with most of the glass missing) replace the roof with 1/2 inch ply allowing a good overhang at the sides and front and cover with lightweight roofing felt or similar.

Then replace all the glass roung the sides with mesh (including the door)...

Hey presto you have a run you and the kids can get into with a sliding door you can lock, it will not rot and all you simply have to do is put your existing hutch into it. The rabbits can then be free to come and go as they please , not get wet and you will be able to put cardboard boxes in the run ect.

oh and this combination equates to roughly 50square feet as the average greenhouse is 8ft x 6ft.......put it on slabs or concrete and you will be well away.

It will take a bit of effort on your part to start with but if you go down the route you are contempating then you will have to put in a lot more effort over a much longer period and still not have great rabbit accommodation.

I hope this helps

Alan.
Click to expand...
 
We also have Thistle Hall and Fennel Fold run which we paid a fortune for when we moved house a couple of months ago and had to leave our wooden playhouse behind. Since getting another Bun I have looked on this website for ideas on accomodation and seen some of the lovely pictures. I decided to convert my shed and having seen some of the other runs available and how reasonably priced they are I realise how much I was ripped off for my Fennel Fold run. I would advise you have a look around, try www.zooplus.co.uk you will find you can get a run twice the size of the Fennel Fold for a lot less money.
 
Thanks everyone. We have bought another fennel fold run as we are happy with the first one. We adapted it so we can open it from the top.

I appreciate some of you feel a thistle hall hutch & 2 fennel fold runs attached is inadiquate accomodation, it is however ideal for our house/garden & Rabbit is not stuck in some tiny hutch & run.
 
babyboysmommy said:
Thanks everyone. We have bought another fennel fold run as we are happy with the first one. We adapted it so we can open it from the top.

I appreciate some of you feel a thistle hall hutch & 2 fennel fold runs attached is inadiquate accomodation, it is however ideal for our house/garden & Rabbit is not stuck in some tiny hutch & run.
Click to expand...

You have nothing to worry about, that will make a very nice home for them :)
 
clarem said:
We also have Thistle Hall and Fennel Fold run which we paid a fortune for when we moved house a couple of months ago and had to leave our wooden playhouse behind. Since getting another Bun I have looked on this website for ideas on accomodation and seen some of the lovely pictures. I decided to convert my shed and having seen some of the other runs available and how reasonably priced they are I realise how much I was ripped off for my Fennel Fold run. I would advise you have a look around, try www.zooplus.co.uk you will find you can get a run twice the size of the Fennel Fold for a lot less money.
Click to expand...
We've been very lucky and most things have been handed on to us. The only thing we've had to buy is the run, which is designed to fit onto a hutch, so it only has 3 sides and a roof. Can't find the details of it for now, but I'll keep searching, as it fits all our hutches and is very useful.

Thanks for the zooplus link - I hadn't seen it before. I've just bought one of their wire runs to cope with having to keep the bunnies separated while Choco looks after the babies. Poor Cuddles has been stuck inside the girls' wendy-house a lot recently, so we needed something to give her some fresh air in the short-term. Reduced at the moment, and even better with their new customer discount...:D
 
we us eto have the same set up as yourself, but when we moved we inherited a 6'x8' shed which we then let the bunnies have - they much prefer it! they have the freedom to roam in and out (as tehy have a dog crate in there as oppose to a hutch, and the rest is lined with an old rug).

the other thing that we personally love about this set up is hutch cleaning is much easier!i remember the days of crawling in to teh hutch via teh run...it was not fun!!!

to be honest after a year of having teh hutch even if we hadnt moved i suspect the buns would of needed a new huitch soon as domino had munched his way trhough quite abit of teh wood.
 
Now I have converted the shed and attached a run to that I have my Thistle Hall and Fennel Fold run standing empty, mmm room for another 2 buns maybe!
 
We have just put the two fennel fold runs together, Rabbit loves it! It's wonderful seeing him running & playing. He is clearly having a great time :D
 
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