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Rabbit Breeder recommends 3ft hutch for French lop!

F

Frankie's bunny mummy

Warren Scout
Just spoken to a rabbit breeder, She said that Frankies hutch is to big and that he should only be in a 3ft hutch so he can sit and mature. She said I should cut his hutch in half!! Her reasons were that in the first 18months they grow muscle and if he's got too much room he could go off his back legs and wobble! I've never heard such rubbish in all my life:censored: I said Frankie will be staying in is 6ft hutch but thanks for her advice! Has anyone else heard this before??
 
No but i know someone who kept a dwarf lop in a small hutch for years without a run or anything, and she lost the use of her legs due to muscle wastage :cry:
 
How logical. All those wild rabbits who grow up free range are clearly staggering around uncontrollably because the space has made them "go off their legs and wobble".

Sounds like a poorly thought out exuse for small hutches to me.
 
How stupid. My bridge bunny Elliot was kept in a too small hutch and his back legs were really wasted. He never had nearly the same power as a "normal" bun. What goes through some peoples minds :?
 
I have had to pick up the pieces where bunnies have been kept in undersized hutches by breeders and it 'aint nice! A good few of the fosters that I have had over the last few years have come from undersized housing situations, including my last boy Noah Nonnie No, who is a big beast and was housed in a 5ft x18 inch prison in a garage.

I have a bun from the Oxford Rescue situation from a few years back. A good number of them have already perished and my lovely lady Fudgefoodles is now struggling too with her back end not working. Not seeming to be EC (although most of the Oxford buns seem to be carriers) but more likely due to the disgusting undersized accommodation that they were all forced to live in.

Also having seen the BRC breeder who had 140 dutch rabbits in Brent a few years back (Delia from Bobtails coordinated the rescue), most were kept in either 1ftish boxes or 2ft (or thereabouts) breeder cages.........just keeping fingers crossed that these poor buns don't end up with joint issues in their later life.

So, for people who think that even a 4fter is sufficient IT ISN'T!!!! BUNNIES NEED SPACE TO EXERCISE AND DEMONSTRATE THEIR NATURAL BEHAVIOUR!
 
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The Duchess said:
I have had to pick up the pieces where bunnies have been kept in undersized hutches by breeders and it 'aint nice! A good few of the fosters that I have had over the last few years have come from undersized housing situations, including my last boy Noah Nonnie No, who is a big beast and was housed in a 5ft x18 inch prison in a garage.

I have a bun from the Oxford Rescue situation from a few years back. A good number of them have already perished and my lovely lady Fudgefoodles is now struggling too with her back end not working. Not seeming to be EC (although most of the Oxford buns seem to be carriers) but more likely due to the disgusting undersized accommodation that they were all forced to live in.

Also having seen the BRC breeder who had 140 dutch rabbits in Brent a few years back (Delia from Bobtails coordinated the rescue), most were kept in either 1ftish boxes or 2ft (or thereabouts) breeder cages.........just keeping fingers crossed that these poor buns don't end up with joint issues in their later life.

So, for people who think that even a 4fter is sufficient IT ISN'T!!!! BUNNIES NEED SPACE TO EXERCISE AND DEMONSTRATE THEIR NATURAL BEHAVIOUR!
Click to expand...

Well said!!! :D
 
4ft hutch

I have my mini lop in a 4ft hutch, but only while I'm at work - he gets about an hour or more in the morning out and then he is out of the hutch from when I get home till I go to bed (about six hours). Does anyone think this will do damage to my bun? He's surprisingly strong - hes only 10 weeks old, and already he springs up onto my bed which is quite high!
 
My bunnies used to live in hutches, then they were moved a pair per shed.. and the change in personality is shocking! They run around binkying throughout the day :D:love:
 
The fact he gets out is good - but as it seems he will be shut in for a long portion of the day/night - it would be good if you could maybe attach a little run/pen to the hutch. I'd imagine he'd be at least 12 plus hours in this hutch a day so its not really ideal.
 
I have a British Giant that a breeder kept in a 3ft hutch for the first 0mths of his life and he is under a orthopedic vet as his left legs are deformed. I think it is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard.
Is the breeder from around the Lancs area?
 
kayj said:
I have a British Giant that a breeder kept in a 3ft hutch for the first 0mths of his life and he is under a orthopedic vet as his left legs are deformed. I think it is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard.
Is the breeder from around the Lancs area?
Click to expand...

Poor Bun :(
 
Frankie's bunny mummy said:
Just spoken to a rabbit breeder, She said that Frankies hutch is to big and that he should only be in a 3ft hutch so he can sit and mature. She said I should cut his hutch in half!! Her reasons were that in the first 18months they grow muscle and if he's got too much room he could go off his back legs and wobble! I've never heard such rubbish in all my life:censored: I said Frankie will be staying in is 6ft hutch but thanks for her advice! Has anyone else heard this before??
Click to expand...

Just not much logic in that at all :roll:

Exercise is important to building healthy bones to avoid osteoporosis. Obviously when a rabbits bones are developing that's a critical time to put down healthy bone development. Lack of exercise would increase the risk of fractures eg damage to the spinal cord that could effect movement.

Likewise exercise is important to building muscles to support proper motion.

Lack of exercise is also a risk factor in fly strike, obesity, gut issues, sore hocks and abnormal behaviour (which can result it over grooming, aggression, etc. etc.)

If her rabbit have a problem with normal exercise I would suggest she breeds from healthier rabbits.
 
Lack of exercise also means poor cardiac function as the heart is a muscle too! Weak heart = more prone to it stopping following a sudden fright/shock. SO many reasons to give your rabbits adequate room to "exhibit normal behaviour" as said above.
 
When I sent a picture of Bugsy to the breeder,all my buns are free range on the lawn in the day time and go in twelve foot runs in summer and a massive shed and utility room in Winter at night time,she sent me a really snotty email saying,thats far to much room for a continental giant,they need to be kept in 6ft hutches.:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:As you can imagine I took no notice!!!!!!
 
i also heard that some breeders and showers keep the rabbits in small cages so they don`t get to big for the standard, to me this seems rubbish, i love to see my buns running around in the shed, poor buns..:shock:
 
Tamsin said:
Just not much logic in that at all :roll:

Exercise is important to building healthy bones to avoid osteoporosis. Obviously when a rabbits bones are developing that's a critical time to put down healthy bone development. Lack of exercise would increase the risk of fractures eg damage to the spinal cord that could effect movement.

Likewise exercise is important to building muscles to support proper motion.

Lack of exercise is also a risk factor in fly strike, obesity, gut issues, sore hocks and abnormal behaviour (which can result it over grooming, aggression, etc. etc.)

If her rabbit have a problem with normal exercise I would suggest she breeds from healthier rabbits.
Click to expand...

This is very important to point out; It's not just bone and muscle problems that arise. Many of the buns that came from the Oxford rescue have also displayed gut problems on many occasions and this could also be down to low gut motility. We'll never know if that's the reason or if interbreeding is, but I'd say a high percentage of the Oxford's have had more than the norm in the health issue department.

For any people how have buns housed in small accommodation and have more than their fair share of stasis episodes; this could well be down to lack of motion/exercise. Quite often, when a bun (all of mine are rescues) goes into stasis, the vet would recommend some play time running around like made on the lawn to get things moving, and this is despite all having wendys/sheds or 6-8fters with attached runs.
 
The Duchess said:
This is very important to point out; It's not just bone and muscle problems that arise. Many of the buns that came from the Oxford rescue have also displayed gut problems on many occasions and this could also be down to low gut motility. We'll never know if that's the reason or if interbreeding is, but I'd say a high percentage of the Oxford's have had more than the norm in the health issue department.

For any people how have buns housed in small accommodation and have more than their fair share of stasis episodes; this could well be down to lack of motion/exercise. Quite often, when a bun (all of mine are rescues) goes into stasis, the vet would recommend some play time running around like made on the lawn to get things moving, and this is despite all having wendys/sheds or 6-8fters with attached runs.
Click to expand...

Definitely! Encouraging a good hop around no matter how poorly bunny feels always gets a stasis bun's tummy going in my own experience :)
 
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