where to keep a young nethy dwarf?

hi all, hopefully due to be getting my first rabbit soon, a netherland dwarf which will be 8 weeks old when i collect him in a fortnight.

cant decide where to keep him, ideally i would like a big hutch/run combo but its so cold outside at the mo and i woudnt want to leave him out there, theres plenty of room in the garage and its never that cold in there, but it has a concrete floor and does get quite dusty inside - not sure that would be so good for the buns health.
Something like this would be ideal as fluffiebunnie on this forum reccomended me, http://www.happyhutch.com/ViewProduct.asp?productID=39

hes welcome to stay inside but in what would be best, a hutch or an indoor cage? obviously no room for a run inside. However he would be let out whilst im at home (morning, sometimes at lunch, and in the evenings)

Would it be a good/bad idea to get him a medium sized hutch for now to keep inside, and a seperate run to put in the garden (to bounce around in on warmer days when im at home), then buy a big hutch/run combo in the spring for him to permanently stay in (untill the next winter).

Any advice appreciated thanks guys

i would get hm an indoor cage. I did this for my bunnywhen i got him (he was 9 weeks old) i used to leave the cage door open and i litter trained him He now lives in my bedroom and is practicaly free range all the time with his wife lol.

Get him a pretty large indoor cage if i were you, with maybe a shelf and a little hut for him to hide in . hes a bit young to be kept indoors. (is he currently kept in or out?)

I think it would be best for him to stay inside until it's a bit warmer. I have outdoor bunnies but some people on here have made some really nice indoor set ups with NIC cubes. They always make me jealous!
If you search there are lots of threads with pictures of the set ups.
You can buy the grids from eBay and places (like here).

If he is a single bun then i wouldnt put him outside, he will be very cold and lonely out there.

I would bunny proof a room (make sure there are no cables or anything valuable he can chew) and then just use a pen to give him an area. Zooplus do some cheap ones.

yes deffinately bunny proof EVERYTHING!

ALL cables, wires, plugs. If there's something chewable expect it to be chewed lol. You can teach bunies what is right and wrong but expect a few chewed items before they click whats allowed and whats not :lol:

Fiver was a handful (and still is) but then he is an absolute rascal..even for a bunny :shock:

Snowberry said:

I would bunny proof a room (make sure there are no cables or anything valuable he can chew) and then just use a pen to give him an area. Zooplus do some cheap ones.

Click to expand...

Id like to but we have no spare rooms to do this, cant do it in either of the bedrooms, obviously neither the bathroom and kitchen, and sitting room + dining room are pretty much family rooms full of expensive electrics, ornaments etc so it wouldnt go down well with everyone for me to do this

Ryo said:

Id like to but we have no spare rooms to do this, cant do it in either of the bedrooms, obviously neither the bathroom and kitchen, and sitting room + dining room are full of expensive electrics, ornaments etc

Click to expand...

Kitchens are often a good place for buns as all the cables etc are behind the units.

You could use a dog crate (48") and put a pen round it to make him an area thats big enough. If he is going to be in it all night it needs to be at least 6ft.

If you intend to put him outside in the long term (though definitely not until summer), then it would probably be sensible to save yourself the expense of having to buy an indoor setup now and an outdoor setup later. An outdoor hutch can moved outside but an indoor cage cannot. I know HS on the forum has a hutch indoors for her house bun Squidgy, or she did last time I went round, and I actually thought it worked really well.

That way all you'd need to do when summer comes round is more the hutch outside and get a run

I agree the kitchen is usually the best place

Our kitchen leads directly into the conservatory, no seperate door. We have no exposed wires in the actual kitchen and just plugs for TV, lamp and fridge in the conservatory. We just block these few off with a dog pen and Louie then can have the whole space when we are at work/night time.

The rest of the time, when we are home, he has the rest of the house too.

is there anything out there, thats a hutch, with a removable run? that way...in the winter i could keep the hutch inside, and let him free roam around the house when im in, and in the summer i could move the hutch onto the lawn and attatch the run for him?

Your new rabbit CANT go outside until summer, so you need to find some indoor solution I'm afraid. He wont have a winter coat so it wouldnt be safe for him to be outside yet.

.in the winter i could keep the hutch inside, and let him free roam around the house when im in, and in the summer i could move the hutch onto the lawn and attatch the run for him?

Click to expand...

Whatever set up indoors works for you (and the rest of the family) should be fine - tho I take the point that you dont want to spend ££ on indoor things and then even more £££ to move him outside. Can you really find room for a 6'x2'x2' hutch indoors though??? I couldnt!

I think your best option - finances permitting - is the largest indoor cage and attached pen you can find. (You can attach a pen with cable ties or bulldog clips.) Try ebay. Or NIC cubes if you want to be creative and/or fit an awkward space.

Once he can be moved outside, you'll need the biggest hutch you can find with an attached run (aim for 6'x2'x2' hutch with a 6'x4' run) - SPACE and more SPACE is the rule however small the rabbit. And then he can stay out all year round, you'll just need to ensure the hutch is well insulated etc during the colder months.

I have two small rabbits who live in my dining room (all year round) because there are no wires in there and I can shut the door to the front room when they arent supervised.

ah ok, just been looking at indoor cages

Seem to be loads like these http://www.pet-supply-store.co.uk/p...ck_Grey_Indoor_Rabbit_Cage_120_60_47cm_596713 but not sure how good they are?

Ryo said:

ah ok, just been looking at indoor cages

Seem to be loads like these http://www.pet-supply-store.co.uk/p...ck_Grey_Indoor_Rabbit_Cage_120_60_47cm_596713 but not sure how good they are?

Click to expand...

Cages like that probably aren't big enough if the rabbit is going to be in there for a long time (like overnight).
I think the minimum size should be 6 x 2 feet.

Ryo said:

ah ok, just been looking at indoor cages

Seem to be loads like these http://www.pet-supply-store.co.uk/p...ck_Grey_Indoor_Rabbit_Cage_120_60_47cm_596713 but not sure how good they are?

Click to expand...

Cages like this are expensive and too small. It would be much cheaper to buy a pen from zooplus and make an area. Then you could use it outside as a run on the grass or to section off areas of the garden when he moves outside.

Cages like that probably aren't big enough if the rabbit is going to be in there for a long time (like overnight).

Click to expand...

A small cage is fine IF you are attaching it to a pen so that the cage is just a base and the rabbit can access a larger area at all times. In which case you'll need a cage where the rabbit can get out by itself - so I'm not sure about the specific one you've linked to as the opening down flap might get in the way.

Here's the sort I mean:
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/rabbit_cage/30344

Here's a picture of Muppet in his old cage to give you some idea of size/scale:



Muppet weighs 1.7kg, not that much bigger than a fullgrown Netherland dwarf. And the cage was 90cm (3ft). You can see it really isnt big enough for him to 'live' in. He used it as a base: his litter tray, his bed, his food... and came out whenever he wanted.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fabric-Dog-pu...UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs?var=&hash=item6d6e33214a

indoor pen like that looks quite good, but would a bun be able to chew through it (nylon)?

I wouldn't trust a nylon pen, he would probably chew threw it at some point. Instead, go for something like this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dog-puppy-Rab...UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs?var=&hash=item92aef4bd0a

I use these for my house rabbits and they work great.

i keep one rabbit in my parents spare room as he had been ill and i have'nt put him outside yet and the rest of my rabbits are outside in a shed that i have just gotten

When he goes outside, he WILL need a friend, as they can get very lonely. When you put them out, have you considered keeping them in a converted shed, like so: