mdf in our hutch

We got 2 baby girl rabbits last week and they live here.



They're locked away at night but the door to the pen is open all day for them to go out and play.

Anyway..... when we had out last rabbit living there mice moved into his hutch and nested in the cavity wood wall of the bed compartment and the only way to make them leave was to take it out. My mum's boyfriend cut up an off-cut of a kitchen counter and re-made the bed compartment wall out of that. It's only recently on a guinea pig forum that I've heard mdf can be dangerous if eaten. A lot of work went into putting the hutch back to rights and we'd preferably like to leave the mdf we've added in, but do you think it's safe? We're going to monitor and see if the bunnies chew at it at all and obviously if they did a lot and mdf is deadly then we'd have to remove it and rebuild it again out of proper wood but would you just leave it in and see what happens? Our last rabbit didn't chew his hutch at all and neither of these two bunnies have started in the week we've had them. Have you heard of any tragic stories about mdf and rabbits before which would give us right to be extra concerned?

MDF is generally not used in hutches because, as you say its poisonous if eaten. Is the MDF where the rabbits can actually get to chew it. Personally I'd cover it with Lino or carpet so bunnies cant get to it, or remove the MDF altogether

You know the hole to get inside a bed compartment? The kitchen counter is on that bit of wood (with the hole cut out) so it would be easy for them to chew around the hole area. I don't think sticking lino to it would be easy. But besides, lino is bad if eaten too right? Wouldn't it make it doubly as dangerous? Even more so if we glued lino to the mdf?

Oh and one side of the kitchen counter has laminate on, that's on the bed side.

"MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) is made from waste wood fibres which are glued under heat and pressure. It is very versatile, but can be dangerous to use if proper safefy precautions are not adhered to. Most MDF slowly releases urea formaldehyde which is an irritant to the eyes and lungs. This can be sealed in with proper preparation and painting. The dust produced when sanding or cutting is another matter, and masks and goggles should ALWAYS be used when machining or cutting this material, and adequate ventilation should be present in the work area."

Would it be too difficult to remake the bed area? Is it all screwed/nailed together to the hutch? Plywood is the best thing for hutches. I would think the laminated bit would be ok if they don't chew it. If you cant remove it you will have to keep an eye on them as I think the chemicals used to bind the wood fibres together isn't good for people or animals.

I totally agree with Tintin, MDF is very dangerous to animals due to the glue thats used to bond it together, One option is if it can't be removed can you cover it with ply which would need to be screw and not glued.

Hope this helps

Thanks. You've given me food for thought. I'll talk about it with my mum and her boyfriend and see what can be done.

Oh, just one more thing. If the counter top gives off urea formaldehyde and we cover it with plywood, does it still seap out or will that solve the problem?

You could seal the cut edge then cover it with some sort of edging eg doorway shaped batoning that if they chew could be replaced but would stop them chewing at the mdf

Nothing useful to add, just wanted to say I'm pleased your mum got the bunnies! :wave:

Sue_P said:

Oh, just one more thing. If the counter top gives off urea formaldehyde and we cover it with plywood, does it still seap out or will that solve the problem?

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Hi,
It should solve the problem, but run a trim around the edges as well.
I think might be best if you done a "U" shape trim, if you understand what I mean!

Kind Regards
Dave

georgie_f said:

Nothing useful to add, just wanted to say I'm pleased your mum got the bunnies! :wave:

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Orrr thanks.

Tamsin said:

ukrabbithutches said:

Hi,
It should solve the problem, but run a trim around the edges as well.
I think might be best if you done a "U" shape trim, if you understand what I mean!

Kind Regards
Dave

Click to expand...

You could seal the cut edge then cover it with some sort of edging eg doorway shaped batoning that if they chew could be replaced but would stop them chewing at the mdf

Click to expand...

Right thanks for that. Noted.


PS. The lady at my local market pet shop is called Tamsin and she’s bunny mad too.

Stick some normal plywood on top of it.