Building a Hutch - ?? Materials ??

Hi there

My OH is going to build me a hutch for two bunnies and he's asked me if its ok to use tanalised timber to build it! Not having a clue what that is, I thought I'd ask on here.

If its not ok - any ideas what would be??

Also, one of his suggestions was to maybe make the shell of it out of block instead of wood (and then have the walls/ceiling and floor lined in something suitable) so its a bit like a mini-house. Would that be ok??

Thanks

Hi, I think tanalised means treated doesn't it? So it can be used outside. Untreated wood would rot away left exposed to the weather.

Personally I wouldn't want an animal to be chewing on treated wood - the ways around this are to use untreated wood and treat it with a bunny safe preserver (pets at home do one - or see other related threads to find others) and/or to ensure that the wood cannot be chewed by affixing the wire on the inside of the frame and to line the inside with plain untreated ply (you can cover the floor with lino to protect it).

Hope this helps.

I wouldn't use pre-treated wood. Stick with untreated wood and then paint it up with some that is safe. As above Pets at Home do a brown wood stain that is safe. Cuprinol do Garden Shades and Heritage Shades that come in other colours.

Avoid chipboard / hardboard / MDF as well as most buns could bite/chew through them.

I think Cuprinol is not safe - you could check on their website or give them a ring- there is safe wood treatment ofr bunnies - on ebay some hutches that are sold there have been treated with bunny safe wood treatment - maybe email them ? or google it......Im looking myself but havent quite got there yet so will post on here when Im at that stage....otherwise let us know what oyu find out!

Lino is ok for the floor - BUT is slippery for hopping on so a good layer of bedding for them is important to stop any legs splaying out!
Its easy to clean too.....some hutches have a pull out tray for easy cleaning - you could incorporate that too....but make sure its deep enought else all the hay gets stuck!

Blocks should be fine too....Im presuming you mean breeze-blocks? :?
Mind oyu my one bun tried ot eat the wall the other day and crunched away on some cement! :roll:

Maybe osme one else will mention about the blocks?

Send us pics of oyur designs.....everyone loves getting involved with ideas on here! :lol::lol:

Cuprinol is safe for pets, I looked when I was doing my kennel but I got Ronseal for fence etc it says safe around plants/pets, much cheaper and they do dif shades, think mine was £7 for 5L, comes in handy as you'll have a lot left for the future, I used plain wood then treated it all with several coats.
Don't forget the right sized mesh, they need a bed area, if it's a double hutch then also a ramp (easily made with wood and batons) for steps I also put non slip mat inbetween for grip but my buns don't chew it off ...some may :lol:

Piccies when it's done

lildebs said:

Cuprinol is safe for pets, I looked when I was doing my kennel but I got Ronseal for fence etc it says safe around plants/pets, much cheaper and they do dif shades, think mine was £7 for 5L, comes in handy as you'll have a lot left for the future, I used plain wood then treated it all with several coats.
Don't forget the right sized mesh, they need a bed area, if it's a double hutch then also a ramp (easily made with wood and batons) for steps I also put non slip mat inbetween for grip but my buns don't chew it off

Click to expand...

Thanks for that! Must have been mislead....mmmm.....I read it somewhere and it even said they had rung the company and they had said its not safe! So glad to know it is.....
Our fence is painted with wood brown payless paint from focus...and Ive no idea if thats good for buns....wish I had known before it was done - hope they dont eat it - would it hurt them?:shock:

What type of non-slip matting did you use on your ramp? Mine are abit chewy!:roll:

Back to original thread......send pics!:wave:

Oooh thanks for all your replies. We need all the help we can get.

OH is currently designing and re-designing the hutch on a daily basis! lol

Love the idea of a pull out tray, that would make things very easy. Currently it looks like the hutch will be an L shape (its going in the corner of the garden) with one half as a bedroom and the other as a 'day room'.

There'll be a run underneath so it will be half covered by the hutch and half uncovered and we're going to have a little ramp from the day room so they can please themselves whether they stay in or go out.

Its going to be stood on paving but OH said he'll take some of the slabs up and we can plant grass/dandelions in that bit so they have a bit of everything! lol

I think he's knocked the breeze block idea on the head now and is going for untreated wood that we'll then treat afterwards with bunny-friendly paint.

Any other top tips or ideas you have would be really appreciated.

I'll post pics as soon as we get cracking! lol

make sure its big enough.. many people dont realise the minimum hutch size requirements so make sure its a min size of 6ftx2ftx3ft and also get him to build an attatched run too. use weld mesh (also called galvanised) to protect from foxes never chicken wire and use bolts and padlocks not the twisted pieces of wood to lock it! best of luck ! x

tbh I think its going to be bigger than the required minimum, well looking at his (ever changing) designs it looks it.... and yeah the run will be built in half under the hutch, half uncovered so they can go in or out whenever they want.

I'm sure it will all change again over the next few days tho! lol

chelle said:

Thanks for that! Must have been mislead....mmmm.....I read it somewhere and it even said they had rung the company and they had said its not safe! So glad to know it is.....
Our fence is painted with wood brown payless paint from focus...and Ive no idea if thats good for buns....wish I had known before it was done - hope they dont eat it - would it hurt them?:shock:

What type of non-slip matting did you use on your ramp? Mine are abit chewy!:roll:

Back to original thread......send pics!:wave:

Click to expand...

gosh :roll: I don't know what it's called...it's the non slip rubbery stuff you can buy that is used under things to stop them sliding...but as I say mine don't chew it....as for the buns chewing the wood, not sure tbh, does it not say on the container?

bobbedazzler said:

tbh I think its going to be bigger than the required minimum, well looking at his (ever changing) designs it looks it.... and yeah the run will be built in half under the hutch, half uncovered so they can go in or out whenever they want.

I'm sure it will all change again over the next few days tho! lol

Click to expand...

glad to hear it its only as so many people think its ok to give bunnys a 3ft hutch and a 4ft run so i thought best to mention! minimum run size is 6x6ft but im sure the bunny palace is going to be bigger and better and it already sounds good! be aware with ramps you may need to put a side on it if its steep depending on how your bunny(s) (i assume being outdoors they are a pair?) will cope?! cant wait to see pics of the finished article!

lildebs said:

Cuprinol is safe for pets, I looked when I was doing my kennel but I got Ronseal for fence etc it says safe around plants/pets, much cheaper and they do dif shades, think mine was £7 for 5L, comes in handy as you'll have a lot left for the future, I used plain wood then treated it all with several coats.
Don't forget the right sized mesh, they need a bed area, if it's a double hutch then also a ramp (easily made with wood and batons) for steps I also put non slip mat inbetween for grip but my buns don't chew it off ...some may :lol:

Piccies when it's done

Click to expand...

cuprinol is Not safe for rabbits to chew, while building my hutch i emailed them to double check and they said:

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately we do not recommend using the product in areas where the rabbit is likely to chew the wood. We do not have any products in our range which would be suitable for this.


I hope this information is useful. If you have any queries or need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me at the Technical Advice Centre on 0870 444 1111.

Yours sincerely

Danika Magee
Customer Advisor (Cuprinol Hammerite Polycell)
Technical Advice Centre,
AkzoNobel,
Wexham Road,
Slough, Berkshire
SL2 5DS
Phone: +44 (0) 870 444 1111 (DIY)
+44 (0) 870 242 1100 (Trade)
Fax: +44 (0) 870 444 0660

Below is a reply I got from Kingfisher when I emailed them to ask if there Traditional Wood Preservative would be safe for rabbit hutches.

Thanks for your enquiry. Preservers are not normally toxic to mammals
when cured. Having said that, rabbits have a tendency to gnaw so I
don't think any preserver manufacturer, ourselves included will give
the "green light" for it to be potentially ingested! A few people
have asked this question previously, had the same advice and bought
the product anyway. We have not been made aware of problems resulting.

Gordon Grainger
Kingfisher Building Products Ltd
Tel: 01229 869 100 (Cumbria)
Tel: 0141 353 6996 (Glasgow)
www.kingfisheruk.com