Hutch floor covering

Hi. My daughter, after being good for several months and not swaying in her desire for them and promises to look after them, has just got two bunnies. They're a male and female from the same family and they get on together. We have a hutch (actually two 4'x2'x2' hutches joined together) and a run, and I'm planning on making a rather long run myself in the summer (the garden is about half an acre). They need to go off to the vets soon for immunisations and they will both get "done" when they are a little older.

The hutches are very well made (in my opinion) with pull out plastic floors for easy cleaning - which brings me onto my question: In the "bedroom", there is a wicker bed which I have filled with hay and they seem to like to sleep on it - great! I am planning on getting a litter tray for the corner, which I will fill with megazorb (if i can find it) and will put hay on top. So what do I cover the rest of the hutch floor in?

Nothing?
Woodchip?
Paper?
More hay?

I currently line the whole cage with hay, but is this right and will they know where to litter if the whole hutch appears the same? Should I use a different type of hay? Should I just forget the litter tray idea?

I have hay in her "bedroom" with some to nom on in the mian part of the cage, I put newspaper on the floor which is changed daily and she has a litter tray with shredded paper in it (and hay to nom on of course). Paper keeps her warm and is very easy to change and keep her clean.

All my hutches have lino so anything missed out the litter tray can just be brushed off and wiped clean. You will need to make sure its fitted snuggly so there is no lose edges or they will chew it.

In the winter I just top the lino with plenty of newspaper to insulate so they aren't walking on cold lino.

how old are they? rabbits breed pretty young....
i cant really comment on the hutch as mine are in huge runs and i only have bedding in the sleeping area.
i actually use straw for the bed area as its a better insulater for when it gets really cold and plus mine dont seem to wee on straw but they wee on the hay :?
they have hay rack and a layer of hay in their toilets.

Sounds to me like you'll have a great little set up, what lucky buns!

The litter tray is a really good idea and it will keep your hutch cleaner and nicer for the buns. I doesn't generally tend to take them long to figure it out. Just pop their poops into it and they'll do the rest themselves They might get it wrong occassionally or territory mark but overall it should save you a lot of time & cleaning. I use an old square washing up bowl lined with newspaper and filled with hay. So long as it's high sided and they can get in and out ok I don't think it really matters what shape it is

I use an old towel and fleece blanket on the floor of my hutch in the meshed "living area". I don't have any hay in this section at all but that's just a personal thing. It's really up to you, just it does tend to get everywhere!! Hartley our current foster bun likes to "rearrange" the fleece to his liking:roll: When he's in the run I transfer the fleece into there (our run is on a patio and it's a bit cold to sit on all day!).

Your wicker bed sounds lovely, I'm sure they'll love it. Like you say they may mistake it for the litter tray though, might be a case of trial & error!

I assume you'll be keeping them apart until they've been "done"?!

They're 8 weeks old and together (though they can be segregated if necessary). They are going to the vet shortly and we will talk about surgery - but I understood that they won't be old enough (for surgery or babies) until about 15 weeks, however it's one of the things we will speak to the vet about.

pjcsmith said:

They're 8 weeks old and together (though they can be segregated if necessary). They are going to the vet shortly and we will talk about surgery - but I understood that they won't be old enough (for surgery or babies) until about 15 weeks, however it's one of the things we will speak to the vet about.

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Males can be neutered as soon as 'certain bits particular to the male species' drop down. Females aren't usually spayed until about 5 months old.

Lots of people use off-cuts of carpet or similar in the main area of their hutch as rabbits once litter trained are very clean animals. Although litter training can be rather hit and miss until they are spayed / neutered.

For their litter tray I just use several layers of newspaper with tons of hay on top.

Sounds good, mine have lino on the floor of their shed, and a fleece blanket to sleep on with a litter tray in the corner. They also have a hutch in their shed, which has carpet on the floor - works well for my 2, but some buns might chew, and it can be a pain to clean. Mine are litter trained,and don't have any hay in their hutch, so it doesn't get dirty.

I'd definatly line the hutch with lino if you can and use litter trays - I line mine with newspaper topped with hay. The wicker bed sounds lovely.

Do check soon with the vets as baby buns are easy to mis-sex. Males can be done as soon as their bits appear (about 12 weeks) but can be fertile for around 6 weeks after, most vets will do the females at arond 5 or 6 months - so there is the potential for a problem, especially if you cannot be sure of their exact age.

Hi! Hope you have a pair of happy buns for many years to come - sounds like you're doing your best to give them a good life.

In the winter I've had mine literally knee deep in straw - EVERYWHERE!!(Straw is a really good insulator and has kept mine toastie warm through the coldest weather). Coming into the summer now I'm planning to put down lino in the shed and bedding hay in the run part. Def use a litter tray, it's worth getting them used to it as it makes life a lot easier when cleaning. I find they like to sit in it anyway and eat hay - kinda like taking a magazine to the loo!!

Mine also have a cardboard box in the run that they like to sleep in mid morning to mid afternoon and I have bedding hay in there too. They snuggle up in there, stretch out and have a nibble when they wake up!

Enjoy your buns! :wave:

Mine have access to their run 24/7 and always 'do there business' outside - making it very easy to keep the hutch clean , clever rabbits :lol: :lol: I bed them in hay (they kinda have to wade through it in winter , I think I'm a little other protective ) with of course lots of eating hay in boxes outside and in a manger, they also eat their bedding :roll: :lol:

angieb said:

i cant really comment on the hutch as mine are in huge runs and i only have bedding in the sleeping area.

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do you line your runs with anything?

Op, my hutch area is lino'd (I got the tiles from poundland so it was super cheap to do and they're ready sticky so no loose edges) and I cover the floors of my runs in hay so that they don't get muddy when it's wet and it's nice to lie on.
I use wood shavings in their litter corner (they refuse to use a tray, the just drag it out and mame it), I find it helps to use a different material because they know only to pee/poop on sawdust.