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Do You Cover Your Hutch At Night?

Bitzy

Mama Doe
Basically what the title says really ........ do you cover your hutch over at night, and if so ... what do you use??

Thanks, Jo x
 
:wave:Hi, I always cover my buns at night as we have foxes in our area. In the winter we use a piece of wood that my OH has cut to size to fit exactly into the hutch door (on top of the wire mesh) then he fixed latches to fasten it. It keeps them lovely and warm and compeltely out of the wind and rain too, it's so cosy in there in the winter I could easily sleep in there with them :D. Now the summer is hear I use an old sheet cut to size and secured over the hutch door, that way the early sun can't shine in but the fresh night air can circulate easily, it also keeps the flys way too. Hope this info helps.
 
Not at the moment, no. I do from October/November to February ish. They were covered until May this year though because they had been indoors previously and I didn't want them to feel the cold.
 
I have the Scratch & Newton Hutch Hugger and Hutch Snuggle, and I keep the snuggle on all year cos it's supposed to keep them warm in winter and cool in the summer, and it has a detachable flyscreen.

I took the Hutch Hugger off a few weeks ago, which is basically a waterproof cover with a plastic cover over the front, so up until then I was covering them at night, but now I'm not.

If it gets cold again - which it undoubtedly will - I'll put it back on! It depends on the weather as to when I'll put it back on permanently, but it'll probably be late October/November time.

xxx
 
When we had ours outside we covered them every night as there is foxes round here. We just used a tarp and my Dad would take it off at about 6am when he went to work and I'd tuck them away about 9pm.
 
When ours were just in the hutches we did, cos we have foxes locally. Now they are in the aviary, and the hutches are left open, but the aviary has brushwood on 3 sides, a padlock on the door and blinds to cover the front overnight.

During winter the hutches will have their clear cover put on too.
 
I also have the Scratch & Newton Hutch Snuggle which I leave on all the time. At night I pull the flyscreen down and a large piece of folded up, clear plastic sheet, which I fix with clothes pegs to the hutch snuggle. Stops any drafts and from seeing anything which might give them a fright. Mainly for my piece of mind though really.
 
Thanks for your replies.

The bunnies will be moving into their new hutch this weekend and I was wondering about covering them over, they're not covered at the moment and they weren't covered at their last home so I may just do it when it gets a little colder.

The other thing I was thinking about was whether it was safe/normal to leave the hutch doors to the run open all the time so they can come and go as they please..... the hutch is 5ft x 2.5 ft and its a double decker with the run attached to the bottom floor (sort of added on as an extension) and I thought it might be an idea to cover the top floor (their sleeping area) but leave the bottom doors into the run open permanently in summer.

The run itself is 8ft x 5ft and 3ft high with fox-proof mesh and is bolted to the wall (and as of this weekend, the floor too).

What do you reck?
 
If your run is safe enough for the day it is safe enough at night.

I'm afraid urban foxes don't care anymore if its dark or not.
 
I do only cause we have had a few big downpours at night past few weeks i just use one of the bench covers you buy from wilkinsons and leave enough for them to breath and peep through, i also clover the hole to their ramp as i prefer them being tucked up overnight cause of foxes etc i let them run free in run during the day though i worry what do do over winter though as they just eat bedding etc so guessing will need extra covers for hutch etc and more straw :)
 
I cover my buns up at night time, but I`v only had them for a week, and i worry a bit that they will be cold if it rains, or that they might get scared by the cats. I use a large sheet of plastic that we have on a roll in the garage. I also have some plastic over the top of the run area to keep the rain off so that they can still go out and strech their legs. They prefere to be out in the run rather than be in the hutch.
 
I cover mine up at night, just with tarpauline. Keeps them dry if it rains in the night and hopefully makes them feel safe if there are any animals wondering around at night. :)
 
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