How long is your rabbit laying down? Questions about RSPCA recommendations ?

How long is your rabbit- If your rabbit laying down?

My rabbits are not six foot laid down, so practically i don't feel they "need" six foot of indoor hutch space- i.e den space, when they have a covered run which six foot + which they are out in the majority of the time.

Where do the RSPCA minimum recommendations come from - why only 6ft - why not 7ft or 10ft or 12ft? Why not less 5ft or 4ft? Who made up these figures and on what basis?

Thanks
Ambience xx

I *think* it comes from 'enough room for the Rabbit to take three consecutive hops and stand up on h/her hind legs'.

Personally I dont think any hutch smaller than 6ft is adequate.

yeh, that and the lying down bit is supposed to be the depth or somehitng

As Jane has said.

I think that a lot of 'agencies' have actually realised that even a 6ft hutch is not enough but just at this moment in time, that has stuck as the commonly held minimum because of the three hop idea. Who knows, in time it'll be 8ft.

The bigger the better is what I believe.

Ambience said:

My rabbits are not six foot laid down, so practically i don't feel they "need" six foot of indoor hutch space- i.e den space, when they have a covered run which six foot + which they are out in the majority of the time.

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You may wish to sit out in your garden for most of the time, but if you decide to go inside - either because it gets cold, windy, the floor is cold/wet, to get in or out of the sun, or even just because you fancy a change, how would you feel if your only indoor space available for laying, toileting, eating, relaxing, was exactly the same length as you laying down? Large indoor spaces give bunnies the choice, which is what is needed to ensure their welfare in my opinion

If they only have a tiny space, they have no choice but to either stay outside or sit unable to move. Especially the case if they are the sort of bunnies who like to poop inside too, then they can only sit in their toilet area if they choose to go in

My rabbit has a five foot hutch but it is two stories. It hasn't worked out as well as I hoped because he isn't using the stairs yet. If I could turn the clock back I would have gone for shed-style housing.

Rabbits in the wild- what are the burrow dimensions?

It's worth remembering too that the minimum recommendation is to allow two or more rabbits (as it is not usually recommended to keep a single rabbit permanently alone in an outdoor enclosure) to express freedom to express natural behaviours: six foot as apposed to 4 foot will allow them to have more choice over where they want to sit/lie, and hopefully give some opportunity for exercise if the weather is too bad to be in the run (although I note that you mention that your runs are covered) xx

I think wildies dig 'chambers' at the back, so the narrow bit we see is more of a corridor.

I've never been in one so I don't know, but rabbits in the wild aren't confined to their burrow. They have entire warrens to wander about in below ground, they have entire fields to graze, stretch and toilet on above the surface. They are completely unrestricted in how and where they choose to be, sit, toilet, eat etc. I don't see how the two things are comparable :?

lilbun said:

It's worth remembering too that the minimum recommendation is to allow two or more rabbits (as it is not usually recommended to keep a single rabbit permanently alone in an outdoor enclosure) to express freedom to express natural behaviours: six foot as apposed to 4 foot will allow them to have more choice over where they want to sit/lie, and hopefully give some opportunity for exercise if the weather is too bad to be in the run (although I note that you mention that your runs are covered) xx

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Ah good point- so that's two rabbits laying down in a six foot space- that makes more sense.

There is an illustration of part of a warren here :wave:
http://www.wonderclub.com/Wildlife/mammals/EuropeanRabbit.htm

Here is a bit of an explanation :wave: They need to be able to hop, stretch and periscope without bumping into walls, bowls etc.
Ha forgot the link:roll:
http://www.forshamcottagearks.com/small-pet-runs-and-hutches/really-big-rabbit-hutch.htm

11 years ago, my dad, (not a rabbit expert!) made my hutches and he said 6ft minimum for a single bunny and minimum 8ft for a pair.

The more space the better.

I think a lot depends upon the owner, some rabbits will spend a lot of time free ranging being closely supervised by the owner, or have large runs so the rabbits spend little time in their hutches, but on the other hand you also have the people who take a rabbit on a whim, 'for the children', and the rabbit spends its life in a hutch, I think in this case having a minimum hutch size is good, some poor rabbits never get to come out of a hutch

My conti is a good four foot long laying at full stretch. I couldn't ever put him in a hutch, I'd feel awful.

Gasket and Tappet had a four foot by two foot hutch set in a run that was 6 ft by 5ft. They were allowed out in their run with access to the hutch from 7 am until I got home from work. Then they would normally have free range time in the house until about 11.00 pm at which point they went back outside into their hutch. They were then locked in the hutch until morning.

That was my regular routine, If we were out in the evening they were allowed to stay out in their run until we got home. Which unfortunately is what happened on that particular night.


My new buns Sprocket and Widget now have an 8ft by 4 ft dog kennel which they have the full run of all day & night plus the same amount of free range time that the boys enjoyed. But I've just been to enquire about those lionheads and Martlesham RSPCA's minimum recommeded space is 50 sq ft!!! :shock: We explained that is more than we have, although we do have split levels which increases the available space a bit and I have a home check pending. But their specifications do sound a bit excessive, given the free range time our buns also enjoy. Be interested to know what you folks think?

Most people don't have a 6ft run attached to their hutch and not everyone free ranges their rabbits as often as people on here do, some people don't bother letting their rabbits out of their hutches at all. Thats why there are minimum recommendations, not that many people or pet shops take notice of them anyways

Kittykat23uk said:

But their specifications do sound a bit excessive, given the free range time our buns also enjoy. Be interested to know what you folks think?

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I see what you're saying; I guess part of the issue is that they want to see that the buns have permanent access to what they consider to be an appropriate amount of space - similarly some rescues will insist on attached runs - because it's too easy for the owner to not put the rabbit into the run or let them out to free range if they are too busy/it's cold/it's wet/owner is ill etc. I'm not saying that this is what you would do, but it does make sense to ask for a good amount of permanent space so that regardless of whether the owner lets them out or not for whatever reason, they still have suitable accommodation. Similarly some rescues don't approve of free ranging - even supervised - particularly if their experience has been the loss of a bunny they have rehomed to a predator. It is likely to cloud their view and make them more likely to insist on fully enclosed large accommodation.

An increasing number of places now seem to be asking for 50sq ft or 60sq ft. In one area around Cambridge there are a whole load of rescues who ask for 60sq ft.

I guess the thing with hutches is that they were originally designed as a convenient arrangement for keeping rabbits to breed and eat. They were never designed to be of a size for the long-term welfare of the occupants, because it was never anticipated that the occupants would stay there for long. I think this is one of the big educational issues that remain - a lot of people are still using those sorts of hutches as long term accommodation but that was never the original intention.

What is the minimum sqaure foot for rspca recommendations 24 for hutch space and 24 for run space isn't it. so that is 48 square foot- or is my maths off there?

Ambience xx