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Digging out

Alicia

Mama Doe
I have a 6ft run ready for when I get my rabbits in a few months time, and it doesn't have any wire on the bottom and I'm worried they'd dig out. The run has to be put on grass because we don't have a patio or any concrete parts of the garden. How do I stop them digging out?
 
Put up No Digging signs :lol:
Sorry I'm joking :oops: Can you not get some cheap flags from B n Q or suchlike? think they're about a £1 each. You shouldn't have to bed them in.
 
Just turn it upside down and attach some wire with staples and a hammer. Or even easier you can roll out some wire over the grass and peg it down then put the run on top. Just make the area you cover with mesh slightly larger than the run so they can't get at the edges :)
 
Buns can get sore feet on wire all day so you could wire the base of the run and then lay fresh turf on top which will grown down through it, the only downside is that the run won't be moveable as it is now. As well as digging out you have to think about foxes digging in, so you will need something. You could also lay patio slabs around the edge of the run if you chose not to wire the base.

We always used to wire the base of our runs when I was a kid. In our current garden we don't bother but our garden is very secure and I mean (very), in the city centre, there are no foxes for miles and miles, and the lawn is so hard and only a few inches deep - the rest is builders rubble underneath and tree roots, and the buns only go out in it during the day, mostly when i'm at home anyway.
 
we have a similar problem - strange shaped garden and to put paving slabs down on the small bit of grass we have would make the garden largely unusable in summer, whilst the rabbits are absolutely 100% a priority for us we are always looking for alternative methods.

i think if you put wire underneath the run it would be ok provided that the wire is a larger mesh so that their little feet and claws dont get stuck or hurt. also if you can lay the turf over the wire thats even better but make sure to put a really good 'skirt' of wire around the outside of the run too to stop mr fox.

our run has to be moveable as the garden space is so small meaning we cant really fix it in place either - when we moved house we moved with rabbit accommodation very much at the top of the list and we managed to tie in our 7x5 wendy house as a part of the deal but the lawn area is definitely not quite 100% - we were VERY close to losing our buyer though and the chain breaking, this was about 2.5 years ago right at the peak of property before everything crashed, we knew if we didnt move then we would be stuck for a very long time and already been in the process for a year - basically we did the absolute best we could for ours at the time and continue to try and find improvements now.

ours dont have access to the run at night though and never in the dark or dusk/dawn - generally we are home to supervise as we know it isnt the ideal situation.

also means that their nails dont wear down so you need to keep an eye on that if you are unable to use paving slabs (not kept ours on slabs before though so dont know how effective that is)
 
Mesh is fine when its on something solid, it's when there is nothing in the gap to support the foot so the thin bits of wire are the only areas that the foot rests on. If you mow the grass short then place the run/mesh down so it rests on soil and let the grass grow up through it then it will just be the same as slightly rough ground :)
 
definitely definitely get some before the buns go in it.

Our bunnies were in their run for months with no problems when we got them. Then one morning I went to feed them and was met with nothing but a small tunnel!

In our old run we had mesh covered with hay, we now have mesh covered with bark chippings. Both worked well :)
 
Dig up the grass, put down some panels made of a timber frame with mesh stapled to it. Then secure the new run to the panels. Then lay some turf over the top of the panels. The roots of the turf will grow through the mesh.
 
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