renting a meadow to keep buns in

I am thinking of renting a meadow nearby to house my outdoor bunnies as my OH is getting fed up of having so many around the garden and the house. Also if I keep the wild bunnies I am currently rearing, I want something huge for them to go into.

I'm looking for a shed and a big aviary and have seen them in RU-ers photos. Where do you get aviaries from and how do you put them up? Do they come in panels that I have to screw together, or do they come ready-made?

Also, if I am going to fox proof an aviary and it is made of weld mesh and I place it on the grass, what should I put underneath to stop a fox digging in? How much do foxes dig or how far can they go? If it is just placed on the grass is that not enough?

Thank you!

You can either buy aviaries as individual panels, or buy a complete aviary which will be delivered as panels for you to screw together (or some companies will put them up too). Alternatively you could hire someone, or DIY, posts in the ground and attach mesh directly to them - that makes a permanent structure you can't dismantle and move though.

You'd need to mesh the floor or concrete it to keep bunnies in/foxes out.

My main concern with off site housing would be security. Preventing vandalism/theft etc. I guess it depends on your area/how close the location is to you/other housing.

Thanks Tamsin, that's really helpful.

I would probably put them up on my friend's farm, so that if there was any vandalism they would hear it. It would be a worry of mine too though that if I wasn't there something would happen.

we laid a patio then turfed over it.
make sure the patio is larger than the turfed area so that buns cannot burrow out nor foxes burrow in.
sue:wave:

I agree with what's been said. Just to add, make sure you don't use the original turf for your bunnies - my boys nearly died from coccidiosis when they ate grass contaminated by wild bunnies.

You can use aviary panels on the floor, lay turf on top of the mesh and it will be secure.

As for a meadow, you might need planning permission as it's not part of a garden so don't know if it would be classes as a permissable outbuilding or not.