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Is this set up ok?

CandyApple

Young Bun
Hi all,
I'm just wondering if my room lay out is ok for bunny!
Before I show pics, I just want to say that I know the hutch isn't that big, but the rabbit will be out all day, and only in the hutch when I go to bed. The wicker basket, and any woods that aren't safe to chew on will be dabbed with perfume, to prevent him munching on it. Also, the room isn't fully rabbit proofed yet, so point me out anything I missed. (Don't worry about the bed though, that one is being replaced, as I need a new one. Its going to be one of those beds that has a desk under it, so I won't need to block off underneath of it ;)
Now here are the pictures:

007-2.jpg


This is only to prevent the rabbit running out of the room when I open and close the door. So it doesn't need to be that high, as the door will be closed full time :)

013-2.jpg


The inside of the room. There is more room on the other side of the bed, but you just can't see it as the door is in the way! But where that wall alongside the bed ends, is where the other piece of room ends!

011-1.jpg


The hutch. Only reason theres toys in there, is because I want it to look nice, not boring! It also looks like a rabbit lives there... Sort of!
Anyway, the door will be open all day, and closed at night.

Measurements of the room are: 8 foot long, by 8 foot wide :)
Is that ok... Do you think?
The rabbit will get a walk around my garden 3 times a week, to munch grass and all. I'm not putting him in a run in the garden, as I have terriers, and 2 ferocious cats! I also havent enough money for a run with a roof, as they are pretty expensive!
 
If bunny had access to the room all the time or had an attached bit to that hutch it would be better as its rather small :wave: rabbits are active when we are asleep and it's likely you will be kept up by bar chewing of a bored bunny.

I wouldn't take him outside at all in this weather:) summer would be okay but it's too cold to be outside now for an indoor rabbit.
 
Hi,
So if I leave the hutch door open 24/7, its a good set up? Because as you can imagine, I really can't fit much more into my room... Let alone a large extention to the hutch :lol:

Thanks,
Sophia
 
A lot of people have viewed your post and not replied and I think it's quite hard to see from the pictures. You have a lot of things in there that an unsupervised bunny could chew so you need to do some serious bunny proofing. I don't think dabbing perfume on things will deter a chewing bunny. My concern would be that your bunny will start to chew things, your parents will get annoyed about the damage and the rabbit will end up spending more time shut away in the hutch than you're hoping for. The hutch looks quite small so that isn't going to be a great idea. I would try to rearrange the room if you can so that you have some sort of pen so you have the option of restricting what your rabbit can chew without locking them in the hutch. I also think you need to alter the hutch so the rabbit can get in and out. It looks as if it only opens at the top so your rabbit won't be able to go in and out when they want to.
What size of rabbit are you getting and what size is the hutch? Even if the rabbit won't be in it much you need to consider whether it will actually be able to get between the levels of the hutch. You might be better with a dog crate and pen.
 
I'd get a babygate for the door as it will make life much easier for you and your hamster can have its pen back. My rabbits could pull down that barrier in a couple of seconds, or just jump over.

You need to do a bit more bunnyproofing, you'll have to keep all wires out of reach and perfume wont stop a rabbit chewing something. In fact perfume can irritate their noses and contribute to causing problems like snuffles, so I wouldnt spray it in the room - that goes for incense, scented candles, febreeze/air freshener and deodorant too.

The hutch isnt really big enough for a rabbit to spend the whole night in, as rabbits are generally most active at night and around dawn. Which reminds me, the rabbit will make a fair amount of noise so you have to have a fair bit of patience and not be woken up easily to survive having them in a bedroom. The RSPCA and RWAF reccommend a minimum of 6ft long for hutches for small-medium bunnies, so the rabbit can do 3 uninterupted hops. You'll also have to check that the hutch is large enough (reccommended is 2ft high inside each level) for your rabbit to stand up tall on its back legs (periscope) without its ears touching the roof, as this is also a welfare requirement for rabbits. A rabbit may also develop the stereotypie of chewing the bars in a hutch like that, as it will be bored and those bars are wide enough for a bunny to get their nose through.

You could attach a pen to the front of the hutch, or just return the hutch and get a better one, which would work out much better in the longrun for you. You could also have the rabbit free-range permenantly, but in your room this would depend on how well you can bunny-proof it, and some rabbits are so destructive that they just dont make good house bunnies.

Do you know which rabbit you are getting yet? Do they have a friend coming with them and are they neutered? I ask because both being neutered and having a friend should help reduce boredom-induced behaviours like chewing and destruction, and trying to get your attention at night.
 
I'm afraid the hutch is rather small to be shut in. If you left the dor open all the time it would be fine, but otherwise, I think you would need a puppy pen or something.

Also, you might want to get a rug for the floor, I think a bunny will find that flooring quite slippery, especially if its trying to run about and binky (leaping in the air with happiness etc) it could injure itself. :wave:

Not trying to be mean, just helpful. It's good you are trying before getting bunny.
 
Hi all,
Thanks for replying,
@ redfraggle: There are actually doors on the bottom, two of them, but you can't actually see them. I would be leaving them open at all times.So he will defintely be able to hop in and out of the hutch quite easily.

@ Elena: I'll have a look at the thread in a minute, thanks ;)

@ nessar: The rabbit won't actually have access to the playpen pieces at all, as its in front of my door. Its only to stop the rabbit running out of the room if it happens to be there when I open the door. But the door will be closed all the time, and the rabbit won't be able to get at the playpen :) (My hamster doesn't use the playpen either! She also climbs up the side and out!!!!)
Here is the link for the rabbit hutch I bought. (Its the bigger of the two:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/rodents/cages/rabbit_hutches/outback_hutches/126757

I'm getting a mini lion lop rabbit. Its going to live on its own, and it will be nuetered.
I can't actually return the hutch, as me and my dad modified it, so it has bigger doors on the bottom. Also, I bought it a while ago, as I was afraid it wouldn't be on sale any longer if I waited too long. So its not actually possible to return it.

@happy saz133: I'll look into a rug on the floor. What type of rug would you suggest?

Could you give me links to good, relitively cheap puppy pens, to block things off? Thanks so much,
Sophia
 
I think if you have 2 terriers and 2 ferocious cats it is not short of cruel to introduce a rabbit into the household. A rabbit is not a toy and its needs won't be met in the situation I can see.
 
Doughnut is an indoor rabbit and she's kept downstairs in her hutch and play pen when I sleep. I'm worried that you won't get any sleep as I used to hear Doughnut pulling her bottle and rattling the hutch cage so I got her a bowl to drink from. I still think she would be a nightmare to sleep with!!
 
Any rug will do! As long as you put some rubber matting underneath it so its non slip, then bunny should be OK. I wouldn't spend a lot of money on it though, bunnies are fond of chewing ;) :)

I have greyhounds and bunnies and have had no problems. You just have to be sensible with bunnies and dogs not getting loose together. You do seem to be very sensible about everything!
 
I'd get lots of cheap rugs put down
Bunnies hate skiddy floors

I think your hutch is a great base for him. I would declutter a bit and make sure there's no wires etc. And no precious wooden cabinets etc.

You'll get used to the noise at night.
If I can sleep through my husbands snoring I'm sure you'll be fine!
 
You could get some carpet offcuts, might be cheaper than a rug. I have one in Nutmeg and Smudge's room, well half of one. One offcut gave me two ideal sized pieces.
 
Could you give me links to good, relitively cheap puppy pens, to block things off? Thanks so much,
Sophia

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/runs_fencing/73280/8_sided/184138
I just bought this one, it arrived yesterday and it's really good. It's eight sided but you can put it into whatever shape you want, so what I did was leave one side open and put it against a radiator (because my rabbits are chewers and I can't trust them with wallpaper so couldn't place it against a wall) to create an even bigger area for them.

There's also an even cheaper one:
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/runs_fencing/73280/6_sided/229211
That's only six sides so a bit smaller, but if it's just going to be for night time/whenever you're not in the room, it'll be absolutely fine. I only got the bigger one because it's free delivery if you spend more than £19, whereas this one you'd have to pay delivery, which would come to the same price as the first one anyway, so you may as well just get the extra space.
 
i think it will depend partially on your rabbit. mine loves her cage and its one of those p@h indoor plastic ones which i dont think to be fair is big enough and possibly may be smaller than your hutch, but i like to use it as a constant, so wherever i move or circumstances change there is always one pernament thing there. she gets locked up in it at night now only as a smaller area is easier to insulate than the entire room, but frankly my rabbit used to live in my bedroom (now its the pantry, kind of like a shed but attached to the house but not insualted) and had full entire access of my big bedroom (she had more space than i did!!! seriously!!) and cage 24/7 and they were never really active more in the night compared to the day and im a light sleeper. it really does depend on the behaviour of your rabbit in my experience at least and this is just only my opinion, you have to make your own of your rabbit. mine likes to sit and graze and take things sedately and in her own time and be less active and rather be a single bun despite having toys, tunnels and boxes, company of a rabbit but had to seperate, company of my family as even my dad likes her now ;), outside in a huge pen during the day and she is a very healthy rabbit with lots of lovely big round poos. :)

so i think your hutch is great, just take some stuff out so bunny can move more freely and also if your rabbit is an active one and is rather social then i would suggest leaving the hutch doors open constantly, but you never know about their unique personalities she could be like mine which is a bit more unusual in their behaviour.
 
What if...

You had a bit of a room move around and managed to get a space for bunny to be in the corner of the room and had a puppy pen around where the hutch was to give constant access to more space?? If the hutch was never shut then the area wouldn't be so small and then you could let her out safely in your full room when your supervising. Perhaps something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DOG-PUPPY...UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&var=&hash=item3a691a6976

You might even be able to pick one up second hand from somewhere? Be very careful of the wires, when our bunny was found as a stray someone thought they could keep her as a house bunny, she chewed through a cable and was electrocuted. She survived but was handed into a rescue when they realised what they had taken on:cry:
 
Thakns so much guys!!!
@ tonibunny: The rabbit will not have any contact with my dogs or cats. My cats and dogs have no idea I have a hamster. I had a hamster and a mouse previous, and no harm ever came to them. I am quite sure that keeping the rabbit the way I intend to, with help from you guys, that it will be perfectly happy :)

@ cpayne: From my years of sleeping with a hamster wheel clattering against the cage bars at 100 miles an hour, I genuinely think I'll be ok! :) I'm a heavy sleeper, and once I'm used to the rabbit, I think I'll be perfectly fine ;D

@ happysaz133: Thats brilliant! I know where to find some rugs dirt cheap :)

@ sarattie: I will de clutter completely! I'm taking out my desk, and buying a bunk bed with a wardrobe in it, to put my things in. There are definitely no wires in my room, that can't be unplugged.

@ Elena: I'll look in the furniture shop near me ;)

@ bethepoet: I'll look into those links as soon as i'm finshed this post... They sound good! Especially the top one!!

@sunnibunny:I'll take the toys out of the hutch, and I'll pop them in my room instead ;) Hope hes really happy when I get him :)

@helen01: Thanks for the tip, I'll look in a minute. I'll look at the link in a second ;)

Thanks so much guys, I've got an idea now, of what I'll do, is I'll get a few playpens, and block of my chest of drawers, and my bed. The wicker basket is ancient, and falling apart, so the rabbit can chew that if it likes!
Thakns again,
Sophia
 
Lol, you're a better person than I am, there's no way I'd be doing all that for my rabbits. That's why I never got any until I had moved out and had spare rooms, haha.
 
I re arranged the room last night, and I have two options:
1.) I can have a playpen attached to the front of the hutch like so:

Untitled-2.jpg


(The black line is the playpen... Ignore my hideously squiggly line... I'm terrible at photoshop!!!)

2.) I could use the playpen to block off the bed and the chest of drawers.

Which do you go for? I honestly can't decide :p
Thakns,
Sophia
 
I think I'd put the play pen on the front of the hutch like your black line shows. That way bunny has a defined space that they know is theirs and you can easily get to what you want in the room. I think that's the most practical.
 
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