• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Marble in his huge Run

xShellx

xShellx

Alpha Buck
Dont no if anyone remembers but I used to have my Rabbits in a huge walk in dog run with hutch as shelter and diy roof on the top. Due to having a rat problem and problems with it flooding Marble now lives in a 6ft hutch.

However I have removed the roof from the run, given it a good clean and just made up an old dog kennel. I plan to let marble go in the run for a few hours every day as long as its not raining :D And plan to only feed him in his hutch to keep the rats away :)

I will also use the run for the dog when we go for days out :)

322721_10152165449580164_2132374036_o.jpg


199835_10152165450310164_262624896_n.jpg
 
Thats a nice size, but there is no hay to eat in there - I'd advise putting some in to prevent dysbiosis or stasis from not eating. Some toys would also be good, tunnels, jump boxes etc for enrichment.

Could you not put a roof or tarpaulin over the top, and attach smaller mesh, so that rats cant get in - so that bun can have access to the run more often? Or rats are rarely out in daylight anyway, so you could always give her access to the run all day and put her in her hutch all night.
 
We have just taken the roof of as the tarpaulin kept colasping and run flooding. Hence why we made up the plastic kennel. Ive not put food inside as we have a family of Rats living under the shed and since we have removed the rabbit food from the run the rats have stated to eat the rat poison.

Theres a rabbit chew toy in there and a tennis ball my dog left in there ;)

Only planning on leaving him in there a couple of hours a day. He has unlimited hay in his hutch the rest of the time which the rats cant get to :)
 
xShellx said:
We have just taken the roof of as the tarpaulin kept colasping and run flooding. Hence why we made up the plastic kennel. Ive not put food inside as we have a family of Rats living under the shed and since we have removed the rabbit food from the run the rats have stated to eat the rat poison.

Theres a rabbit chew toy in there and a tennis ball my dog left in there ;)

Only planning on leaving him in there a couple of hours a day. He has unlimited hay in his hutch the rest of the time which the rats cant get to :)
Click to expand...

Could you not put a carrier in there with hay in, and take it out at the end of the day?

You cant leave a rabbit without food for even a couple of hours really, its bad for their guts.
 
The rats will help themselves to his food while hes eating it and he doesnt even bat an eyelid.

I also used to keep some guinea pigs in a hutch inside the run. The hutch was poorly made and doors had gaps in them. I once found a rat inside the hutch! also my guinea pig deleloped an abcess from a bite on his back and had to have it removed. At the time i thought it had been bit from the other guinea pig but I now suspect it may have been a rat.

This is one of the reasons Ive done away with him living in the run and brought a new better made hutch for him. I could leave him in the hutch but feel bad as hes so used to having a large space to run about in, Thats why I thought it would be good to let him go in the run for a few hours aday.
 
Do Rats actually eat hay? Ive only seem them eat veg and rabbit pellets.

Just put out a hayrack for him and will keep an eye out for rats :)

408678_10152165535540164_391533264_n.jpg
 
Last edited:
Do rats eat hay?

edited to add..

google search says just timothy hay they eat, but not very often- they are more likely to use it for bedding. I don't think hay would attract rats and more than plants growing in your garden. You need to get a rat catching cat or some rat poison. I think most local councils deal with rats for free because they are a public health risk.

You could grow some grass in tubs and put mesh over the top- then he could nibble whats grown through the mesh but not so short it kills it.
 
Last edited:
Even if rats do eat hay, I doubt they'd eat it when they could eat the grass next to it instead.

If the rats are out in the daytime you have a big problem - they rarely come out in the day, so for every one you see in the daytime its safe to assume there are many more underground.
 
nessar said:
Even if rats do eat hay, I doubt they'd eat it when they could eat the grass next to it instead.

If the rats are out in the daytime you have a big problem - they rarely come out in the day, so for every one you see in the daytime its safe to assume there are many more underground.
Click to expand...

They are living under the shed. We thought we only had 1 rat as we often see 1.

Couple of weeks ago when I fed the Rabbit in the run 4 rats came out from under the shed and helped themselves to the rabbit food. This was in the afternoon and I had 3 children playing in the garden to.

So now have rat poison in the shed and 3 rat bait boxes around the shed
 
xShellx said:
They are living under the shed. We thought we only had 1 rat as we often see 1.

Couple of weeks ago when I fed the Rabbit in the run 4 rats came out from under the shed and helped themselves to the rabbit food. This was in the afternoon and I had 3 children playing in the garden to.

So now have rat poison in the shed and 3 rat bait boxes around the shed
Click to expand...

Oh dear, theyre very bold rats. Be vigilant, rats can easily chew their way into hutches. I imagine you only feed the reccommended very small amount of pellets a day anyway, so the pellets are likely gone very quickly, but it may be worth supervising whilst feeding veg and things that take longer to eat (not hay obviously as they need 24/7 access to hay).

I'd ring up the council and see if you can get pest control out, they should do for free. They'll be able to assess the situation and tell you how many rats you really have.
 
nessar said:
I'd ring up the council and see if you can get pest control out, they should do for free. They'll be able to assess the situation and tell you how many rats you really have.
Click to expand...

This :)
My nan had a huge family of rats in her garden because of next door and their need for creating a tip area in their garden. The council issued them an order to clean up their mess which they did but the rats still hung around! So they came out and god knows what they did but she hasn't seen a rat since it was sorted 5 years ago :thumb: if they could do that for you perhaps he could have his run back :D
 
nessar said:
Oh dear, theyre very bold rats. Be vigilant, rats can easily chew their way into hutches. I imagine you only feed the reccommended very small amount of pellets a day anyway, so the pellets are likely gone very quickly, but it may be worth supervising whilst feeding veg and things that take longer to eat (not hay obviously as they need 24/7 access to hay).

I'd ring up the council and see if you can get pest control out, they should do for free. They'll be able to assess the situation and tell you how many rats you really have.
Click to expand...

The rats actually come out to eat the pellets when we feed the Rabbit! He has a small handfull aday, hes a big rabbit a giant papillon cross.
We have had someone out last week. My sons friends dad works for rent to kill and laid out 3 bait boxes plus we have put poison inside the shed which is being eaten.

Our council charges so wouldnt call them anyway
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Rabbit stressed? Choosing to stay out in cold & cecotropes
Replies
8
Views
313
Omi
O
N
suggestions for walk in run
Replies
6
Views
2K
Floppylop
F
T
Advice needed - worried I poisoned my bunny…
Replies
4
Views
307
theothelionhead
T
Back
Top