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how much hay? and do i close coop for the night?

E

eeejay3

New Kit
how much hay should I put in the coop/hutch bit? In the nest box it, ive put a little cat bed - soft, fluffy type, with lots of ripped up paper bits bedding, on the metal pull out shelf bit, ive covered it in fitch bedding, they have a little manger in there with hay, im not sure if I should be closing it for the night? the run is covered with insulation and then a tarp, I think any cat would have to be pretty determined to get under there, but what do you think?
thanks em
 
Loads of hay :thumb: pack it full of hay, the more hay the better :p Maybe find a litter tray that will fit in there, then it will be easier to clean out if they toilet in there. Just keep hay in/around the tray :) I use 32L storage boxes as litter trays, don't know if that would fit in there?

Just make sure they don't eat the paper stuff :)

Personally I wouldn't shut them inside the enclosed bit as it's very small, you might find them chewing their way into the run if they got bored enough! Rabbits are very intelligent (at least most of the time!) and active animals (more so at night (dawn and dusk) so they need plenty of things to do and space to run around to expel some of that energy :) My lot sleep all day and dart around at 11pm+ and 4am+, lovely being woken up that early by a rabbit who is wide awake :roll: :lol:
 
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Are they outside? If so it's not cats I would worry about it would be foxes and they are very determined.
 
will a fox chew tarp?

hmm asked about a bit and there have been foxes in the area, would a fox chew its way through a tarp?
 
Doughnut is inside so I have no idea but I know lots of people on here have had bad experiences with foxes. Maybe do a separate thread about foxes and you will get lots of replies. Better to make it as safe as possible.

Cats wouldn't bothered but I don't think you need to worry about them. I know some foxes have got in through the bottom of hutches but I can't advise as don't have the experience.
 
would a fox chew through a tarp? Of course they would - I imagine chicken wire wouldn't exist if a tarp would be enough to keep foxes at bay.....
 
A determined fox can get through anything I imagine, tarp would be nothing. It's your decision though, the coop we've had for Chicky has been very good considering all 20+ other hens were killed by the foxes in the old (open topped..) set up. Nothing has penetrated the mesh yet, it's the small mesh and imo strong but we reinforced it so it wouldn't peel off.

You could always get some mesh (not chicken wire) and give it a second layer? You can pick up large rolls of eBay for a fair price, then you can attach it to the outside of the wood :)

If a set up/run isn't safe against foxes in the night and they need to be shut away, then it isn't safe for day time either as foxes don't just come out at night, so that's something to think about too :)
 
ok so hubby has had a thought, he's put 600 ml by 600 ml heavy floor tiles on the top, and placed the old hutch in front of the only 'exposed' side, that hutch is 2ft high and deep and 4 ft wide - it was just never long enough to be a permanent home - its pretty safe now thank god, I was really flapping about it, he's boxed it in, with god knows how much stuff, we don't sleep far from the hutch either.


"would a fox chew through a tarp? Of course they would - I imagine chicken wire wouldn't exist if a tarp would be enough to keep foxes at bay....." lol cant believe I wrote that - I think I meant would they be motivated to do so lol

good point about the day time, im in most the time, ive never seen a fox here, but my eldest has usually seen them on the estate around 730am, so ill make sure they are just as secure as now until we get it sorted this weekend
 
Sorry I didn't mean to alarm you regarding foxes, would rather your bunnies are safe though.

A girl at work had bunnies outside and they got in from the bottom. It was an ordinary hutch, I guess they hadn't re-enforced it and the foxes were determined.
 
Sounds like you're doing all you can :thumb:
I've never seen foxes around mine either, last sighting was before I was born, so 21+ years ago! but I wouldn't put it past a hungry fox! I'm currently paving my pairs run (my mom did my single buns run as she is apparently a pro digger :shock:) as Donny is a terror for digging now! He can have a storage box of compost once it's all done :lol:

I only live a 5 minute drive from my bf's and I've seen so many foxes here, but he lives surrounded by fields and I live in the village and next to a pub so a lot more noise etc that may put them off. We do get a cat come and visit but it just slinks through the garden and doesn't bother even acknowledge the bunnies.
 
There are lots of foxes here and I don't live in a rural area. Just a town where there are lots of food and they are one the scrounge.
 
I saw my first fox last year, it walked in front of my bf's kitchen.. I felt sick and had a lump in my throat :oops: I'd only ever seen pictures and videos of them so it was a bit scary for me :oops: They eat the bird seed in the night here! Haven't seen any for months and months though, nor the badgers.

I don't leave any food out at mine in case it entices them, the estate gets foxes apparently but they never seem to venture up top! I'm waiting though.. One day it will happen and I'll be there with a tin half full of rice to scare them off! (I don't know if that works, I know people use it on bears though :oops: :lol:)
 
lol the rice sounds a great idea, I'm so frustrated with myself, I just wanted to rescue them :( but the hubby is on it, and as soon as we can, I'll get photos up of the completed set-up - I cant wait for it, im so excited,
 
If you could post pics of the setup as it is now then we can see how safe it is and what improvements you could make. If it is strong weld mesh, thick wood and on slabs/concrete and has bolts instead of twiddle catches then it is normally okay.
 
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