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I'm getting a shed! Give me some advice?

chloemurray

Warren Veteran
I moved home from university this past weekend, and my Dad has finally agreed to build me a shed for the bunnies! It's going to be approximately 10x6, hopefully with an aviary attached but possibly just a standard run. It will have to be split into sections, at least at first, as the bunnies need to be bonded/may not bond at all.

I've never had a shed before and just wanted to see if anyone had any advice? Should we insulate it? Dad wants to have a proper tiled roof and double glazed (opening) windows... is that alright for bunnies? I'm such a novice :oops:
 
Sounds like a very posh shed! :D Re. the windows, the main thing to make sure is that nothing can get in or out, and that there's able to be good ventilation all year round and particularly in the summer when sheds can get very hot. So presuming the windows are going to be opening, you need to make sure the rabbits can't get out and foxes etc can't get in.
Insulation - we indulated the giants' shed and will insulate the 2ndhand one we've got for Samantha and truffles too, but more cheaply. I think it makes it a stronger structure, and otherwise we'd need to mesh round the sides to stop chewing of the struts.
 
How many bunnies are you hoping to bond? Not sure if u saw any of my recent bonding threads but I got a new shed and bonded my 2 pairs into a quad. I kitted out the shed (8x6ft) with lots of different places to go and hiding places too, lots of things to explore. Everything I used was new to all bunnies (except litter trays and bowls which I neutralised) so the whole shed was completely neutral. Then I just put all 4 rabbits straight in and had minimal problems. I'm convinced that the layout of the shed with all the hiding places I put in was the reason they bonded successfully. Any hints of scuffles never escalated because the 'target' bunny quickly found somewhere to hide. 3 of these rabbits had failed to bond in the past and I also had trouble bonding my second pair but the quad was the easiest bond! I would really recommend you don't have them living seperately in the shed as they will then establish territory in their own parts and it will be hard for u to completely neutralise it again.

Eta: Pics of my shed just before they moved in
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?416094-New-pics-of-shed!!

Pics of changes made since then
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?418057-The-shed-tonight

And the quad bonding thread
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?416118-Quad-bonding-updates!

Hope it helps :wave:
 
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Insulating is a great idea. I insulated mine and then boarded it over completely inside which has served several purposes. The shed is much cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I boarded over my insulation completely with plywood and then painted it with wipe clean kitchen/bathroom paint which allows me to scrub the walls very easily and it means they can't damage it at all. I then put lino on the floor and put skirting boards around the side (again painted with waterproof paint as if you paint with cuprinol the paint bleeds if you get it wet), and then sealed around the top/bottom/sides of the skirting board with clear sealant. It's worked amazingly well - the shed looks brand new 3 years on, and it's pleasant to spend time in there.

Opening windows sound great, and a tiled roof is also completely fine. :D

When I first had my shed I worried too much about building different levels straight off the bat. I put in 3 ikea tables and a piece of wood to go on top, but I found that it was hard to clean behind etc and it was a mammoth job to clean them all out. To begin with my advice would be to just leave the space mostly empty and then you can add levels/other ideas at a later date. Especially if the group dynamics are going to be changing a lot - you might build something only to realise that you want it bigger/smaller or in a different place etc.
 
Insulating is a great idea. I insulated mine and then boarded it over completely inside which has served several purposes. The shed is much cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I boarded over my insulation completely with plywood and then painted it with wipe clean kitchen/bathroom paint which allows me to scrub the walls very easily and it means they can't damage it at all. I then put lino on the floor and put skirting boards around the side (again painted with waterproof paint as if you paint with cuprinol the paint bleeds if you get it wet), and then sealed around the top/bottom/sides of the skirting board with clear sealant. It's worked amazingly well - the shed looks brand new 3 years on, and it's pleasant to spend time in there.

Opening windows sound great, and a tiled roof is also completely fine. :D

When I first had my shed I worried too much about building different levels straight off the bat. I put in 3 ikea tables and a piece of wood to go on top, but I found that it was hard to clean behind etc and it was a mammoth job to clean them all out. To begin with my advice would be to just leave the space mostly empty and then you can add levels/other ideas at a later date. Especially if the group dynamics are going to be changing a lot - you might build something only to realise that you want it bigger/smaller or in a different place etc.


Cuprinol is a waterproof outdoor paint??
 
Cuprinol is a waterproof outdoor paint??

Yes it is an outdoor paint for waterproofing the wood. However, it isn't wipe clean like the kitchen/bathroom paint is. And as I'm sure you've noticed if you have it outside, it needs repainting every so often. The colour leaks. It does a fantastic job for weatherproofing wood outdoors and I use it for that happily, but for something inside the shed I much prefer wipe clean paint. Then I can mop/scrub the floor without worrying about it leaking onto the lino. I now have brown, floorboard effect lino so I don't think it'd matter but it looked awful when it leaked onto my old lino. Just personal preference really, but I much prefer the wipe clean stuff :D It suits me because where I paint doesn't need to be rabbit safe as they can't nibble it (or can only access tiny bits of it), and N&T aren't chewers anyway.
 
Yes it is an outdoor paint for waterproofing the wood. However, it isn't wipe clean like the kitchen/bathroom paint is. And as I'm sure you've noticed if you have it outside, it needs repainting every so often. The colour leaks. It does a fantastic job for weatherproofing wood outdoors and I use it for that happily, but for something inside the shed I much prefer wipe clean paint. Then I can mop/scrub the floor without worrying about it leaking onto the lino. I now have brown, floorboard effect lino so I don't think it'd matter but it looked awful when it leaked onto my old lino. Just personal preference really, but I much prefer the wipe clean stuff :D It suits me because where I paint doesn't need to be rabbit safe as they can't nibble it (or can only access tiny bits of it), and N&T aren't chewers anyway.

I've never had a problem with cuprinol and find it wipes clean fine, well I've painted the whole inside of my shed with it anyway :lol:
 
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