Substrate in Hutch?

I currently use flax with a layer of barley straw as the substrate in my hutch. But I'm worried the straw is going to be too warm for the bunnies in summer. I can't use fitch because I literally haven't got somewhere to store such a large bale of the stuff. And obviously I can't use shavings. I'm again toying with the idea of just leaving the hutch bare and having some mats down instead. But I don't currently have Lino in the hutch, so I'm not sure about having the bunnies on the bare wooden floor....they do use litter trays...but I just would worry the floor is too hard or that it will get damaged without anything down.

What do people think? I do like the idea of not using substrate as it would make cleaning out so much easier!!

I have vinyl down in the kennel, and the boarding hutches. I don't put any substrate down at all, in the winter the buns get vet bed and blankets on the floor, and extra large deep litter trays which are stuffed full of hay. In summer they just have the bare vinyl floor as it's cooler, with ceramic tiles and shallower trays. Works really well for me :thumb:

My rabbits live in a kennel/run. The kennel area is the hutch/has the hutch in it.

The hutch is just lined with thick cardboard on the floor. Previously to the cardboard, I did put newspaper on top of the cardboard - but for some reason one of the rabbits did start to use it as a toilet, so I removed the newspaper to good effect. So cardboard on the floor works well for my rabbits, and when it gets tatty - I can easily replace it.

The run area is flagged with a wooden platform and contains the litter tray (newspaper lining plus hay).

I think I'm going to go for it this weekend and see how it goes

Is the base of your hutch coated with anything to protect it from 'accidents'?

Mine is coated with a few coats of cuprinol and then lino on top. I coated it first just in case they decided to rip up the lino but they never bothered!
I have mini lops and they are happy on a hard surface. If you have rexes then I think you need something softer to protect their feet.

Ailstar said:

I think I'm going to go for it this weekend and see how it goes

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Go for it. You won't look back I promise. :thumb:

We have vinyl flooring in ours and use megazorb/hay in their litter trays (I find newspaper just isn't absorbent enough for our George).

In George and Harry's hutch, in the summer they normally don't have much hay just in the litter trays and hay racks. But at the moment as the weather chilled down again I give them a small amount of hay to lay on but they just pushed it out the way. In Hershel's hutch he has a layer of hay throughout his hutch as he has had the start of sore hocks so I wanted to try and prevent them from escalating. Luckily he is really house proud and uses his litter tray (just wish he was the same in his run).

During the winter we give them another litter tray filled with hay and their snugglesafe heatpad. Last winter we made night shutters from cardboard and wrapped in the megazorb plastic sacks to cover the door with the runaround attached as it was more difficult to cover up with tarpaulin. They really made the difference and blocked out the wind.

marleysworld said:

Is the base of your hutch coated with anything to protect it from 'accidents'?

Mine is coated with a few coats of cuprinol and then lino on top. I coated it first just in case they decided to rip up the lino but they never bothered!
I have mini lops and they are happy on a hard surface. If you have rexes then I think you need something softer to protect their feet.

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No it's not...I never put Lino down although now I wish I had! Though tbh they sometimes 'miss' their litter trays and that just soaks through the straw and flax down to the hutch floor anyway, the lack of substrate should just make it easier to spot and clean up any accidents (at least that's what I'm hoping!!)

I have mini lops too

Snowflake-George said:

Go for it. You won't look back I promise. :thumb:

We have vinyl flooring in ours and use megazorb/hay in their litter trays (I find newspaper just isn't absorbent enough for our George).

In George and Harry's hutch, in the summer they normally don't have much hay just in the litter trays and hay racks. But at the moment as the weather chilled down again I give them a small amount of hay to lay on but they just pushed it out the way. In Hershel's hutch he has a layer of hay throughout his hutch as he has had the start of sore hocks so I wanted to try and prevent them from escalating. Luckily he is really house proud and uses his litter tray (just wish he was the same in his run).

During the winter we give them another litter tray filled with hay and their snugglesafe heatpad. Last winter we made night shutters from cardboard and wrapped in the megazorb plastic sacks to cover the door with the runaround attached as it was more difficult to cover up with tarpaulin. They really made the difference and blocked out the wind.

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I wish I'd lined my hutch with vinyl when I built it. I was worried they would chew it though! Do you not fill the litter trays with hay then? I always put loads in, which leads to wastage, maybe I should try putting less in....

I love your new signature photo. Such cute bunnehs.

Yes, we do put hay in the litter trays although I try not to use loads just enough to fully cover the megazorb.

You could still fit vinyl flooring it you wanted. My hutch was ready-assembled from Ryedale and we had to fit the vinyl into the hutch. We measured the hutch and marked it out on the back of the vinyl (remember to mirror your dimensions), cut out the different sections (like a template) and then positioned it to check it fit and then secured it down with an outside no nails glue. We haven't needed to put any beading etc down in the corners as they are not big chewers. We also give the base wood a coating of cuprinol to seal it. You could always do that as a minimum to prevent any spills from staining the hutch.

And thanks for the compliments, I've been wanting to update my signature for a while as Harry was missing but I am normally useless at photo editing. But I found a couple of apps for Windows 8 called Fotor and Phototastic. They are brillant and are really easy to use. :thumb:

I would tell the bunnies you have said they are cute, but I don't want them getting big heads. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I just use fitch in my litter trays. Hay just goes in the hay racks so I hardly throw any away.

Another vote for bare or with vinyl. If you don't you'll probably find they reorganise the substrate themselves and a create a nice bare cool spot for napping.

Tamsin said:

Another vote for bare or with vinyl. If you don't you'll probably find they reorganise the substrate themselves and a create a nice bare cool spot for napping.

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Yes!! They do do this!! It's very frustrating to see a nice clean hutch 'destroyed' overnight. Haha!

After cleaning the hutch today. It is the first night with bare floors tonight....fingers crossed it goes ok!!

Is it normal that the bunnies would find it harder to get up their ramp without the substrate at the bottom. Because I guess the floor is now lower down?