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RWAF New Hutch + Run Design

nessar

Warren Veteran
Anyone know anything about this?

Anyone know if they are planning to update the guidelines and/or sell one themselves?

The First Alert says that they had a sneak-peak version at the London Pet Show:

http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=8d82133b4e3b967c999777fd9&id=e3417e37ce&e=a1acac7fa4

8238cb8f-0cac-4641-b6f2-f393a2af0c5c.jpg
 
I saw that too and I'm also intrigued! Looks like a great design for the buns. The door might be a bit low though for us humans! :lol: But still, it's pretty great :love: Seems like a great use of space, and easy to access the hutch too.

I sort of hope they don't update the minimum requirements... I think a lot of newbie owners are already put off by 6 x 2 x 2 with an 8 x 4 x 2 run. In one way it'd be fantastic to upgrade the minimum recommendation but on the other hand so many people are put off by that much smaller design so I wonder how many would be happy to go with that much larger one. I think they may be better off keeping the minimum as the minimum but saying that bigger is better and offering good quality hutches via their website. It'd be so great if they had their own shop. It's so hard to find good quality, good size accommodation isn't it - especially now that welfare hutches have paused/stopped production for a bit. It's all very well people reading the RWAF recommendations but it's not easy to find the hutches and runs unless they come on here or similar websites etc and ask. If there was a RWAF shop I think it'd go down really well - people could be referred to the website via leaflets and they could immediately find the shop via the website. If RWAF offered their own hutch/run combos (or worked with some of the top manufacturers to sell them via RWAF) they could easily get away with saying 6 x 2 x 2 + 8 x 4 x 2 minimum but for only £50 extra you can get x amount bigger. Even if they only had a list of good hutch suppliers with their prices on, that would be good too.
 
Im sure they had a sign on it saying it was made by Home and Roost, but I may be wrong. It does look good though!
 
If it is by them, am i the only one that feels "Robust 14mm timber construction" is not thick enough?
 
It looks like it would be great for bunnies, I like it better than the standard hutch/run design which are a bit of a pain unless you put the hutch on backwards or your climbing in the run to get in the hutch. Reaching the back of the house to clean might be a stretch though :lol:
 
If it is by them, am i the only one that feels "Robust 14mm timber construction" is not thick enough?

I agree it is a bit thin, a bit like the rubbish pets at home hutches. They did say they are still developing it though
 
What is interesting me most is that it looks like some sort of double story 4x4ft hutch/shed rather than the traditional 6x2 hutch.
 
What is interesting me most is that it looks like some sort of double story 4x4ft hutch/shed rather than the traditional 6x2 hutch.

To me it looks 4x4 and maybe they are going with the fact many people have their rabbits in playhouses of that size.
 
Im confused - is it RWAF thats going to sell that setup or RWAF is just supporting a company making that setup?

If RWAF are going to actually sell it themselves, rather than link to companies who sell proper sized setups, then i actually think it could really harm the rabbit welfare message. Lets face it there is still a huge proportion of new and existing rabbit owners that think a 3x1.5 double is fine for a rabbit to live in - that view is most likely to change when impartial welfare organisations tell them different. When its businesses (or people trying to sell anything) telling them that same message some may think about it but most will take it with a pinch of salt, afterall a business can have an ulteria motive in giving out reccomendations.

I trusted in the sizes quoted by RWAF and Action for Rabbits based on the fact they were welfare charities. Their only motive being to increase rabbit welfare. Im not sure i would have really gone as big as i did (i exceeded their reccomendations by quite a bit) if they were trying to sell me products at the same time - i would have questioned their real motives and honestly i dont think id have really believed them.
 
Im confused - is it RWAF thats going to sell that setup or RWAF is just supporting a company making that setup?

If RWAF are going to actually sell it themselves, rather than link to companies who sell proper sized setups, then i actually think it could really harm the rabbit welfare message. Lets face it there is still a huge proportion of new and existing rabbit owners that think a 3x1.5 double is fine for a rabbit to live in - that view is most likely to change when impartial welfare organisations tell them different. When its businesses (or people trying to sell anything) telling them that same message some may think about it but most will take it with a pinch of salt, afterall a business can have an ulteria motive in giving out reccomendations.

I trusted in the sizes quoted by RWAF and Action for Rabbits based on the fact they were welfare charities. Their only motive being to increase rabbit welfare. Im not sure i would have really gone as big as i did (i exceeded their reccomendations by quite a bit) if they were trying to sell me products at the same time - i would have questioned their real motives and honestly i dont think id have really believed them.

That's very true, I hadn't thought about that. Perhaps it would be better then if they recommended certain retailers instead of selling themselves. The last thing the RWAF want is to put people off!
 
I was part of the group that gave feedback for the design of this. I believe the hutch is 6ft x 3ft double story, and the standard run is also 6ft x 3ft and just sits to the side of the hutch. From the photo above, it looks like there is additional run space behind, and I know that when they were developing this they did say it would be a sort of modular design where more runs could be added easily.

They were deliberately trying to keep the product affordable I believe, so that is why the wood might not be as thick as some hutches out there. Other aims, as far as I remember were: easy to get to the bunnies, easy to clean, secure, and suitable for as many rescue home checks as possible.

I think it's a great idea to have a recommended, affordable set-up. I'm not sure if it is the RWAF themselves who will sell it, or whether they will 'endorse' a product from the hutch builder. Either way, I am sure the motivation for developing it is welfare rather than profit.
 
I was part of the group that gave feedback for the design of this. I believe the hutch is 6ft x 3ft double story, and the standard run is also 6ft x 3ft and just sits to the side of the hutch. From the photo above, it looks like there is additional run space behind, and I know that when they were developing this they did say it would be a sort of modular design where more runs could be added easily.

They were deliberately trying to keep the product affordable I believe, so that is why the wood might not be as thick as some hutches out there. Other aims, as far as I remember were: easy to get to the bunnies, easy to clean, secure, and suitable for as many rescue home checks as possible.

I think it's a great idea to have a recommended, affordable set-up. I'm not sure if it is the RWAF themselves who will sell it, or whether they will 'endorse' a product from the hutch builder. Either way, I am sure the motivation for developing it is welfare rather than profit.


I hope it is that they are going to endorse a product rather than sell it themselves. If they sell it themselves irrespective of their actual motive, i really do believe it could seriously harm the welfare message if they dont remain an impartial welfare organisation - too many people will think they could have an ulterior motive and thus wont take them seriously/ truely believe them. - Put yourself in the mindset of someone who thinks a 3x1.5ft double is big enough, if someone tells you otherwise, how likely are you to believe them? If that same person is trying to sell you their product think about how much less likely is it that youre going to be to believe them, then think how much more likely you are to believe them if their sole purpose is unquestionably only rabbit welfare.
 
I really like the look of it, different in shape too from your standard hutches, hopefully it won't put people off, but I can also see tht side of the coin a little like shampoo companies who say your hair will feel better IFused with their conditioner, as opposed to some other company one!
 
Wow it does look fab! I too hope they won't update the minimum requirements. I already think it's ridiculous how often they keep changing. People spend a lot of time and money on making sure they meet the requirements only for it to change and then they are made to feel bad for having 'too small' accommodation that is in fact very suitable for rabbits. It's great to sell large accommodation and promote it but they need to keep the guidelines instead of updating it so often and causing trouble and upset for rabbit owners.
 
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