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Hutch, Run, Shed, Access and Fear!

M

Milo2015

Warren Scout
As I have guinea pigs and they are pretty sensitive nervous ninnies I am very over- protective regarding grass time and living outside. I have bought them three hutches and they still live indoors!

I became the owner of two lovely rabbits sort of by accident whilst looking for a run for the guinea pigs. Any how I fell in love with Milo and he and his new friend (not that they have met yet) Penny are going to live outside. Really they are.

Plan is

hutch with run attached during the day

Shed at night.

(Or possibly shed just in winter? If I can find an electrician to fix up lights and heat..... or maybe I will get rid of my bed and sleep on the sofa so they can come inside.)

As I understand it people allow their rabbits 24hr access to runs? This freaks me out. I wanted to put them in the shed to be safer from foxes.

However since this is all going on with bonding/ new bond I am thinking now having two places isn't a good idea. So I need to be brave and let them stay in the hutch overnight. As this is the better option as the run means access to grass.

Would they have to have access to the run all the time. There are foxes everywhere here. plus what about the weather? Guinea pigs are like Gremlins you mustn't get them wet! Guess rabbits are different!

Also I was going to make the run pretty much permanent but what about rabbit poo and wee?? Would I need to move it?

Thanks.
 
24hr access to a run is fine as long as it has been properly predator proofed. By what you have written i think the best option would to have them in a shed with a large run or walk in aviary attached (aviarys aren't normally much more expensive and it makes the space easier for you to clean and spend time in to interact with your bunnies). You can attach the run/aviary using a cat flap or sliding door or a runaround tube. If the side of the aviary is attached to the shed that will provide some security. Make sure your run/avairy has the correct gage mesh and bar spacing so that it's fox proof. You can either put concrete slabs down under the run so that bunnies can't dig out and foxes can't dig in - this can make cleaning it easier too and it wont go all muddy in the winter. Or you can lay mesh down on the ground and cover with turf. As lots of people on here say if it's safe for use during the day then it's safe at night too - foxes are just as likely to be around in the day time as they are at night.
 
Your rabbits should be safer in the shed especially at night. Having an aviary attached to the shed is a very good idea - I would still like my rabbits locked up at night though. Also rabbits are'nt too keen on being transferred from shed to hutch/run, then back again.
 
I think the shed would get too hot in the summer and you can't see it from the house, I can't find a six foot hutch that I can go and buy so now looking at playhouses!
 
Milo2015 said:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3891333.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

would this be any good?
Click to expand...

This looks a bit to small and flimsy, if you are getting a shed then a proper tongue and groove one will be sturdier and last you a lot longer. If you look in the housing sticky on here that will give you lots of ideas. You can keep sheds cool in the summer, you can replace the glass windows with mesh and created a meshed door behind the original shed door which means you can leave the wooden door open if that makes sense. You should see examples of this in the housing sticky


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
All mine have shed/run set ups (well two are indoors but will be moving out once their shed arrives).

If you paint the roof white it really helps to keep them cool. Also you can replace the perspex in the window with mesh during the summer and put the perspex back in the winter. The housing sticky on here has some great ideas.

Sheds are just sooooooo much easier to hang out in and more tempting to be in during the cold/wet months.

All mine have 24/7 access to their runs. All runs are wood and weldmesh (including the sides roof and floor).

Good luck.

ps I highly recommend; http://www.welfarehutches.co.uk/

I have one of their hutches which is really well made. Sturdy and draught free. I have two runs on order (due any day) from them. Cant wait.

Keep us updated. I love rabbit set ups!
 
Yeah but my shed is right at the end of the garden behind a fence, in full sun and not easy to see from the conservatory/house whereas a hutch or playhouse in the actual garden would be easier to view in winter. As I rent this is all very difficult to decide. I'd knock the fence down!!

Options

1) I could in theory use the shed right by the house........as that has electricity and I could put in a cat flap and put a run sheltered by the shed and fence but there would be no grass access. It would just be concrete. And in terms of security I would need a hutch to go in there as it is an access route from the back garden to the front sometimes used for deliveries. they could not free range, perhaps a plan for winter.


2) my shed (behind a fence) Might be good for winter but would also necessitate a great deal of clearing out........;) plus even with mesh windows I think it would be boiling hot -in full sun all day.


3) A six foot double hutch (if I can find one) on my part of the garden with a 6 foot run attached plus an extension of the guinea pig run/ extra run added on. The piggies have a shed outside and I could buy them the run that goes with it in case anyone thinks they are losing out to the rabbits.


4)A play house with the same run attachment. Playhouse could maybe be 4 foot by 4 foot. or six ft long by four foot......


5) Go and buy my own house and let them be house bunnies..........
 
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