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Ruby moving outside in November? UD: Bonded and New Hutch :D

KatieMax

Warren Scout
Hi,

So you may or may not have seen my post in the introductions section. But I recently rescued a female rabbit called Ruby from an unhappy situation where she wasn't getting any attention at all. I brought her home today, but the cage she will be staying in at night, and during the day when I'm out, is too small. It's only 1m by .5m, so I'm looking to buy a hutch for her so she can go back outside.

The only problem is that the hutch I want to get (http://www.welfarehutches.co.uk/7ft_x_45ft_Rabbit_Hutch_Under_Run/p1466125_13551075.aspx) won't be delivered for 21 days, or so it says on the website. I'm worried that in 3 weeks time Ruby will have lost her winter coat and it will be too cold for her to go outside.

What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone know of a good company that can deliver hutches quicker?

What is the longest she could stay inside before it is no longer safe for her to be moved outside again this winter?

I don't have the option of making a suitable indoor enclosure as we don't have the room. At the moment she has free run of the dining room when we let her out. But I'm worried about her going a little bit mad in the cage. Also, she has already (after 1 day) started to rip the wallpaper off the wall. My fiance is not happy with this, and nor am I to be honest.

Any suggestions would be amazing, thanks!
 
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How about getting a large run to put the hutch into so that she still has lotsmof space just a small bedroom for 21 days. Welfare hutch stuff is awesome.

Happy hutch on ebay or just look up runs. I guess the welfare hutch runs will take a while too. Is there anyone local who could make you a run foemher?
 
The cage is inside at the moment. If I put it outside then it would be very cold for her, because there isn't any protection. I don't have a run at all at the moment.
 
To be honest, I think you're pushing it putting her outside now. I think the general advice is before end of September. The temperature is already dropping to 8c at night here and I live down south. How long has she been inside? If she's only been inside a few days and you can keep her in an unheated room with the window open, you may be alright waiting. But personally, I'd want her outside now - my bunnies have been growing their winter coat for a month already. Being outside is worse for a single bunny as well as they can't huddle up together.

Have you considered moving some of the furniture around to give her a bigger pen? I'll be pushing my dining room table against the wall when the buns come inside, as we only use it maybe once a week anyway, and the pen can be expanded into the extra floor-space when we're not there to use it, and then folded away when I'm home.

I'd contact a few other hutch companies and see if any can deliver sooner. I think you'd regret getting the rose cottage, it looks very pretty but isn't very robust and isn't big enough either. I'd get her out asap, buy a hutch cover/shutters, and really stuff it with hay and straw.

Could you get/do you have a shed? A shed will protect her much better from the cold and the bad weather.
 
I personally would keep her indoors and either let her out for supervised free run time or set up a pen around her cage. Unless you plan to spend a lot of time with her outdoors during the winter, or she is clearly unhappy being indoors around people. It seems to me it would be better for her to have a smaller space indoors temporarily during the winter, and be able to have the interaction with you, than lots of space outdoors and being alone.
 
She was outside until 3pm today, so she hasn't even been inside a night yet. I haven't found any good suppliers of hutches who deliver the next day as the best ones are handmade for order. I've tried looking at second hand hutches, but they don't look in good condition at all.

We have a shed, and I was planning on turning half of it into an enclosure for her, but I'm not sure I can get that done tomorrow. I could try I suppose, but I don't even have a hutch to put in there for a nest and extra warmth. We have even put a thermometer in there to record the max and min temperatures to make sure its warm enough. Do you reckon I could get this done in a day?

My plans for the shed were to divide it in half using MDF as a barrier, then use laminate floor tiles to cover her area. I was going to have a hutch in there for a warm nest, and then have a little tray. I would then get one of the welfare hutch tunnel connectors to get the shed connected to an 8ftx4fx3ft run on the patio. Does that sound like a good plan? I could possibly get the shed bit done tomorrow, but the tunnel and run would have to wait until I can figure out how to cut a hole in the shed. I'm not sure yet whether I need to insulate the shed, which is why we got the thermometer.

We just simply don't have the room inside, but I did worry about her not getting enough attention. I plan on getting her neutered and finding her a friend though. She isn't the most friendly rabbit, due to having no attention the first 2 years of her life, and she tends to get aggressive if you try and go near her. She does seem interested in getting attention though, as she'll come up to if you put your hand out, and she'll take food from your hand. Is it unfair to put her outside?
 
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Personally, I wouldn't be too concerned. I used to volunteer at a rescue and we put rabbits straight outside, no matter what time of year it was or if they were previously housed inside. There were never any issues. Just ensure there is a really snug area filled with straw/hay and put a couple of SnuggleSafes in too if you're still worried.
 
Ruby sounds like she's had a lonely and restricted life with her previous owners. If she likes it indoors, could you rearrange your furniture somehow, to section off part of your living room and protect what can't be so easily bunny proofed, like the walls?

When we first got her my girl was in the home she'd been used to, a tiny cage. I kept her cage open and expanded her run area gradually over a couple of weeks, to help with litter training. The bun run and pen space was and is, still sectioned off with furniture. I just use a couple of puppy panels to close off access to rest of living room when needed.

They both jump over that easily when they feel like it, if I'm late back and it's feeding time. Mostly in the daytime they'll sleep in their own area anyway, even when there is open access everywhere.

The little cage I upgraded to larger cages until we finally went open plan and, at night they come and sleep in the bedroom with me. There's nothing like going to sleep and waking up with a bunny or two at the end of your bed :) And if Ruby is single and interested in attention, the bond you'll make if she is indoors will develop much faster and stronger.
 
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The pets at home hutch is fine - mine have them but they are used as somewhere to sleep and a bit of protection form the weather, they're not stuck in it for hours. The hutches are inside a big run so there's extra protection and space. Also get the hutch cover as this helps to protect it from weather damage and keeps it insulated in winter.I would maybe get this for now so she has her own space and somewhere to live is there's not enough space inside. Then work on getting the shed sorted?
Although if you are going to get her neutered then it may be best to keep her indoors until after that - so that she feels comfortable in her own space
 
If you are going to put her in the shed, you could use some cardboard boxes as a temporary measure until your hutch is ready - stuff them with hay, raised off the floor (eg on bricks or an old wood pallet) and replace them if they get wet. I would use exterior grade ply rather than MDF if you are making dividers in the shed.

The Welfare hutch would be a much better quality than the Pets at Home one, or she could have a permanent base in the shed and access to a run.
 
You could use the little hutch she came with with the door removed or open as a base inside the shed until the welfare hutch comes. A joiner made hutch will last a lot longer than the store bought ones. The one you linked that someone is selling on Facebook isn't ideal, the enclosed part of those are tiny and hard to clean out, and the wood isn't very good quality. When I had outside rabbits I much preferred having them in a shed than a hutch, it gives them a lot more space, and you can clean them out more easily :thumb: plus you can sit in there with them.
 
I've already bought the one on Facebook so she'll be in that temporarily while I sort the shed out, then I'll either sell it on and get a more suitable one to go inside the shed, or put that in the shed as a nest, with another box for a nest as well.

Amazingly in less than a day, she seems to have picked up litter training, so that's good :) she's still very skittish though and aggressive to anything coming near her when she's in her cage. This will get better once she's neutered right?

For the shed, it wasn't actually mdf I was going to get, but I couldn't remember the name. It is an external quality anyway. Any ideas on how high I need to make the divide? And should I put anything over the laminate flooring once it's in?
 
If she csan live inside the shed she won't need a hutch for warmth as she will have plenty of protection from the weather inside the shed. She has lived outside in a hutch so the shed will be much cosier for her. While she is in the shed you can then think about what you want to do. The PAH hutches last a few years.
 
I'll get the shed sorted as soon as possible then, but until then UK user this other hutch/coop so she isn't indoors and doesn't lose anymore of get winter coat. I can already see where she has pulled out the thicker coat and she's a different colour.

Thanks for all your advice :) I'll try and post some pictures when she's sorted, although I haven't been able to figure that out yet :S do you have to have your pictures saved online somewhere first?
 
Only time will help her to become friendlier and being consistently treated in a loving way so she can learn to trust you. It can take a lot of time. You have to put your photos on something like Photobox? I can't figure it out I wish I could!
 
Most buns won't jump a 4' fence - some can, and obviously they could if there is a platform to launch from. 3' can be cleared by most bunnies if they want to - assuming it is an open topped enclosure.

Laminate flooring in a shed could get slippy and is likely to get condensation on it in winter. A textured lino might be a better option. You could put a layer of hay or fleece on the floor to make it less slippery for her.
 
My four are in a shed wth lino on the floor. They 32 litre underbed storage boxes filled with newspaper straw and hay as litter trays.

Some people use rubber stable matting on the floor as it is non slip. When i had belgian hares i fenced off part of their shed usung puppy panels. They had a run with a hutch inside as well and used to spend loads of time sitting on the hutch.

Hope your rabbit settles. Spaying will help her to calm down as well as reducing her riskmof uterine cancer.

Photos have to be loaded into photobucket or similar then the code needs to be copied and pasted ont here. Its a bit of a faff but lovely once its done, bit like housework really.☺
 
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