Mesh base in outdoor run

Hi everyone :wave:

We are currently creating a new outdoor hutch/run combo.

We have the hutch from Manor Pet Housing already and now that's in place after redesigning our garden (!) we are looking to add the run. Couldn't do it all at once as we weren't sure what was going to happen when we started to digging to get the hutch in place.

Anyway in terms of the run I wondered if any of you could offer any tips. We haven't had outdoor bunnies with free access to a run before, they were previously confined to a shed space so the run is new for us. The plan is they can come and go as they please during the day but we will shut them away at night as there are foxes in the area, though our two dogs do a very good job at keeping them away!

Questions:

1) We really wanted our run to be able to move around the garden as I imagine that after sometime in one area of grass you basically end up with no grass and a big muddy area? Is your outdoor run movable or is yours fixed in place? pro's/con's?

2) For those on grass have you dug out and put mesh underneath? in which case how do you then move it around the garden? how deep did you dig to put the mesh?

3) Has anyone tried anything other than mesh? Thinking something softer like the heavy duty rubber matting horses use or cars drive over.... that could then be laid on top of the grass and moved around with the run and being soft should mean that it moves with the bunnies feet preventing any injury? the grass can grow through this easily too and with regular inspection if it were nibbled could be replaced (haven't looked at prices for this kind of flooring yet)

4) we don't have much patio space AT ALL to put the run onto and the tiles for our patio get baking hot in summer, but yes we can put paving slabs down so that we could alternate between the patio and a grassy area to give the grass a chance to recover.....

Just not sure what the best thing to do is. Obv don't want bunnies to dig out, or anything to dig in either so would appreciate any advice from those with an outdoor run.

Thanks so much

I don't quite understand (haven't had breakfast yet). If they are to have free access to their hutch and run, how are you going to move the run without moving the hutch? Personally, I prefer my hutch and run to be on paving slabs - although my rabbits also have access to another 'digging' area.

Babsie said:

I don't quite understand (haven't had breakfast yet). If they are to have free access to their hutch and run, how are you going to move the run without moving the hutch?

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We do it with tubes :thumb: Our back garden looks like a road improvement scheme! :lol:

I currently have a run, playhouse and hutch, all connected by tubes, on concerete and we put an open-topped pen out on the grass for supervised mowing: that pen is currently on the patio as the grass is recovering. We have a new run which I need to mesh (my Dad built it) and I intend on meshing the base rather than under the grass as we don't have turf so much as varying areas of grass clumps: the underside of our lawn appears to be a mixture of good stuf and hardcore :S However, our lawn is also quite bumpy so I might have to remove it if it's too raised for their poor little feet. If I do have to mesh under the grass rather than the run, then I would mesh the whole lawn so it doesn't matter where the run is and I don't need to move it :thumb:

We used to have just the hutch and run on the lawn when we just had Lopsy. He wasn't much of a digger and he's not dug much since in the pen (he mostly just scrapes the top half-centimetre off to see what's underneath), although did go away for a weekend and the OH had to brick up the inside of the run to stop him making a break for it :lol:

We would use some kind of tunnel system to connect the hutch to the run and buy different lengths of tunnels if needed. Thinking the black tunnel pipe systems rather than the mesh ones.

Our two love being on the grass when we have put them out in summer but we have to stay in the garden with them all the time for supervision so really we would prefer to be able to get them some grass rather than leaving them on slabs all the time, don't mind alternating between the two but we really do want them to be able to get to some grass, it's just a case of how.

This is the sort of flooring for the heavy duty stuff we were thinking http://www.sure-green.com/products/grass-reinforcement.php?gclid=CjwKEAjww9O3BRDp1tq0jIP023YSJAB0-j1SSLfTgtDqBDqANoz_OU-2o98yYP92iJKgKqjYjSdg3RoC1lTw_wcB

If it's like the stuff I have previously seen we could potentially attach wire mesh underneath the rubber mat to put both layers inside the run.... bunnies then couldn't get hurt by the wire but would be on the softer rubber and we could easily move around the lawn as needed.... unless the grass grows through too quick and forms such a strong bond that we can't lift it!

For those with runs on concrete/slabs how do you provide grass? surely filling a tray with grass they just demolish it in a matter of hours?

keletkezes said:

We do it with tubes :thumb: Our back garden looks like a road improvement scheme! :lol:

I currently have a run, playhouse and hutch, all connected by tubes, on concerete and we put an open-topped pen out on the grass for supervised mowing: that pen is currently on the patio as the grass is recovering. We have a new run which I need to mesh (my Dad built it) and I intend on meshing the base rather than under the grass as we don't have turf so much as varying areas of grass clumps: the underside of our lawn appears to be a mixture of good stuf and hardcore :S However, our lawn is also quite bumpy so I might have to remove it if it's too raised for their poor little feet. If I do have to mesh under the grass rather than the run, then I would mesh the whole lawn so it doesn't matter where the run is and I don't need to move it :thumb:

We used to have just the hutch and run on the lawn when we just had Lopsy. He wasn't much of a digger and he's not dug much since in the pen (he mostly just scrapes the top half-centimetre off to see what's underneath), although did go away for a weekend and the OH had to brick up the inside of the run to stop him making a break for it :lol:

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I forgot about run-around tubes!

I don't like the idea of meshing the base - rabbits' feet don't find them comfortable.

keletkezes said:

we put an open-topped pen out on the grass for supervised mowing:

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maybe this is what we we should do.... have a permanent run on what's left of our patio with access to another run which is on the grass but that is only used when we are home to supervise and can then be relocated to new grassy areas as needed.

I really don't want to have to dig up the whole garden to mesh everywhere, we have two dogs who need garden access too and our garden is heavy clay so I just think it's going to be too much for us to do. We have a lot going on in life right now already and we just wouldn't have time for the foreseeable future right now to mesh the whole lawn. We love our bunnies so much and have done everything possible so far to make sure the changes we are making are as good as they possibly can be and the run is another part of that - just don't have the time to mesh the garden right now.

I think maybe this is going to be the answer... hadn't thought of doing it this way before so thanks Keletkezes you have given us something else to consider as an option

Babsie said:

I forgot about run-around tubes!

I don't like the idea of meshing the base - rabbits' feet don't find them comfortable.

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exactly, 100% agree - thats why I thought maybe the heavy duty rubber matting would be better, it allows a softer surface and the grass naturally grows through it to form a solid base, cost dependent this matting could be put everywhere.... but it's not lined with wire (though can take the weight of a car!) so it could be nibbled and would need wire mesh under it, but we wouldn't have to dig the lawn up which is the advantage. The wire mesh could be put directly onto the lawn with the rubber matting over the top, the grass would grow through to make a soft solid surface.... but cost wise I haven't done any calculations yet - suspect it will be prohibitive.

My outdoor bunnies have never wanted to dig (besides in their litter trays!) and foxes don't come into our garden because we have two dogs and the neighbors also have dogs so they obviously smell that they're nearby and don't bother coming in. For this reason I did still use mesh but it was chicken wire as it is much softer on their feet. I also inspect it daily to make sure it hasn't been chewed but at this point it has buried itself into the ground from me standing on it repeatedly. My run isn't movable as it is 10ftx10ftx5ft and is way too heavy. That being said, although grass doesn't grow through it doesn't get muddy inside because of the cover on top, only the inside edges get wet.

To solve the grass problem I have brought large dog beds that fit through the door of the run and have sowed grass seeds into soil. This way the dog bed can be put inside the run for them to nibble on the grass but then removed when it needs to grow again.

We get foxes even with the two dogs but it is a rare sight, still though we on the offchance want to take all the precautions as far as money and time will allow.

We really are quite liking the idea of a run always on the patio attached to the hutch that they can access during all daylight hours and then another run linked with a runaround tunnel that is on the grass for when we are home and can supervise. I think that would work really well for us as a family and our daily lives giving everyone maximum benefits without causing any additional stresses. I am home all day running the business anyway so they would have the grass access a lot of the time, more than just weekends, I think this is our solution.

Thank you so much everyone for your help and thoughts, you have all been fabulous :wave:

Leigh said:

We get foxes even with the two dogs but it is a rare sight, still though we on the offchance want to take all the precautions as far as money and time will allow.

We really are quite liking the idea of a run always on the patio attached to the hutch that they can access during all daylight hours and then another run linked with a runaround tunnel that is on the grass for when we are home and can supervise. I think that would work really well for us as a family and our daily lives giving everyone maximum benefits without causing any additional stresses. I am home all day running the business anyway so they would have the grass access a lot of the time, more than just weekends, I think this is our solution.

Thank you so much everyone for your help and thoughts, you have all been fabulous :wave:

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Oh yeah definitely, I would be the same. That sounds like an excellent idea though [emoji4]

Sounds good. Mine are in a shed/aviary set up with mesh floor ceiling and walls in the run. I hand pick grass for them every day.