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Hutch size
- Thread starter mark1177
- Start date
Minimum of 6ft long by 2ft by 2ft I think. They do exist
also needs an attached run of 8ft by 6ft with constant access to it. Free range is good too, but they need access to the spaces I listed above 24/7 Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
That sounds great
I'm not sure about the free range time instead of a run - hopefully someone else can give their opinion on that. All I can say is the minimum requirements from the rwaf - would the time in the garden be supervised though? And all weathers?You could have a secure run, but still let them free range the whole garden from those times also
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That sounds great
You could have a secure run, but still let them free range the whole garden from those times also
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Thanks for your reply yes mostly supervised just don’t like them in a run when I’m at work
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Have you considered a shed? As they'd be protected and have more space whilst you aren't around?
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Santa
Wise Old Thumper
I think for French lops you'd need to go higher than 2ft high, even a dwarf rabbit can stretch to 2ft so a french would need much higher. Do you have space to attach a run or aviary too? The current recommendation by welfare organisations is for 60 square feet of permanently accessible space, for two average sized rabbits; this is based on study of the size needed to enable them to engage in all natural behaviours. French lops are bigger than average sized so really bigger than that would be preferable (by way of example, even a 6*4 shed is only 24 square feet so only about a third of what they need).
Some free range time out would be great, but you'll see that the recommendation is for permanently accessible space - rabbits are naturally active and inactive sporadically throughout the day and mostly active at dawn and dusk, which are times when it would be pretty impractical to have them safely free ranging. Even if that was possible, I'd suggest having a good think about how much time they will get out free ranging on the very best day, and also on the worst case scenario day - when you're out, busy, it's midwinter etc - and then take that time away from 24 hours. You'll probably see that even on the very best day, there is more time spent locked in their hutch than out of it, and on the worst day they could be in it almost all of the time, which doesn't give them the space they need to fulfil their natural behaviours and exercise effectively.
The only real safe solution is to have some kind of permanently accessible, predator-proof enclosure for them which gives them the space to safely exercise whenever they want. This could be a hutch and run, or it could be a shed and aviary, or a dog kennel style pen. If made safely, it's no less safe than free ranging, and can be supplemented with free ranging when you are there to supervise. Best of luck with your new bunnies
Some free range time out would be great, but you'll see that the recommendation is for permanently accessible space - rabbits are naturally active and inactive sporadically throughout the day and mostly active at dawn and dusk, which are times when it would be pretty impractical to have them safely free ranging. Even if that was possible, I'd suggest having a good think about how much time they will get out free ranging on the very best day, and also on the worst case scenario day - when you're out, busy, it's midwinter etc - and then take that time away from 24 hours. You'll probably see that even on the very best day, there is more time spent locked in their hutch than out of it, and on the worst day they could be in it almost all of the time, which doesn't give them the space they need to fulfil their natural behaviours and exercise effectively.
The only real safe solution is to have some kind of permanently accessible, predator-proof enclosure for them which gives them the space to safely exercise whenever they want. This could be a hutch and run, or it could be a shed and aviary, or a dog kennel style pen. If made safely, it's no less safe than free ranging, and can be supplemented with free ranging when you are there to supervise. Best of luck with your new bunnies
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Yea this is a much better explanation than mine [emoji38] but I'd definitely look into sheds if you're concerned about a run attached to a hutch, that's what I'm eventually going to go forI think for French lops you'd need to go higher than 2ft high, even a dwarf rabbit can stretch to 2ft so a french would need much higher. Do you have space to attach a run or aviary too? The current recommendation by welfare organisations is for 60 square feet of permanently accessible space, for two average sized rabbits; this is based on study of the size needed to enable them to engage in all natural behaviours. French lops are bigger than average sized so really bigger than that would be preferable (by way of example, even a 6*4 shed is only 24 square feet so only about a third of what they need).
Some free range time out would be great, but you'll see that the recommendation is for permanently accessible space - rabbits are naturally active and inactive sporadically throughout the day and mostly active at dawn and dusk, which are times when it would be pretty impractical to have them safely free ranging. Even if that was possible, I'd suggest having a good think about how much time they will get out free ranging on the very best day, and also on the worst case scenario day - when you're out, busy, it's midwinter etc - and then take that time away from 24 hours. You'll probably see that even on the very best day, there is more time spent locked in their hutch than out of it, and on the worst day they could be in it almost all of the time, which doesn't give them the space they need to fulfil their natural behaviours and exercise effectively.
The only real safe solution is to have some kind of permanently accessible, predator-proof enclosure for them which gives them the space to safely exercise whenever they want. This could be a hutch and run, or it could be a shed and aviary, or a dog kennel style pen. If made safely, it's no less safe than free ranging, and can be supplemented with free ranging when you are there to supervise. Best of luck with your new bunnies
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Sheds are much better than hutches, they protect the rabbits from the weather and predators more than a hutch. A hutch for 2 French Lops in my opinion would have to be 8' long by 2.5 or 3' deep and 3'high and you could connect a large run or preferably an aviary to it. Rabbits do not like being transferred from hutch to run, and back again but if your garden is really safe then you might not need a run. I have 2 rabbits in a 7 x 5 shed, they are not as big as French Lops but this is a reasonable size which would be ok for FLs. I also have 2 rabbits in a 12 x 6 shed. You will probably need to think about covering a hutch for the winter, to keep the cold wind and rain out.
daphnephoebe
Wise Old Thumper
ThisI think for French lops you'd need to go higher than 2ft high, even a dwarf rabbit can stretch to 2ft so a french would need much higher. Do you have space to attach a run or aviary too? The current recommendation by welfare organisations is for 60 square feet of permanently accessible space, for two average sized rabbits; this is based on study of the size needed to enable them to engage in all natural behaviours. French lops are bigger than average sized so really bigger than that would be preferable (by way of example, even a 6*4 shed is only 24 square feet so only about a third of what they need).
Some free range time out would be great, but you'll see that the recommendation is for permanently accessible space - rabbits are naturally active and inactive sporadically throughout the day and mostly active at dawn and dusk, which are times when it would be pretty impractical to have them safely free ranging. Even if that was possible, I'd suggest having a good think about how much time they will get out free ranging on the very best day, and also on the worst case scenario day - when you're out, busy, it's midwinter etc - and then take that time away from 24 hours. You'll probably see that even on the very best day, there is more time spent locked in their hutch than out of it, and on the worst day they could be in it almost all of the time, which doesn't give them the space they need to fulfil their natural behaviours and exercise effectively.
The only real safe solution is to have some kind of permanently accessible, predator-proof enclosure for them which gives them the space to safely exercise whenever they want. This could be a hutch and run, or it could be a shed and aviary, or a dog kennel style pen. If made safely, it's no less safe than free ranging, and can be supplemented with free ranging when you are there to supervise. Best of luck with your new bunnies
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