New bunnie, where to site the hutch

have to say what a great place this is everyone seems very helpfull and passionate about bunnies, brilliant

I have two daughters nine and three years and would like to get one possibly two bunnies, i had rabbits as a child many years ago

I have read a lot about bunnies on this forum and feel ready to offer a good, loving and long term home to a new friend.

My only real question that i haven't found the answer to already on here, is where to site the hutch.

I am a carpenter so plan to show off a bit and build a large well made hutch, i have a shed 8ft x 6ft so could build insdie it a two storey hutch, each floor being 8ft x 3ft with a run outside connected to the hutch.
The shed has no windows and shares space with a petrol mower and strimmer so there is the slight smell of petrol.

Or the hutch (same size) can go outside in a sheltered spot out of direct sunlight again with a run.

Can you please give advice/suggestions on the best place to site the hutch

Keith

My advice is buy the bunnies another shed!!!
I wouldnt advise you to house a bunny is a shed with a petrol mower especially if it has no windows

Thankyou bluebunny you are right, unfortuantely funds and space are limited

would a hutch outside be that bad?

btw could someone please recomend a book for my daughter to reed on the basics of looking after a rabbit, see is nine years old so nothing heavy going

thanks

Alot of people house their rabbits outside.. Maybe you can build them a nice big hutch with run attached or underneath it.

Its nice to have them in a shed so you can sit in there with them even if the weather outside is miserable. Could you build/buy a mini shed/store for the mower?

A two storey 8'x3' hutch with run sounds lovely and spacious! As long as the walls a thick (e.g. tounge & grove rather than plywood you see on commercial hutches) then outside will be fine.

Out of direct sunlight is good especially for the summer, its also good if you can possition it so the wind/rain doesn't blow in directly, though you can always partially cover it in winter.

I would go for a pair of rabbits, its easy if you start of with two neutered adults rather than trying to add another later. That way you don't have to go through introductions which can be hard work. Accomodation that size will certainly fit a pair.

Bare in mind that you'll need to be the primary carer, some children can be really good with animals but even so they'll need you supervising. Bunnies can live 7-10 years so you could still have them when you daughters turn teenage and they don't always have time for bunnies when it comes to exams and going out with friends.

One thing to bare in mind when designing a hutch is access, both for cleaning and getting out the bunnies. You can guarentee they'll know when its time for the vets and hide in the most inaccessible corner.

Make sure you allow plenty of head height, its surprising how tall a rabbit is when stood on is back legs.

With the run you'll need to cover the top and bottom, two prevent anything getting in and the bunnies digging out. Putting proper bolts on the hutch rather than twists of wood is a good idea for security too.

Good luck! I'd love to see pictures of the finished hutch when your done

Tamsin

hi keith welcome, All my buns live outside, four live in an old dog kennel with and inside bit and an outside bit, the inside bit is 4ftx4ftx6ft high and the outer run is 8ftlong x4ft wide, this seems to be fine for them and also means i can sit with them when the weather is horrible, but if money is lacking i would build them as you propose a large well sheltered outside hutch and run and allow the children (under supervision to bring the bun/s inside each night for an hour or so, then obviously when the weather gets better you could buy a rabbit lead (most pet shops sell them) and the kids could play on the lawn with buns (again under supervision).

Good luck with hutch building and buns :wave:

Thanks for all the great advice

Having had the opportunity of reading your posts the obvious has dawned on me and the missus

The kids have an 8ft x 8ft wooden wendy house why we didn't think of this earleir :shock:

My main concern was that bunnie may get a little forgotten in the winter, but with a nice cosey wendy house to sit in this will help a lot.

Feel a lot happier about solveing this little problem thanks

Would really like to get a book fro my daughter so i can test her about rabbits before she is allowed to get one, please can someone recommend something simple.

Will definately post pics and possibly plans/designs for the hutch when done 8)

Keith i don't know of any particular books but there may be something in the useful topics bit at the top of the page, or go to the british house rabbit society website (not sure of the address), or do a search on amazon you can read the book sinopses and reviews or go to your loacal book shop and flick through a few. She really needs to know what to feed them and which toys to get them and how to handle them, you could ask adele or tamsin there really helpful.

Good luck

If you kids dont mind the bunnies could be free range in the play house they make ideal bunny houses!
Maybe you could could think about getting a neutered pair from a rescue rabbits love company
Have you thought about letting them spend a little time indoors in the winter maybe just bringing them in for a few hours each day?

When I wanted a hamster as a kid my mum made me go down the local library and take out every hamster book in the kids section as research!

Have you tried your library?

The problem is.. too simple and the books miss important things out - too detailed and she will get bored :? !

http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/iarfm.htm

http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/rabbitsneedsecs.htm are a few basic leaflets - http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/information.htm has loads of info.

Otherwise Tamsin (admin) has a small lending library going - I don't know if any of those books are aimed at children?

If you got an older pair from a rescue, they would probably be neutered and bonded and (as horrible as this sounds) they will already be fully grown and not live as long if the children do get bored. This also avoides the teenage stage where does can become aggressive and bucks can spray (often one of the major factors of kids getting bored is that cute little Fluffy turns into this raving lunatic bunny and if left unneutered this behaviour continues).

The wendy house sounds like a great idea. They will need an area to call their own that they can escape to for a bit of peace and quiet that your children understand the rabbits must not be pulled out of - only coaxed out if they want a cuddle.

Caz

been thinking about useing the whole wendy house, could turn the door into a stable door (cut in half) otherwise they may make a break for freedom.

How do we get in and out without bunny escapeing :?:

was definately going to let them in the house, when i was young one bunny i had was almost house trained without any real effort on my part

Just got to persuade the missus it will be okay :wink:

EDIT okay useing the whole wendy house may not give bunny any space for a bit of peace and quite so will build a hutch inside it

keith

keith i dont mean to be rude but do you think bunnies are the right pet for your daughters if they may get a little ingnored through the winter.

i have 14 rabbits but they are mine and not my childrens! and i go out and play, let them out in their runs, feed at 7.30 in the morning and again at 9.30 pm, i clean them out every day and spend all weekend scrubbing out hutches, now ok i have alot, but come rain, snow (3 foot sometimes) or sleet i am out there tending to them every day without fail, i would have a hard think before purchasing as you will be responsible for these pets when your children have lost interest, do you really want the responsibilty for the next 10 odd years!!!!

plus please think about holidays whos gonna look after them when you take your children on holiday, they cant look after thereself! just another consideration!!

but if you do decide they are right for you then good luck with whatever accommodation you decide on!

eve x

When you join the Rabbit Welfare Association you get a mini book/booklet call from Top to Tail which may be quite good as it sets things out nicely and has some good cartoon illustrations. They also do a range of leaflets which cover the basics in a nice easy to read way. You can see them online here: http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/information.htm or send of for them.

Most of the good books are aimed more at adults so might be abit heavy reading.

Tam

I think it is great that you have come to the forum and are asking all these questions before getting the rabbits

If you care enought to take the time to find the forum, ask all the questions you need and take advise from bunny experts it is clear you would care enough to take on the responsibility of the rabbits with your children and so be there t tend to the rabbits if they get bored.

If all parents did what you are doing I am sure that the number of rabbits in rescues would be reduced dramatically.

We have our bunnies free range in a shed and I have a greenline fence panel covering the bottom half of the door. So when I open the shed door the panel is there so the buns cannot escape and I either climb over (one day I will do myself an injury tho :shock: :shock: ) or I can see where the buns are and when it is safe I open it and go through.

I will take a pic and post it tomorrow so you can see what i mean as I have not explained it that well.

By greenline fence I mean one of these panels:

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/donate/rabbitrun.asp

Hope this helps

Thanks for all your answers

jules i know what you mean by green line fence, but think will go for a hutch inside the wendy house as this will give bunny some space away from the kids.

appreciate your concerns, me and the missus have thought this through for some time now

We are just trying to see any potential problems before they arise
i.e it is cold in the winter and standing outside in the rain to clean out a hutch could cause a problem

we are going to go for a bonded pair from a home for all the reasons stated

hopefully in a couple of weeks you will reading posts from my daughter all about her bunnies

keith & Jackie

aawww.. how exciting Where abouts do u live? we might have some we know about that we could suggest any particular breed/size you were looking for? :wink:

We are in medway, kent

I seem to have two threads running at once sorry for the confusion

As you don't seem to have a good night thread :shock:

will wish you good night here need some zzzzzz

will check back tomorrow

keith how about these

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/moreinfo.asp?RabID=1903 or

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/moreinfo.asp?RabID=2144

For the book, The RSPCA do a range of childrens books . . . As 4 the bunny: DEFINATELY RESCUE!!