New Rabbits in with old?

My boyfriend has agreed that I can have another couple of rabbits but would prefer not to have another shed in the garden.

At the moment we have an 8x6 shed that my two rabbits currently live in (they use about half of this space). They are about 5 yr old and both unspeyed females.

I hope to get two young french lops (male & female) and was wondering if I could convert the shed so that the exisiting buns have a large hutch on legs (within the shed) whilst the lops have the underneath.

Would this work, can you think of a different alternative or is it just best to buy a new shed?!

Cheers

That's great that you want to give a good home to two more buns..
Would it not maybe be an idea to create a divide down the middle of the shed? Half a shed each per pair?

I'd just feel a bit nasty having two bunnies make use of the whole shed, whilst a new pair only have a hutch, albeit probably a fairly big one.
But that's just my opinion.

Sarah xx

In theory this can work, the main issue you need to consider is if moving another pair of rabbits into the shed will affect the relationship that the rabbits have with each other, such as fighting.You will also need to ensure the safety of each pair to prevent one pair accidently getting access to the other pair if you have a breakout.

You could consider longer term pairing the 4 up together, which would take lots of time and courage :shock:

Janice

jrn1310 said:

the main issue you need to consider is if moving another pair of rabbits into the shed will affect the relationship that the rabbits have with each other, such as fighting.

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Yes I would agree, I think there is a fairly high risk of a pair of unspayed females fighting with each other if other bunnies are introduced into their 'territory'.

I didn't think of that..

So do you all think that a new shed is the only way forward?

I have been looking at someting like a small shed with a run attached (similar to a dog kennel/run) but this will cost about £300-£400.

Would it be not worth while neutering them all and bonding the four? If you rang a rescue they may be able to test your two with two others to see the likelyhood of them all getting on? I've two groups of four living together, I must warn you though the one group of four were extrremely hard to bond.

If you are looking for ideas about attatching a run to a shed, greenfields rescue have some ideas and they reckon if you have a DIY'er in the house you can do it all for about £130, obviously if you want to spend more and get matching curtains and cushions ... you can.

http://www.greenfieldsrescue.co.uk/diycabins.asp

Janice

2 fully grown french lops on their own will need a huge amount of space.

My Alfie has daily access to half of my 6x8ft summerhouse, which is open onto the patio during daylight hours.
Within the summerhouse he has a 2x6ft hutch, which contains his food bowls and litter trays and lots of hay bedding. It is his base where he goes to sleep as its warm and snug.

So basically, for my french lop, his indoor space is 4ftx6ft with constant access to a large patio.


Remember, french lops get very big!!! They are goooooorgeous bunnies though!

You can see pics of Alfies housing on my website