Permanent Hutch buns??

I have some questions concerning outdoor hutch bunnies. (not sheds)
If you have a hutch bunny or any advice at all, let me know what you think

1) Heat. Some summer days can get to be around 90*F here and I know that that is way too hot for the buns. What do you do with your outdoor buns when it gets that hot?

2) Weather. What kind of hutch cover will I need for when it rains?

3) Are there any circumstances that I didn't add above that you think I should be aware of? Are there any times that you bring your buns inside?

Thanks!

ho hum - me again :lol:

I haven't had a summer to deal with yet - My hutches all have a run underneath with wire all around, the same size as the hutch above, with a trapdoor in the floor - this means my rabbits have cool concrete to lie on in summer, and I will put a rug over the hutch to shade the run (and hutch). they love lying in the sun but they don't have a lot of sense about moving out of it! My hutches are all near the washing line, so in summer I will peg a duvet cover to the line, and across to the wall that the hutches are against, so they will be doubly shaded on a really hot day. And the wind blows a lot here on top of the hill - it will blow through the open sided run, and keep them cooler - just as well as I have a south facing garden and it gets very hot (for England :roll: )

My smallest hutch is 4'x18" double level (hutch over run) - and I wouldn't keep anything bigger than a nethie in it. Maa's hutch over run is 2x4 per level, and it's barely big enough for her - she's a biggish lop. Benny's is 2x5 double level hutch over run, and it's a nice size - I would choose that size if I was buying again as the 2x4 is all taken up with the ladder. I wouldn't keep a rabbit in a hutch with no run attached - it would heat up unbearably in summer.

At the moment I have clear PVC shower curtains stapled over the fronts and part round the sides of the hutch level, ending at the top of the run - they get plenty of fresh air in through the floor hatch to the run - Benny is the only one that has the floor hatch door put back in at night - Maa refused to accept being shut in the top, and Tia's doesn't have a door for the floor. But plenty of air blows round the sides and top of Benny's shower curtain as it's on hooks at the top (through the curtain ring holes) As it rains all summer here I'll probably leave them on till it's really warm.

And at night I cover the hutches with rugs, and a duvet under the rug if it's freezing. It's a half hour workout feeding and covering them all up! :shock: Putting house bunnies to bed is waaay easier!

My hutches are all in the shadey part of the garden so even the hottest days here haven't been a problem. But it doesn't get nearly as hot here as it does in Illinois. Nor does it get nearly as cold in the winter. I have lived there and no way can you keep a rabbit in a hutch all year round there.

Covers are not necessary except in the winter - but your winters are far too cold anyway, you will have to have them indoors. Your climate just doesn't suit small animals kept in hutches. An outbuilding of some kind would at least give protection from the extremes.

summer - i put those ice packs in with bunnies to keep them cool, but you can use a frozen water bottle, maybe wrapped in a towel. i also have fans in the shed, but if its an outdoor hutch ummm... i had a look on ebay once and they had attacheable fans. you can cover the hutch over with net curtain to keep the flies away.

winter - i have a heater in the shed and have one of those snugglesafes. put in extra bedding (straw and hay). you can get bottle warmers for the winter months so the water doesn't freeze.

rain - maybe make a bigger overhang on the hutch. some people have tarpaulin (i think thats how its spelt) over the hutch. but when it was raining once i covered a run with that and for some reason i got in the run aswell and it was so stuffy, it wasn't a good idea to cover the run with that as the fresh air quality was really low and not nice as if i couldn't breathe, so i have never done that again.

hope that has helped

doorkeeper said:

My hutches are all in the shadey part of the garden so even the hottest days here haven't been a problem. But it doesn't get nearly as hot here as it does in Illinois. Nor does it get nearly as cold in the winter. I have lived there and no way can you keep a rabbit in a hutch all year round there.

Covers are not necessary except in the winter - but your winters are far too cold anyway, you will have to have them indoors. Your climate just doesn't suit small animals kept in hutches. An outbuilding of some kind would at least give protection from the extremes.

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If I had the choice, the buns wouldn't have to go out at all this summer.
They only have to go out because their room soon has to be made into a guest room for my grandfather who is flying in from Australia from the summer.
So, I dont have to worry about the cold (thank god!)
But the heat will be my problem. :? And a shed is not an option.
Last summer the 2 of my rabbits lived in the garage when my grandfather came. I dont think it was much cooler in there then it was outside though. I just dont like the idea of the garage because of the dust, the heat, and there is not proper lighting so they are in dark after 4:00pm.

So, I thought it would be better if I moved the hutch outside small fenced in area (just for rabbits) so they had more light, and got to munch in the sun all day.

I dont have many options :?

Question- I know they have heat pads for the winter, do they make 'cold pads' for the summer? :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

xxx

Elve-

Hey you!! This thread is a lot like my other one isn't it? :roll: :lol:
Thanks for the help and suggestions again!!

I really think I can work this out if I bonded Daisy and Blaise back together (Oi this is going to take a LONG time), converted the hutch into a hutch/run, etc.

Question- does anyone know of more cooling ideas besides the frozed water bottles?? Those dont seem to last long

xxx

It can just about make 90F here on very hot summer days. Same as Elve, my runs sit on concret so that's cooler for them to lie on. I also make sure they have a sheet over to provide shade.

You need to make sure there is shade throughout the day as the sun moves.

You can spray the floor with water to cool it down.... not while the buns are in but just to cool the floor before they're out.

Anything that keeps direct sun of the runs/hutches will help.

Tam

Do the hutch and run need to be covered by screen at all times to protect them against bugs (flies, fleas, etc.)??

Thanks for the "keeping cool" tips. I have lino on the bottom of the hutch and it stays fairly cool, and last summer when the buns were out I put cool ice all over it and it stayed cool the rest of the day. Also, If I spay the grass (in the run underneath) with cold water do you think that would be OK? I would imagine they would like lying in cool, wet grass

And wow, I didn't know it got that hot for you guys. Now I dont feel so bad, if your buns can manage I'm sure my buns can too.

I still dont like the whole 'outdoor bun' thing, but its sounding much better then the 'garage bunny' thing that went on last year :roll:

Thanks and any more suggestions...Please :lol:

xxx

Nope, I don't screen them. They use a tray in their run not the hutch so there isn't much to attract the flies inside. Cleaning the tray out daily is usually enough.

Not sure whether your flies are a bit more of an issue than ours though?

Fleas are uncommon in bunnies here, if you've got cats/dogs keeping up to date with their treatments should stop the buns catching them.

About the fleas- I was just reading up about outdoor bunnies on a website and it said something about being careful about fleas. They have never been a problem here and all of my other animals get their meds so it wont be a problem

And for other bugs, I already have chicken wire that is good at protection. Thats what their current runs are made out of and we haven't had any problems! Their hutch has a screen that NO bugs can fit through so I'm pleased I have that!!

One more thing about keepig cool- spraying the grass (in the run underneath) is that OK?? Do you think it will help or make no difference?

Thanks so much Tam!!

xxx

If it's grass probably best not to spray it as wet grass is more liekly to attract fleas. The concret here dries really quick.

Fleas are one of the carriers of myxi hence the worry over them. Rabbit fleas are very uncoomon it pet bunnies. I think I've only heard of one case.

Cat/dog fleas are more common but if your animals are treated they can't pass them on

Tam

Tamsin said:

If it's grass probably best not to spray it as wet grass is more liekly to attract fleas. The concret here dries really quick.

Fleas are one of the carriers of myxi hence the worry over them. Rabbit fleas are very uncoomon it pet bunnies. I think I've only heard of one case.

Cat/dog fleas are more common but if your animals are treated they can't pass them on

Tam

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Ok, will keep the wet grass advice in mind!!
Their screening (hutch and run) is pretty bug proof. I dont think the buns will be down in the run long enough for flies to even get at them, and the screening in the hutch is very tight (so no bugs!)

The more I'm learning the better I feel!

Still...anyone with more suggestions please speak up because I'm sure there are more tips to learn!

xxx

Fly strike is the main issue with flies. That's when they lay the eggs on the rabbit and the maggots hatch and literally eat the rabbit alive :?

Somethings make rabbits much more suseptable to this:

Wet/matted fur
Wounds
Sticky (poo) covered bums

Ideally you should check you rabbit several times a day so if they do get it you catch them early enough to treat.

If you're bunnies is in a high risk category, here you can get something called rear guard which is a liquid you put on the fur that stops maggots developing.. not sure if it's available in the states but your vet should know. (its perscription only here).

Tam

Yes, we have rear guard here

Blaise is the cleanest bunny I know. He keeps himself clean and groomed at all times.
Daisy is also very clean, but since she has a lot of hair I would be worried they can get under.

I will def keep an eye and do checks a few times a day.

I will be home all day, all summer (I know, what I life I have :roll so I'm not too worried. Just the feeling that you have no control of what they are doing at night scares me.

xxx

I think you'll find they dig out if the run is on grass (or a dog could dig in), plus you can't keep them cool enough on lino - why not put a few paving slabs down for the run? If you keep them shaded they will stay cool - I go barefoot in the house in summer and there is sooooo much difference between the lino on the kitchen floor, and the terracotta tiles in the hall leading off - I can hear my feet sizzle :lol:

If the run is 3x6, on concrete slabs, with a fitted sheet pegged over the top it will be much cooler than a hutch for them to sit in.

I use fly repellants now it's a bit warmer - I spray every hutch roof (and the shed window) with mozzie repellant for humans, 50% DEET, morning and evening, and I have 2 citronella air freshener type blocks, with a sliding cover, which I stand on the hutch rooves all day - My patio smells nice! I have a net curtain in the shed window, and I guess I will staple some nets over the hutch/run mesh too.

The most important thing is shade. If they have to be somewhere with sun exposure to morning sun is not as bad as mid day or afternoon sun. Ice packs and hosing down the area can help too as evaporation will carry off some heat - but you have to be around all the time to keep up with this. You could also get some reflective material to insulate the hutch against the heat. Just make sure you never leave them shut in the hutch when it is hot with no way for the heat to escape.

It does sometimes get hot here but that is unusual and it doesn't last all summer the way it does there. I remeber it felt like an effort just surviving the heat when I lived there I don't miss it at all, and we were close to the lake where it is not quite as hot. I'm glad you don't have to do this in the winter too, I have lots of memories of it being well below 0F -27 once. So cold :!: I love the British climate

elve said:

I think you'll find they dig out if the run is on grass (or a dog could dig in), plus you can't keep them cool enough on lino - why not put a few paving slabs down for the run? If you keep them shaded they will stay cool - I go barefoot in the house in summer and there is sooooo much difference between the lino on the kitchen floor, and the terracotta tiles in the hall leading off - I can hear my feet sizzle :lol:

If the run is 3x6, on concrete slabs, with a fitted sheet pegged over the top it will be much cooler than a hutch for them to sit in.

I use fly repellants now it's a bit warmer - I spray every hutch roof (and the shed window) with mozzie repellant for humans, 50% DEET, morning and evening, and I have 2 citronella air freshener type blocks, with a sliding cover, which I stand on the hutch rooves all day - My patio smells nice! I have a net curtain in the shed window, and I guess I will staple some nets over the hutch/run mesh too.

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I have some answers for you. The hutch will be located in a fenced in area made for the buns. The fence is a 6 foot fence that you can not see through, and goes underground at least 1/2 a foot.
As for digging out of the run (under the hutch) if it is sitting on grass, the run will be situated under ground so that if they try to dig, they will just run into more wire and wont be able to escape.
I would just rather have them on grass so they can munch, dig, and play. It would be more fun.

The way I'm looking at it is they are inside 10-11 months a year and are spoiled to death!! Last year they really enjoyed being outside even though it did get hot, and I think this year they will enjoy it even more if I can build the run under the hutch. I will post a picture of what I want the hutch/run to look like and you can voice your opinions.

Did a quick drawing of what I'm planning. At the moment the run is not attatched on the bottom, it is just a stand. How does it look?

xxx

very impressive :wink:

Thanks.

xxx