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THISTLE HALL-big enough for 3?

anamaria

Warren Scout
i've been thinking of getting another bunny to go with alfie and charlie but just wanted to check if you think thistle hall is big enough for 3 bunnys? they are only shut in there at night and they have the large run to go in during the day.
 
I guess it depends on the size of the rabbits. Sue&Sooty has 4 lionheads in her Thistle Hall and Mit had 3 dutch in his. You can always attach a run to the front of it too to give them more space.
 
kayjay said:
I guess it depends on the size of the rabbits. Sue&Sooty has 4 lionheads in her Thistle Hall and Mit had 3 dutch in his. You can always attach a run to the front of it too to give them more space.

i have a large walk in run around the hutch, but i always close the hutch up at night as there are foxs around, wanted to check if it would be ok for 3 just over night. alfie is a lionhead and charlie is a lop, not sure what size lop but she is but about twice the size of alfie.
 
Kayjay is right.. I do have 4 lionheads in Thistle Hall and there is plenty of room for them all. They have a 4ft x 4ft run attached which they have 24hr access to. They do seem to spend most of their time all snuggled up together in one corner of the hutch :D
 
Thistle hall is four foot in length is it not?

If so, why would a a rescue say that my hutch and attached run is not big enough for two small rabbits when you have four???

My hutch is 4ft x 2ft x 2ft with 9ft x 3ft attached run.

Not having a go at anyone - just curious??!!!! :)
 
I personally think a 9ft run plus hutch is plenty of room but I guess all rescues have different rules and maybe don't use any discretion? My rabbits have half a shed with a 4ft hutch which gives them about 6 x 3 space to roam in plus hutch and they have loads of room.
 
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
Donna I think thistle hall is 2 tier :?

And so is mine!!

oh right I dont know then! :? :lol:

My personal opinion is that the whole set up should be taken in to account- ie)attached run etc.

And Ive seen thistle hall and it is really big :thumb: I guess all rescues have their own policies. Im sure there are plenty that would have let you adopt from them xx
 
mandy said:
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
Donna I think thistle hall is 2 tier :?

And so is mine!!

oh right I dont know then! :? :lol:

My personal opinion is that the whole set up should be taken in to account- ie)attached run etc.

And Ive seen thistle hall and it is really big :thumb: I guess all rescues have their own policies. Im sure there are plenty that would have let you adopt from them xx

Not looking to rescue a bunny now - put me off TBH. Have my two buns now through other means.
 
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
Donna I think thistle hall is 2 tier :?

And so is mine!!

oh right I dont know then! :? :lol:

My personal opinion is that the whole set up should be taken in to account- ie)attached run etc.

And Ive seen thistle hall and it is really big :thumb: I guess all rescues have their own policies. Im sure there are plenty that would have let you adopt from them xx

Not looking to rescue a bunny now - put me off TBH. Have my two buns now through other means.

Yes I know, thats why I said would have :D
Its a shame its put you off, each rescue has their own policy.
 
mandy said:
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
Donna I think thistle hall is 2 tier :?

And so is mine!!

oh right I dont know then! :? :lol:

My personal opinion is that the whole set up should be taken in to account- ie)attached run etc.

And Ive seen thistle hall and it is really big :thumb: I guess all rescues have their own policies. Im sure there are plenty that would have let you adopt from them xx

Not looking to rescue a bunny now - put me off TBH. Have my two buns now through other means.

Yes I know, thats why I said would have :D
Its a shame its put you off, each rescue has their own policy.


I adopted mine before I bought a hutch for them. I chose them on the Tuesday, bought hutch on Thursday picked buns on friday. Obviously would not recommend doing it that way but they trusted me to get a 5 foot plus hutch. And I did.
 
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
fluffiebunnie said:
mandy said:
Donna I think thistle hall is 2 tier :?

And so is mine!!

oh right I dont know then! :? :lol:

My personal opinion is that the whole set up should be taken in to account- ie)attached run etc.

And Ive seen thistle hall and it is really big :thumb: I guess all rescues have their own policies. Im sure there are plenty that would have let you adopt from them xx

Not looking to rescue a bunny now - put me off TBH. Have my two buns now through other means.

I don't blame you. I remember Sue&Sooty's friend who wanted to adopt and struggled - in the end she got some off freeads I think. I was lucky Kay's more flexible and was happy with the shed and 4ft hutch.
 
fluffiebunnie said:
Not looking to rescue a bunny now - put me off TBH. Have my two buns now through other means.

Just because other people keep their rabbits a certain way doesn't mean it's the way they should be kept - for example it's fairly common in the US to keep rabbits in wire-bottomed cages (luckily things are starting to change now though).

It worries me when people are so easily put off e.g. by the expense of having to get a large hutch/enclosure. Bunnies are not easy or cheap to keep properly - vets fees, vaccs etc.

I guess it's down to the individual's conscience though - adding to the problem by encouraging people to breed more to sell, or helping to solve it by rehoming.

Re: the original post, have you checked out the new recommended RSPCA guidelines on hutch sizes? Minimum for 2 rabbits is 5 ft long x 2 ft wide x 2 ft. There should be enough length for the rabbits to take several consecutive hops from end to end, enough width for them to lay out comfortably, and height for them to sit up on their back legs without their ears touching the top.

See e.g. here http://www.rspcarabbits.co.uk/page56.html - "if you would not permanently keep a pair of small dogs in your accommodation don’t keep 2 rabbits there, they both need the same amount of space"
 
fluffiebunnie said:
Thistle hall is four foot in length is it not?

If so, why would a a rescue say that my hutch and attached run is not big enough for two small rabbits when you have four???

My hutch is 4ft x 2ft x 2ft with 9ft x 3ft attached run.

Not having a go at anyone - just curious??!!!! :)

All rescues have different policies and they are there to get the best for their rabbits. In the end if they have a choice between rehoming to a 4 foot hutch or to someone else with a 5 or 6 foot hutch then they want the best possible set up for their rabbits.
And IMHO I wouldn't say a four footer was big enough anyway.
 
I think the problem would have been th indoor area. Bunnies will spend most of their time in their during winter and when it is rainy, so 5 ft length is usually the minimum.

Your 9ft run sounds fabulous and much bigger than the minimum requirements - I think it was just the size of the indoor area that scuppered you!
 
Nix said:
Re: the original post, have you checked out the new recommended RSPCA guidelines on hutch sizes? Minimum for 2 rabbits is 5 ft long x 2 ft wide x 2 ft. There should be enough length for the rabbits to take several consecutive hops from end to end, enough width for them to lay out comfortably, and height for them to sit up on their back legs without their ears touching the top.

I think they may have recently upped it to 6 x 2 x 2.

I personally think fluffiebunnies accomodation sounds fine for the size of her bunns- it is 2 tier so probably equals about 15 square feet, allowing for the hole where the ladder comes up. Yes it probably would be better if it was all on one level, but 4 x 2 two tier is quite different from the bog standard 4ft petshop hutch which is usually only 15 inches wide! And it has access to a huge run from the hutch :thumb:

There are a few people on here who have a relatively small hutch with attached run.
 
I do think that sometimes we (by we I mean rabbit lovers on the forum) can get a bit too picky, at the end of the day the majority of us give 100% better lives than thousands of rabbits shut in 3ft hutches for life with no run, hay etc etc :( They'd be very grateful for Thistle Hall with attached run and love and attention.
 
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