advice on a hutch for older rabiit

[Lynseypvic]

Hi
Hoping for some advice about getting a hutch for my rabbit who is about 6 years old. She has had 2 partners in the past but we wont be getting anymore as both of these had very high needs due to teeth problems and we have decided not to get any more rabbits. She had always been healthy until a couple of months back where she became really ill and we were even contemplating putting her to sleep after 4 weeks of aggressive treatment was still not doing the job and the vet was out of ideas and did not want to operate. She had become aggressive, unhappy and clearly in pain and still not passing toilet. We decided to stop taking her to stay at the vet to be force fed etc and give her one last chance to pull through. Amazingly she eventually perked up and is actually pack to normal now.

However, her hutch doesn't look like its going to last much longer. She has a hutch on the patio with a run underneath where her litter tray is. A while ago she developed bald patches on her feet and the vet said she should not be sitting on the patio and to move her on to the grass. We didn't feel it was safe to have a permanent under hutch run on the grass and I felt it would get mucky and horrible, so we started putting vet bedding at the bottom, though to be honest, she doesn't really sit on the patio slabs, but in the litter tray. She has free run of the garden all the time we are home and lays on the grass, patio and soil.

Anyway, we are trying to decide what to do about a new hutch if we cannot fix up her current one well enough. I don't want to spend too much as realistically, we don't know how much longer she will be with us and we won't be getting other rabbits, but I want her to be comfortable. I am wondering whether to get a two tier hutch with proper wooden flooring on the bottom tier (as opposed to a run). Would I be able to just leave the bottom floor bare and just add her litter tray and a bit of vet bedding, like she currently has? Although she does not wee on the bottom floor (patio base) at the moment, I am worried she may start doing this on the wood. Then I would have to put bedding everywhere on both levels which would be time consuming and more expensive and could prevent her using her litter tray and I would rather avoid spending extra time on tidying.

Currently she has one of those pull out plastic trays upstairs, and I have concerns about having a two tier hutch as they don't tend to have plastic trays at the bottom and if she ended up using the entire flooring as a litter tray, surely the wood would just be impossible to fully clean compared to a plastic tray?

Secondly, although she is no longer unwell, she is about 6 and I imagine being so unwell a short while ago will affect how longs she lives for/stays healthy. Would it make more sense to buy a single tier hutch in case she started struggling with the ramp later on? I really wouldn't want to have to get yet another hutch again.

I wondered about getting a shorter two tier hutch (she doesn't tend to stretch up anyway), one that is aimed at guinea pigs as well as rabbits, so at least the ramp would not be as high. Realistically, do most rabbits tend to manage ramps as they get elderly? Am I worrying too much?

I wouldn't be able to go bigger, so she would end up with less space with a one tier and I wonder if she would miss the ramp or whether rabbits really aren't that fussed about them (?) On days like this it really wouldn't matter if her hutch was smaller, but of course there are days where there is bad weather and she would not be out quite as much. Also, I am worried about a fox being able to knock over a single tier hutch or at least scare her more than a higher hutch.

The other things is, because her bottom tier is a run, she can let herself in and out without jumping at all, so whatever hutch I did get, the legs could not be too high. She is not a rabbit that likes to be handled, so I would rather she could get in and out the hutch herself. She has never been a climber/jumper compared to other rabbits I have had and does not climb on to other levels in the garden.

 

[yaretzi]

Hi
Hoping for some advice about getting a hutch for my rabbit who is about 6 years old. She has had 2 partners in the past but we wont be getting anymore as both of these had very high needs due to teeth problems and we have decided not to get any more rabbits. She had always been healthy until a couple of months back where she became really ill and we were even contemplating putting her to sleep after 4 weeks of aggressive treatment was still not doing the job and the vet was out of ideas and did not want to operate. She had become aggressive, unhappy and clearly in pain and still not passing toilet. We decided to stop taking her to stay at the vet to be force fed etc and give her one last chance to pull through. Amazingly she eventually perked up and is actually pack to normal now.

However, her hutch doesn't look like its going to last much longer. She has a hutch on the patio with a run underneath where her litter tray is. A while ago she developed bald patches on her feet and the vet said she should not be sitting on the patio and to move her on to the grass. We didn't feel it was safe to have a permanent under hutch run on the grass and I felt it would get mucky and horrible, so we started putting vet bedding at the bottom, though to be honest, she doesn't really sit on the patio slabs, but in the litter tray. She has free run of the garden all the time we are home and lays on the grass, patio and soil.

Anyway, we are trying to decide what to do about a new hutch if we cannot fix up her current one well enough. I don't want to spend too much as realistically, we don't know how much longer she will be with us and we won't be getting other rabbits, but I want her to be comfortable. I am wondering whether to get a two tier hutch with proper wooden flooring on the bottom tier (as opposed to a run). Would I be able to just leave the bottom floor bare and just add her litter tray and a bit of vet bedding, like she currently has? Although she does not wee on the bottom floor (patio base) at the moment, I am worried she may start doing this on the wood. Then I would have to put bedding everywhere on both levels which would be time consuming and more expensive and could prevent her using her litter tray and I would rather avoid spending extra time on tidying.

Currently she has one of those pull out plastic trays upstairs, and I have concerns about having a two tier hutch as they don't tend to have plastic trays at the bottom and if she ended up using the entire flooring as a litter tray, surely the wood would just be impossible to fully clean compared to a plastic tray?

Secondly, although she is no longer unwell, she is about 6 and I imagine being so unwell a short while ago will affect how longs she lives for/stays healthy. Would it make more sense to buy a single tier hutch in case she started struggling with the ramp later on? I really wouldn't want to have to get yet another hutch again.

I wondered about getting a shorter two tier hutch (she doesn't tend to stretch up anyway), one that is aimed at guinea pigs as well as rabbits, so at least the ramp would not be as high. Realistically, do most rabbits tend to manage ramps as they get elderly? Am I worrying too much?

I wouldn't be able to go bigger, so she would end up with less space with a one tier and I wonder if she would miss the ramp or whether rabbits really aren't that fussed about them (?) On days like this it really wouldn't matter if her hutch was smaller, but of course there are days where there is bad weather and she would not be out quite as much. Also, I am worried about a fox being able to knock over a single tier hutch or at least scare her more than a higher hutch.

The other things is, because her bottom tier is a run, she can let herself in and out without jumping at all, so whatever hutch I did get, the legs could not be too high. She is not a rabbit that likes to be handled, so I would rather she could get in and out the hutch herself. She has never been a climber/jumper compared to other rabbits I have had and does not climb on to other levels in the garden.

In terms of the plastic tray problem, what a lot of people do is lay lino on the hutch floor. This, combined with a litter tray to use, keeps the hutch in great condition - especially if you seal around the edges of the lino with bathroom sealant. Nothing should sink into the wood as it won't even be able to reach, it's wipe clean and easy to sweep! This is best done when the hutch is new, as lying it on damaged wooden floor doesn't really work too well as it just traps the wood that's already saturated with wee etc, so I'd definitely lay it in the hutch before you let her in it.

As long as the hutch is 6 x 2 x 2 it doesn't matter too much whether it's a single or double story imo. It definitely needs to be 6 x 2 x 2 to allow her to stretch up properly, and take 3 hops along the length of it for bad weather.

A good hutch for a very reasonable price is this one here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350566100664?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649, although if you could spare a bit more money you could get her this to increase her space: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sykes-mas...et_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item51aad34cb3. You could attach her current run onto this to give her more overall.

Ramps aren't really thought of too highly by some people in the 'rabbit community'. A lot of rabbits prefer steps, so if you are concerned about her using the ramp you might want to get something like this to use as a step to get into the hutch: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190790961400?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649. Most rabbits will deal with a ramp very easily though unless they're very old or very ill, and you can easily use a few bricks to raise the bottom end of the ramp up to make it less steep if she starts to struggle. A lot of people raise the ramp up anyway, regardless of their bunnies age, as the ramps are often quite steep. Some people screw small, thin pieces of wood every few inches up the ramp in order to increase the grip too, and some people also add a couple of strips of wood down either side to stop their bunnies falling off. I don't know whether combining some of these might help you feel a bit happier about her using a ramp?

A good way to attach them is this: http://www.runaround.co.uk/products/bridge-link or they have longer tubes too if you'd prefer them.

 

[Lynseypvic]

Thanks. I am looking at not having an attached run at all, as I have been advised not to have a run on patio slabs, and I don't want to have a run on the grass as I am worried about foxes digging in and I don't want to be digging up the garden to try and put wire under the run etc and that would be physically difficult to do at the moment. So I would be looking at just having a hutch and letting her have free run of the garden when we are home, as usual.

Currently she has a run under her hutch, so really its the same as a 2 tier hutch but without flooring at the bottom. So, I would be looking at getting a two tier hutch to replace her current set up or downgrading to a 1 tier.

Lino sounds a good option. Are they OK laying on bare lino in the summer?

 

[yaretzi]

Thanks. I am looking at not having an attached run at all, as I have been advised not to have a run on patio slabs, and I don't want to have a run on the grass as I am worried about foxes digging in and I don't want to be digging up the garden to try and put wire under the run etc and that would be physically difficult to do at the moment. So I would be looking at just having a hutch and letting her have free run of the garden when we are home, as usual.

Currently she has a run under her hutch, so really its the same as a 2 tier hutch but without flooring at the bottom. So, I would be looking at getting a two tier hutch to replace her current set up or downgrading to a 1 tier.

Lino sounds a good option. Are they OK laying on bare lino in the summer?

Ah okay. In that case, these manufacturers are good for double tier hutches: http://www.welfarehutches.co.uk/category/6ft rabbit hutch, http://www.rehutches.com/, http://www.happyhutch.co.uk/double-and-triple-rabbit-hutches.

Why is it that you've been advised against using a run on patio? Is it that your bunny has sore hocks? There's a few ways to get around that, such as using rubber stable matting or foam matting to friction. I don't have any personal experience of sore hocks in my bunnies but I know of several people who've managed to have their bunnies in a run even though they suffer with sore hocks a lot.

There's a quick and easy way to secure a run when using it on grass - just lying puppy panels on the bottom of the run. You can secure them with cable ties if you want them to be permanently attached. Something like this would work well as long as you can cover the whole base with them somehow: http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=774&pg_id=1920. It'd be amazing if you could do that, as it is much better for a rabbits welfare to have a permanently attached (secure) run. The puppy panel floor has worked well for quite a few people!

If you're definitely not going to attach a run I'd go for a 2 tier to give her more space, but if you're able to attach a run then a single tier 6 x 2 x 2 would be fabulous! I know the double tier hutches are quite a lot more than a single.

Yep they're okay to lie on lino in the summer! My two have a dark wood effect lino in their shed and it never gets hot or anything, even when the shed is sweltering. Absolutely no problems there! Just make sure you get one with some kind of grip as opposed to stuff that feels like a tile, as bunnies do like a bit of grip as I'm sure you know! As long as it's got a bit of texture it should be fine.

 

[Mackers]

As bunny mum to a 10.5 year old, I'd definitely ditch any hutch with a ramp. Single level is best. It must be 6ft by 2ft by 2ft or else it won't comply with recommended minimum standards. I wouldn't move the attached run from the patio as it's clearly safe there. But what I would do is cover the slabs with a softer substrate layer to avoid sore hocks. I bought an offcut of fake grass to put in my run for my elderly bun (but she's not a chewer or a digger so I have no worries about her trying to eat it). You could try rubber matting or just a thick layer of shavings covered with soft hay, as long as the run has a waterproof covering to stop it getting soaked.

 

[yaretzi]

Not sure what size your current run is but you can get decent sized stable matting for fairly cheap off eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Equestria...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item43be3cd7ee

Or you can get the soft types like this, although I'd want to go for something that was a bit less slippy on the top:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/gym-Mat-S..._Garden_Rugs_Runners_Mats&hash=item1c355705fc

You can get stable matting as squares that fit together like puzzle pieces and on the roll too if the sizes on eBay etc don't suit you!

 

[Lynseypvic]

Hi

I would be looking at a 6x2 but no attached run, just free access to the garden wherever possible which is usually several hours a day and minimum 3 hrs, which she loves - grazing and laying in different places, or sitting next to the guinea pig run, but she doesn't hop about much.

We can't go bigger than this for a permanent structure, so any 'run' space would be attached under the hutch and the same space as a hutch (like we have now), so I am thinking that a 2 tier would be better than a hutch/run combo. More waterproof for example if I put vetbed or something else on the flooring.

She has developed bald patches on her feet, like mild dermatitis. They are not sore and have not requires treatment but the vet seemed pretty disgusted when we explained our set up and said rabbits should never have a run on a patio and should not have any bare areas at all, just shavings throughout, or a run on the grass. I know other people have bare areas rather than shavings throughout, as well as runs on patios, so I was not too worried, but as she also became ill and fairly immobile, I did start putting vetbed mats on the patio, but they get soggy if any rain gets in, which it does if the cover isn't on and you can't leave the cover on all the time in case it rains in this hot weather. So that's why I was leaning towards a two tier hutch over my current set up. She is OK now and no problem with the ramp, though not an overly active rabbit, so we would keep our current set up if it wasn't getting so tatty. But if we have to invest in a new hutch, I am now wondering whether to just go for a single tier in anticipation of further ill health, even if it means compromising on space.

 

[Lynseypvic]

For those with 1 tier hutches - Do your rabbits still use a litter tray separate to the bedding area?

My rabbit has her bedding area upstairs with lots of hay, though she is not a great hay eater. Downstairs in the run, which is bare patio and has a litter box. She only does a small amount of poo upstairs. I tidy her litter box daily and sweep the bottom of the run which is very easy on the patio. She is not a human lover (she was much more into her bunny partners)and runs upstairs whilst I clean out the bottom.

My worry with a 1 tier, is that she would end up just toileting in the bedding area or just toilet anywhere, meaning we would need to cover the entire hutch with bedding, which would make a quick daily spot clean much harder.

 

[Lynseypvic]

As bunny mum to a 10.5 year old, I'd definitely ditch any hutch with a ramp. Single level is best. It must be 6ft by 2ft by 2ft or else it won't comply with recommended minimum standards. I wouldn't move the attached run from the patio as it's clearly safe there. But what I would do is cover the slabs with a softer substrate layer to avoid sore hocks. I bought an offcut of fake grass to put in my run for my elderly bun (but she's not a chewer or a digger so I have no worries about her trying to eat it). You could try rubber matting or just a thick layer of shavings covered with soft hay, as long as the run has a waterproof covering to stop it getting soaked.

Thanks. The current run is basically attached to the current hutch ie under the hutch and part of the same structure, so not something that can be kept. Its no good as a run on its own and no good for exercise, just used as the lower level of her hutch where her litter box is and where she comes in and out when the door is open so she can use the garden freely. She has free run of the whole patio and garden anytime we are home, so at least a few hours a day, often more. She has a good bit of space, grass to graze and places to hide and different places to lounge about in the garden.

I thought a 2 tier would be better as it just gives that bit more space on rainy days or if we are not home to let her out, but I don't want to have to pay out again if her health declines, so I may get a 1 tier and just accept she will have less space when shut in. I am a bit worried about foxes bothering her. I don't think we have a problem with foxes bothering her, but you just never know. I guess I am just used to seeing her upstairs in a high hutch, so the 1 tier ones look so low down and I wonder whether she will still use a litter tray if only on one level.

 

[Mackers]

If your bunny currently uses a litter tray, it won't matter if you have a single or double tier hutch, she should still use her litter tray. Just put it in the place you want her to use as her toilet area. Although she'll probably choose that for herself, whatever you think is best :lol:. The reason I suggest a single level hutch is because elderly bunnies usually suffer from arthritis. Only this morning, I found Flora 'stuck' in her litter tray where she'd fallen over and got herself wedged so that she couldn't get up again . Ramps are not good for bunnies with painful joints in much the same way that elderly people prefer bungalows. If it were me, I'd go for a new 6x2x2 single level hutch with as much free range time as possible. I know you're supposed to have a run attached at all times but sometimes you just have to make the best of a situation, even if it's not ideal. I also know that my elderly doe spends most of the day asleep or resting and only really comes out for a shuffle around the garden in the late afternoon/evening - even though she has free access to the whole garden for most of the day.