Best 'furnishings' for the bunny

[Whitelighter]

So we are keeping one of the suprise litter we were graced with over the summer holidays courtesy of my OH class bunny (now sadly departed).

I have had bunnies as a child and always dressed their hutch with wood shavings/sawdust and a combination of hay and straw.

I gather that this is considered unhealthy. So assuming I dont do that, im not really sure what to provide in the way of furnishings. She has a nice new double deck hutch with the top a nice large enclosed 'house' and the bottom a run open to the ground so she can dig if she wants, or just nibble the grass.

At the moment she is in a smaller hutch with her brothers until they are split up in the next few days (bit of shame as they all seem to get on but thee you go) and she is used to the wood shavings/hay/straw combo as described above. Im pretty religous about cleaning out but they do seem to just pee and poop everywhere. My thoughts have been at least the beeding stops it getting on them and i change it regularly.

The new hutch has a plastic slide out tray as the main floor, so I guess my question is what should I put in there?

 

[Tamsin]

My first suggestion was going to be to line the floor with lino but if it's already got a plastic tray you are covered I would get a litter tray, you want something with quite high sides about 4-6" which you can use paper/wood based non clumping cat litter (not clay/clumping just in case she chews any) and add a pile of hay (rabbits like to munch and poop). You should find she gradually becomes a little more litter trained, scooping any stray poops up and adding them to the tray will help her get the idea.

You could then just leave the hutch floor bare, but for winter some hay or straw (or both) is good for insulation and it gives her something to forage around in. They need hay for eating anyway so it is good for nibbling too. Depending how good she is with her tray (she will take a few days to settle) you could add a layer of newspaper for absorbency - the idea is to have something different to the tray so it's clear which area is which.

You might find long term neutering will be necessary to get litter training 100% once her hormones kick in, but of course that also gives you the option to pop to a rescue for a nice neutered lad to add in should you find it's a little quiet with just the one

 

[Whitelighter]

Thanks.

What about things like carpet/vet bed? I was also going to get her a snuggle safe for the winter as at the moment she cuddles up with her brothers.

Would you put the litter tray in the enclosed (dark) area of the hutch? When I have had rabbits in the past they always seem to use that as a toilet, though this lot arent, but maybe because they were born in there its different for them.

We were hoping to keep a pair, but in the space of 3 days we lost one of our kits and mum, and it was all I could do to persuade the OH to persever with a rabbit at all. Would be nice to get her a friend at some point though

The 'house' secyion has a full hay manger on the front and I have another hay manger on the wire downstairs which i keep full of a hay/timothy grass/alfalfa mix which they all love

 

[Tamsin]

I'd go for the back corner on the other side to the bed area - it's nicer if they use that spot rather than the bed but as you say sometimes they do seem to like the bed and can't be persuaded otherwise. If you find she uses that instead then you can always move the tray.

Vet bed would be fine, carpet you'd have to try and see if she chews. You can get chew safe mats from petshops/online to made of things like reed/leaves etc. Though to be honest alot of bunnies will move everything out the way and lie on the floor. Scamp sleeps in a cardboard box and has removed a neat oval from the bottom in the shape of himself so he sits on the tile underneath :lol:

Straw is a good insulator so a big pile of that in the bed area is good for creating a snug sleeping spot and a snuggle safe always makes me feel better about keeping them warm even if half the time the seem to spend out in the run section whatever the weather :lol:

Just watch if it's on grass as they are very good diggers - you might want to consider poping a layer of mesh down underneath so the grass can grow through. It's a shame to curtail the digging but on the other hand they aren't very good at staying within the confines of a run whilst digging. You can add digging back in with a box of soil instead.