Underground run....opinions/ideas?

[catherine09]

I'm really just looking for ideas for a potential idea for the small buns housing.

Currently they have a dog kennel and run, so plenty of space but I'd like to offer more. They loved having a runaround attached so my plan was to elaborate on that.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a a runaround 8ft by 4ft binky box on eBay, and managed to win it. My original plan was to connect this via runaround to the kennel. However, I have a couple of concerns, the main one being that there's only one opening and I won't be able to clean the run out without moving the entire thing each time, difficult when my plan was to surround it by bunny friendly plants to disguise it a little so nowhere to move it to. Additionally, it would be going in the space where I wanted to have some planters for bunny herbs etc.

So, after a lot of thought I have come up with the idea of actually burying the run underground. My thoughts are to turn the run upsidedown, so the strong mesh is there to support and stop burrowing foxes etc, I would then board the inside and floor with plywood, attach the runaround and make a lid which would be at floor level, and probably stick some artificial grass on top. I'd then put a digging box inside the run. To stop moisture getting in through the ground I would line the hole with a barrier membrane first.

My concerns:
Main concern is the lid of the run. To make it out of something that is strong enough for someone to stand on (won't be in a place where this happens a lot but I still need it to be able to support a human ideally), I think it would mean the lid was too heavy, unless I could make it out of something lighter than thick wood. I thought about having the lid in two parts but then I'd be worried about rain getting down the middle.
Second concern is the temperature. My initial thought would be that it would be nice and cool as it's underground, until my OH pointed out that they used to lock people in boxes buried in the ground as a form of heat torture :shock:. I think as it would be in a shady place it would be ok, and it depends what the roof is made out of.
Thirdly, I would be concerned that there wouldn't be enough ventilation in the run - but bunnies live in burrows in the wild, and how well ventilated are those?


Advantages of having the run underground is I can have somewhere for my bunny herbs, can clean out a lot easier and I hope it would make a bit more of an interesting environment for them.

Sorry for the long post

 

[Mackers]

As lovely as a 'natural' underground environment sounds, my biggest concern would be extracting a sick (or healthy) bunny who had placed themselves somewhere you couldn't get to.

 

[catherine09]

As lovely as a 'natural' underground environment sounds, my biggest concern would be extracting a sick (or healthy) bunny who had placed themselves somewhere you couldn't get to.

I would be able to get completely inside it as the top would open fully :wave:

 

[Mackers]

Ok, that's that problem solved then :lol:. The only other thing I'd worry about is that plastic would either 'sweat' or become damp underground, creating an unhealthy respiratory environment. In a completely natural burrow, the earth will absorb moisture and breathe, whereas plastic won't. It DOES sound like a lovely idea but in reality I'm not sure it will work.

 

[catherine09]

Ok, that's that problem solved then :lol:. The only other thing I'd worry about is that plastic would either 'sweat' or become damp underground, creating an unhealthy respiratory environment. In a completely natural burrow, the earth will absorb moisture and breathe, whereas plastic won't. It DOES sound like a lovely idea but in reality I'm not sure it will work.

Yeah, my concern too. I've had a rethink tonight and come up with an alternate solution - turning the run upside down which would remove the need to mesh underneath, and making a solid roof for it that opens. I can then put my bunny herb planters on top and if I do need to clean out the run (going to put bark or soil down and hope they don't toilet on it!) I can move the herbs and clean out