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Is this enough space for my rabbit?

Jay18

Jay18

Young Bun
okay so im new to the forum and i got my rabbit in november 2012, hes called nugget, not sure what breed he is but im told an old english?

ive done some reading and seen that people say rabbits are best to be kept with another rabbit to play with, is this true?

also im not 100% on space, ive had a read of the thread and before reading it i though my rabbit had loads of space but now seeing the setups most people have it puts mine to shame lol

i have a rabbit hutch which is a two level hutch i got from amazon link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004SMVLOU/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

i also have a rabbit run which the hutch is in one end of so he has all the space of the run and hutch over night and in the day i sit outside with him while he runs around the garden free. here is the link for the run:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0064OEJGM/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

should he have more space and should he have a friend to play with?

i am only 19 so i dont have alot of money at the moment so cheapest options are best for now, but i will try and do something for him...

nugget:


his home:
 
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Yes, it is true that rabbits are social animals and are best kept in pairs, especially if they live outdoors. You can get a rescue rabbit, and a rescue can usually bond them for you, so you don't have to worry if they won't get along.

Is the hutch 3ft double? (like it says on the link). If so, that's way too small (especially if you get another rabbit). The RWAF's recommendation is 6ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch with an attached run of 8ft x 6ft for a pair of rabbits. From the pictures and the links, your setup is too small.
 
right i will look at that then, where do i get a resue rabbit? sorry im very new to all this lol and what would you recomend for a hutch? a converted garden shed be enough? need to keep costs down...
 
Jay18 said:
right i will look at that then, where do i get a resue rabbit? sorry im very new to all this lol and what would you recomend for a hutch? a converted garden shed be enough? need to keep costs down...
Click to expand...

:) Look at this link:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?32-Rabbits-in-Need

There are loads of rescue rabbits that need homes, and the rescues would be happy to advise you on the size of accommodation and about bonding and the right rabbit for you and Nugget. It's best to ask a rescue about their requirements for space as you don't want to buy something and its too small.
 
Jay18 said:
thank you, just another thing, do rabbits and guniea pigs get along?

thanks, james
Click to expand...

No, it is not recommended to have rabbits and guineapigs together, as a rabbit can easily injure a guineapig by kicking out, and rabbits can carry a disease, which doesn't affect themselves, but is dangerous to a guineapig. They also have different food requirements.
 
okay thanks, im just looking at ideas, just need to find a cheap shed i can kit out for nugget and his new friend when i find one near enough, would it be easy enought to get a female from pets at home? as that is where i got nugget from, i know she will have to be spayed, would nugget need to be done aswel?
 
Jay18 said:
okay thanks, im just looking at ideas, just need to find a cheap shed i can kit out for nugget and his new friend when i find one near enough, would it be easy enought to get a female from pets at home? as that is where i got nugget from, i know she will have to be spayed, would nugget need to be done aswel?
Click to expand...

If you go to a rabbit rescue for a friend for Nugget they will have buns that are spayed and needing a home. They will also be able to bond them and will have some idea of the temperament of the buns that they have staying with them. Nugget will need to be neutered for his benefit as it will help with his hormones and calm him down. If he is not neutered it will make bonding harder and their life together more stressful.

You can always call a rescue about their buns and ask for advice.

There are lots of very experienced people on here so you are in a good place for advice.

Good luck with your bun :D
 
Jay18 said:
okay thanks, im just looking at ideas, just need to find a cheap shed i can kit out for nugget and his new friend when i find one near enough, would it be easy enought to get a female from pets at home? as that is where i got nugget from, i know she will have to be spayed, would nugget need to be done aswel?
Click to expand...

Getting a rabbit from a rescue would be a lot better.
I don't agree with pet shops selling animals anyway, especially pets@home, their animals come from awful back yard breeders :(

Getting a rescue would mean you are giving a bunny that really needs a home a chance :)
Also they will be spayed/neutered and vaccinated and all you will pay is the adoption fee which is usually £30-£50.
A bun from p@h will cost you....bun £40, spay £100, vaccinations £50. Those are rough prices of course but as you can see it costs a lot more to get a pet shop rabbit.

A rescue will probably be able to help bond the 2 rabbits as well which would be a big help if you are new to bunnies and bonding them.
 
Jay18 said:
okay thanks, im just looking at ideas, just need to find a cheap shed i can kit out for nugget and his new friend when i find one near enough, would it be easy enought to get a female from pets at home? as that is where i got nugget from, i know she will have to be spayed, would nugget need to be done aswel?
Click to expand...

It turns out a lot cheaper to rescue. 30-50 pound to rescue a spayed vaccinated and get bonding, diet, housing help or a pet at home rabbit that may be the wrong sex and will cost lots of money for vacs spay etc. Also there are 1000s of rabbits in rescues. You could give one of them a forever home. Also if the bond breaks you can take the rabbit back and try find another one. You can't do that with pets at home :D
 
Im not sure where you are but I got my buns from woodgreen animal shelter. Very well cared for, neutered, spayed, all checks etc. And liek other said they can help bond them. If you got another pet shop bun and they didnt get along that would be a major problem x
 
Just to add, in addition to the costs already mentioned that you would incur from a pets at home bunny rather than a rescue one, you also need an entirely seperate setup for the other bunny to live in until they're neutered as un-neutered pairs must not be put together especially if it's a male/female pair. Even if your current one is neutered (apologies if I missed that bit, just skim-read), if you introduce an un-neutered bunny they're very likely to fight and even though you can then seperate them until they're neutered, lots of people find that pairs that fought before being neutered won't accept each other after.

The £30-60 adoption fee may look steep compared to a £20 pets at home bunny but they come fully vaccinated (£25-35) and neutered (£60-100).

Approximately how much money can you spare for a setup? There are cheap ways to do things. They may not last quite as long, so it is better to shell out more initially, but they should last a good 3-4 years and by that time you may be able to afford a better setup.

Is anyone in your family good at DIY?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sykes-mas...et_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item51aad34cb3 here is a good basic setup (6 x 2 x 2 run with attached 6 x 4 run) which is nice and secure with very small mesh and nice solid construction. Whilst it's not quite the RWAF recommendation of 6 x 2 x 2 + 8 x 4 run (it is 8 x 4 minimum, not 8 x 6), it's a very good starting point and it's all in one so it's great. Your current one is nowhere near predator proof - a cat/fox/dog could easily get in and kill bunny. The 3 foot hutch doesn't allow enough shelter - a bunny needs to be able to take 3 hops in a sheltered area or it's not really fair on them. You could use that setup and either extend it using aviary panels (available off eBay) now or later on. Or you could just buy an extra run and attach that. A good way to attach the two is to get a cheap cat flap, cut a hole in each piece of mesh and then attach them together with the cat flap. Maybe take the flap out if you want since it's not necessary, it's just a good way to make a hole.

If you line the bottom of the hutch with lino (places will often give you offcuts for free) and put some silicone sealant around the edge, it'll protect the bottom of the hutch and make it last longer. A simple tarp over the top of the run will mean bunny can be in it 24/7 regardless of the weather. It think especially in England it's important to give some rain protection. The clear tarps are better as they're 100% waterproof, but more expensive. A cheap one will do for now, or even shower curtains can work fabulously.


Definitely stay away from chicken coops like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-6m-5-3-...2?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&hash=item1c2a023f98. They are NEVER big enough, and the inside compartment is often absolutely miniscule. They are hard to clean and almost always terrible quality.

You mentioned a shed. They're fabulous! Wooden sheds/playhouses can be an absolutely great piece of accommodation. I don't know if you have one there already or you wanted to buy one, but they usually work out more expensive than a hutch/run combo - however, they can be used for other things at a later date and they give a great size indoor space with lots of height. Then you could just add a run on http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MASSIVE-R...et_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item35c6f9d88e and as long as it's attached 24/7 you can get a 4 x 4 playhouse/shed instead of 6 x 4 if you wanted to save room. If the bunny is never shut in, it doesn't matter if it's not 6 foot long as they have the outdoor run to stretch and hop in.

I would advise against using 'custom-hutches-and-runs' on eBay, but there are plenty of other sellers who sell good runs: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PANELS-TO...et_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item257cd2a3dc.

It can seem very daunting to begin with, but many of us have been in your situation where we think we've done okay for our bunnies but we've been completely mis-informed by pet shops. I know everything probably looks very expensive but it's definitely worth it. Perhaps your parents would help out if they know that what you have is inadequate and unsafe? Although I know many parents don't want to know. Here is a good link http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ahutchisnotenough.htm and it has some great advice leaflets on the right hand side that you could print off or show them if you wanted.

Everyone on here would love to help you sort your setup out!
 
I see you're in the East Midlands. This (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8ft-x-6ft...675?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4ac346e313) is a fabulous, huge run. It looks amazing and it's not that expensive for what it is, plus you can get 'houdini strips' fitted - which is say 1/2 a foot of mesh all around in the inside edges to stop them digging out and make it nice and predator proof. You could attach that run to a hutch or shed, this run is a great size http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6ftX2fX2f...et_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item519f5e2eb8. On second thoughts, if you can get the money for the hutch and run in this comment I'd definitely go for that as you never have to faff about and extend or worry about them having too little space.

You'll want to attach the run to the hutch, not put the hutch inside the run. It's easy to do this using a cat flap or by opening the doors, or using runaround stuff:

either the door to connect the two pieces of mesh http://www.runaround.co.uk/products/runaround-door, a tube if you want the hutch/run to stay in the same position all the time http://www.runaround.co.uk/products/bridge-link or a longer tunnel if you want to move the run around in order to give them fresh grass http://www.runaround.co.uk/products/connection-kit-1.
 
moi said:
Im not sure where you are but I got my buns from woodgreen animal shelter. Very well cared for, neutered, spayed, all checks etc. And liek other said they can help bond them. If you got another pet shop bun and they didnt get along that would be a major problem x
Click to expand...

Off topic I know but...... 2 of mine came from wood green as well :wave: A Looooong time ago now!
 
i have spoke about the shed but it is extremely full lol, im looking at a £150 playhouse from b&q, would this be okay for him? i could kit it out but it would take a while to do it as id have to save up, it would take 3 weeks of saving just for the shed alone lol, im having an interview about an apprenticeship so hopefully ill get it and then i should be able to have a good setup for Nugget, i am very handy with DIY so the only limit for me is cash, i plan to but a small shed or playhouse, most likely the playhouse as it doesnt take up as much room in height but still gives the rabbits enough space to live in, ive also been looking at the run around setups aswel

im thinking of getting the playhouse and attatching the run to it, then doing the runaround setup using the tube and putting the existing hutch the other end of the garden so he has alot of runaround space while im not around, then he can runaround the whole garden while im there...
 
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