• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Setting up my new hutch

StarryEyedGirl

Young Bun
So I'm getting 3 babies in 3 weeks time. 1 nethie and 2 dwarf lops. I have a million and one questions.

I have bought a 5ft triple hutch with ladders up to each level. Should I lino the floors to make for easier cleaning? How do I attach it best?

Also what do you use in your hutches, bed area, litter tray etc. Should I put different stuff down on different floors?

Do I use one litter tray or one on each floor. Also same question with water bottles and food bowls?

Where do you store all your bits like straw, hay, food etc. In the shed or outside storage box/bin.

Do you constantly watch your buns in the run or are they safe enough for you to be inside while they are outside?

How do you work them being in the runs when we have constant rainy/snowy days?

What would you say are the cheapest way of providing toys. Do you buy specific bunny toys or homemade ones?

Where do you get your straw etc from? A shop? Farm? Order online?

What do you do when there is a thunder storm, fireworks etc?

Sorry I have so many questions and I hope someone can help. Just want to be organised.
 
Hi and welcome :):wave:

So I'm getting 3 babies in 3 weeks time. 1 nethie and 2 dwarf lops. I have a million and one questions.

I have bought a 5ft triple hutch with ladders up to each level. Should I lino the floors to make for easier cleaning? How do I attach it best?

If you can lino the floors you'll find it a lot easier to clean out. In mine I used bathroom sealant and put some on the floor of the hutch before pressing the lino down on top. Then I went round the edges with the sealant.

Also what do you use in your hutches, bed area, litter tray etc. Should I put different stuff down on different floors?

Do I use one litter tray or one on each floor. Also same question with water bottles and food bowls?

Yes, litter tray/s, hay racks (they need lots of hay all the time so you could have these on each level), bed area stuffed with hay in the colder months, and maybe some toys etc to throw around.

With 3 bunnies you may want to have a litter tray on each floor, especially whilst they get used to it all (you will probably find that at first they don't manage to get everything in the trays).

I only tend to have one large water bowl, but it's up to you. I don't usually bother with food bowls, and just scatter feed their pellets on the floor or in their hay.

Where do you store all your bits like straw, hay, food etc. In the shed or outside storage box/bin.

I store mine in the shed. I did try with an outside plastic storage bin, but found that the rain dribbled in and spoiled the hay, so now I use the bin for other things and keep the hay nice and dry in the shed.

Do you constantly watch your buns in the run or are they safe enough for you to be inside while they are outside?

How do you work them being in the runs when we have constant rainy/snowy days?

It's recommended to attach the run to the hutch so they have constant access all the time. I would say this is especially important if you have 3 rabbits in the hutch, as strictly speaking your hutch isn't big enough on its own (the RWAF advise that a pair of rabbits have 44 square feet at all times). If you have a nice heavy wooden run with a secure top, you could place it on patio or mesh underneath if it is going on grass, then attach it to the hutch using the Runaround system (http://www.runaround.co.uk). By doing this, your bunnies would be as safe as they could be, and you wouldn't need to supervise them and they can then take advantage of the run whenever they want to.

In answer to your question though, if your run is secure (with a lid and on mesh or slabs) you can leave the rabbits unsupervised as long as you provide places in there for them to retreat to if they get scared. If it's an open top/bottom run I personally wouldn't leave them unsupervised at all as I think the risk of escape or a predator getting to them is too great.

What would you say are the cheapest way of providing toys. Do you buy specific bunny toys or homemade ones?

The cheapest way is to make your own from old loo rolls, cardboard boxes, apple sticks etc etc, but you can also buy bits that they will love. Tunnels are always good. You'll also find that some of the best 'toys' are things not intended for rabbits at all! They seem to love those little plastic kids' stools and kids' plastic tables too. I wouldn't bother with many of the toys marketed at rabbits (like the wooden coloured chew things) as in my experience they just ignore them. They do love the willow toys you can buy though.

Where do you get your straw etc from? A shop? Farm? Order online?

I only tend to use straw in the winter, to line their bedroom with as it's a good insulator. Some rabbits will eat it, and it doesn't really give them much nutritional value, so I try to avoid it wherever I can. I use hay for most things (litter trays, in the bedroom for them to sit on, in the hay racks). They need this all the time to eat. I buy it in bales from my local equestrian supply shop. This is the cheapest way to buy it if you can store a bale. You can also buy lovely hay online from The Hay Experts and Hay for Pets (and many others).

What do you do when there is a thunder storm, fireworks etc?

Thunder storms I just leave them to it. They might not like it, but as long as they have somewhere to hide away they should be fine.

With fireworks, I do get a bit panicky as it's such an unnatural noise. Last year I did leave them all outside but I did regular checks on them when there were fireworks going off nearby. I just wanted to make sure they were all still comfortable as a couple of mine get very stressed sometimes. Some people bring them indoors around fireworks night, but you do need to make sure that if you do this you have them in a cold room, otherwise when you put them back out the temperature change is too much for them.

Sorry I have so many questions and I hope someone can help. Just want to be organised.

Questions are good :thumb:. It's great to see someone doing loads of research before bringing their bunnies home.
 
How exciting :D Welcome to RU, and I can't wait to see photos of your new babies!

My buns have a two tier 6' hutch. On the top level they have rubber backed carpet in the bed area (probably not a good idea until yours are litter trained), cardboard in the main living area (although I've heard lino is easier to clean, my two seem to dislike the feel of it- they are weird like that :roll:) and a large litter tray lined with newspaper and filled with hay. They have a large water bowl in the bed area, and I scatter feed pellets so they don't need a food bowl which takes up space. Downstairs they have another litter tray filled with hay, a rubber backed carpet mat inside a cat kennel that they can go inside of or sit on, and a little hay on the floor too. Downstairs I have a water bottle and a very small water bowl underneath it. I want to make sure that if something went wrong- like they got stuck on one floor, or they knocked over their bowl, they'd still have water. Most rabbits prefer a water bowl to a bottle as it's more natural, but bottles are great for emergencies.

We don't use straw as it provides no nutritional value to a rabbit and hay can do basically the same job. We get the hay from a pet shop or the vets :) I replace their hay every night, and during the day they mainly graze on grass.

Mine are free-range during the day so I know nothing about runs except that the RWA recommends a permanently attached run :) I'm sure everyone else can give you great run advice!

My two current buns haven't heard any fireworks, but my last two were fine with it. I would cover the front of the hutch with a tarp, and put paving slabs along the front to hold it in place and block out noise. They weren't bothered though. We had a thunderstorm the other night and it woke me up, panicking about the new buns! They were a bit scared as it was their first experience of thunder so I brought them into our non-heated kitchen, set up their litter tray and left them to it until the storm was over.

Some bunny toys you buy are really good. My rabbits love their medium sized ball with a bell inside, they chuck it around the hutch. They also have some smaller jingly cat toys they push around, willow sticks to chew on, these wooden treat tunnels they have to work to eat out of, several green tunnels with they LOVE in the garden, a dog's rag tug of war toy, rope and chew toys we hang up high, and a teddy bear. We rotate some of the toys so they don't get bored.
As for home-made toys, we use kitchen rolls stuffed with hay and with pellets hidden inside, boxes to hide in, and basically we think things up as we go along :)

My bunnies have always been fine in all weather. They grow a thick coat and get on with burrowing in the snow :roll: Making sure a warm, dry hutch and plenty of hideaways are available helps keep them safe in bad weather. I know some people use snuggle safe pads too.

I have a storage shed- but it's basically a plastic cupboard. I put it next to the hutch and that's where all their stuff is. They have a lot of stuff, and there's only two of them!

Owning bunnies is absolutely awesome, hope you enjoy it as much as I do! :D
 
Thanks for the replies. I will post properly in a few days as need some sleep. Taking daughter into hospital to be induced tomorrow morning. x
 
Here is a leaflet from the Rabbit Welfare Association which cover a lot of basics: http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/RWAbrochuremaster.pdf

If nothing else it will help you think of more questions to ask :lol:

I would attach the hutch and run to, that way the can move themselves between the two in bad weather or when they are nervous about something.
 
Hi, sorry for the late reply. My daughter finally had the baby 5 days after she went in to be induced. She had a little girl who is now 15 days old :)

As far as the bunnies go. I am picking them up on Thursday. I now have a tarpaulin for the hutch until I order the custom made cover which I have had a price for. I also bought tent pegs to hold down the run and am thinking of putting wire underneath so the rabbits can't dig out. I ordered some Correx to line the hutches with. I heard it's good and was cheaper than getting lino. I also have been given the name of the farm that the girl I am buying them off uses so I can order food, hay, straw or whatnot from them.

I went on a major bunny haul last week and bought loads of toys, a dig box (washing up bowl lol), kids plastic steps, wooden spoons etc. Just thought outside the box :)

I'm not sure how to upload pics on here but will have a go.
 
960933_652492128113620_269345118_n.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

1005791_656458751050291_1891731897_n.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

544440_656458754383624_888895183_n.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

998200_656459787716854_1737346928_n.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]



1091841_665852963444203_216686409_o.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
:wave:
adorable bunnies! :love: :love: :love:
If you can attach a run to that hutch it will be a great set up!

ps: i've got the same litter trays! :lol: Where did you get the stools from????

xxx
 
Those bunnies are adorable.

We were in the same position 4 weeks ago with our new bunnies. Very exciting times!

Not much to add to what's already been answered.

We store all the bits like hay/straw etc in large plastic boxes.

I put straw then a layer of hay for their bedding.

My father-in-law built this run for the bunnies. It's 8ft x 6.5ft x 3ft high...

DSC_2689_zps9f78710d.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

It will be connected to the hutch with a runaround system when it comes. The run in secured to the decking so hopefully once attached to the hutch, the bunnies will be able to come and go as they please. The children do spend a lot of time in the run with them. On rainy days, we've just covered the run with a tarpaulin and they are quite happy with that.

Yesterday I made a hanging hay toy from an old wooden toy ball and hung it from the roof of the run...an idea I got from this forum the other day.

Up until about 2 weeks ago, I was buying hay from P@H but to be honest they worked out quite expensive and wasn't great quality. I used Hayforpets.co.uk a little over a week ago and initially ordered their sample pack of Ings, Timothy & Rye and Meadow hay. You don't get a great deal of each hay but a great way to find out which type your bunnies will or will not like. I then bought a 9.5kg bale of the Ings hay for £16 delivered. It was delivered within 3 days of ordering. The hay looks and smells absolutely fantastic and the bunnies loves it. Having been using the hay for over a week now and the bale looks exactly the same size as when it arrived.

Sorry but can't help you with the thunder storms/fireworks as have no experience in this yet. I'm sure others will be more than happy to help.

Don't worry about asking questions on here, I have found everyone so so helpful. Not sure what I'd do without this forum.

Good luck with the bunnies.
 
:wave:
adorable bunnies! :love: :love: :love:
If you can attach a run to that hutch it will be a great set up!

ps: i've got the same litter trays! :lol: Where did you get the stools from????

xxx

I have an 85" metal run atm, later on I will be getting a wooden one made for them but this was for the time being. Although I may have to buy another smaller one to go next to it for the nethie as they seem to not get on very well in the run at the moment apparently but fine in the hutch/on laps.

The stools were poundland. Everything was either Poundland, 99p shop or Wilkos :) I just "thought outside the box" lol.
 
Those bunnies are adorable.

We were in the same position 4 weeks ago with our new bunnies. Very exciting times!

Not much to add to what's already been answered.

We store all the bits like hay/straw etc in large plastic boxes.

I put straw then a layer of hay for their bedding.

My father-in-law built this run for the bunnies. It's 8ft x 6.5ft x 3ft high...

DSC_2689_zps9f78710d.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

It will be connected to the hutch with a runaround system when it comes. The run in secured to the decking so hopefully once attached to the hutch, the bunnies will be able to come and go as they please. The children do spend a lot of time in the run with them. On rainy days, we've just covered the run with a tarpaulin and they are quite happy with that.

Yesterday I made a hanging hay toy from an old wooden toy ball and hung it from the roof of the run...an idea I got from this forum the other day.

Up until about 2 weeks ago, I was buying hay from P@H but to be honest they worked out quite expensive and wasn't great quality. I used Hayforpets.co.uk a little over a week ago and initially ordered their sample pack of Ings, Timothy & Rye and Meadow hay. You don't get a great deal of each hay but a great way to find out which type your bunnies will or will not like. I then bought a 9.5kg bale of the Ings hay for £16 delivered. It was delivered within 3 days of ordering. The hay looks and smells absolutely fantastic and the bunnies loves it. Having been using the hay for over a week now and the bale looks exactly the same size as when it arrived.

Sorry but can't help you with the thunder storms/fireworks as have no experience in this yet. I'm sure others will be more than happy to help.

Don't worry about asking questions on here, I have found everyone so so helpful. Not sure what I'd do without this forum.

Good luck with the bunnies.

Ah I saw your setup on another thread and thought it was awesome. Eventually I'd love a bigger (shed type) set up with run which I may look into later down the line but at the moment money has had to be reigned in a bit lol. I've not long had my 6th baby, my daughter just gave birth and it's Xmas sooner than we think so after the hutch and bits I will have to calm down for a while. Then I will order the custom cover (have tarp atm) and bigger run from a guy on Facebook that does some brilliant runs etc.

The lady I am getting the buns off has given me the name of her farm that she uses. She will be giving me a bag of food, readi grass and a bin bag of straw and hay, per bun, so it will be the same stuff as from that farm :)
 
Back
Top