Can I make it better?

We have 2 beautiful white rabbits, Smudge and Snowy. Smudge is 6 yrs old and snowy is about 4. We recently built them a new hutch. It goes round a corner and is 6ft by 2ft one way and is 3ft by 2 ft the other way. After checking out this forum, I decided to line the bottom with lino, and then they have wood shavings on top of this. The bit that is right in the corner is shaded and has a cat carrier in it with shreaded paper in it. Attatched to this, permanantly, is a 4ft by 3 ft run. I know this is too small and am saving up for a better one. They have water available all the time and it is changed regularly, their diet is nuggets, hay and fresh herbs, dandelion leaves and veg. The run is on a lawn, which of course they have trashed and because of the rain, it is a bit muddy. They are regularly cleaned, although not strictly every day.

We have vastly improved things, as before they were in the garage, in a smaller hutch and didn't always get outside everyday. But, now the neighbours are accusing us of neglect, saying they shouldn't be on bare earth in the run. That the woodshavings are not enough and that we've let them go without water. They have occasionally drunk it down while we've been out, but its never been so bad that they could have gotten dehydrated. Obviously we are very upset! If there is anything else we can do, please let us know. What are we doing wrong? We don't want to give them up, but we feel like we are being bullied into it.

Can you post a picture of their housing? (There is a 'sticky' telling you how to post photographs).

:wave:
Do your neighbours owbn rabbits and know much about the welfare of rabbits?

Regarding the woodshavings, these are not actually very good for rabbits. They can cause allergies and attract unwanted mites. It's much better to line things with newspaper and/or care fresh or vetbed instead.

Regarding the water situation, could you not buy a few more water bottles to attach? I have 4 bunnies and I have 1 Giant water bottle and 3 large ones. They never run out, but get changed with fresh water each morning

As long as your bunnies have an unlimited amount of fresh hay readily available to them, it doens't matter if they don't have fresh grass to roam and munch on

I think you are doing your best and I am sure it won't be long until you have a much larger permanent run in place for them x

Will do.

Just as soon as I've taken some pics and have figured it out. Intending on getting some vetbed.

Babsie said:

Can you post a picture of their housing? (There is a 'sticky' telling you how to post photographs).

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It sounds like you've made some great changes already. I like the idea of the hutch going around the corner, sometimes it's tricky to fit things in and that sounds like a good solution If you are willing to improve things if necessary, and it sounds like you are then don't let them pressure you into giving up your rabbits. A lot of us started out with less that ideal care - its a bit of a learning curve but you can get there if you are willing

The water issue is easily solved with an extra bottle. How much they drink will depend on the weather and what they've eaten that day so having a spare will ensure they have plenty and makes sure they don't go without if they knock it off.

Do you find they wee in one particular corner? If so, putting a litter tray there will make cleaning easier for you as you can just lift it out and upend over a bin. If they'll just use that, you'll find you can empty that daily and don't need to clean the whole thing as often.

Their diet sounds good already, hay is the most important thing and you are giving that

Rabbits are great at trashing grass :lol: One option is to move the run around the garden every few days to give the grass time to recover but how well that works depends on the size of your garden. If it's muddy then it might be your garden doesn't drain very well. You could digging in some grit or just add a couple of paving slabs so the rabbits have something dry to sit on.

Not the best images, as I've lost my camera lead. We've added a tray with hay in it since then and the cat carrier. I'm going to replace the shavings with vet bed, plus add some rain protection.

One of my neighbours had rabbits when they lived in a flat, but they don't have them anymore, so I can't comment on their standard of care.

ralphus maximus! said:

:wave:
Do your neighbours owbn rabbits and know much about the welfare of rabbits?

Regarding the woodshavings, these are not actually very good for rabbits. They can cause allergies and attract unwanted mites. It's much better to line things with newspaper and/or care fresh or vetbed instead.

Regarding the water situation, could you not buy a few more water bottles to attach? I have 4 bunnies and I have 1 Giant water bottle and 3 large ones. They never run out, but get changed with fresh water each morning

As long as your bunnies have an unlimited amount of fresh hay readily available to them, it doens't matter if they don't have fresh grass to roam and munch on

I think you are doing your best and I am sure it won't be long until you have a much larger permanent run in place for them x

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That all looks really good to me! As you've already mentioned, I'd include some rain protection as then they can play in the run when it's raining. Clear perspex or roofing sheets work well, or clear waterproof tarp or even a shower curtain with bungee cords! As Tamsin mentioned, litter trays work really well if you wanted to switch to those. Your neighbour is totally wrong in thinking they need wood shavings or some type of substrate - it's a very antiquated view and no longer true. My two have never had shavings - they've had lino instead which is much easier to clean!

You can get 1 litre water bottles - these ones are very good: http://www.johnhopewell.co.uk/default.asp?template=productdetail.page.xml&productid=22. You can also use a bowl too - that way they'll never run out of water. Your neighbour sounds mad to be honest. If the RSPCA were called they'd come and inspect your setup and laugh it off - it's better than what most bunnies have! It's great that you're saving up for a bigger run, they'll love that

Right I've ordered 2 more 1 litre bottles and a clear shower curtain for the run. I'm investigating further weather proofing as was always my intention. I just wish the neighbours hadn't fallen out with us over this and I hope they do call the RSPCA as I'm confident we're doing our best.

Try not to worry about what the neighbours have said, you are clearly doing your best

If you want to swap from woodshavings, have you heard of Fitch bedding? It is amazing, so soft and really absorbent and my 20kg bale has lasted a month and that's with 12 bunnies having their litter trays changed every day. I use it all over for the guinea pigs and they love snuggling into it as it is so soft and won't irritate sensitive noses.

It does look good I love how you've joined it up to the run too, so they can hop between. Obviously a bigger run would be good and I think that would make it a lovely set up

I would just have the floor clear and put a tray in their toilet spot with litter. It makes it so much easier to clean. You might want a bit of extra bedding/litter in winter for the insulation but no need this time of year.

Can you tell me at what point I should start adding bedding? How cold does it have to be before they need it? I've ordered some Fitch bedding as was recommended and I've decided on some vet bed for the cat carrier, in order to make it a cosy bolt hole in winter. I'm very worried about what the neighbours are going to say during winter, as they have expressed concerns about them being outside during winter already. I really am trying. I guess I should just ignore them and make the rabbits my number one priority.

Tamsin said:

It does look good I love how you've joined it up to the run too, so they can hop between. Obviously a bigger run would be good and I think that would make it a lovely set up

I would just have the floor clear and put a tray in their toilet spot with litter. It makes it so much easier to clean. You might want a bit of extra bedding/litter in winter for the insulation but no need this time of year.

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It looks good to me!:thumb:

All my hutches have bare lino. I just have one litter tray in their toilet corner filled with fitch (its a horse bedding) and a giant litter tray at the other end of the hutch piled high with hay. They are in an unused garage at night now but when they were outdoors I used straw in winter to keep them snug.

If you covered the lino in your three foot section in winter with newspaper and a deep bed of straw (better insulator than hay) it would make a lovely snug area for them to shelter. You could then leave the 6ft section bare with a litter tray and it would be alot easier for you to clean out than covering the whole area with litter. (They still need hay somewhere to eat though).
Id also cover the front in winter to give them some protection. You can use a tarp or even some clear perspex (leave a gap for ventilation though).

As already said you can add extra water bottles, or get a bigger one. I use the 1L giant size bunny ones for my pairs and they never drink it all in 24hrs, even in the height of summer.

Rabbit's are fine outside in winter as long as they have somewhere that's sheltered to go when they want. Most hutches have a sectioned off area with just a door into - not sure if you have one of those? If you are using the cat basket for a bed, then in winter I'd put something over the top eg newspaper or just fill the gaps between the cat basket and hutch walls with straw. That will provide insulation to keep the heat in. I'd start adding bedding when the night time temperature drops below about 12 degrees, then really kick up the insulation when it drops below 5/6. They'll enjoying playing in the bedding anyway :lol:

I agree With all of you ......

Hi all! These pics taken today. Bigger bottles, check! Weather proofing to help keep the run dry, check! Litter trays, check! Fitch bedding in litter trays, check! Tarp, for pulling over 2 of the doors, check! Idea for covering the bedroom door ticking over in my head! Vet bed, Fly Away spray, sand digging box and hanging basket for hay in the run, all ordered on their way!

Looks amazing - I bet they're loving it!

You forgot, two relaxed looking bunnies, check!

It looks great, well done. And quite snazzy too - I like the lino and flowers