Hutch Questions In Preparation For 2 Baby rabbits.

I am doing my research but there is a wealth of so much info and my head is spinning so hopefully I can narrow it all down with some questions.

Some of your bunny set ups are amazing...positively palatial...lucky little bus .

1. We have ordered a two story 6x2x2 hutch with one sleeping area sectioned off on top floor. Now I see that many of you line your hutches with lino to prevent wee etc spoiling the sodden floor and for easier cleaning.do you stick the Lino ion or does it just rest unglued? Do you still then use newspaper on top of that?

2. What do you recommend re the substrate and do I apply the substrate to the entire floor of the hutch? The reason I ask is that in many pics of your setups, it seem that only the bedding areas have hay whilst living areas have blackest etc...

3. Is there a specific minimum thickness of hay recommended as substrate and is the bedding hay separate from the hay they eat?

4. Where do you suggest siting the litter tray, food and water ie. on bedding floor or bottom story?

Sorry if these questions seem so basic. I am trying to learn as much as possible.

I have rubber floor down in my rabbit shed, that is sealed around the edges with aquarium silicone and then a small piece of wood beading on top to stop them eating silicone. When they had a hutch I stuck Lino down with double sided carpet tape. Then in litter trays I use wood pellet cat litter with hay on top, you could use newspaper and hay too. I would put litter trays where they tend to wee. (You might need a few, especially until they are spayed/neutered) If you mop up accidents with kitchen roll and put the soaked kitchen roll in the litter tray it helps to teach them where to go. Higher sided larger trays are better than the small cat trays as they pee over the edge :lol: underbed storage boxes are good :thumb: I don't have substrate on the floor, and I have had to remove any fluffy beds as they got used as toilets too :lol: they seem to prefer laying in their litter tray. I use a hay rack above the litter tray for eating hay but they do eat the hay from the tray too, and I just use meadow hay that I buy by the bale for in both racks and trays. Food and water bowls I put on bottom storey, then if they push them about they can't roll them down the ramp :thumb:

From my own experience I have found lino doesn't always work in hutches, in sheds it is fine but for some unknown reason the rabbits will eat it in hutches. I just line my hutches with newspaper and have a biggish litter tray, big enough for 2 to sit in together, line that with newspaper and top up with hay. This encourages the bunnies to become litter trained as they like to chew the hay while pooing. This also contains the hay into one area (you can have 2 litter trays) and once litter trained they don't mess the hutch floor up.

In a 2-storey hutch I always put the food at the top also the water then while they are eating you can clean the rest of the hutch. Maybe, while they are still babies, you can use a food bowl so you can monitor how much has been eaten, also, if they are only used to a bottle perhaps have both bottle and bowl and watch which they prefer.

Mrs.Clooney said:

is the bedding hay separate from the hay they eat?

Click to expand...

I do have separate hays for litter trays and hay racks but you definately don't have to. The reason I do it is that the hay I buy for eating is quite expensive. I buy a cheaper, soft hay for their litter trays. They'll have a nibble of it when it's fresh in but they prefer the "good stuff" that goes in their hay racks.

Mrs.Clooney said:

I am doing my research but there is a wealth of so much info and my head is spinning so hopefully I can narrow it all down with some questions.

Some of your bunny set ups are amazing...positively palatial...lucky little bus .

1. We have ordered a two story 6x2x2 hutch with one sleeping area sectioned off on top floor. Now I see that many of you line your hutches with lino to prevent wee etc spoiling the sodden floor and for easier cleaning.do you stick the Lino ion or does it just rest unglued? Do you still then use newspaper on top of that?

2. What do you recommend re the substrate and do I apply the substrate to the entire floor of the hutch? The reason I ask is that in many pics of your setups, it seem that only the bedding areas have hay whilst living areas have blackest etc...

3. Is there a specific minimum thickness of hay recommended as substrate and is the bedding hay separate from the hay they eat?

4. Where do you suggest siting the litter tray, food and water ie. on bedding floor or bottom story?

Sorry if these questions seem so basic. I am trying to learn as much as possible.

Click to expand...

I don't stick my lino down. All I do is cut it very tight, lay it very flat, and seal around the edges with silicone bathroom sealant. Be sure to use your finger to wipe away most of the excess when the sealant is wet and then bunnies can't chew the small amount left. In addition you can also screw some small wooden batons around the edges and seal with sealant too, but just the lino and sealant is enough. If you lay the lino well and very tight you won't have any problems with bunnies chewing it unless they are very very determined.

I don't use any newspaper or substrate on top of my lino. There's not a lot of need - all it does is create more mess and more waste. If a bunny develops sore hocks it can be helpful to have a thick layer of hay all over the setup, or in winter you could add more hay.

Many people have litter trained their rabbits which is why you only see substrate in certain areas, in trays. Big underbed storage boxes are great as litter trays. You can use most types of subtrate or newspaper along with their hay in there and they'll munch away and poop away which is handy for cleaning them out!

If you want to use hay as a substrate there's no hard and fast rules about the depth, but you'll find that your bunnies will be very hard to litter train as they'll be eating all over the place and therefore weeing and pooing all over the place. As long as the hay is good quality you can use the same hay for both, but good hay can sometimes be expensive. Bales of hay (intended for horses not cows) are often good quality and cost about £6 so that might be an option if you want to use the same hay as a substrate and as a food.

I don't think it matters too much in regards to litter trays/food/water. You'll probably find that things change as you go along for various reasons. I'd recommend putting in several litter trays in their entire setup to encourage lots of hay eating so it depends where you can fit them in!

Mrs.Clooney said:

I am doing my research but there is a wealth of so much info and my head is spinning so hopefully I can narrow it all down with some questions.

Some of your bunny set ups are amazing...positively palatial...lucky little bus .

1. We have ordered a two story 6x2x2 hutch with one sleeping area sectioned off on top floor. Now I see that many of you line your hutches with lino to prevent wee etc spoiling the sodden floor and for easier cleaning.do you stick the Lino ion or does it just rest unglued? Do you still then use newspaper on top of that?

2. What do you recommend re the substrate and do I apply the substrate to the entire floor of the hutch? The reason I ask is that in many pics of your setups, it seem that only the bedding areas have hay whilst living areas have blackest etc...

3. Is there a specific minimum thickness of hay recommended as substrate and is the bedding hay separate from the hay they eat?

4. Where do you suggest siting the litter tray, food and water ie. on bedding floor or bottom story?

Sorry if these questions seem so basic. I am trying to learn as much as possible.

Click to expand...

The idea of using lino is to remove/reduce the need to use another type of bedding or substrate like sawdust/hay/newspaper. By using lino and then using a litter tray, you don't actually need to use any other type of substrate.

In our hutch we have non-slip lino/vinyl flooring and we secured it down with an outside no-nails type glue. Some people on here fit it unglued and then hold it in place using a bathroom type sealant around the edges or beading as skirting board.

In our litter trays, I use a layer of Megazorb (sawdust/shaving as no longer recommended by bunny owners) but other people use newspaper, fitch bedding, wood based cat litter and then I cover with a layer of hay.

For George and Harry I don't actually spread any other substrate in the hutch as they will just pee and poop on it instead of the litter tray. Although for Hershel I normally spread a thin layer of hay as he has sore hocks. In winter I normally fill an extra litter tray up with hay for them to snuggle in and I also put a snugglesafe heatpad in as well.

You may find your bunnies likes to eat hay and poop at the same time (they may like to pee elsewhere) so many people put their litter tray and hay together. I use a cheaper meadow hay in their litter trays and then feed timothy & rye so put it in a hayrack. I put their food and water bowls in an area where they are at less risk of being spilled.