Morning we are adopting a male and female bonded pair of rabbits from our local rescue. I have a 6ft x 10ft Aviary and a 6ft x 2 ft hutch being made as we speak. The Aviary and hutch are going on a concrete base (Hutch inside the Aviary, in the long term I plan to separate and connect them but want to make a decision on how to do that once the rabbits have settled in with us.)
So what other essentials do I need to buy? I'm thinking litter tray, food and water bowls, water bottle, hay rack, tunnel, something to hide in.
Thanks in advance for your ideas.
Sounds like you've got all the essentials! Is the aviary roofed with something solid like roofing sheets? Bunnies really appreciate the cover from the rain
Your setup sounds like a fantastic size. When you come to attaching it separately there are a few options... I personally love the runaround setups:
http://www.runaround.co.uk/ but boyles pet housing (Daniel on this forum) do some joining tunnels too:
http://www.boylespethousing.co.uk/accessories.html. He also does some huts etc on that page too.
Sounds like you've thought of all the essentials! I second the idea of underbed storage boxes as litter trays - they're lovely and big, and the high sides are helpful. Enclosed/lidded trays are also good for outdoors to stop the hay blowing everywhere! Catit do a couple of litter trays which I like:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=catit litter. I got the jumbo and it's nice and big enough for 2 bunnies. I removed the flap though, because my bunnies are thick
A large water bottle and bowl are the best, as in summer it'll take longer for the water to warm up, in winter it'll take longer for the water to freeze, and the large size means you can put a ping pong ball or something in to help prevent freezing too. I prefer this bottle:
http://www.johnhopewell.co.uk/default.asp?template=productdetail.page.xml&productid=22 because it's easy to clean, it doesn't break when dropped, you can re-fill it easily from the top and the spout gives a good water flow unlike the ball bearing type. I just then use a big bowl like this for water
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002BF254G/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1410448687&sr=1&keywords=mason+cash+bowl.
Hay racks are good but many of us on here have done away with them because some bunnies won't use hay racks, and they just put all the hay in the litter tray for their buns to nibble at. Other bunnies on the other hand will ignore litter in a tray but will eat it out of a hay rack! Lots of people use these as hay racks:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80010222/, or the half moon planters designed to go on the walls also provide a large amount of hay with good bar spacing for bunnies.
Bunnies love tunnels and there are lots around. Fabric ones are nice but they do blow around outside, so plastic heavier ones are fantastic too. If you do order from runaround an extra tunnel would be great, and you can easily saw it into smaller pieces too. Bunnies also tend to love standing on stuff. You'll probably find them on top of your hutch if it's not on legs :lol: But various things to jump on are always fun. You can make your own or buy them from various places. Kids plastic chairs and tables are great, and you can find quite a few in ikea etc!
