Shed sleeping area

After some advice please.

I currently have an 8 x 6 shed which has a 6 x 2 "hutch" in the back. Half of it is meshed and lined with lino and is their eating area. The other half is their sleeping area. At the moment I line this area with newspaper on top of the lino, Excel horse bedding and hay on the top. I just don't think my two sleep in this bit at all! They access it through a little hole and another hole takes them through to their food.

I have soft carpet mats under a table and always find them snuggling up there! They also have an enclosed cat bed (again never seen them in it!) and their pet carrier is full of hay (which they do go in).

Given that filling their sleeping area with bedding and hay seems a waste of money (and time) do you think it is worth me putting carpet mats in there and a blanket instead? I'm thinking about also putting their covered cat bed in there too.

They have access to unlimited hay in their carrier and hay in a wire rack.

Please could I have your opinions?

If they like carpet and blankets, I agree you might as well put that in the sleeping area. Having said that, they'll sleep where they like, more often not in a hay filled litter tray that is "supposed" to be a toilet :lol:

Hi there,

Mine tend to decide where their sleeping and pooing areas will be and stick to them, has been my experience anyway. They only used their sleeping area as pooing and eating hay area and sleep in the 'living' bit. I tried to get them to sleep in there but they'd still wee all over the nice soft things I put in. So I took out the partition between the two areas and put their litter tray with newspaper absorbancy stuff (minds blank on the name) and hay in the 'sleeping' bit, with hay rack above and have newspaper and deep straw in 'living' bit. So now just treat the whole hutch as optional and cover whole thing well for nights (it's in an aviary which has solid roof and cladded 2 ft end where hutch is) Then I scatter their kale, parsley etc and pellets with some foragey bits all round the aviary so they don't eat anything but hay/water in their hutch itself.

Are the table, cat bed and pet carrier in the main shed? As I so wish I had a shed as i'd possibly do away with hutch entirely and just have assortment of places for them to decide where to be (and sounds like you've got a great set-up already!) Where do they go for tolieting currently?

:wave:

Well I was too impatient and got rid of the bedding! Well it is cleaning out day!!!

I've laid two carpet mats in there and their cat igloo bed and haven't seen them since - I think I'm onto a winner

I've been lifting the lid off and checking in there and they have been in and out of the bed like its new!

They have had a litter tray which they've used since I've had them at 8 weeks and they've always been very good at that.

So, I will see how things go but they definitely prefer carpeted covered areas so fingers crossed!

Thanks all for your help. And yes, everything is in the shed which I love as even on a cold wet day I can spend time with them!

Ah that's brilliant! I wish my buns would do that! Well done