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I've Rescued a Bunny

I'm so pleased you're getting a companion soon :D Good luck with your run!

I find the cheapest set-up is to use newspaper throughout the hutch (changed regularly) with straw for bedding and then plenty of hay available wherever you don't mind them littering. Most rabbits I think will prefer a bowl, but do be aware that they get kicked over more days than not, so it's worth having a bottle too, and not relying too much on the bowl. As Omi said, the best thing to do is probably to leave her be to explore in her own time and keep an eye on eating/drinking without being too intrusive. Fingers crossed she settles in well!
 
Thank you everyone for the very helpful responses! I had no idea that sawdust was bad for their health :( Our male rabbit currently has sawdust as his main floor covering, with a large amount of straw/hay to sleep in too. But he's finally moving to ours next week (that still hasn't happened yet due to circumstances out of my hands) - once he's with us we're going to empty out his current hutch anyway and deep clean the heck out of it because I'm pretty sure that has never been done before. It isn't his long term hutch anyway so we'll be shot of it soon in exchange for a much bigger, more suitable space.

So in terms of the main floor space of the hutch, just newspaper is okay? I was planning on putting down some lino offcuts eventually anyway so that it is easier to clean out and protected from lots of wee soaking in. My girl's new hutch is the 'Honeysuckle' from Pets at Home and has a big separate sleeping compartment - would it be okay to fill that up with straw/hay for sleeping and then have the rest of the space as just newspaper? Or is there something else a bit warmer I can put down? Is 'Carefresh' just meant for sleeping purposes Natalie?

Sorry for all of the questions - my bf and I have just moved into our first house so there's a lot going on, it's a bit hard to think straight haha. The names of our rabbits are Ham (male) and Beatrice (female) :)
 
Beapig said:
Thank you everyone for the very helpful responses! I had no idea that sawdust was bad for their health :( Our male rabbit currently has sawdust as his main floor covering, with a large amount of straw/hay to sleep in too. But he's finally moving to ours next week (that still hasn't happened yet due to circumstances out of my hands) - once he's with us we're going to empty out his current hutch anyway and deep clean the heck out of it because I'm pretty sure that has never been done before. It isn't his long term hutch anyway so we'll be shot of it soon in exchange for a much bigger, more suitable space.

So in terms of the main floor space of the hutch, just newspaper is okay? I was planning on putting down some lino offcuts eventually anyway so that it is easier to clean out and protected from lots of wee soaking in. My girl's new hutch is the 'Honeysuckle' from Pets at Home and has a big separate sleeping compartment - would it be okay to fill that up with straw/hay for sleeping and then have the rest of the space as just newspaper? Or is there something else a bit warmer I can put down? Is 'Carefresh' just meant for sleeping purposes Natalie?

Sorry for all of the questions - my bf and I have just moved into our first house so there's a lot going on, it's a bit hard to think straight haha. The names of our rabbits are Ham (male) and Beatrice (female) :)
Click to expand...


Hi there :D

I would use lino in the hutch. Rabbits can associate newspaper and hay/straw with litter trays. The problem with having a sleeping compartment filled with hay and straw is that there's a danger that it might look very similar to a litter tray and get wee'd in. You'll just have to see :) But lino I find is the best wee-ing deterrent and gets them to go where they should do :)

Regarding warmth in a hutch - if it's outside - you could have a cover over the top for night times. Getting a rabbit to stay in the warm bit is nigh on impossible so you might need to block out the cold wind and rain that way.

They are going to be lucky buns, Ham and Beatrice xx
 
Beapig said:
Thank you everyone for the very helpful responses! I had no idea that sawdust was bad for their health :( Our male rabbit currently has sawdust as his main floor covering, with a large amount of straw/hay to sleep in too. But he's finally moving to ours next week (that still hasn't happened yet due to circumstances out of my hands) - once he's with us we're going to empty out his current hutch anyway and deep clean the heck out of it because I'm pretty sure that has never been done before. It isn't his long term hutch anyway so we'll be shot of it soon in exchange for a much bigger, more suitable space.

So in terms of the main floor space of the hutch, just newspaper is okay? I was planning on putting down some lino offcuts eventually anyway so that it is easier to clean out and protected from lots of wee soaking in. My girl's new hutch is the 'Honeysuckle' from Pets at Home and has a big separate sleeping compartment - would it be okay to fill that up with straw/hay for sleeping and then have the rest of the space as just newspaper? Or is there something else a bit warmer I can put down? Is 'Carefresh' just meant for sleeping purposes Natalie?

Sorry for all of the questions - my bf and I have just moved into our first house so there's a lot going on, it's a bit hard to think straight haha. The names of our rabbits are Ham (male) and Beatrice (female) :)
Click to expand...

I use the Carefresh under the hay in Caramel's litter tray :)
 
Thank you everyone for the hints and tips! I have some lino on order which is arriving today so hopefully we can make Bea's hutch situation more appropriate today and take the sawdust out. She's a little darling and I'm completely in love with her already. She seems to have settled into her hutch well and has braved going 'downstairs' now, which she was a bit unsure about at first! Her bedding area is upstairs on the left and she seems really content in there are lot of the time. We've put her in the temporary run a couple of times but she seems scared of grass and has stayed in her carrier the whole time - the person we adopted her from lived in a high rise block of flats so she isn't used to the outdoors perhaps. However, our walk in run which the hutch will be attached to will be up soon, and then she can venture out in her own time.

We did have a HORRIBLE scare this morning which made me feel like the worst pet owner in the world and I'm still shaking over it. There were really high winds last night, as well as driving rain, and I was super worried about her. I got my boyfriend to check her with me around midnight and she seemed fine, she was fast asleep. I kept waking up in the night though, worried that something bad was going to happen because the wind was howling. When I came down at 7am today I found the hutch face down on the lawn...as you can imagine I was hysterical and my mind immediately jumped to 'oh my god, she's going to be dead'. My boyfriend and I pulled the hutch up and miraculously she was completely fine, no cuts, nothing broken...she was acting so relaxed too like nothing had happened. I brought her in and cuddled her for hours and kept saying sorry, but she was so relaxed just lying on my lap and munching on some kale I gave her.

The reason that the hutch was able to blow over like that, despite being so heavy, must have been because it was exposed at the back. Initially we had it up against the wall of our house in the back garden, on some concrete, but on the day we moved in we noticed that the area was flooded with sunlight and we were worried she'd get too hot. So we turned the hutch 90 degrees, meaning that the back was exposed to the wind. We've put it back against the wall now and the concrete is very level, so I think it will be fine. I keep checking her and perhaps she even prefers this position, because she seems to be coming out of her sleeping area more. I know what happened must sound so extreme and crazy and if we had known that there was even the slightest chance of it blowing over we would never have moved it :cry:

We have checked her over though and she really does seem totally okay, thank goodness. Here are some pictures of her :love:

unnamed-3 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

unnamed-4 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr
 
She's gorgeous :love:

I'm pleased that she was OK after the hutch blowing over. It is surprising how gusts can move quite heavy objects. We have even been concerned that our rabbits' shed will blow over and so have put some very heavy concrete blocks inside when we have had very strong winds.
 
Beapig said:
Thank you everyone for the hints and tips! I have some lino on order which is arriving today so hopefully we can make Bea's hutch situation more appropriate today and take the sawdust out. She's a little darling and I'm completely in love with her already. She seems to have settled into her hutch well and has braved going 'downstairs' now, which she was a bit unsure about at first! Her bedding area is upstairs on the left and she seems really content in there are lot of the time. We've put her in the temporary run a couple of times but she seems scared of grass and has stayed in her carrier the whole time - the person we adopted her from lived in a high rise block of flats so she isn't used to the outdoors perhaps. However, our walk in run which the hutch will be attached to will be up soon, and then she can venture out in her own time.

We did have a HORRIBLE scare this morning which made me feel like the worst pet owner in the world and I'm still shaking over it. There were really high winds last night, as well as driving rain, and I was super worried about her. I got my boyfriend to check her with me around midnight and she seemed fine, she was fast asleep. I kept waking up in the night though, worried that something bad was going to happen because the wind was howling. When I came down at 7am today I found the hutch face down on the lawn...as you can imagine I was hysterical and my mind immediately jumped to 'oh my god, she's going to be dead'. My boyfriend and I pulled the hutch up and miraculously she was completely fine, no cuts, nothing broken...she was acting so relaxed too like nothing had happened. I brought her in and cuddled her for hours and kept saying sorry, but she was so relaxed just lying on my lap and munching on some kale I gave her.

The reason that the hutch was able to blow over like that, despite being so heavy, must have been because it was exposed at the back. Initially we had it up against the wall of our house in the back garden, on some concrete, but on the day we moved in we noticed that the area was flooded with sunlight and we were worried she'd get too hot. So we turned the hutch 90 degrees, meaning that the back was exposed to the wind. We've put it back against the wall now and the concrete is very level, so I think it will be fine. I keep checking her and perhaps she even prefers this position, because she seems to be coming out of her sleeping area more. I know what happened must sound so extreme and crazy and if we had known that there was even the slightest chance of it blowing over we would never have moved it :cry:

We have checked her over though and she really does seem totally okay, thank goodness. Here are some pictures of her :love:

unnamed-3 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

unnamed-4 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr
Click to expand...


She is just a beauty :love:

I suppose I'm not surprised about the hutch blowing over, as it's been terribly windy here also. But it's not something you expect even so!

She trusts you :love:
 
Bea says thank you for the compliments everyone! She is a beauty :love: We brought her in again a couple of nights ago because there were really high winds and driving rain, not because we were worried about the hutch blowing over in its new sturdy position but because it was howling outside and we thought she might be scared. The sweetheart snuggled under my OH's arm for two hours and they both fell asleep, she's such an angel, a joy to care for!
 
Beapig said:
Bea says thank you for the compliments everyone! She is a beauty :love: We brought her in again a couple of nights ago because there were really high winds and driving rain, not because we were worried about the hutch blowing over in its new sturdy position but because it was howling outside and we thought she might be scared. The sweetheart snuggled under my OH's arm for two hours and they both fell asleep, she's such an angel, a joy to care for!
Click to expand...


I can see you're in love :love:
 
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