• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

'Ham House' - a walk in run in the making

Beapig

Mama Doe
Good morning everyone :)

I mentioned on my bunny rescue thread that my boyfriend and I are in the process of making a 8ftx10ft walk in run to attach to the new hutch. When we knew we were taking on Ham and Beatrice we wanted to find an affordable solution that would mean they had plenty of space to run around in and that we would be able to access too, so we can sit with them and get to know them better. We've just moved to a new house with a very large garden which is fantastic.

So our solution to an affordable and aesthetically pleasing walk in rabbit run is converting a second hand greenhouse. We bought this 'Alton' 8x10 greenhouse off of eBay for only £10:

s-l1600 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

I know it looks a bit beaten up in the pictures, but they retail at over £4000 and the timber is actually in very sound condition, it just needs re-treating! So we've removed all of the glass and are in the process of sanding the timber at the minute to be freshly painted (with Cuprinol Garden Shades, which is recommended as bunny safe). We're then going to dig a concrete foundation which will support a couple of layers of bricks for the frame to sit on.

As you can see, some of the glass panels are missing, which is ideal - it would be way too hot for them if it was all glass and wouldn't be breathable. So we're going to do a patchwork, keeping the roof glass for shelter but having mostly galvanised wire on the sides so they get fresh air and can look out around the garden. The run will have new turf laid down, and before that goes down we'll be putting 16 gauge wire securely across the floor so that they can't dig our and nothing else can dig in.

The hutch will be on the outside of the run with 24 hour access to it. We're either going to have the hutch facing in with the door always open or cut a hole in the back and have a tube entering the run so they can travel to it that way. We'll see which is the most practical and best for the bunnies once it's up.

Any suggestions appreciated and I'll post photo updates of the construction here :)
 
I've thought about the possibility of using a greenhouse frame to create a run before, so I'll be interested to see how it turns out :) x
 
£10 :shock: Wow! The greenhouse is exactly the same as mine, which is used for plants :D I love it :love:

I would advise that you do some research about the timber. I think it is heavily impregnated with Cedar oil treatment. It would, therefore, not be sufficient just to sand it down to prevent issues with nibbling and toxicity as the whole timber would be impacted. I discussed this with my OH, who said he would also be afraid that the rabbits would very quickly bite through the struts. He said that he would retreat it with the appropriate Cedar treatment, but cover the inside with mesh, both to prevent damage to the wood and also any harm to the rabbits.

I would love to see updates on your progress. What a bargain you have got!
 
Thank you everyone for the well wishes! I'll post updates on here as soon as I have progress to show :D The greenhouse was dismantled for us by the lovely previous owner so all we had to do was pick it up. We're currently sanding and re-treating the timber frame. Omi, is it cedar oil which is harmful to rabbits or the cedar wood itself?

The greenhouse is an older model of the Alton brand going by the design/they don't make this exact model anymore, and just looking at the wood itself (although it looks quite red in the photos) most of it has completely lost the stain and is a grey colour from being too exposed to the elements. The last thing I want is the bunnies getting ill from it though! D: We are planning on using 16 gauge galvanised mesh to cover the sides, so maybe if we leave no parts exposed then that will make it difficult to nibble?
 
I looked online and definitely Cedar wood is said to be toxic. Couldn't find anything I would trust regarding Cedar Oil, but I don't think I would be happy with rabbits eating it. There's also the issue that I don't think it would take a determined rabbit very long to chew right through the struts :)

If you could find a way to cover the inside with mesh I think it would be safer.
 
I looked online and definitely Cedar wood is said to be toxic. Couldn't find anything I would trust regarding Cedar Oil, but I don't think I would be happy with rabbits eating it. There's also the issue that I don't think it would take a determined rabbit very long to chew right through the struts :)

If you could find a way to cover the inside with mesh I think it would be safer.

Thanks for the advice Omi! I think the plan is to completely cover the wood on the inside with mesh so there's no way they can chew it, because even if the wood wasn't toxic it would weaken the structure of the greenhouse. We're going to use thick 16 gauge wire and make sure the corners are chew proof so both bunnies and run are safe from harm! Will share progress pictures soon :)
 
Some one i know has done this for chickens but i commented to my daughter only yesterday what a brilliant idea it is and how perfect it would be for rabbits. It will make a perfect house!
 
Hi everyone,

I'm finally able to update you on the progress of 'Ham House'! To re-cap, we bought an old 'Alton' brand greenhouse from eBay for £10 (worth over £4000 new) which is 8ft x 10ft. It has cost a lot more than £10 to do everything else, because it needed restoring in places, painting (which has taken forever but is nearly done!) and then other materials such as bricks and wire.

So the perimeter is a couple of layers of concrete bricks, laid onto a concrete foundation. The baton bolted onto the bricks will attach to the frame of the greenhouse at the sides. There is strong mesh under the new turf so that there's no way the bunnies can dig out. The same type of mesh (16 gauge with small squares) will be attached to the sides of the frame all around so that they can't nibble the wood or of course, escape. For the roof we're using the original glass to provide some shelter. The hutch is going to be at the back, facing into the run with the door always open, so that they can hop in and out.

Today we've just been trying to get all of the painting done. Definitely hoping it will be finished and up by next weekend. Here are some pictures :)

Before we bought it/this is what it will look like when assembled:

s-l1600 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

The stage we're at presently with the build:

20171015_172703 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

20171015_172715 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

20171015_172723 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

We've only been in this house for a couple of months and are yet to make ourselves comfortable because all of our spare time and energy has gone into making this set up for the bunnies :lol:
 
It's looking amazing. I can't wait to see the finished pictures.

Who is giving you the little begging face in the last picture? I melted with the cuteness level xx

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
You've all been working so hard!

It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to see it finished ...

Yes I would like to know who the little cute face belongs to:love:
 
It's certainly looking great :D

I can remember when mine looked like that because we disassembled it and brought it here. If you have any queries about putting it back together, pm me and I'll ask my OH. I think it's the same with most things, they come apart much more easily than they go back together :lol:

Yes, which rabbit is that in the pic?
 
Thank you everyone, and thanks for the offer Omi, I'll let you know if we run into any issues - luckily we found a PDF for the instructions online so fingers crossed it goes back together smoothly!

The begging face is Mister Hamo (Ham), when he's stood up against the bars like that he's usually asking for a cheek massage and a hug :L :D
 
Thank you everyone, and thanks for the offer Omi, I'll let you know if we run into any issues - luckily we found a PDF for the instructions online so fingers crossed it goes back together smoothly!

The begging face is Mister Hamo (Ham), when he's stood up against the bars like that he's usually asking for a cheek massage and a hug :L :D
Oh Ham. I will come a visit and give you massages and cuddles all day! I'm on my way now ;) x

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Oh Ham. I will come a visit and give you massages and cuddles all day! I'm on my way now ;) x

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

He would love you forever daphnephoebe :love:

A little update on the new run - we started to put it up yesterday! The glass still needs to go into the roof and the 'windows' on the sides, plus the door needs to go on and hutch needs to be attached at the back. Then we can add all of the play things to the run etc. So far so good!

20171020_175835 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

20171020_175842 by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

We are bonding Ham and Bea indoors today, just about to start...wish us luck!
 
Back
Top