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Adding a safety wall to ledge in hutch

Clare_Bear

New Kit
Hi,

I have a Netherland Dwarf living in the Pets At Home Fern Hideaway Hutch.
It’s a two storey hutch with a ramp going between levels and I'm a bit concerned about my bunny hurting himself by falling from the upper level onto the ramp by accident. At certain points, there is quite a big drop from the upper level on to the ramp below and unfortunately, Dobby’s favourite place to sit is right outside the hideaway/sleeping area, right at the edge of the flooring.

I’ve only had him for a couple of months and we’re still getting to know each other, so he’s still a little skittish around me. Quite often, when I open the door of the hutch or reach into get his bowls or a toy etc. he’ll start backing away from me. A couple of times, he’s backed away so much that he hasn’t realised he’s at the edge and has fallen down to the ramp below.
Thankfully, the times that it's happened, he’s been OK but I fear that that’s just luck and sooner or later, it won’t end so well.

I’m considering getting a piece of wood and putting it along the edge of the floor in the upper level to essentially make a little wall. My hope is that Dobby could still then sit in his favourite place and back away from me if he feels the need to but he’ll no longer be able to fall off the edge.
I've included a picture of the inside of the hutch; the circle is where Dobby likes to sit and the line is where I'd be intending to put a piece of wood to act as a wall. Hopefully this will make it a bit clearer if I haven't described it well.
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Has anyone ever done this before and would have any advice about doing it? Is there anything I need to take into consideration with regards to the type of wood, how to secure it so that everything is still bunny-safe? I'm brand new to rabbit ownership so feel free to assume I know nothing/very little!

I’m hoping that with more time, he’ll start to trust me and not feel like he needs to back away from me so much but in the meantime, I’d like to make sure he’s safe (and stop myself having a panic attack everytime I go near the hutch in case he falls again!).

Thanks in advance.
 
I don't see how you can attach a piece of wood although you have made a very good point. Once rabbits get used to the gap they are don't tend to fall down it but I was wondering if a litter tray would fit in that space either lengthwise or across from front to back.
 
Hi Clare, what I did in both my hutches was to put another floor on top of the top floor with a smaller hole for accessing the ramp. So in effect the buns get more floor space and they don’t need such a big hole to get to the ramp. I used a sheet of plywood with a small bunny sized square cut out where the top of the ramp is. This also makes the hutch last longer. This would also reduce the falling down potential!
Welcome to the forum as well. Have a look at some of the housing threads for ideas on how to expand Dobbys space as well as rabbits do need huge amounts of space. I have 2 pets at home hutches but they are just for sleeping in and I have all sorts of holes cut in the to access bigger spaces!
 
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