Advice for making outdoor rabbit run secure from predators

I have a little project on the go while the other half is away. I have a bit of space to the side of my garage that is basically going to waste so I want to make it into an outdoor rabbit area so they can always be out. Currently they are in the back garden and we let them out of their cage for a few hours each day, but then it means we have to keep the dogs locked up.

So heres the plan. I am going to excavate the area out, put down steel cage/wiring on the ground, cover it with a layer of top soil and then turf over the top of that, so they can't dig their way out. I will also make a few mounds with tunnels etc in the area. The fence to the side I will be attaching wire mesh too so they can't get out there either. The top will also have wire panels, so the whole thing will be pretty secure.

I have made a hole into the garage and will be constructing a 2 story hutch in there so they have somewhere dry and safe to sleep, and can basically come and go as they please.

All in all they will be quite spoiled rabbits as far as freedom goes. My concern though is rats. The most obvious thing I can think of is to replace the tubing I currently have going into the garage with a microchip catflap, which in theory should mean that they can quickly get to safety in the event of a rat finding its way into the enclosure. My concern is that they wouldn't get away in time, although rabbits are pretty scatty so i'm guessing they would run to safety at the first sign of movement.

I can't really think of any better options than this at the moment so thought I would ask you guys.

I would use some substantial weldmesh on the fence and roof to keep out larger predators (eg foxes) and some much smaller mesh inside it to stop rats getting in (eg 0.5"), maybe on a separate wooden frame to the fence - with a mesh on each side of the wood (small on the inside, strong on the outside).

Shimmer said:

I would use some substantial weldmesh on the fence and roof to keep out larger predators (eg foxes) and some much smaller mesh inside it to stop rats getting in (eg 0.5"), maybe on a separate wooden frame to the fence - with a mesh on each side of the wood (small on the inside, strong on the outside).

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Currently the estate is still a building site and i've done a pretty good job of scrounging most of the stuff I need from the builders for this project. The roof is going to be made from panels the builders cut out of some scrapped heras fencing, so that should be plenty strong enough.

Although I have heard of rats attacking rabbits this seems to be rabbits confined to a small hutch, most rats wont deliberately set out to hurt a rabbit but would if trapped/cornered. The best deterrants are keeping everything clean and making sure no food is left lying around. I have runaround tubing through my garage wall and its really secure - road tested by my doberman to check. :lol:

Amy104 said:

Although I have heard of rats attacking rabbits this seems to be rabbits confined to a small hutch, most rats wont deliberately set out to hurt a rabbit but would if trapped/cornered. The best deterrants are keeping everything clean and making sure no food is left lying around. I have runaround tubing through my garage wall and its really secure - road tested by my doberman to check. :lol:

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Are you suggesting I could skip the £60 on the microchipped catflap and just use the tube?

The microchips for those catflaps are really big, I'm not sure how comfortable they'd be for a rabbit? Unless you have a considerable rat problem and are really worried I personally don't think its necessary.

Amy104 said:

The microchips for those catflaps are really big, I'm not sure how comfortable they'd be for a rabbit? Unless you have a considerable rat problem and are really worried I personally don't think its necessary.

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Not 100% sure what you mean by this, but the microchips are in the rabbits, they don't need to wear the collar type

Amy104 said:

The microchips for those catflaps are really big, I'm not sure how comfortable they'd be for a rabbit? Unless you have a considerable rat problem and are really worried I personally don't think its necessary.

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And we live directly beside a farmers field, and whilst I have yet to see a rat i'm pretty sure there must be plenty about. Coming out one day to find the rabbits eaten wouldn't make me the most popular person in the world :shock:

Rats wont eat your rabbit - they may bite them in defense if cornered. I realise the microchips are implanted but they are quite big in comparison to a rabbit and may move under the skin more than in a larger cat. If they move they could be uncomfortable or not work at all. You also have the issue of checking batteries etc regularly, I'd be concerned about a rabbit getting stuck outside and unable to shelter from the weather. Personally my preference would be a smaller sized mesh if you wanted to keep rats out. I'd be more worried about larger predators such as foxes so the weld mesh needs to be strong - heras fencing is great but just bear in mind most has quite big gaps which a fox could get a paw through.

The herra fencing is going to be on the roof, about a meter up, so that shouldn't be an issue.
Both the rabbits are already microchipped anyway...I assume they work still!
The catflap I looked at apparently lasts a year on one set of batteries, and is also linked to a phone app so you can tell if its working or not.

I'm making a separate small shelter outside and theres also a few tubes for them to go in, so they wouldn't be totally exposed in the case of them being locked out. They will be checked daily anyway.

You will need to be able to get inside the run yourself so that you can clean it out, replace water, etc. so I would be inclined to make it tall enough for you to stand up in. It will make life a lot easier.

Cats can also be a nuisance and cause a lot of damage to rabbits by swiping at them through the bars - another reason to raise the height and have a smaller inner mesh, particularly on your site with an open field immediately adjacent. and presumably a little out of direct sight from the house so you may not spot a cat spooking the rabbits.

Already thought of that. The top panels are going to be attached to the garage on hinges and will lift up and hook against the garage wall for maintenance

Shimmer said:

Cats can also be a nuisance and cause a lot of damage to rabbits by swiping at them through the bars - another reason to raise the height and have a smaller inner mesh, particularly on your site with an open field immediately adjacent. and presumably a little out of direct sight from the house so you may not spot a cat spooking the rabbits.

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Yep theres a few cats round here

Steveb said:

Both the rabbits are already microchipped anyway...I assume they work still!
The catflap I looked at apparently lasts a year on one set of batteries, and is also linked to a phone app so you can tell if its working or not.

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You could always ask the vet to scan both rabbits to make sure the chips are where you expect them to be.

Is it the Sureflap microchip cat flap you're looking at? Just a heads up that you also need the hub if you want to be able to connect it to the app - we have one and some places didn't make that quite clear. We've also had to reset it completely a couple of times as it wasn't letting the cat in but it's usually easy to spot there's an issue if you're checking regularly.

Looks like you live near a rural area. I’d personally be more concerned about stoats, mink and weasels. A rat might try it if a rabbit is sick or injured, stoats and mink actively predate rabbits. Rats and stoats can get through really small gaps as well. You’d need to check the minimum gap size they can get in through, but I think it’s half inch.

I've found the poultry keeping community a good resource. Lots of information and products aimed at keeping predators of all sizes out of coops. A lot of it would apply to rabbit runs.

Bunzicles said:

Looks like you live near a rural area. I’d personally be more concerned about stoats, mink and weasels. A rat might try it if a rabbit is sick or injured, stoats and mink actively predate rabbits. Rats and stoats can get through really small gaps as well. You’d need to check the minimum gap size they can get in through, but I think it’s half inch.

I've found the poultry keeping community a good resource. Lots of information and products aimed at keeping predators of all sizes out of coops. A lot of it would apply to rabbit runs.

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Really good points here. I'd forgotten about these other predators.

Second-hand Heras fencing isn't always the strongest-welded: give it a good check over (try and break it!) before use and if you can't break it, a fox shouldn't be able to either Badgers probably could but they're unlikely to go for rabbits although it's not unheard of.

Shimmer said:

Really good points here. I'd forgotten about these other predators.

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Yeah, it’s kind of scary really. My buns is a sun lover, it’s her bunny-catnip. I’d love to set up a permanent and secure outdoor area my girl can come and go as she pleases, soaking up the rays. But we do have stoats in this area, and I consider it too much of a risk, particularly as I couldn’t find anything definitive about the minimum gap size they could get through. I probably could make something stoat proof. But I have seen them nearby and the stress of having a predator regularly trying to get into the run would probably mean she’d avoid using the run eventually.

So instead we stand outside with her when she wants to go outside. Not risk free either. But it’s a line we have chosen between giving her as much freedom as possible and protection.

Though there are some interesting deterrent contraptions I’ve considered like this....
...Kind of like a first line of defence. My thinking being I want to avoid a predator getting to the fence and testing for weakness in the first place. Just a little OTT, perhaps, lol. But I could see myself doing something like this in the future

Finished.

Good point about the stoats, although I uexpect they could probably have got into their current hutch also. I might add some more mesh on the outslde of the fence to be on the safe side.

They have the microchip catflap so I am happy they have somewhere 100% safe to retreat to

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