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Rabbits don't sleep in their hutch

B

bundit

Warren Scout
Hi,

I have taken on two rabbits for someone, they came with an Omlet run and hutch. I have connected this to another run also.

I have lots of questions, but I'll start with one about hutch and attached run :)

Despite putting in tonnes of sawdust, straw and hay they just use the hutch as a loo. Then sit outside in the run, so the hutch has turned a litter tray.

They sit outside in all weathers (I have a tarp. over the roof) so I make sure they have tonnes of hay, but it seems a shame that they don't use their hutch as it is warm in there. I was worried about them during the cold snap, but the warmth was there if they needed it.

Any ideas?
 
My motivation to get them into their hutches in the night is safety, since we have foxes and marten here. If you have similiar thoughts, that's what I would do:

First remove what makes the hutch a litter tray. Clean with vingar. They rather like hard surfaces to lie on, they don't need sawdust, hay and whatnot as bedding. That's the stuff for litter boxes. There should be one in a corner of the hutch (where they prefer to pee).
Next, they need to learn that this is their base, that that's the safe place to goto in the night. i would have kept them in the hutch for some days before letting them out in the run, to establish "home". That time can be used to train them to a command or noise, for example shaking the pellet box before giving them their ration, so they'll come running. That helps a lot getting them locked up at dawn. Food station and water in the hutch.
Unfortunatly, many commercial hutches are quite small boxes with barely place for litterbox, Hay rack, food and water bowls, and still enough space to move and lounge.

Cold isn't much of a problem for rabbits, when dry and draft free they are comfortable down to -15°C easily. Heat is a problem though, above 25°C it starts to get uncomfortable.
 
IIRC Omlet hutches are pretty small, so they may just see it as a covered litter tray. Is it also plastic? If yes, it's too hot when it's hot and and too cold when it's cold, also totally chewable by predators. Minimum hutch size is, as Preitler says, somewhere you can fit a decent sized litter tray (i.e. something big enough to accommodate both rabbits lying down at once), area for food and water, hay rack plus space to move about and lie down.
 
Preitler said:
My motivation to get them into their hutches in the night is safety, since we have foxes and marten here. If you have similiar thoughts, that's what I would do:

First remove what makes the hutch a litter tray. Clean with vingar. They rather like hard surfaces to lie on, they don't need sawdust, hay and whatnot as bedding. That's the stuff for litter boxes. There should be one in a corner of the hutch (where they prefer to pee).
Next, they need to learn that this is their base, that that's the safe place to goto in the night. i would have kept them in the hutch for some days before letting them out in the run, to establish "home". That time can be used to train them to a command or noise, for example shaking the pellet box before giving them their ration, so they'll come running. That helps a lot getting them locked up at dawn. Food station and water in the hutch.
Unfortunatly, many commercial hutches are quite small boxes with barely place for litterbox, Hay rack, food and water bowls, and still enough space to move and lounge.

Cold isn't much of a problem for rabbits, when dry and draft free they are comfortable down to -15°C easily. Heat is a problem though, above 25°C it starts to get uncomfortable.
Click to expand...

Agree!
 
Thanks everyone. The eglu is very small agreed, I treat the whole eglu and run as their hutch. I put a litter tray in which they use and cleaned the eglu tray thoroughly but they still use the hutch as a loo. I will try again when its warmer to remove all hay as suggested. I have since put a box with straw the opposite end and today they are both happily snoozing in the box :) what I may do is slowly move the box to the other end and then place in empty hutch.

They are now free in the garden most of the day, I just put them in at night or when I am not about.
 
Last edited:
bundit said:
Thanks everyone. The eglu is very small agreed, I treat the whole eglu and run as their hutch. I put a litter tray in which they use and cleaned the eglu tray thoroughly but they still use the hutch as a loo. I will try again when its warmer to remove all hay as suggested. I have since put a box with straw the opposite end and today they are both happily snoozing in the box :) what I may do is slowly move the box to the other end and then place in empty hutch.

They are now free in the garden most of the day, I just put them in at night or when I am not about.
Click to expand...

Unless you are out in the garden with them all the time it really isn’t safe for Rabbits to free roam. No residential garden is 100% predator proof. Over the last few weeks there have been some tragic losses due to Fox attacks. Some of these losses were completely avoidable had the poor Rabbits been in a safe enclosure.
 
InspectorMorse said:
Unless you are out in the garden with them all the time it really isn’t safe for Rabbits to free roam. No residential garden is 100% predator proof. Over the last few weeks there have been some tragic losses due to Fox attacks. Some of these losses were completely avoidable had the poor Rabbits been in a safe enclosure.
Click to expand...

I work from home and they are just outside the window I can see them constantly. I let them out now in the morning and when they take themselves to bed (late morning) I shut their door. Then let them out again when they are active and again put them away when I'm not close by.
 
When I had my first rabbit, she used the 'bedroom' part of the hutch as a litter tray and slept in the more open part. I discovered this was partly a fear of being cornered, rabbits like two exits so a runaround tunnel or something similar from the side of the eglu part going back to the run could work if it's physically possible. Secondly, I discovered she liked going to the toilet somewhere private. Even now when they have a shed, she'd rather I look away if she's doing her business in the litter tray, and any strangers around will completely put her off. I also agree with the excellent points made above.
 
Thanks everyone. Aww, mine aren't shy about going to the loo, but a very "it's mine!" over their litter tray when I clean it out. If I open their run door they dash round and close it!

I have decided to get them a hutch instead, it will arrive soon. Any tips on moving them in?

I was going to leave it in the garden for a day, next to the eglu, so they can explore it before moving in.

With the hutch at least if it's really bad weather I can shut them in for the night. That was not an option with the tiny eglu.

The hutch is large and will have a small run and a connection to a larger walk in run.

Thanks.
 
bundit said:
Thanks everyone. Aww, mine aren't shy about going to the loo, but a very "it's mine!" over their litter tray when I clean it out. If I open their run door they dash round and close it!

I have decided to get them a hutch instead, it will arrive soon. Any tips on moving them in?

I was going to leave it in the garden for a day, next to the eglu, so they can explore it before moving in.

With the hutch at least if it's really bad weather I can shut them in for the night. That was not an option with the tiny eglu.

The hutch is large and will have a small run and a connection to a larger walk in run.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Sounds a great idea. I think as you suggested just let them explore it before moving in & place any familiar toys in there
 
joey&boo said:
Sounds a great idea. I think as you suggested just let them explore it before moving in & place any familiar toys in there
Click to expand...

What is the best way to lay out their hutch? I was going to put their litter tray one end - and perhaps later ditch the tray and just have a litter area? I put wood pulp litter, shavings and hay in their litter tray.

Then for the rest of the hutch would you just put straw, hay and woodshavings? Or should I just put this at the opposite end to the litter tray and leave the middle bit?

At the moment they have a litter tray, eglu which they don't use full of bedding and lots of hay and straw in their run.

Thanks.
 
bundit said:
What is the best way to lay out their hutch? I was going to put their litter tray one end - and perhaps later ditch the tray and just have a litter area? I put wood pulp litter, shavings and hay in their litter tray.

Then for the rest of the hutch would you just put straw, hay and woodshavings? Or should I just put this at the opposite end to the litter tray and leave the middle bit?

At the moment they have a litter tray, eglu which they don't use full of bedding and lots of hay and straw in their run.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hopefully some outside bunny owners will see this as mine live inside languishing on soft furnishings :lol: I think you'll find a litter tray easier to clean than an area (some bunnies are better than others re toileting in trays but most are good). Sawdust isn't recommended - something about phenols given off with the pine wood. I use megazorb or carefresh with layer of hay on top (quite common) & my upstairs buns have hayrack above the litter tray. Some outside hutches have mainly lino on the floor - my bunnies won't go on it happily though - I'd prefer to have something more foot friendly down
 
Hi, you have rabbits upstairs and downstairs? A bunny in every room :)

Mine, pop in the house, they were in just now, I have the door open a lot.

They are used to using the litter tray which is helpful, they use the tray plus the eglu at the moment - I can't believe how much they dump!! I clean the tray and eglu nearly every day and do a thorough clean out weekly.

Their new hutch is up and in the garden, it arrived really quickly. I just don't want them to use it as a giant litter tray, I want it to be their home...
 
I would put lino down on the entire hutch floor, hay in a nest area and just have one or 2 larger trays with hay on top of some litter as a toilet area. Either use a tray they normally use, or put in some used material so they get the idea. Bunnies usually toilet and eat at the same time, so have fresh hay available to munch when they are in the litter tray.

I wouldn't put anything else on the floor as it only encourages them to use the whole area as a toilet. As long as the bunnies are happy to hop around on the lino, it makes the whole thing much easier to clean (sweep out daily, wipe down as needed) and you have less waste. If they find it a bit slippy, you could use a few sheets of newspaper on top of the lino.
 
Shimmer said:
I would put lino down on the entire hutch floor, hay in a nest area and just have one or 2 larger trays with hay on top of some litter as a toilet area. Either use a tray they normally use, or put in some used material so they get the idea. Bunnies usually toilet and eat at the same time, so have fresh hay available to munch when they are in the litter tray.

I wouldn't put anything else on the floor as it only encourages them to use the whole area as a toilet. As long as the bunnies are happy to hop around on the lino, it makes the whole thing much easier to clean (sweep out daily, wipe down as needed) and you have less waste. If they find it a bit slippy, you could use a few sheets of newspaper on top of the lino.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. The hutch I have has got a "thin black plastic lining" (that is what the manufacturer says, it looks ok), so it's not lino but hoping it will be ok.

Is the hay in the nesting area to both eat and bed down? I use straw and hay is that ok? No-one seems to mention straw, I was told it keeps animals warmer.

So litter tray with cat litter etc and hay to nibble - got that :)
 
bundit said:
Thanks for that. The hutch I have has got a "thin black plastic lining" (that is what the manufacturer says, it looks ok), so it's not lino but hoping it will be ok.

Is the hay in the nesting area to both eat and bed down? I use straw and hay is that ok? No-one seems to mention straw, I was told it keeps animals warmer.

So litter tray with cat litter etc and hay to nibble - got that :)
Click to expand...

straw is a better insulator than hay. Some of us (me included) are a little bit hay obsessed. If I had outside bunnies I'd use both. In answer to your question above - I've only 3, a disabled lounge bunny & a pair who free range upstairs
 
bundit said:
Thanks for that. The hutch I have has got a "thin black plastic lining" (that is what the manufacturer says, it looks ok), so it's not lino but hoping it will be ok.

Is the hay in the nesting area to both eat and bed down? I use straw and hay is that ok? No-one seems to mention straw, I was told it keeps animals warmer.

So litter tray with cat litter etc and hay to nibble - got that :)
Click to expand...

I have two outdoor buns normally (they're currently inside tho [emoji38]) I always use straw in the nest box area, loads of it in the winter, with hay on top, it keeps them warmer :) in the summer I don't worry too much (they still have straw as a base beneath the hay though) and yea all hay in the hutch gets nommed no matter where it is [emoji38]
 
Straw is more insulating, so would be warmer as bedding during a cold winter, but hay is pretty good anyway.
I tend to only use hay - some rabbits eat straw and it has less nutritional value than hay, and it saves on storage space for 2 different materials.
Straw is a good, cheap alternative to use as a base layer eg instead of wood shavings / sawdust.
 
Best thing I found for winter was the big yellow storage large box fitted perfectly in my hutch nest box area, so I'd stick that in there and pack straw all around and on top of the box in the gap (was a bit smaller so there was a nice gap around it) then I'd fill the inside of the box (which I cut a hole in to match the entrance to the nest box) with more straw and then hay, then I'd put two snuggle safes in there every night [emoji38]

However we had to stop the cardboard box thing, because one of the buns that lived there like to eat cardboard then gets stasis [emoji849] so if your bun isn't interested in cardboard I'd say it's great, otherwise avoid [emoji38]
 
I can't put straw in because mine eat it in preference to hay :S Hay racks are also useful, I use them in both my indoor areas including the teeny tiny hutch. This is what happens when they knock it off in the hutch and can't get out: Mr Judgyface :lol:



'Stop taking pictures and move this hayrack!' So yeah, helps to know what sort of space etc. you have to put one up. The knock-off-able one is a standard hemisphere hanging basket 3/4 covered in chicken wire so it can be hung in its side, hung on a hook in the hutch.
 
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