Cheap straw?

[LittleEskimo]

Since buying a 6ft hutch my straw use has doubled/tripled :shock: My local does these bales of straw for about £5 (not sure on exact weight though) and to fill up the hutch to where I am happy with (still around 0 degrees these past few nights) takes about a bag or bag and a half. Just wondering if there are any cheaper alternatives to use.

 

[catherine09]

Straw is one of the cheapest beddings you can use.

Do you use it in the whole hutch? Is your bun litter trained?

We have lino over the floor of the buns house, megazorb and hay in the litter tray and straw in the bed house thing. We hardly use any of the stuff - change it every week as Sweep is very well toilet trained and doesn't go in it.

It might be easier for you to lino the floor and just use straw in the bed area?

 

[LittleEskimo]

She is litter trained but I use it to help keep her warm as she is a lone bunny.

 

[Fluffers]

:wave: If she's litter trained I would be inclined to use old towels & fleecey blankets rather than straw (less messy too )

You could also look to make some shutters for the hutch. These are not only good draught excluders but act as additional security against predators :wave:

 

[catherine09]

As long as she has a warm area (ie bedroom stuffed with straw and snugglesafe) then she will be fine. My bun has been alone all through this nasty cold snap we've just had and much as I worried he was fine on his own and was never cold (I used to feel him to check). He has a cosy box filled to the brim with straw and a snugglesafe pad that he can go into if he is cold. He used to sit out in the run all night and when it got really cold he would just flop out on the floor of the house and hardly went in the box!

He has lino on the floor and carpet mats, perhaps you could get some carpet/fleeces and lay them on the floor?

ETA: I know someone who makes shutters custom made to size so PM me if you want the details :thumb:

 

[Santa]

Personally I would stick with the straw, but you could cut down your use by making some kind of smaller hidey hole box for inside the hutch and stuffing that full of straw rather than the whole thing...then your bun has a snuggly area to climb right into to get cosy. Straw is far more likely to keep her warm than towels/vetbed etc because the straw will completely surround her so will trap air and warm it up and therefore keep her warm on all sides. Nice fluffy blankets etc will keep her feet warm but the air around her will still be cold, so might be useful for around the hutch but I would still have at least one section/box etc stuffed with straw.

 

[LittleEskimo]

Yeah I was thinking about fleeces today as I am getting hold of some lino on Wednesday I will see how she does with a towel first, make sure she doesn't chew it lol. I was going to try making my own shutters as all I have is tarp but I am not entirely sure how :S is it just a piece of plywood??

 

[LittleEskimo]

Personally I would stick with the straw, but you could cut down your use by making some kind of smaller hidey hole box for inside the hutch and stuffing that full of straw rather than the whole thing...then your bun has a snuggly area to climb right into to get cosy. Straw is far more likely to keep her warm than towels/vetbed etc because the straw will completely surround her so will trap air and warm it up and therefore keep her warm on all sides. Nice fluffy blankets etc will keep her feet warm but the air around her will still be cold, so might be useful for around the hutch but I would still have at least one section/box etc stuffed with straw.

Yeah that is true :/ The key to warmth is trapping air. I might try a mixture. See what I can come up with. She only ever goes into her bedroom area to go to the bathroom, she spends all her time (and sleeps!) out in the open areas. She is a very robust bunny but I always worry about her being too cold

 

[Fluffers]

Yeah I was thinking about fleeces today as I am getting hold of some lino on Wednesday I will see how she does with a towel first, make sure she doesn't chew it lol. I was going to try making my own shutters as all I have is tarp but I am not entirely sure how :S is it just a piece of plywood??

I used to just have tarp also but got fed up with the flappy-ness of it all! Actually I still use it but really to prolong the life of the hutch more than anything!

Have a look at my shutters in the link below. Yup, exterior ply is all you need 4mm-8mm is fine. An 8ft x 4ft sheet is around £12-£15 from Gibbs & Dandy (not sure if they're UK wide but other builders merchants will sell it) and if you measure everything first they'll cut it for you - which is good because you'd never get it in the car otherwise :lol:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...provements.-Useful-weather-fox-proofing-ideas

I actually got plywood for nothing as they had a sheet which had been used to top & bottom a pallet of timber (so it was waste). Worth asking & putting on your best smiley face :wave:

 

[LittleEskimo]

Oh they look great Yeah I am pretty sick of tarp. It can sometimes blow off in high winds and I don't think it is even waterproof...But it is an old one with holes in lol. I bought a new one so hopefully it should be here. How did you secure them so that they didn't fall off? I can't quite tell in the pictures. I will ask around any places that sell wood. See what they have. And yes, best smiley face hehe

 

[Fluffers]

Oh they look great Yeah I am pretty sick of tarp. It can sometimes blow off in high winds and I don't think it is even waterproof...But it is an old one with holes in lol. I bought a new one so hopefully it should be here. How did you secure them so that they didn't fall off? I can't quite tell in the pictures. I will ask around any places that sell wood. See what they have. And yes, best smiley face hehe

I just used the little black turn buckles (from Wilkinsons or buy online). One screw through the centre, easy peasy! If you wanted ultra security you could use bolts of course

 

[LittleEskimo]

Sounds dead easy :thumb: And much more reliable then flimsy tarp lol. Will get on to that as soon as I can. I love that hutch in the picture. I tried to make my one look similar with the colour and everything :lol:

 

[Fluffers]

Sounds dead easy :thumb: And much more reliable then flimsy tarp lol. Will get on to that as soon as I can. I love that hutch in the picture. I tried to make my one look similar with the colour and everything :lol:

Let's see :wave: With the turn buckles, depending on where you want them to be, you might need to put a piece of wood behind first, so that they're flush with the shutter. Make sense?

 

[LittleEskimo]

And yeah using little bits of wood as like spacers to make sure it is all flush. Is that right?