Raising rabbits near a large community is a profitable industry, and it is an enterprise that many schoolboys in America have embarked upon, with returns in money that are indeed out of proportion to the small amount of time and energy necessary for the proper care of the little animals.

The construction of clean, comfortable homes for rabbits, as recommended by the Department of Agriculture, is as follows:

The hutches, as they are called, should be built of good, sound lumber, and should have tight floors, providing at least 12 sq. ft. of floor space. The best plan for building hutches in quantity is that used in building sectional bookcases. The bottom section has short, stout legs, while the others are placed upon it until the desired height is reached. A convenient size for an outdoor hutch is one measuring 6 ft. in length, 1 1/2 ft. in height, and 2 ft. in

wood, and the other of wire mesh similar to that used in enclosing poultry runways. The screen door should be provided with a sliding wood cover, as a protection against severe cold weather.

Outdoor hutches, which are desirable for most of the climates found in America, are best, and should be fitted with sloping roofs and made otherwise watertight. Holes for ventilation should be bored in the side walls near the ceiling. Several layers of waterproof paint should be applied.

When looking at rabbit hutch plans, you may wonder if a wooden hutch is better than a rabbit cage.  Let’s take a look at some comparisons to that you can get a feel for what each will provide for your bunny.

There are several styles in each kind of home for your rabbit.  You will see that there is a range that goes from very simple to veritable bunny mansions.  Most of the time, when the word “cage” is used it conjures up pictures of tiny wire cages where the bunny is cramped up inside it.  You may be surprised to know that you can purchase sprawling two story cages that come with detachable runs available.

Cages are often made of small gauge wire.  While this makes them easy to clean, they also do not usually have bottoms to them.  This is not best for the rabbit.  Some do have flooring and some two story cages have solid flooring on the upper half, and this is a step in the right direction.

In order to protect your rabbit’s feet, you will still need to cover the floor.  It does not matter if the cage comes with a hard metal bottom, or if the bottom is wire – they still need something comfortable to lie on.

Other attractive features of wire cages are that the bottom can separate from the rest of the cage, making it easier to clean.  They are also easy to disassemble and transport if you have to travel or if you move.

Wooden rabbit hutches offer similar shelter as a rabbit cage.  There are also wooden two story homes with plenty of space and easy access to the bunny.  Many also come with pull out trays below the hutch for easy cleaning as well.

These wooden structures are not easily disassembled, though.  When looking at wooden rabbit hutch plans, know that they offer an excellent home for your bunny.  There are luxury models that look similar to miniature homes, including a bunny walkway and raised sleeping quarters.  They also have spacious runs included.

Regardless of being wire or wooden, both homes can be positioned so that they open out into a run where the rabbit can have space to move and get some exercise.  You should also have adequate space for more than one rabbit in either a cage or a wooden home, if you actually have more than one rabbit.

Beyond that, either a hutch or a cage can have enough room for the pet to sleep and eat in.  In the past, cages were generally considered an ineffective and unattractive way to keep a rabbit, but with the changes that have been made to recent models, this is no longer true.

As you look at rabbit hutch plans, you can feel good knowing that both wooden hutches and wire cages can both be options that will benefit your rabbit.  In fact, you may want to build a wooden hutch for the outdoors and keep a wire cage inside for your pet.

If you happen to like woodworking, it can be the ideal hobby or skill for creating your own custom rabbit hutch.  With your own rabbit hutch plans, you can build a home for your bunny that will make everyone happy.

With custom plans, you will be able to pamper your pet and provide him with a house fit for the little king or queen that they are.  Constructing the rabbit home should not take more than a weekend and even less if you have ever built anything similar.

Expert skill is not required, though.  If you have the desire, you can find easy beginner books that will walk you through the project step by step.  To get a better idea of the kind of hutch you want to build, you might want to start by taking a trip to the local pet store and look around at what is available.  You can also look online to see what kind of home is possible.  Then, you can either buy a book that has the same design or you can go with rabbit hutch plans where you make a few modifications to suit your needs.

Keep in mind that not all rabbit hutch plans are elaborate works of art.  Some are not attractive at all and end up as just a plain square box when it’s all said and done.

The plans that you find should have a preview of the contents before you actually buy it.  If you happen to be a novice builder, it is a good idea to seek the advice of other small pet owners regarding what they would do differently with their hutches.  Ask about improvements they recommend or other helpful tips.

A hutch is supposed to give your rabbit a place to eat, sleep and a spot where they can use the bathroom.  Regardless of that your plans may say about the kind of flooring you should install, you will want to use material that can be washed and disinfected.

If you are absolutely sure that your bunny will have plenty of time to roam free of the hutch and ample time outdoors, you do not need to build the largest hutch imaginable.  A smaller home will be enough.  Do not build your rabbit’s hutch based on the size of a baby rabbit.  You will need to construct it for the adult sized bunny your baby will become.

When you have selected your rabbit hutch plans, begin by making a list of the items you will need to buy.  Make this list before you head to the store.  Include bedding and a litter box that is specifically for rabbits on your list as well.

Other needed items for your rabbit hutch include a food dish and water bottle.  If your rabbit hutch plans include constructing it of wood, you may also want to get a rug to place under it inside the house.  This will prevent the legs of the hutch from scratching your floors.

Rabbit hutch sizes can depend on the gender and your intentions for your rabbit.

If you have a male, you may want a bigger hutch that can meet his territorial and physical needs. He should be able to move about freely.

If your rabbit is a female and you would like for her to have babies in the future, then you will want to select a hutch that would allow for extra bunnies living there.

The minimum size for a rabbit hutch plans should be at least 36 inches.  Anything smaller than that and it is just too small and not big enough to allow your pet to be comfortable.  You do not want your bunny to end up miserable because it has been packed into a cage that is obviously too small.

You want to look for hutches that are made out of good quality wood and wire.  These style hutches provide a nesting area that lets the rabbit feel safe and comfortable.  They also allow enough room for the rabbit to stretch and rise up on its rear legs.  Bunnies often do this as a way to explore their space and sniff the air better.

The hutch should also have two main areas.  One is for them to sleep in and the other is for them to move around in.  This section should also have enough room so that the bunny can eliminate waste away from where he eats and sleeps.  After all, rabbits do not like to hang out in their own waste any more than a human would.  Look for hutches with a removable litter tray.  These are more sanitary for the bunny and make daily cleanings a lot faster.

The right amount of room would really be enough for your pet to stretch and roam in.  This means that the hutch should be no less than three times the size of the bunny when it is full grown.  Don’t measure this when the rabbit is a baby because, obviously, he will not stay that size for very long.

Keep in mind that rabbits have powerful back legs that are designed for speed in the wild.  If your rabbit does not have enough room to move around, these hind leg muscles will grow weak and he will not have the skills he needs to survive if he every accidently got loose from the hutch.  A lethargic rabbit is not one that is lazy, a lethargic rabbit is one that is not getting enough exercise because they do not have the space required to do so.

You may seem some custom built rabbit’s hutches that stand very tall.  While rabbits to tend to hop and rear up on their back legs at times, you want the majority of the space in your hutch to be horizontal and not vertical.  Space to move that allows some exercise forward is more important.

Of equal importance with the purchase of stock is cleanliness in the hutch. A dirty, neglected hutch means disease, deaths and failure. Accumulations of manure afford breeding places for flies, are the cause of sore hocks, and worst of all, the source of infection for coccidiosis. The ammonia fumes from urine irritate and inflame mucous membranes, encouraging catarrhal troubles and snuffles, and bleach delicate colors, while the odors from a neglected, filthy hutch are most obnoxious and may lose one a purchaser.

The rabbit is naturally a cleanly animal, and no effort should be spared on the part of a breeder to afford it a comfortable and decent place to live in. Scrupulous care should be exercised, therefore, in cleaning the hutches. Cleaning out droppings and moist litter every other day in hot weather and twice a week in winter is not giving too much attention to. this important detail. Once a week all litter should be taken out and the floor sprayed with a good deodorizer or disinfectant, after which clean litter should be introduced. The water and feed dishes should be kept

Rabbits need but little exercise when mature, the young do require it, and ideal conditions are found in rabbit runs if they are not too crowded.

These may be of almost any length, one approximately 4×20 feet being sufficient to accommodate eight or ten young rabbits until they are from four to five months old.

These runs should be made of one-inch wire mesh and have a top of the same material to keep out cats and other enemies. This top may be hinged to allow easy access on the part of the keeper.

If the ends of the runs are also hinged, forming doors, cleaning will be greatly facilitated.

Should the runs be outside, the bottom must also be of wire mesh covered with from four to six inches of soil. This prevents the animals from digging out.

The soil should be changed frequently, otherwise it may become impregnated with coccidiosis germs.

Outside runs should have an auxiliary wire fence, about three or four feet high to keep dogs and other would-be intruders at a distance from the animals.

Or these runs may be inside, and a board floor that can be cleaned frequently is better than one of,soil. There should be side boards twelve or fourteen inches high placed at the bottom of sides and ends to ward off draughts. This suggestion holds for both inside and outside runs.

We believe that sawdust, which is a good absorbent, makes the best litter for the Ixrttom of the hutch or indoor run. If sawdust is not obtainable, use straw. Straw over sawdust is excellent. Nest boxes should be kept filled with clean straw. Every effort must be made to keep the hutch or run clean and dry.

Three hutches like the one described alxwe, in a city backyard or in the country, if occupied by good breeders, are of sufficient capacity to keep a moderate sized family supplied with fresh meat a large part of the year.

The principal feature in some sanitary hutches is found in the fact that there are two bottoms, the upper being made of slats placed just far enough apart to allow droppings to fall through. The lower floor is sloping, insuring the draining away of the urine, and means are afforded for thoroughly cleaning this lower floor.

Our experience has demonstrated that great care must be used to see that the spaces between slats be not too wide, for if they are, young rabbits may get a foot and part of a leg below the floor and so firmly fastened thatthe frightened animal will break or dislocate its limb in its struggles to free itself.

Each hutch should be provided with a hay rack, either made of wood (which mischievous rabbits are apt to gnaw) or wire so constructed as not to allow young rabbits to climb into it. This rack should be placed on a side of the hutch at such a height that young rabbits as well as their mother can reach its contents.

An adult rabbit will be perfectly comfortable and can raise a litter to the weaning age in a rabbit hutch the size of 2x2x6 feet. Hutches can be 2x2x4 feet but we prefer the larger type, particularly for does with litters.

Flemish should always be given good sized hutches. Since these hutches can be placed in tiers of two or three, requiring but little floor space, they are likely to be more used by the town or city dweller than the runs.

About one-third of the hutch should be partitioned off as a nest box. In this partition is a round hole eight inches in diameter and five or six inches above the floor of the hutch. The front of the nest box should be provided with a wooden door which can be fastened, and the remainder of the hutch furnished with another door made of a stout frame on which is tacked one-inch wire mesh. This size of mesh

One can allow rabbits for a time to ” run wild ” with a marked improvement in the health of the animals, but to adopt the method as a principle in rabbit raising on a large scale would, we believe, be folly.

Even on a budget -some sort of a rabbit cage and means of protection from the weather, from enemies and from each other is imperative. Particularly is this true with the fancier raising valuable and high priced animals, but the rule applies to all conditions and even those who breed utility stock for the market have to take precautions, even, though wild rabbits seemingly prosper without protection.

It must not be forgotten that the domestic animal has been accustomed to protection for many years, and ha9 become so used to man’s care that, left to itself, it would perish for want of it.

A rabbitry is any building or place where rabbits are housed; it is primarily a collection of hutches, and since the hutch is the all important structure, and since frequently a beginner has but one hutch or pen of rabbits, it appears fitting to discuss the structure of hutch or pen before dealing with the subject of the building which may house a number of hutches.

There has been such marked progress in the structure of hygenic quarters for these animals, and there is such a variety of excellent designs in use that it is impassible within the limits of this publication to describe them all. We will have to limit ourselves to a discussion of the most economical and most easily constructed type.

Any school boy can learn how to  build a rabbit house with a wooden dry-goods box, a few nails, and some wire  poultry netting. You don’t always need rabbit hutch plans.

It is best to use a box about four feet long, 18 inches high and 2 feet deep.

The front of the box is removed, and two grooves 4 inches long and 1 inch deep are cut in each side at the bottom to hold tho door in place. The door is made in two pieces—the lower being solid and acting as a base for the door to which it is hinged by two 2-inch butts.

The door frame should just fit the inside of the box nicely, and is made from one-inch boards—2 inches wide. The wire netting is nailed on from the inside of the door. At cleaning time, the whole front of the hutch may be taken out by turning the wooden button.

It is a good plan to paint the hutch outside with oil paint, and on the inside with whitewash.

The floor should be given one coat of tar, and sand sprinkled evenly on the surface, which will make the hutch water and damp proof and easily disinfected. These box hutches can then be stacked in tiers; one on top of the other; and a great many rabbits accommodated in a small space.

The bottom row should be placed 12 to 18 inches off the floor or off the ground. From 19 to 12 square feet of floor space is the rule as to size of hutches.

Hutches may be made “self cleaning” by tho use of a slatted floor. This can be made from one inch square strings, running the long way of the hutch, and the floor set on cleats about two inches from the hutch bottom. The hutch dropping then falls through the slats to the floor below, and are easily cleaned out.

When building rabbit cages the best cages are of suitable size, made entirely of metal. The sides and top and bottom are of woven wire work; beneath the cage is a movable metal tray filled with sawdust, for the reception of the excreta. The cage as a whole is raised from the ground on short legs. The sides, etc., are generally hinged so that the cage packs up flat, for convenience of storing and also of sterilizing.