How Big Should A Rabbit Hutch Be

by Suzie

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.

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Cleaning A Rabbit Hutch

by Suzie

Faith & Aaron at Rabbit cage_4079
Image by hoyasmeg via Flickr

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

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The nest boxes of those hutches containing bucks and those containing sick does should be examined, cleaned and sprayed and provided with fresh straw. Every effort should be made to keep hutches dry.

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Build A Rabbit Run

by Suzie

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.

Mars and Jupiter's Rabbit Run
Image by Dwarf Bunnies via Flickr

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.

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