Rabbit Hutch Buying Guide
Rabbit Hutch Buying Guide
A rabbit hutch isn’t just something you go out and buy. It’s something that needs a certain amount of consideration to ensure that your chosen rabbit hutch provides your pet with exactly what it needs. This short guide will give you all the information you need when buying a rabbit hutch.
About Rabbits and Rabbit Hutches
- It is estimated that at least 1.5 million rabbits are now kept as pets in the UK. This makes them the third most popular pet next to dogs and cats. Many people now are opting to train their rabbits to become ‘house rabbits’, giving them the same comforts as cats and dogs. But most of them are still intended to spend their lives living in the back garden. If this is the case with your existing pet or new addition, then you need to ensure that their new housing is going to be just as comfortable as what a house rabbit has.
No one wants to see their pet stuck at the bottom of the garden, miserable and cramped in an old hutch.
What To Look For In A Good Hutch
- Living Space: A good hutch should obviously be fair in size. This prevents your rabbit from being cramped. It’s ideal to know the rough size that your rabbit will grow to when an adult, and the size of your hutch should be compared to this. It should allow any rabbit to sit up comfortably and to stretch out.
- Your rabbit hutch should have a section separate from the main area for it to use as a sleeping compartment. Both of these areas should allow easy access for you, to enable the hutch to be cleaned thoroughly and without any problems. And any door must be fitted well with adequate locks that fasten securely.
- Material: Seeing as the rabbit hutch is going to spend all of its life outside in the garden, you need to ensure that the material it is made from will not perish due to the weather. It needs to be protected against the elements. The wood must be weatherproof and maintained regularly with a preserving treatment that is non-toxic. The roof of the hutch should be slanted backward to allow the rain to drain off and prevent the gathering of puddles which, over a period of time, can contribute towards the hutch starting to rot. Ideally the rabbit hutch should be elevated from the ground. This prevents the rot from eventually attacking from the bottom, and prevents the inside, as well as your rabbit, from getting damp.
- The mesh at the front of the rabbit hutch must be strong enough to protect your rabbit from predators such as foxes. You should also double check that there are no sharp edges of wire sticking out that can injure your rabbit.
What Else Do You Need For Your Rabbit Hutch?
- After considering what rabbit hutch to go for, you then need to decide what else you need to go with it. Water bottles can be attached to the front of the hutch on the wire. These provide your rabbit with easy accessible drinking water. A bowl should also be provided for their food. If you give your rabbit hay, a hayrack is recommended to keep the hay free from soil or being trampled on. Rabbits are usually clean animals and often choose one corner to use as their toilet. Some peopleplace a tray in this corner for them to protect the base of the hutch.
Rabbits are hardy creatures and can cope with low temperatures. However, it is advisable to keep the rabbit hutch in a sheltered area away from draughts or sun traps and near the house. During winter months the rabbit hutch can be moved into a well ventilated garage or shed to help protect them from the elements. However, if you don’t have somewhere sheltered to move them to, covers can be purchased for your hutch, or simple tarpaulins can be placed over to help keep your rabbit warm.
Looking After Your Rabbit and Your Rabbit Hutch
As with any pets, there are things you need to do and check daily, and there are things you need to do and check weekly.
- Daily
Replace wet bedding with fresh, clean straw or sawdust. If your rabbit uses its corner as a toilet, clean the area and replace what is needed. If they use a tray, clean the tray thoroughly and replace with fresh sawdust.
Clean the water bottle, checking the spout for any blockages, and replace with fresh water.
Throw away any stale, uneaten food, wash the bowl and top up with fresh food. Maybe add some fresh greens. A varied diet, especially foods that need effort to eat, helps to keep your rabbit from growing bored, and helps to keep their teeth trim.
Top up any hay
- Weekly
The hutch will need a thorough clean every week.
Remove all sawdust and bedding.
Clean the hutch thoroughly with hot soapy water, then rinse and allow to dry.
Once dry, replace with fresh bedding and sawdust etc.
Exercise
- A rabbit needs exercise just as much as any cat or dog, however, they cannot be left like these pets. The best way to give them the exercise they need is by providing a run. This gives them a secure place to run around, but you must ensure there are no sharp edges and that it is escape proof. It is also advisable to make sure that the run provides your rabbit with the protection it needs against predators such as foxes, and the rabbit should always be removed and placed safely back in the their hutch for the night.
Water and food should always be provided when your rabbit is in their run, however, if the run is placed on grass the rabbit can be free to eat this. By allowing this, ensure that the grass is clean and uncontaminated with chemicals such as weed killers, and ensure there is plenty to last it. A water bottle can simply be attached to the wire.
Some rabbit hutches come with a run beneath it and a ramp that allows the rabbit to come and go as it pleases. This isbeneficial in many ways. It gives the rabbit more of a choice as to where it wants to be, and always ensures there is food and water available. Ahatch is often found at the top of the ramp in the hutch, and this can be left open for your rabbit to roam, or locked shut to keep them safe at night. The rabbit can also be kept in its run while you clean the hutch out, or vice-versa.
And, by having a rabbit hutch situated directly on top of its run ensures that your hutch is elevated from the ground, preventing rot and dampness setting in.
Health Care
- Your rabbit should be checked everyday for any signs if ill health. Behaviour will be the first thing you should notice. If they normally come up and greet you but they remain huddled in the corner or hidden in their sleeping compartment, then it may be that they are feeling unwell. Check for any sign of diarrhoea, check to see if they are eating, and double check their water bottle to ensure they are drinking.
- On a regular basis, check that their eyes are wide and bright and free of discharge, as well as the nose, to ensure they are not snuffly or sneezing.
- Keep a check on their teeth. Like hamsters, their teeth grow continuously and are kept down by gnawing on tough objects. If these are left to grow too long, it can cause painful problems for the rabbit, including them being unable to eat. Older rabbits may suffer more as they chew less than younger rabbits.
- Check the ears. They should be pink in colour, not red or hot.
- Keep check on their paws and claws too. If your rabbit is kept on soft ground, the claws may not wear down quick enough and may need clipping.
- Grooming should be a regular thing for your rabbit, especially if it has long hair, such as Angora rabbits. This helps to keep their coat clean and helps to remove dead hair when moulting to prevent matting. Grooming is also a good way to check for fleas and mites or notice any skin irritation.
Your Rabbit’s Social Life
- Rabbits are social creatures and like to spend time with companions, whether that be you or other animals. Set a time aside everyday to go out and play with them. This helps to strengthen the bond between you and prevents them from becoming bored.
By providing your pet with an adequate, clean rabbit hutch, with plenty of food and water, and by supplying them with the love and the company that they need, your rabbit will soon become a happy rabbit, and happy rabbits make wonderful pets.
