help choosing new hutch

hi there
i posted a few weeks back about our 2 new bunnies and my male banjo, he is now neutered, he had his operation on wednesday and he doesnt seem bothered at all, our 2 females are 12weeks now and eating lots, we are hoping to introdce them in about 2months once there abit bigger and all neutred, but at the moment banjo has his small hutch and the 2 wee ones are in the shed in the indoor hutch, so were obviously going to have to get a bigger hutch, i did see a nice big 1 in pets at home for £140 it was just a normal hutch and about 4ft long, but i was wondering if i could get some help and advice on what hucth to get and what kind of size i should be looking at, banjos a male lionhead x and the 2 females are dwarf lops, i have seen on this website: http://ukpetsonline.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=7 quite a few but dont quite know exactly what size, i quite liked: http://ukpetsonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=510 just the normal hutch but wasnt sure if this is to small,
this looks interesting but i dont know if this would be enough room: http://ukpetsonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=614
the hutch im wanting is really just there bed as they are usually out all day, but id like a hutch that gives them plenty of room on rainy days etc

hope this all makes sence
thanks
alex

I would repeat the old adage that you should go for the biggest floorspace you can afford. You also need to bear in mind that a 2 storey hutch loses floorspace with the ramp put in and the to the rabbits should be able to take 3 strides inside the hutch - and there will be three of them. You may well be better off considering a child's playhouse or small shed which are often much more generous in size for the equivalent money and can be customised with platforms e.t.c to please the bunnies. Also have a look on places like ebay and freecycle to see if something suitable comes up. When I moved I gave away an enormous hutch via freecycle I'd had made because it would not fit in my new house and I did not want to see it go to waste and I am sure others do this sort of thing as well.

Hi there,

When looking for a bunny home the RSPCA and rabbit welfare association recommend a minimum of a six ft x 2 ft x 2 ft hutch with a run attached high enough that the bun can stretch to full height.

Quite often as suggested above it can work out cheaper to modify a shed and attach a run. While the double 4th hutches look like there is lots of space, they lose a lot of space for the ramp, so arn't great really. Cash would be better spent on a single storey 6th x x

hi there

i never knew there was so much to consider etc when buying a hutch, would this one be ok then? :http://ukpetsonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=614
as it has a really nice big bed area for them and a run in total its 190cm long so over 6ft, plus i have 2 huge runs that i currently have attached and all u do is open a door into each other so they would have plenty of room,
the main run is about 7ft long 3ft wide and 2.5ft high and the other is made up of like individual wire fence type things so u can make different shapes and this goes big aswell, so with that hutch plus all the runs attached i think that should be more than enough space?

thanks again
alex

Hi Hun, your link doesn't work for me but it sounds blimmin fab x x

Hmmm, I think those chicken coop style hutches actually sound better than what they are to be honest, because while they do give the rabbit alot of room, its such an odd shape they cant move about as freely as they can in say a standard 6 x 2 x 2, and when you look at it from that perspective, its actually quite pricey at £140, I mean you could buy a small shed for that.

I would ideally go for something one level and as big as you can for the maximum benefit to be honest. If you attach the runs etc you will get more space so i know your not intending that to be a stand alone thing, the main issue with these style hutches is when it rains there is very little room for the rabbit to actually be in, which is why a one level hutch could be better with the runs you have x

hi sorry i put it in wrong

http://ukpetsonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=614

hopefully that should work now, glad you think that it will be good, felling abit happier now i know wjat im getting its stressful trying to make the right decisions on hutches etc lol

ive had a quick search on google for a 6ft hutch and the only thing 1 i could find was £169

is there somewhere cheaper to buy them?

we do have some1 local that builds hutches but we used him before and he was extremly pricey, the only other place is pets at home or dobbies but ive never seen 1 6ft in there before,

also wanted to ask, is it better just to buy a simple box to put the hay in the hutch et or are these hay racks any good?

thanks

I'll have a search online for you tomorrow and see if I can find something, £169 sounds way too much i would expect £90-£120 max. Hay racks are fine, i think theres no right thing to do its more what suits your rabbit , mine have an old magazine rack stuffed with hay because theres three of them

when they had hutches though i didnt bother, they just had hay all on the floor x

If you google 'happy hutch company' - willow and felix have the biggest hutch and run combo, also it will be quite easy to extend which I plan to do soon. The hutch it 6ft by 2ft, and the run on the front is 6ft by 3ft, and its 3ft high - they are meduim sized buns and they have loads of head room. I think this is only just big enough for 2 and plan to extend the run by another 5 ft x (the link for the website is on the property ladder stickys) x

hi there,

il have a look on that hopefully its not to expensive, i only did a quick search before i went to bed so il try and spend more time later doing it,
for the hay i was thinking about getting a hay rack and also putting it in a container as banjo just tramples it all over the cage and makes a right mess,

if i have enough time before i go to the stables this morning il have a look on there that sounds much better, plus i have my large runs so with all that room that should be plenty enough

thanks again

The rabbit hutch shop . com sells a 6ftx2ft5x2ft5 hutch for £129

hi again, ive just had a wee look on that website and i looked at prices for the 6ftx2ftx2ft hutches
the hutch and run combo with the 6ftx4ft run is £140, but i was just wondering earlier on people were saying not to get hutches with ramps as they take alot or room away from the rabbit so is this the best idea?

i also looked at the plain simple single story flat roof hutch again 6ftx2ftx2ft and this is £115
and for the same but with longer legs is a extra £10

if i was to get just the single story hutch i think id get it with the taller legs as thats what i have now and i find it much easier than bending down,

showing my mum all these hutches she still preferes the chicken coop style, she says she doesnt see the difference in the single story ones with a run than them as the chicked coop has a big bed good for the winter if they want to stay in more plus a large run underneath all covered by a roof, ive told her the thing about there 3strides etc
at the moment i am split between the one wiith the run attached and the one with legs but the run attached has more room for an extra £15, plus with my runs attached they will have loads of room,

i was just wondering is it ok for the runs too be on slabs etc as if i get the one with the run it will have to be and then the extra runs i attach will be on the grass etc

sorry for the big essay
thanks again

i have just had another look and really like the http://www.happyhutch.co.uk/details.php?product=70
the hutch and run combo reading the describtion it sounds really good, only thing is how do u attach another run to the end as theres only doors on the top

and as this hutch has a ramp and takes up valuable space is it still something to be concerned about?

thanks again and sorry for so many posts

I think it helps if you do not think of the hutch as a bed. They need space with shelter completely away from the elements, but the hutch element of a set up is just as important space wise as the run. You will find that your buns spend a lot of time reorganising things and generally shuffling around inside as well as out, then that is why the chicken coop style set up are not as good. It would be a bit like you living in a big garden with only the shed for shelter - it's fine and does the job but you would be really bored after a while in rainy weather because you can't move around much. It is not a case of big hutch or big run, it should be both! There is also the practical point. I used to keep my g.pigs in a chicken coop but it was a real pain to clean out, lots of tight corners and a lot of them have quite small access doors. The advantage of a traditional hutch is that you line it with newspaper, put the bedding on top and then when you come to clean out you just roll the whole lot up no fuss not much mess not much time. You will find with an irregular shaped hutch that you spend ages trying to clean into all the corners. If you have runs already you could always take a look at the runaround site. The do tubing and doors that you can attach to your hutch and run to connect them even when they are not close together.

Its hard to see the problem with a chicken coop online, when you actually see them you see that it isnt a big bed area its actually quite small, bunnies cant stretch out/flop out so if the weather was bad they wouldnt have much space, i used to think they seemed pretty good but then I saw one and realised they werent - also they are a right pain to clean!

I think with the ramp thing its okay because the hutch itself is a large one, for example, if someone had a 4 foot double hutch, i would say its not brilliant because the ramp takes away space and there isnt much room to flop out etc, however in a hutch thats say 6 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot, there IS still alot of room and if its going to connect to a run I dont see any problem with it personally.

I'd probably get longer legs too, i used to hate having to pretty much get on the floor to clean out our old hutches!

They both sound fine so go with what suits you best really, like you said you have extra runs anyway!

As for the slabs, thats fine, i think its better than grass because it seems nice to have grass but a week later it will be all gobbled up and then go all muddy. Mine are on concrete and they are fine with it, I give them digging boxes of dirt etc and they are quite happy.

I have another run they go on the grass in , so you could always save one of your runs for that sort of thing if garden space isnt too much of an issue, but its really just what suits you best!

no worries about the essay - its what were here for! x

-- Went to send this and saw you had posted again, when I got a run from happy hutch it was wooden but with eyelet holes and the panels connected with a metal stake like a long tent peg, and then i bought another to make the run ten foot, maybe ask if they can do that for you? also with connecting runs they really have to be the same height etc so if they are too different then maybe save the other for grass time? x

As long as you are going for the larger size of that HHC sykes hutch it looks fine the only caution I would give is about cleaning. Because the hutch sits on top of the run how do you get access into the hutch? Will you have to dismantle the front of the run everytime?

i know someone who had one actually did it back to front, so that the run faced the other way! and that made it easier

It's a good way around the problem

have you looked on ebay,i got mine from there and it cost me £100 saved me a fortune,this is my cage

fall3n-ang3l wrote:have you looked on ebay,i got mine from there and it cost me £100 saved me a fortune,this is my cage

Does this have a section which is completely out of the elements hun? I cant see from the pic that there is anywhere in it that is enclosed?

SJ's advice really is fantastic so far as the hutch and runs go.

the top bit has a pull out section,it used to take me agers to clean it out but ive found a way which speeds it up,iam waiting for hubbie to put a pull out tray in the bottom bit for me

yes,it does have a section that is enclosed,hubbie has also made planks of wood that fit in the sections,i put these in at night,

Awww thats clever!

Your buns have are deffo onto a winner!

hubbie is very clever you cant see it but its under a flat roof and when it gets colder,hubbie is going to put some hooks on the roof and then i can hook a tarpaulin sheet on, around the cage to protect them even more,fingers crossed that will make them snug as a bug,if not then i will buy one of those hooded pet beds,so they should be nice and cosy in that