FAO Vince the bunny...and anyone else whos winter proofed

Just wondering what it was you used to keep the wind and rain out of your setup, and how you fastened it down?

I bought shower curtains thinking they would be a good alternative. Pinned them down and a week later theyve been torn off by the wind!! I need a cheap way to cover the run so the buns can keep snug. It has to be transparent too, or its really dark in there.

How did you hold them down to start with? I've just ordered straw & two non-drip bottles (so can fill hutch to the gills without it getting in bowls) - can tell winters coming!

Becki wrote:How did you hold them down to start with? I've just ordered straw & two non-drip bottles (so can fill hutch to the gills without it getting in bowls) - can tell winters coming!

Drawing pins!

You can get a blue tarpaulin which let's a bit of light in and get some bungee cords and just hook them to the runs with the bungee cord.

Any DIY shop's or cheap shops sell the blue tarpaulin, you can get clear ones in them but never seen them round here. Try camping shops.

You could also buy clear poloythene from B&Q and DIY shops.



Found clear ones but they are expensive Sophia

http://www.allplas.co.uk/acatalog/Clear_Tarps.html?gclid=CO_b0a-3nawCFZJc4Qod7F4sAg

http://www.tarpaulins-togo.co.uk/acatalog/Clear_PVC_Tarpaulins_.html

Is it a cover for the run that you have just bought? Mike said if you send the measurements of the run and a photo of it he will make you one and send it to you. (no charge he will make it out of clear poloythene for you.) that's if you want him to.

Tuckerbunnies wrote:You can get a blue tarpaulin which let's a bit of light in and get some bungee cords and just hook them to the runs with the bungee cord.

Any DIY shop's or cheap shops sell the blue tarpaulin, you can get clear ones in them but never seen them round here. Try camping shops.

You could also buy clear poloythene from B&Q and DIY shops.



Found clear ones but they are expensive Sophia

http://www.allplas.co.uk/acatalog/Clear_Tarps.html?gclid=CO_b0a-3nawCFZJc4Qod7F4sAg

http://www.tarpaulins-togo.co.uk/acatalog/Clear_PVC_Tarpaulins_.html

Is it a cover for the run that you have just bought? Mike said if you send the measurements of the run and a photo of it he will make you one and send it to you. (no charge he will make it out of clear poloythene for you.) that's if you want him to.

Its for the 6x4 run they have attached to the playhouse. Id like to be able to leave the cat flap open for them on a night, but the cover i made from some shower curtains ripped off. I did it so that all of the sides were covered, but they could still see out. Ill show you a picture at some point tonight. I had to make one cover for each 6x2 panel of the roof otherwise i have to take the cover off every time i want to open the run, its a real faff! Ill find that picture out tonight, and if Mike has any thoughts or ideas, do let me know.

marleyNfriends wrote:

Tuckerbunnies wrote:You can get a blue tarpaulin which let's a bit of light in and get some bungee cords and just hook them to the runs with the bungee cord.

Any DIY shop's or cheap shops sell the blue tarpaulin, you can get clear ones in them but never seen them round here. Try camping shops.

You could also buy clear poloythene from B&Q and DIY shops.



Found clear ones but they are expensive Sophia

http://www.allplas.co.uk/acatalog/Clear_Tarps.html?gclid=CO_b0a-3nawCFZJc4Qod7F4sAg

http://www.tarpaulins-togo.co.uk/acatalog/Clear_PVC_Tarpaulins_.html



Is it a cover for the run that you have just bought? Mike said if you send the measurements of the run and a photo of it he will make you one and send it to you. (no charge he will make it out of clear poloythene for you.) that's if you want him to.

Its for the 6x4 run they have attached to the playhouse. Id like to be able to leave the cat flap open for them on a night, but the cover i made from some shower curtains ripped off. I did it so that all of the sides were covered, but they could still see out. Ill show you a picture at some point tonight. I had to make one cover for each 6x2 panel of the roof otherwise i have to take the cover off every time i want to open the run, its a real faff! Ill find that picture out tonight, and if Mike has any thoughts or ideas, do let me know.

Yes you take a photo of it and I will mention the cat flap bit to Mike ( he's having a quick nap on the settee at the moment as he's shattered) and he will look at it and I'm sure come up with something and make a cover for you

Ah wow that is so sweet of mike- what a lucky lady you are Maisie I have been doing the same today- though the girlies are now in a cage in the lounge because of the fire works- Rory isn't too happy and has sprayed for the first time in weeks!

Im not sure I explained it very well. Heres a picture, anyway...



I wanted a cover for the roof and 2 meshed sides (2x4 section at the back is solid) to keep the wind and rain off them in the hope that it will keep them warm and dry though the winter. So this is what i did, but it didnt last very long. If you look at the roof the cover is in 2 halves. That is so that i can still open and close the roof without taking the cover off. If i use a single sheet, i cant open the lid because of the hinges in the middle.

I hope that makes a little more sense, im terrible at explaining things!!

ETA
Heres a picture of the same run on ebay, you can see how the lid works....Would have been much simpler just to show you this in the first place! Im such a ditz!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6ft-x4ft-x2ft-Folding-Rabbit-Poultry-Sheltered-Run-035-/180422433625?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item2a0203db59

I have a hinge lidded run for the pigs from PAH and I have a scratch and newton cover stapled to the lid and can still open it no problem at all. Why did the plastic come off - the pinning looks pretty good. Was the plastic too thin? or did the pins come out? If it was the latter then maybe a staple gun is the answer.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:I have a hinge lidded run for the pigs from PAH and I have a scratch and newton cover stapled to the lid and can still open it no problem at all. Why did the plastic come off - the pinning looks pretty good. Was the plastic too thin? or did the pins come out? If it was the latter then maybe a staple gun is the answer.

The plastic was too thin i think, i checked all the pins incase they had pinged into the run. I think the roof is different to the pets at home ones. If you have a look at the link, youll see why x

If you fix the cover on whilst it is folded up it should enough slack in the middle for thelid to be covered in one go. You can buy water proof tent type fabric online as well from around £2.99 a metre. It is quite tough. Or use the tarps.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:If you fix the cover on whilst it is folded up it should enough slack in the middle for thelid to be covered in one go. You can buy water proof tent type fabric online as well from around £2.99 a metre. It is quite tough. Or use the tarps.

But then, when the roof is down, its going to be slack, and the wind will get under it.

Not enough for it to matter. You will have a couple inches of loose fabric in the middle and to either side you can pin right up to the edge of the wood and along the join if you wanted to. It would be very unlikely that this would be be enough to lifted significantly by the wind. The important thin is to make sure the sheet is thick enough to resist tearing. Also make sure you put the pins close enough together. I have stapled mine at about 1 staple every 2 cm.

Hi

I use this

http://www.fabricuk.com/fabrics.php?fabric_type=358 Not surehow long it will last before it rots but it's not expensive so I'll see how it goes.

I did use 'u' shaped nails on the guineapig aviary to hold it on but for the other aviaries I used drawing pins pinned close together and it hasn't torn off yet. One thing you could put on the roof instead of tarp is this

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/240170

I have screwed mine on with wood under one end to make a slant so the rain runs off. I left a good overhang all way around too.

When you attach the tarp/plastic cover, leave a good skirt around the bottom so you can also weigh it down with bricks or similar. I find this reduces the amount of rain water running under the run into their space.

I'll have a look at the run you have regarding the corrugated roof as I know Mike is making a cover for you, but I have always found the tops of the runs held the water when covered so you ended up with a puddle on the roof which tips into the run anyway

Vince the bunny wrote:Hi

I have always found the tops of the runs held the water when covered so you ended up with a puddle on the roof which tips into the run anyway

I bought some of these from Runaround

http://runaround.flyingcart.com/index.php?p=detail&pid=58&cat_id=

they have kept the cover draining quite well.

Ok, just looked at the run on the link you provided, I'vespent the last 15 mins trying to describe how to fix it with screws using batons of wood to create a slope so the rain drains off, not forgeting the sheeting would have to be attached in 2 halves so you can open it, and the join in the middle would have to have an overhang/overlap so the rain doesn't drip in through the middle. If you decide to do this, let me know and I will try and help you

Im struggling to get my head around some of this. Im not sure Mike is definitley making a cover, i need to work out how i would get it all to drain properly, otherwise it would be a waste of time.

Thanks Vince the bunny. Do you think id have to use bits of wood to make an apex shape cover? I assume thats the only way of preventing the rain from running into the run? Im not very good with things like this im afraid. Dad looses his rag with me over it all the time.

Get a taupaulin and cut it to a cross shape then put elastic bands or bobbles on the corners so they can go round the legs of the hutch, then you can just lift the front up when you want and the rest will stay in place. or you can put hooks on the front flap ill try and get a pic of mine to show you xx

I will try and do the idea on my spare run to show you what I mean. You will need a saw and some screws and screwdriver. You can cut the roofing sheet with scissors. I'm rubbish at explaining things so I'll do it with photos instead, give me the weekend to do it as I have the 3 kids and a grumpy DH to contend with

I bought a hutch hugger and used the silver bubble wrap underneath,

I have also bought a snuggle for them for when it gets really cold and we cover the hutch with a dust sheet too so they dont get scared.

x

I used a good website for the hugger it was £61 with a £4 bottle scratch and newton cover.

Right, I think thge best way forward with the roofing sheet is tokeep it as one whole peice and prop it up one end with a brick and weigh it down at the opposite end with another brick. I tried to do it the way I was thinking but it would be much easier to do it the described above. If you need anymore help, let me know

hope your bunsa re all snuggled up warm

Theyre all snuggled up and warm, but the catflap has just been locked. In the run they have a hide with hay and the beapher straw (its the only straw i really like), so if theyre cold they can always go in there, but i still dont know if id be happy giving them access to the run when its not completely covered and sheltered. Am i being too soft? I guess they can always go in the playhouse when they get cold.

Their new run should be here tomorrow, if they spend the odd day in there on the grass, then they will just have one of those run shelters, a scratch and newton run shade and the free cover that comes from the run.

I will try and make another cover for the playhouse run when i next get an afternoon to myself, but my brain is fried, i cant seem to get my head around anything anyone has described Im very very grateful for your input though.

Until i get something sorted, this is what they have...

I love their area so fab, and they have the nice little den with straw if they are cold - willow and Felix have their pet carrier in the bed part of their hutch filled with straw - so they have the option of that as well as jut going into their hutch

Can you not tie down the majority of their run cover with garden/cable ties? You could always use pegs on the parts you need access to, just a thought.