My Hutch Set Up

Marlom Perez

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Friends,

Thanks for reading!

Please look at and critique my rabbit set up. I am anxious to see what others have to say about my set up. I will continuously
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upload fixes and other updates.
 

DutchBunny03

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From what i can see, it looks pretty good, but prepare to be replacing the plywood pretty regularly. Some rabbits are ok, but most chew any wood in the hutch to bits. I've had to replace pieces of hutches because of chewing.
 

Marlom Perez

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DutchBunny03,

Thanks for writing!

Yes, I thought about the wood and chewing. I provide wood blocks for them to chew on, but i know this will not be sufficient. On the inside of the ceder side shingles, they were already chewing. I solved this by taking wire screens and cutting them to size. As if to staple them on the inside. They have stopped chewing on that. I haven't seen any sores on their mouths or anything else to indicate that they are chewing on the metal in frustration. I plan on doing this to basically all the wood on the inside of the hutch. Can you see any issues with this?

These here are my kits. They are one week and four days old.
 

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DutchBunny03

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Good! They may chew on the metal in frustration for a day or so, but will most likely stop after that.
Try giving them maple or birth sticks to chew on. That can stop them from chewing on the hutch, because it tastes a lot better. Dont give the dam maple sticks until ou wean the kits, though. I've heard that maple dries up the doe's milk supply.
The kits are adorable!
 

Bossroo

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DutchBunny03,

Thanks for writing!

Yes, I thought about the wood and chewing. I provide wood blocks for them to chew on, but i know this will not be sufficient. On the inside of the ceder side shingles, they were already chewing. I solved this by taking wire screens and cutting them to size. As if to staple them on the inside. They have stopped chewing on that. I haven't seen any sores on their mouths or anything else to indicate that they are chewing on the metal in frustration. I plan on doing this to basically all the wood on the inside of the hutch. Can you see any issues with this?

These here are my kits. They are one week and four days old.
Issue is that all types of pathogens ( insect and bacteria ) are given condo housing between the screen and wood , add rabbit hair , dust and moisture from the air and urine . They then wait to attack their rabbit hosts.
 

Marlom Perez

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Bossroo,

Thanks for writing!

So your saying because of the wood hutches and the wire being defecated on and such causes bacteria. I hear you on that and I agree. But personally, I don't see there not being bacteria in any housing situation. I hear that a water, vinigar mix is a good cleaning solution for wood/wire houses? Perhaps a different suggestion, Bossroo?

DutchBunny03, Thanks! They are so damn cute! Four of them were found out of the nest this morning. They were still really warm, just huddled up in pairs of two. I placed them back in the nest. I've had the doe for over a year now, so she is pretty comfortable with me handling them. As you can see, they are just in a plastic tote filled with pine shavings. The pine seems to be superior in preventing odors and absorbing water and pee. How often would one suggest in replacing the pine shaving? While there are kits nesting in it?
 

Lorri

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I use wood and wire hutches with no problems so far. I did buy a bale of straw that introduced fur mites to my buck. I am treating him and I have given him a new all wire cage to stay in while I am treating him and sanitizing/quarantining his hutch. I feel confident I will be able to put him back into his old hutch. Another reason I prefer wood and wire is that I can build it to withstand animal attack. I don't have a barn or big enough shop etc... to house them against predators and they would be sitting ducks in all metal cages otherwise. This is my first hutch I ever built. No dog can knock it over and a mountain lion would have enough trouble to get it open till I got there, that even they wouldn't be a problem. I'm in the process of expanding and I'm designing new cages, but they will be similar to this I think...Just better.

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Bunnylady

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I think anybody who builds a rabbit hutch needs to be aware that the wood, wire, staples, etc. that we build with really only keep the rabbits in; any seriously interested predator would get through any type of hutch or cage in a matter of minutes. Some materials (like particle board) even the rabbits themselves will chew through.

I use 16-gauge 1"x 2" welded wire and 1/2" plywood for the sides, and I have had hutches "breached" by dogs - if they have time (like at night, while the owner is asleep) they can pull and chew their way in. A dog with a high predator drive will do it. Even if they don't rip their way in, they will bite at the rabbits' feet from underneath the cage; many rabbit owners have had rabbits lose toes and even their lives from this sort of slow torture (take my word for this, I've had it happen, and it's horrible). A hutch by itself won't protect your rabbit, you need a further level of security (a fence or building) to keep larger predators away from the hutches.
 
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