Hutches for Flems

[Maukin]

I have been in TSC and they had these huge hutches on sale I think they are "ware" hutches. Husband (bless his soul for his indulgence with his cracked brained, bunny obsessed wife) looked at the hutches (being sold for a very inexpensive 100.00 apiece) and remarked "I can do better than that."

Now granted, those hutches looked like flimsy things that could not support the weight of a good sized Flem and her litter. Where they have 1x2's, Husband wants to have 2x4's and reinforced flooring and such. These hutches also had no indoor part or any part that has solid flooring, both of which I want.

So, questions for those that breed Flems.

What size should the enclosed space be? Should I build nest boxes? How big should they be?

All sugesstions will be greatly appreciated.

10Q

 

[BlueGiants]

Your hutch can be 8' x 3' total space. The enclosed space doesn't need to be huge. Big enough to accomodate the nestbox with room for them to get in and out. My nest boxes are generally 14" tall, 20" long and 14-16" wide. Big enough for the doe to get in, NOT big enough for her to lounge and stretch out in. So I would make the enclosed area about 36" x 36". Make sure the door is big enough to make it easy to put the nest box in... (made that mistake once... :embarrassed

All my cages are 24" high. I think the Flemish need more "head room" than smaller bunnies. The nestboxes should be removable (not built in) for cleaning and disinfecting. Also, leaving a nestbox in either too early or too late invites the doe to use it as a litterbox.

The "outdoor area" needs to be about 5' x 3' if you are planning on accomodating a doe with litter up to 8 weeks of age. (On average, a doe plus 6 babies at 8 weeks will total about 55+ lbs. total weight... so make that floor strong!)

 

[Maukin]

Yeesh. We calculated the measurements and everything we want to do and it's gonna cost us about 300.00.

This normal?