Outside Hutch Supplies

[TEAM KART]

Now that I got the hutch ready for a couple of bunnies......need to know a few things.

HAY FOR BEDDING....This is standard hay you can get at a farm that costs $2-4 per bale correct?

What brand rabbit food is the popular choice?

Litter box litter....what is the safest to use?

flooring....Right now the hutch area is 3/4" exterior grade plywood.Can a rubber mat or plastic sheet be installed to help prevent urinefrom absorbing into the wood?

Is there any solution to dealing with freezing water in the deep of thewinter? We don't mind running out there during the day to change water,but just wondering if anyone has tried other options.



Thanks!

Tom

 

[naturestee]

When you get hay, make sure it's a grass haylike timothy, not alfalfa. They'll eat hay too (it's reallyhealthy), but alfalfa is too rich. While you're at it, makesure they'll have hay available 24/7 to munch on. My sillybeasts won't eat hay off the floor, they prefer it in a hay rack or atoy like a wicker basket.

There's a lot of different good brands of food. You shouldstart with whatever they were eating before, because a fast change canupset their stomachs. Then you can start mixing in whatevernew stuff you want. Babies need an alfalfa pellet with 16%protein and at least 18% fiber- the best stuff is usually found atfeed/farm stores. I don't like most of the alfalfa pellets atpet stores. Adults might need a less rich pellet.Some feed stores carry 15% protein maintenance pellets or many petstores carry timothy-based pellets. Whatever you get, shootfor high fiber and just plain pellets, no treats mixed in.Personally, I'm a fan of Oxbow Bunny Basics/T (timothy pellets) foradults.

Litter- the very best stuff is wood pellet litter. There arelots of different brands. You can find expensive versions inpet stores such as Feline Pine, but many feed/farm stores carry thesame thing just much less expensive. Sometimes it's packagedas horse stall litter. A couple brand names are Woody Pet,ABM, and Equine Pine, although there are a lot more out there.

For flooring, maybe stick-on linoleum tiles? As long asthey're not shiny and have really good traction, otherwise you'll havesliding bunnies. I've used lino tiles in indoor cages andthey work well. I wouldn't recommend using rubber becausemany rabbits will chew- and swallow- a lot.

I think there are electric heated water bowls available, but you'd haveto be very careful to protect the cord from nibbling bunnyteeth. And don't use a bottle, the tips freeze up in no timeflat.

Hope that helped!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Don't use hay for bedding, use straw. Straw hasa large hollow center that traps air and acts as insulation. Hay hasless of an insulating factor than straw. Plus, rabbits often use thatas a toilet the first winter (until they realise that's for coldweather, not a potty) and rabbits will commonly eat soiled bedding ifyou use hay.

I've noticed that straw is very short strands so I do mix in a littlehay with the straw just so they can create a roof when they burrow inthe straw in cold weather (the long strands make it easier for them).Oh and if the rabbit starts stealing hay from the hay rack and puttingit in the box, don't worry, they are just creating a burrow to snugglein (although some wont the first winter).

Let me make one more point about this, there is no need to clean outthe enclosed box unless they have soiled it. Two of my 3 are very goodabout bathroom habits soI only change it about 2 to 3 times awinter and remove some of the dust (by pusting the straw up andsweeping the dusty out with my hand). I don't want to ruin theirburrows just for the sake of cleaning an alreadyclean box.

As for water, do not use water bottles. The tips freeze in minutesleaving the rabbit without water. I change water roughly 10 times aday, more if it's very cold. I pretty much just let it get to the pointthat a thin layer of ice forms before changing it. Unless your rabbitsare like my doe who wouldn't drink anything but room temperature waterlast winter, most will break a thin layer and drink the water under it.I don't normally change water during the night unlessI happento wake up, which rarely happens so instead I feed veggies at timeswhen they will be without water for a few hours because then they havesome access to a source of moisture.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

And one more thing, you should really get a moveon getting a rabbit if you are going to do it. Personally I alreadythink it's rather late in the year to be moving a rabbit outdoors thatis used to being indoors. I'd normally like to see them outside betweenthe 3rd week of August and the beginning of September because movingthem out late can wreak havok on their coats meaning they may not growa very thick one the first winter (as it happened with my doe lastyear). If it turns cold next week, the rabbit wont have time to adjustproperly or aclimatize. Now that being said, I'm not sure the generaltrends for months there but I know we can be expecting snow anytime now.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Hay can be usedas bedding but straw ismore insulating so I'd usestraw in the winter. Of course haymust be supplied at all times even if it isn't used for bedding.

I'd definitely second lino for the floor, it makes cleaning mucheasier! You can thenlitter train your bun (usingthelitter types recommended before) and thenputsomething in there for your bun to be able to get some traction on sos/he can hop around easily such as straw/sea grass mats and fleecyblankets.

Where I live it rarely gets cold enough to freeze a bowl ofwater during the dayand at night I cover over the hutch sothe water usually doesn't freeze so I will leave it up to people incolder climates to advise on frozen water.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I didn't say hay can't be used for bedding, Ijust don't recommend it for areas that get cold. Hay is fine for areasthat do not go far below zero. I'm not quite sure how the weather is inCT but I know in the area, hay would not suffice as bedding because itdoes not insulate good enough.

Plus, asI pointed out, rabbits are more likely to eat soiledbedding if hay versus straw is used (if the bedding gets soiled). Iknow some rabbits wont eat soiled hay but all 3 of mine will whichmakes me lean towards the idea that a lot of them will eat soiled hay(but none of mine eat the dirty straw).

But yes, hay should definitely be supplied as food at all times, I was merely stating as use as bedding.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

MBB I wasn't trying say that you were wrongabout hay as bedding, I was just stating that it can be used tobedding. I completely agree with you about straw being moreinsulatingthan hay and if your bun goes to the toilet intheir bed area it's better to have straw than hay. My girls are littertrained so I don't have that problem however I do change Ruby andMillie's bedding over from hay to straw once it starts getting colderto help keep them warmer.

 

[Linz_1987]

Well its all been said! I was a bit late seeing this post so it seems!

All I can say is that I would keep your bunny indoors till the winteris over. It is definetly too cold to home a rabbit outsidenow that is use to being indoors. Its like you going onholiday to Spain in the middle of December and coming back in a bikinto a snowy/icy climate! Not nice atall, and you would getvery ill.

Good luck with your rabbit! And dont forget to post pictures when you get him/her!


EDIT: I forgot to mention I use newspaper for my litter boxesand it works fine. Cheaper alternative! But Ihavent tryed litter,so I dont know ifitisbetter to use :dunno:

 

[TEAM KART]

What about litter boxes?? Is one per bunnie needed? Or would a large one be ok for a couple of bunnies?

Another silly question......where do you put the litter box? Do I keepit out in the pen area or inside the enclosed hutch area??Same for food....pen or hutch area?



Thanks for the tips so far!!!

And just to ease the feelings of some, the bunnies we will be gettinghave never been inside. They have been born and raised in outdoorhutches!



Tom

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

I have the litter box, food/water bowl and toysin the day mesh area, then just bedding in the night covered area. Tworabbits will usually share a litter box however if they go to thetoilet in two corners then I'd put one in each.