Pet Habitat South Africa

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31 Jul 2016

Ideal Rabbit Accomodation

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Pet Cages | Rabbits | Pet Care

Rabbits need a generous outdoor space to run around in and cosy indoor quarters where they can rest and find shelter. Providing them with this will allow them to express their natural patterns of behaviour and so lead happy, healthy lives.

Hutch/Shed and Runs

Rabbits should be housed in a hutch or shed with a run permanently attached to it. The hutch/shed provides shelter; the run provides space for the rabbits to express natural behaviour such as running, digging, jumping and exploring. The two areas should be connected by a tunnel or the run built onto the front of the hutch/shed. The run can be on grass or concrete, if grass it's advisable to dig mesh under the grass to help prevent escapes and predators getting in.

The minimum sizes recommend by animal welfare organizations for a small-medium pair of rabbits are:

Hutches

2 metres long by 0.6 metres deep by 0.75 metres high

All doors should have strong bolts on to keep safe from predators and remove swivel latches.

Wendy house/shed

1.2 metres x 1.2 metres

All doors should have strong bolts on to keep safe from predators, swivel latches should be removed.

Runs

3 metres long by 1.5 metres wide by 1 metre high with a secure lid

Chicken wire is not suitable for rabbit enclosures as predators can easily chew through. All doors should have strong bolts on to keep safe from predators, swivel latches should be removed.

Fold away metal runs are not suitable as they are not as strong as a wood/mesh runs and therefore susceptible to predators or rabbits digging out.

For large breeds

The minimum requirements by animal welfare organizations are:

1.8 x 1.2 metre shed attached to a 4.5 x 1.5 x 1.2 metre run

Free range rabbits

There are many predators that are a risk to your pet rabbits; therefore we only recommend allowing your rabbits to have supervised free range time in a secure garden. When unsupervised the rabbits should be housed in the secure accommodation as stated above.

Bedding materials

Hutches or sheds can be lined with newspaper, vinyl or carpet. Take care that edges of carpet or vinyl are not visible for the rabbits to chew. Vinyl must always have hay or carpet on top to prevent the rabbits from slipping over.

Next you will need hay – lots of it. You can buy large bales of hay at reasonable cost from farm shops and horse suppliers. Rabbits don’t just sleep on hay: it also accounts for about 80 per cent of their diet. Select hay that is light green or light brown in colour and make sure that it smells fresh. Be fussy: coarse, yellowing hay will provide no nutrition; it may also contain parasites.

Never use wood shavings or farm straw as bedding. Wood shavings can contain harmful parasites; they also produce dust, which can cause both you and your rabbits breathing problems. Straw is too coarse and has no nutritional value whatsoever – please don’t use it.

Rabbits can be easily litter trained, fill litter trays with fresh hay daily as they love to eat at the same time. By providing them with a toilet area, you can make it easier to clean the hutch or shed: simply empty out the trays, spray with pet disinfectant, wipe, and replenish the contents every day.

The whole accommodation should be cleaned out thoroughly once a week using a suitable pet disinfectant.

Enrichment/environment

Once you have thought about the right accommodation you then need to consider enrichment for the run. Enrichment helps the rabbits to keep fit and happy. Children’s sand pits filled with soil or play sand, fruit tree or willow logs, children’s chairs, tunnels, plant pots, trays growing in trays and pots and card board boxes all make great additions.