Need ideas for nice outdoor shed and large run area

[LittleDoll]

We have 2 indoor bunnies Little Doll and Magic. Currently they live in their own room which used to be our guest bedroom. We dont keep our bunnies in cages. I also daily let them run in the hallway and explore another large room, but they have to be watched very closely because it is my husband’s TV and music room, and there are wires in it.

We have had them in this setting for over a year. I found that I have completely exausted myself by daily cleaning the room. The floor in that room is carpeted, and I have 5 very large washable pads that cover the carpet completely. There is a couch and some shelving in the room. There are 2 large litter boxes from Busy Bunny, toys and tunnels. Thankfully, the bunnies pee only in the litter boxes, but one of them poops outside of boxes a lot.

So, here is my daily routine. I bring greens and occasionally small pieces of fruits to them twice a day, and give them high quality pellets. Then I clean the litter boxes. I take the boxes into a bathroom. I dump droppings and hay leftovers into a bag, pour urine into the toiled. Then I rinse, clean with vinegar, rinse very well again and wipe dry. Then I bring the boxes back into the rabbit room and fill them halfway with hay. They like to sit in the boxes and eat the hay.  Then I pick up the droppings from all over the floor. I also discovered that I am allergic to hay, and because of that I cannot spend very long time in their room without developing symptoms. I limit my time in their room to 15-20 minutes.

I have a full time job. I feed the bunnies before I leave for work around 2 PM. I come back from work at midnight and have to do the feeding plus cleaning. I am completely exausted. I do not get good night sleep. My teenage daughter who originally bought the rabbits does not help me at all, and when she does, she does not do a thorough job of cleaning the room.

So, my husband and I have been thinking of building some kind of an outdoor heated shed with a large fenced run covered with wiring to protect from predators. I want to make it as comfortable for the bunnies as possible. There would be enough room to come inside the shed to spend time with the bunnies. The building would be not in the back of our yard, but adjustent to our house, so the bunnies would not get forgotten and neglected.

I would like some ideas of how to build such place. We would still be spending the time with them, but they would also be able to play in the grass, and cleaning the litter boxes should be easier by taking them outside. I need to know what kind of flooring should be in such house. Also, I dont know if bunnies are able to use flap doors like cats for going outside when they want to.

Does anyone have similar housing for the bunnies or know where I can find details to build it. I looked at books on Amazon, but they all are for raising bunnies commercially and keeping them in hutches or cages which is not the kind of life I want for our bunnies. I am attaching a picture that I found on the internet, which looks similar to what I am thinking of. I know this site is for indoor bunnies, but I just cannot continues such routine while working a full time, and I dont want to give the bunnies away either. I will appreciate any ideas. Thank you.

[Hazel]

I don’t have any experience building an outdoor enclosure, so I can’t help you there. I’m sorry you are having such a hard time caring for your daughter’s bunnies, it’s obvious you’re doing everything you can, time and allergies permitting.

House rabbits need/want human interaction, that’s true even with bonded pairs like yours. It’s easy to think “They have each other, they don’t need me.”, but that’s not the case. 15 minutes a day (that is spent cleaning rather than interacting with them) really isn’t enough. If they get moved outside into a shed I assume that time will not increase but rather the opposite.

I think you should either get your daughter straightened out and make her do right by the animals SHE CHOSE to adopt, or find them a home where they will be taken care of and appreciated as part of the family.

Like I said above, I realize you are doing everything you can and I’m in no way trying to make you feel bad, but if your daughter won’t take responsibility, then I think a new home would serve your bunnies better than being put in a shed and removed even further from you and your family.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/123859/Default.aspx

Her bunnies are outside and seem very happy. I agree rabbits are well indoors but if she wants to take the time to build them a suitable outdoor living space instead of opt out, offer the advice.

You need to think about the predators you have and the weather though when building your run. If you have a shed and carve out a tiny entrance hole for door? And have the run attached? Just make sure they are very well protected from the outside elements when the weather isn’t nice or from neighboring dogs and cats. They need a place to go where they can’t be harassed by predators.

If you don’t have an emotional connection to the rabbits and really do opt out, make sure you pick a suitable home. You seem to take really good care of those rabbits. It would suck if they went to a worse housing situation where they had just a tiny cage and never got out. Lots of ppl do that with rabbits… They don’t realize the requirements of a rabbit. And avoid giving them away so close to Easter…

[Sarita]

Would you consider doing an x-pen inside – put 2 together to make it larger – you’d still have to vacuum the area but at least it would be more confined.

I know how you feel about the constant cleaning though and working full-time, it can definitely be a challenge. I clean my senior rabbits room (I have 3 ten year olds and one is free roam in the room) twice a day and it is alot of work. That’s why I think confining them to a smaller space when you aren’t home might make it easier for you and I know you love and want to keep your rabbits…you don’t need to find them a new home.

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

Both of my rabbits are in my bed room in seperate cages. This is my rabbits cage. I let her out 3 hours a day for exercise and I clean her cage once a week. with a vaccuum. Is your rabbit fixed maybe that is why he is pooping outside the litterbox. My bunny here is litterbox trained and occassionally poops outside the litterbox. I have had expereince with outside rabbits when I was younger and wouldn’t recommend it. Hope all works out!

[MoveDiagonally]

I don’t think you need to build them a shed/run. I think you can change up a few things and possibly take some of the pressure off. 

1. Litter boxes. It doesn’t sound like you’re using litter. With litter there would be no need to completely wash the boxes out with vinegar every day.  For example, I use untreated wood stove pellets and with my bonded pair I dump the litter boxes every other day. I give the boxes an extra good cleaning with vinegar about once a week. 

2. Restrict their space. Using a pen will make cleaning much easier for you. You could even put together a base to the pen like this (I googled the picture): 

A base would allow you to protect the carpet and help contain the mess. You could just give the area a quick sweep for stray droppings and do a deeper cleaning when necessary/you have time. 

What kind of hay are you feeding them? Trying a different type might help you with your allergies. My husband can’t be around timothy but he does fine around Orchard and Oat. 

I definitely understand how the routine can be overwhelming. I have a house full of critters and on a busy morning it can be chaos.

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