Bunny Research-Researching to Get a Bunny

[JoshuaS]

Hi, I am planning on getting at least one Netherland Dwarf Rabbit and am trying to find the best cage. However I do not want a cage. I want some sort of hutch. But an indoor hutch. I was wondering if anyone could give me guidance on a specific indoor hutch that would accommodate at least TWO dwarf Netherlands? I was looking at this one perhaps? https://www.amazon.com/Merax-Rabbit-Hutch-Wooden-Animals/dp/B017LTC24Y

Please give me some input it would be very helpful!
Thank you!

[Sirius&Luna]

Hi Joshua,

It’s great that you’re doing research to make sure your bunny gets a perfect home!

I would say that hutch was too small. If you look at the internal layout, a lot of the space is actually taken up by the ramp, so its much smaller than it initially looks, and they wouldn’t be able to run around in it.

It could be an option if you tagged a playpen onto the front, that they always had access to? Then it could make a nice home base with the bottom door always open/removed and a ‘front yard’ area in front that they could run around in.

If you look at these two pages, they show you the minimum housing requirements for bunnies, which is 32 square foot. They need to be able to stand up to their full height, and do at least 4 hops across it. I see my bunnies speed and bunny 500 around their pen though, so I would hate for them to be in a smaller area.Sadly, most commercial rabbit hutches really aren’t big enough, so you often have to improvise.

http://www.therabbithouse.com/guide_size.asp
http://rabbit.org/faq-housing/

I’m glad you’re thinking about getting two rabbits, as they’re much happier with a friend. But bear in mind if you get two, you’ll need to have them both neutered to ensure they can live together happily without fighting.

[joea64]

I personally recommend a NIC/office-storage-cube based habitat, which I have for my own two buns. Unless you buy them as a ready-to-assemble kit (which I did myself), they do require a bit of dexterity and some basic tools skills (you’ll often need to build a solid floor, and if you go for a multi-level “bunny condo” you’ll need to build a ramp/steps and upper deck), but they’re fairly cheap compared to premade cages and they’re totally customizable; you can have them in literally any size and configuration you please. As such, they’re crazy popular with house-rabbit folks!

For hardcopy reading, I recommend Rabbits for Dummies as well as House Rabbit Handbook by Marinell Harriman and House Rabbit Primer by Lucile Moore

[JoshuaS]

I think that I would go with getting that hutch and go with your idea of attaching a nice playpen outside of the hutch. Maybe for potty-training, I would just have the hutch until they would know to use the litter box for bathroom breaks? The outside playpen part would be over the carpet so I should probably put some sort of tile down?

[Sirius&Luna]

Yes, generally while litter training bunnies you should keep them in a smaller area until they get used to the idea. It doesn’t normally take them very long though. When the time comes we’ll be happy to help you with litter training tips!

If you have carpet I would recommend getting a piece of lino to put down for the floor of the penned area. Or you could use tiles or floorboards. It’s important to make sure they can’t chew the edges of whatever the floor is though, so you might need to experiment a bit if your bunnies end up being chewers!

I have a wooden floor, so I just put down puppy pads and fleeces, but I think its probably a good idea to protect your carpets from accidents, at least at first!

[Sirius&Luna]

This is the sort of pen I’m talking about:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rabbit-Foldable-Playpen-Outdoor-Enclosure/dp/B01LYX8F2E/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1507906399&sr=1-5&keywords=puppy+pen

You can rearrange sides so that they fit around your hutch.

If you’re concerned about the look though, I saw some really cute picket fencing in a DIY store at the weekend, so I reckon you could easily make a similar penned in area out of nice wooden fencing (providing it was bunny safe wood. See my thread just below about bunny safe wood!).

[JoshuaS]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01JA328SO/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=AG5L3JJZ30XAY&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00OOKBFR4/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A1GZVIOK3VJCOP&psc=1

Perhaps one of these would be better as their hutch? I’m just trying to make sure I get the best little house for either one or two of them.

Thanks,
Joshua

[Sirius&Luna]

Hi Joshua,

Those look much better, as far as I can tell its 5ft by 2ft? That should be plenty for dwarf rabbits, but they will also still need at least 5 hours out of the hutch a day. Will they be able to run around indoors when you’re home?

[Author]

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