Pen Questions

[ParsleyBun]

Hi! I have 2 rabbits, Carrotina and Parsley, and they are 1yr. 4mo. and 2 1/2 lbs. (Carrotina)and 3 3/4 lbs. (Parsley.) they live outside under our deck  in this in a 20 sq. foot  DIY hutch. ➡ 

The hutch is predator proof and please don’t harp about them being outside, I spend tons of time with them and love them so much. The outdoor thing  just can’t be changed.

This is their first enclosed area, that is a litter pan (previously meal tray) There is no litter in the pan in the picture because I previously did not use litter, but today I am going to try Crittercare and see if it works. I don’t see any reason why it won’t unless they eat it.

The next room is sort of big, so it’s divided into 2 pictures. They have another litter box, a hay ball a log, some toys, and their food and water bowls. The water bowl would be in the back right corner in the second picture, but they weren’t in their cage at the time, so neither was their water bowl.

The 3rd room has a hidey house,

some chewed up Maple sticks, a couple cardboard toys, and some packing paper.

The last room is just empty except for a flower pot and another water bowl. The reason why I didn’t cover up the wire is beacause they are super fluffy and get hot, so they like to lay on the wire, plus they are not at all prone to sore hocks .

This is what they look like and they don’t usually play in the area pictured, but they get to play in a 20×8 fenced outdoor ares maybe 3  times a week for 2 or 3 or 4 hours, plus we are planning to make them another outdoor fenced area (about 12×12) they can go in for several hours almost every day.

My questions:

+ What toys do you reccomed that are cheap, safe, natural and worth the money?

+ What wooden diy toys can I make? (I have access to lots of bunny safe wood and can do complicated DIY stuff.)

+ Do you see any poblems or concerns with their setup?

+ Is 20 sq. feet big enough for them?

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome 🙂

I’ll try to answer your questions:

+ What toys do you reccomed that are cheap, safe, natural and worth the money?

cheap/ free things could be paper towel rolls stuffed with oat hay, willow branches (or other safe twigs), phone books for shredding, cardboard boxes turned into hides for “bun-struction”. My bunnies also love palm plates (if you look up organic palm plates there are lots of options), seagrass mats, and anything made of willow (esp fresh willow).

+ What wooden diy toys can I make? (I have access to lots of bunny safe wood and can do complicated DIY stuff.)

My buns tend to like things that are twig-like. They ignore toys made out of solid wood. So if you have bunny-safe trees around they would love twigs and small branches to nibble on. Pine cones are also fun, as long they are are old enough that they aren’t sappy anymore. Looking again at the pics I see you already have some of these things! If you search the forum for “DIY toys” there are lots of threads over the years with people posting their creations.

+ Do you see any poblems or concerns with their setup?

So I might be having a little trouble picturing how it’s all connected. Is the floor level part of it? Or is that part of the play area? Or is the hutch just the connected “rooms”?  I do like the idea of having some rooms, but in general bunnies like to have more space to hop in one direction. I think if you removed most of the partitions between the areas they would like it more and be more comfortable. Ideally they could even run a little while inside. This is especially important if they are going to be spending a lot of time inside it.

The other thing that comes to mind is temperature. It’s great it’s under the deck so it’s in the shade, but with the solid partitions between the “rooms”, it might get hot. If it gets over 80 you’ll want to have a way to cool them down or bring them to a cooler spot. Since you mentioned they are fluffy this is especially important.

Last thing is flooring. I would keep an eye on the carpet or fabric areas to make sure they don’t eat it. If so you’ll want to swap it out for something safer, like seagrass, paper, or cardboard. Having a little wire is fine, but replacing with a more solid flooring will make it easier for them to run around a bit (they don’t tend to move much on wire).

It’s also good to have a backup water source, especially if you aren’t there all the time to notice if a bowl gets knocked over, so you might have a bottle and a bowl, just incase.

+ Is 20 sq. feet big enough for them?

So, this depends on how much time they get to exercise. I think once you get the 12 x 12 exercise pen done, then yes. It is a large hutch, and I think that with some modifications to help them move around a bit more easily in the hutch it will be better. But with that size and type of enclosure they really need exercise time in a larger area daily (4 hours per day is the usual recommended minimum).  If you can make it a priority to let them run in their exercise area daily, then they will be much happier and healthier.

I almost wonder if you could enclose the floor level, and add a ramp or steps down, so you could easily let them out to run around each day? Or maybe enclose it fully permanently so they could have 24/7 access to it? Or maybe they get to run around all day and you can enclose them at night?  Since it sounds like you have some access to tools etc, check out the ideas for predator-safe outdoor enclosures and runs here (although as you prob already know don’t count on chicken wire to keep predators out):

Safe Outdoor Runs

Might give you some ideas!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[ParsleyBun]

 

The toy ideas sound great. I have already knew about and have used most of them.

I don’t think I could enlarge the hutch or remove the rooms.\

I think I could manage the following schedule for their playtime. in the 12×12 or 8×20 area.

Sun and fri 2 hours

mon and wed and sat all day

tue and thurs all morning 4 hours

Thank you, you wer super halpful!

tue we

[DanaNM]

That sounds like a good play schedule!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[ParsleyBun]

Actually the play area I’m going to make is 0nly 8×10, so would that be okay?

[DanaNM]

Yes that still sounds good to me!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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