housing

Bunny Trail Farm

Here is some information on housing your pet rabbit.

A Home For Your Pet Rabbit:

If you only have one rabbit, or two, you may have them inside with a nice cage
and a tray. It is NOT recommended that rabbits of any sex share a cage/hutch
together unless you take the time to be SURE they are properly pair bonded.
Putting rabbits together will cause fighting and injuries as they mature. You can
train your rabbit to use a litter box. All you need to do is get a small litter box and
place it in their cage in the corner they seem to use the bathroom in. Then open
the cage and let the bun run around the room a little. Every rabbit will have a
few accidents, so make sure you have paper towels handy. If you see the rabbit
deciding to go somewhere on the floor, push him/her into the cage or into the
litter box. Soon enough your rabbit will know to go in the litter box. Then you can
let your rabbit run around the house like a little dog or do their sleeping during
the day so they won't keep you awake at night. Provide a place to rest where
the bunny can have security when you are not home.

Housing Options:

There are many options for housing your bunny indoors, including cages,
custom enclosures, puppy-pens, or simply a bunny proofed room. There are
many different housing possibilities to consider for your rabbit. The best option
will depend on your living arrangements. But remember, rabbits are very social
creatures, so choose a location allow you to give your rabbit time and attention.
The location of the cage in your home can be whatever is convenient for you
however it is not recommended that you keep your rabbit in a damp, dark
basement especially if it is not heated.

Free Reign:
You can let your rabbit have free reign in a bunny proofed room or house. An
easy to clean floor and a baby gate on the doorway of a room is good to start.
Eventually you can allow your rabbit access to the whole house as long as you
supervise your bunny.

Indoor Cages:
Many owners prefer to keep their bunny in a large cage. This is fine provided
the rabbit gets plenty of time of time outside the cage- at least a few hours daily.
The options for cages are varied but require a few basics for the well being of
your rabbit.

Cages must be large enough to accommodate your bunny. The more room the
better. There needs to be room for your rabbit to move about and lie down, as
well as space for food, water, litter box and toys. Never use glass aquariums as
they are seldom large enough and do not have enough air circulation. It is also
best to have a cage with a front door so your rabbit can come and go on his/her
own. Make sure the cage is high enough for your bunny to stand up comfortably.

Some people prefer cages with wire bottoms because a litter pan can be placed
underneath. These cages are messy as hay, urine, and droppings often land
on the floor and walls. These cages are best used outside in an enclosed area
such as a shed, garage, or barn. The wire does not bother the rabbits feet as
long as it is not coated with urine. Purchasing a plastic and wire indoor cage
from a pet store is a good home for an indoor rabbit.

Cleaning Cages & Litter Boxes:

Clean all cages and remove droppings regularly. Sanitize with diluted bleach.
Use a wire brush on cages to remove any stuck droppings. Change the soiled
litter pan or cage pan at LEAST once a week. More often if the rabbit is kept
indoors. Some outdoor cages allow droppings to fall through to the ground,
which can be raked up and turned into fertilizer. It's always important to keep the
cages clean. Make sure no droppings are hanging from the cages.

Using Cedar and Pine Shavings:

Cedar is very bad for your rabbit and other pets. The aromatic hydrocarbons
produced from softwood beddings can cause both respiratory and liver damage
in rabbits and other small animals. Use pine shavings or organic litter in the litter
box and put newspaper in the cage tray. Shredding up mail and other
documents and saving them in a bag makes a great bedding and can be used in
a litter box. You can also use hay in the litter box. Place the pine litter shavings
or other absorbent material on the bottom in a tray or pan. Rabbits should not
stand in urine. Rabbits that stand in urine can get hutch burn or sore hocks.
You don't need to use shavings or any material in wire cages with a slide out
tray unless you want to. If you build an outdoor cage with no bottom and wire
that allows the droppings and urine to go through, you don't need any kind of
litter pan or litter material. Keep the wire bottom clean.

Hutch Pans:

If you purchase a wire cage with a hutch pan it is better to buy the plastic pan
rather than the steel. The pans can get coated with lime scale from the urine so
you can use a product such as Lime Away to get the stains off. Be sure to rinse
and dry well. Clean the hutch pans whether they are plastic or metal using a
bleach and water cleaner. Again you want to rinse and dry. We clean the floor
area with bleach and water or ammonia product allowing for plenty of ventilation.

Outdoor Cages:

If you have an outdoor hutch, good ventilation is very important. You can have
fans to blow air around for them in warmer months. And in the summer time you
can save your old plastic 2 liter bottles and put water in them and freeze them.
The rabbits will lay up against them to stay cool. We use 24 x 24 and 40 x 30
wire cages with plastic or metal bottoms. We stack these cages up to three high.
Some breeders hang these cages. If you plan to keep your rabbit outdoors, be
sure the area is not dark, damp, and cold. Rabbits need sunlight. If you place
the cages or hutches in a barn, garage, or shed, be sure that their are windows
for sunlight.

Cage sizes depend on the size of the rabbit, but bigger and higher is always
better. Obviously dwarf rabbits like Holland Lops can live in a smaller cage.

Cage sizes:

*for small breeds---------24x24x18
*for medium breeds--------30x30x18
*for larger breeds--------36x36x18 or 40x30x18

You can use this to figure out how big or small to make or buy your cages.

Outdoor Hutches:

Rabbits are very adaptable and can be raised in many types of hutches as long
as they have ventilation and are easy to clean and keep them warm in the
winter, cool in the summer, and dry when it rains. Just make sure that the wood
the rabbits can get to chew on (try not to put it near where they even can) but if
they do, make sure it isn't pressure treated, or they will be poisoned. Rabbits
can take the cold better than the heat but they can freeze to death without some
sort of protection from the cold as well.

Outdoor Play Area:

A rabbit run or baby gate or x-pen will provide a nice play area that can be
moved around for your bunny. You can also make or purchase a wooden frame
pen as well. Be sure you supervise your bunny or predator proof where your
bunny plays outdoors. Check to be sure your bunny is not going to eat any tree
or plant that is poisonous to your bunny. Hay and clover make a nice plant
selection to munch on. It is not unheard of for a bird of prey to swoop down and
grab a rabbit that is playing outdoors even if you are in the general area.

Puppy-Pens or X pens:

One other option to consider is setting up a pen in an area of your house or
outdoors for your rabbit. They are large enough to give a rabbit room to roam.
Pens are easy to move when needed. If you want to use the pen in the house
you can place the pen on tile floor or use a plastic chair mat or an old rug at the
bottom of the pen. The type of puppy-pens generally for sale do not have a top
to them, so make sure you purchase one that is high enough that your rabbit
cannot jump out. If the pen is made of wire, you will be able to hang a water
bottle on it. Puppy-pens are useful for training a rabbit to eventually have free
reign in a bunny proofed room. Limiting your rabbit's space in the beginning will
allow him/her to grow accustomed to the location of the food and litter box(es).
By gradually increasing the space, your rabbit will not feel overwhelmed by a
large area. This helps prevent accidents and lowers stress.

Custom Built Enclosure:

Building a custom enclosure is also an option. You can buy wire and wood at
hardware stores and make an outdoor run for your rabbit. This is a lot safer
than a puppy or X pen since you can build a top to enclose your rabbit to keep
out predators. This can be an easy option to create a large enclosure for less
than you would spend on a puppy pen. Never build a rabbit enclosure with
chicken wire because rabbits can chew the wire which may result in injury. You
will need to use the lower gage wire or hardware cloth. Do not use treated
wood. If you decide to build with metal, the slats should be fairly close together
so your rabbit cannot get his/her head through. Otherwise, your rabbit may get
injured or strangled.

Rabbit Proofing Your Home:

Rabbits like to chew, and the most important task in rabbit proofing is to make
sure there is nothing dangerous within your rabbit's reach. You will also want to
protect your belongings from your rabbit. You will have to decide how much
freedom your bunny will have. This might depend on your bunny's age,
training, and the level of supervision you can provide. Some bunnies are given
access to most of the house. If you want to give your bunny full access to your
house, you might want start off confining him or her to a single room until bunny
is litter trained and you have handled the chewing and other undesirable
behaviors. Screen doors can be a problem if the rabbit scratches or chews its
way through. There are metal screens you can buy that protect the bottom of
screen doors. There is also a pet-proof screening that cannot be easily
scratched through.

Get Down To Your Bunny's Level:

One of the most helpful ways to identify what might attract your rabbit's attention
is to get on your hands and knees and look at the house from that perspective.
From there you might spot hazards and spaces that you normally wouldn't notice.

Electrical and Phone Cords:

These are seemingly irresistible to many rabbits. Because of the risk of
electrocution to your rabbit and your home's safety, it is imperative that electrical
cords are out of reach. It may be possible to arrange the furniture in your room
to hide most electrical cords (but don't run them under carpets due to fire risk).
Any that cannot be hidden should be covered. Plastic tubing with a slit down one
side in available to encase wires, or you can find different diameters of tubing at
hardware and pond supply stores (which you can slit with a utility knife). You can
also get hard plastic wire channels that attach neatly to the floor or baseboard.
For determined rabbits you might even need to go to PVC tubing to protect
wires. Basically you want to rabbit-proof your home like you would baby-proof it.

House plants:

House plants should be kept out of reach to prevent rabbits from eating them
and/or digging in the soil. Make sure your house plants are non toxic; even if the
plant is out of reach, leaves may fall where your rabbit can eat them. You can
find a list of toxic plants on the internet.

Chewing:

Rabbits will try to chew anything. Rabbits will chew furniture (especially wooden
legs), baseboards, books, carpet edges, and anything else that appeals to
them. Try to block access to any favorite chewing targets. If your rabbit starts
chewing, you can cover the carpet in trouble areas with Plexiglas, plastic carpet
protectors for office chairs, a piece of furniture, or untreated grass mats. Heavy
slipcovers or blankets can be used to protect couches and chairs. Make sure
books, shoes, and other chewables are kept out of reach. Also make sure your
rabbit can't get into your garbage cans or waste baskets. Distraction and
redirection to appropriate chew toys are used to teach rabbits not to chew. See
the training page for more information on positive ways to deal with undesirable
behavior.

Digging:

Rabbits also love digging, and may do significant damage to carpets or furniture
from this activity if they are not supervised. Favorite spots seem to be corners
and under closed doors, although your rabbit may try to dig anywhere. Deal with
digging behaviors in much the same way as chewing: block off problem areas,
cover favorite spots with Plexiglas, plastic mats, or untreated grass mats, and
make sure carpets are securely tacked down.

Hiding Spots:

Rabbits like to get into tight spaces and behind things. They like to hide under
furniture and beds, but sometimes they chew and climb up into the underside of
these items, so you may need to limit them from rooms with beds, couches, or
other furniture with cloth underneath. Appliances should be inaccessible, as
rabbits can get under or behind them and become injured, stuck, or chew on the
wires. Also block any other tight spaces in which your bunny could get stuck,
and make sure there are no spaces throughout which your rabbit could escape.

Rabbit Housing

Indoor cage. Make sure
the height of the cage
allows rabbit to stand up.

Outdoor cage example.
Keep in garage, shed, or
barn to protect against
the weather. Make sure
area is well ventilated
and add heat source if
important to have a fan
or move outdoors in hot
weather. Protect against
predators.

Cage pictured above is
messy for indoors as
hay, droppings, and
urine leak out. Good for
outdoor use with
weather protection in
shed, barn, or garage.

Indoor Puppy Pen