All about rabbits

Hutches For Rabbits

A hutch for your pet can be bought from a pet shop or you can have one built but in either case, always choose the largest design available. Rabbits like to sit on their haunches and sometimes stand up so a rabbit hutch needs to be tall as well as spacious. It should be at least 60 cm (24in) tall and the same width, and minimum of 91 cm (36in) long.

Structure

A good hutch will be divided into two parts, each with a separate door with its own secure fastening. One door should be made of mesh on a wooden frame while the other should be completely solid, to provide a retreat for your pet. The hutch should be raised off the ground on sturdy legs and sliding trays in the base make the interior easier to clean out.

Positioning the hutch

Your pet’s home must be snug and dry and should be positioned in a sheltered part of the garden where it is not too draughty. A sloped roof covered with roofing felt allows rainwater to run off and keeps out the damp.

Protecting the wood

The outside of e new hutch can be treated with a non-toxic wood preservative but this must be allowed to dry thoroughly before introducing your pet to its new home.

The inside should not be treated as your pet may gnaw the wood here.

Exercise Areas

It is a good idea to have an outside run or enclosure which allows your pet to exercise and graze on the grass. This can be permanently connected to the hutch so your rabbit can exercise freely or set up in a separate part of the garden where your pets can be placed for regular periods of time.

Outdoor Runs

A suit table run has wooden framework covered with wire mesh and can be bought from a pet shops or you can have one bulit specially. The base should be covered with mesh to protect your rabbit from foxes and other predators and to deter burrowing. It is also good idea to choose a design which enables you to screw th etop of the run down for added security.

Providing shelter

Part of the run should be sheltered and clear plastic sheeting can be used to cover one end, part of the sides and the roof above, for this purpose.

Morant hutches

Triagular –shaped runs, sometimes known as Morant hutches, are another alternative, although you should be careful when you try to catch it as this type of run has a side rather than a roof opening.

Positioning the run

Always position the run in a shady part of the garden and provide a water drinker at all times. It is not unknown for rabbits to die from heat stroke if their run is exposed to direct sunlight during hot weather. The sun will move throughout the day, so check that your pet is safely shaded at all times.

Letting your pet roam free

If you have a secure courtyard, it may be tempting to allow your pet to roam free. Nevertheless, rabbits may be in danger of being attacked by urban foxes or neighbourhood cats.

Keeping your pet indoors

It is becoming increasingly popular to keep these pets, especially rabbits, as household pets indoors. Rabbits can be easily trained to use a cat litter tray and are clean around the home. Unlike cats, they are unlikely to damage furniture, but they may sometimes scracth the carpet.

Making your home safe

When keeping a pet of this type indoors, it s important to keep household plants out of its reach as some can be poisonous if eaten. A rabbit should not be encouraged to climb stairs as a fall could seriously injure its back and may prove fatal. Equally, it is not a good idea to keep a rabbit roaming around the home alongside a dog or cat.

Indoor runs

You can buy special indoor runs for them similar to an outdoor run. These spacious pens have solid sides and bases which makes them clean to use and a removable mesh cover to keep out curious cats and dogs. The cover can be lifted off to clean the run or feed your pets.

Positioning the run

An indoor run will need to positioned in the shade in a large room and you may find that lack of space makes it unsuitable to keep your pet indoors.

Bedding materials

There are various bedding materials which you can use to line your pet’s hutch. Wood shavings are good because they are absorbent and less likely to irrtate your pet’s eys than sawdust. These must be bought from a pet shop to be sure they are free of chemicals. Alternatively, you may prefer to choose paper bedding which is cleaner if you are keeping your pet indoors. This is also available from many pet shops.

Hay

Good quality meadow hay must be provided, both as bedding and as food. It can be cheaper to buy a complete bale rather than small bags, but it must be stored in a dry place. Damp hay will turn moudly and can make your pet ill. Straw is slightly cheaper than hay, but it is not such a good source of food and the sharp ends of the stalks may injure your pet’s eyes.

Food and water containers

Drinking water is best supplied in a drinker bottle which hooks on to the mesh door of the hutch. Bottles with melar spouts are best, as a gnawing pet will soon damage a plastic spout. Fresh and dried foods should be provided in separate dishes. Heavy glazed pottery dishes are best as these are diffucult to tip over and easy to clean.

Gnawing material

In addition you should provide a gnawing block for your rabbit to keep its teeth in trim. A log, hard-baked bread or a chew or seed treat bought from a pet shop are good alternatives. If no gnawing material is provided, your pet may start to gnaw at the hutch itself which can be harmful to your pet and cause unnecessary damage.

Altough they originally come from spain and nearby parts of the Mediterranean, today wild rabbits can be found all over the world. Throughout the centuries,rabbits have been transported to other continents where they have settled and bred easily and, in some place such as Australia, their numbers have grown to enormous proportions.

Rabbit-spotting

If you are out in the country you may see sign of wild rabbits and, if you are luckly, you may even catch a glimpse of a rabbit itself. Early mornings and evenings during the summer month are good times for rabbit-spotting as the rabbits you see will probably be youngsters. At this age thy are less likely to run to the safety of their burrows.

Rabbit burrows

The entrance to a rabbit’s burrow will be quite obvious as the grass arround it is likely to appear trampled and you will see rabbit droppings on scrapes in the earth nearby. Bellow the ground lies a network of tunnels and chambers called the warren where the rabbit sleeps and raises its young.

Altough they originally come from spain and nearby parts of the Mediterranean, today wild rabbits can be found all over the world. Throughout the centuries,rabbits have been transported to other continents where they have settled and bred easily and, in some place such as Australia, their numbers have grown to enormous proportions.

The Teeth

The differences lies in their teeth. Rodents have two sharp incisor teeth in both their top and bottom jaws, whereas rabbits have four. You will be able to see the small second pair behind the large incisors at the front of the mouth

The Mouth

Behind these teeth, there is a gap called the diastema which allows the animal to pull in its cheeks as it eats to stop twigs and other tough material going into its mouth. At the back of the mouth there are molar teeth which are used to grind up the food before it is swallowed.

Digestive system

Food passes down into the stomach and along the small intestine until it reaches a large, closed sac called the caecum where the tough cellulose in plants and vegetables is broken down by helpful bacteria. It is important to avoid sudden changes to your rabbit’s diet as the bacteria need time to adapt.

Absorbing nutrients

Unfortunately, this part of the digestive tract does not allow the nutrients in the food to be absorbed into the body. Instead, the partially digested food passes out the body in the form of soft caecal pellets. You are unlikely to see the caecal because these are usually produced at night. The rabbit eats the pellets and this time, the nutrients are absorbed as they pass from the stomach to the small intestine. The rabbit the produces its typical large round droppings.