Rabbit Hutch

Rabbits are intelligent, curious, active, and athletic animals that need to be able to jump, run, stretch, dig, and stand upright on their hind legs. A hutch or cage should always be as large as possible. It’s less important to worry about the exact dimensions as long as you ensure your rabbit has enough space and opportunities (inside or outside the cage or hutch) to do what it would normally do. Rabbits can be kept indoors or outdoors and should always have a safe living environment where they can run around freely. A place where the rabbit can rest and feel safe is also important. Rabbits kept indoors can easily be house-trained. However, they love to gnaw and dig and can destroy your furniture, cables, and carpeting. Keep a close eye on your rabbit when it’s roaming freely and provide a cage or hutch for nighttime or when you’re away. It’s also wise to take precautions to prevent your rabbit from chewing on electrical cords—a potentially life-threatening activity! Old towels or blankets, or a small sandbox filled with soil or pieces of tree bark, can help your rabbit satisfy its natural urge to dig.

Although rabbits are usually kept outdoors in a hutch, this should be more than just a safe place that protects your rabbit from the elements and where it can rest safely. Your rabbit also needs space where it can roam freely, such as a run or a fenced-in area of the yard with some grass. You can place boxes in this area to serve as hiding spots, for example.

Indoors, rabbits can be kept on soft towels or paper shreds. Outdoors, you can use wood shavings, straw, or hay. Straw is more suitable than hay, because hay gets crushed easily and has fewer heat-insulating properties. Barley straw is recommended because it is softer than wheat or oat straw and is less likely to damage the rabbits’ eyes. Never use dusty or moldy straw, as this can cause respiratory problems. It is best not to use sawdust at all, as it is dusty and can irritate the eyes. The bedding must always be dry and clean, and soiled areas should be changed regularly.

It’s important for your rabbit to have plenty to do and lots of toys to play with so it doesn’t get bored. Fortunately, this is easy and inexpensive: you can use everyday items, such as plant pots and boxes.

It is very important to keep your rabbits as clean as possible, especially if they spend time outdoors in the summer. You should check your rabbits twice a day for caked-on droppings around the base of their tails. This is because flies can lay eggs in caked-on droppings. The maggots (which sometimes hatch from the fly eggs within a day) feed not only on the caked-on droppings but also on the rabbits themselves. This is a very painful and often life-threatening situation that can easily be prevented by removing any caked-on droppings around the base of the tail twice a day. Clean the hutch at least twice a week and remove urine-soaked bedding every day if possible. The hutch can be cleaned with a diluted disinfectant.