House for rabbits: Cage, hutch, pen and rabbitry

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Healthy, happy and productive rabbits need clean, comfortable and protective homes.

You can keep them in cages inside your house, hutches to keep them outdoors, and pens to let them run on grasses or build a rabbitry for marketing and selling rabbits. Below are list of things to consider before housing your rabbit.

1.    First decide whether you will build your own or buy one which already built. 

2.    Location where you’ll place your rabbit’s home.

3.    Design and materials to be used.

4.    Accessibility of the cage or hutch.

5.    Rabbit’s size and weight to determine the size of the cage or hutch.

6.    Keep in mind that rabbit house should be raise above the ground.

7.    Make a cleaning routine to keep it clean from droppings and urine.

8.    Provide a well and adequate ventilation system.

9.    Provide something that will relieve their boredom like toys.

10.  Put everything your rabbit’s need inside their home like feeding bowl, drinking container, litter box, and nest box.

If you build your own you’ll save lots of money while buying will save you more time and can assure quality from reputable builders. Housing rabbit does not have to be hard. What you need is a good plan and information of what you are trying to accomplish. Just always remember that being a rabbit owner you are bound to provide an ideal home for your rabbit.

Building cage, hutch, pen and rabbitry

In housing your rabbit choose whether you will provide a cage or hutch or build a rabbitry. Provide cages for indoors living, hutch to let them leave outdoors to have some privacy. While building a rabbitry makes look like a mini-barn where rabbits are kept safe for profiting. Below are some facts to consider in providing house for your rabbit whether you choose cages, hutches, pens or build a rabbitry.

Cage: Housing your rabbit inside your home or rabbitry

I use cage for my pet rabbit to carry them to other place or to confine then when I’m on my work. Most of the time when I spent time with them I just lay down their litter box on my living room letting them roaming around, running and playing. There are certain facts to remember in providing cage for your rabbit below. These will helps you to choose a suitable design of cage.

1.     Consider the size of the cage if you will let your rabbit stays indoors most of the time.

2.     In choosing cage designs consider using a solid floor for the cage if your rabbit is litter trained. As of now there are still many who use wire floors that make cleaning more easily. However wire floor can be uncomfortable for your rabbit, wire floor can cause sore socks. If you can’t avoid using wire floors at least use a piece of plywood, sisal mats or grass to give your rabbit a resting place for their feet.

3.     The cage door should be large enough where the litter box and the rabbit can get in and out easily.  The opening should be smooth and no wires or pointed edged that may endure the rabbit. Use plastic or wood cover strips for the wire edges.

4.     For beginners use wire mesh for the cage floor while wood for sides and frames.

5.     Cage should be easy to clean and perfectly fit and comfortable for your rabbit.

Some related facts and links below that you can take as reference in how to build cage for rabbits.

Hutches: Housing your rabbit outdoors

Hutches are for keeping your rabbit wandering the scenery and to catch some fresh air. Although rabbits can enjoy the scenery outdoors it can also cause dangers. Weather changes, toxic materials, crawling insects and predators. There are predators that lurking at night and can cause a rabbit an injury or death without getting inside the cage. Try to consider the following for providing a hutch for your rabbit.

1.     Keep the hutches elevate from the ground to keep away from droppings or feces.

2.     Keep the hutch to standard size. You can choose from different styles and shapes of rabbit hutches. My hutch is about 24-by-36-inches long and 18-inches tall. I just multiply it to adjust the size for multiple rabbits.

3.     Doorways and path for easy access should be planned and consider. Too high or too deep will give you a hard time to reach and lift your rabbit.

4.     It’s advisable to use metal for the legs and framing of the hutch this will give the hutch extra strong plus it doesn’t rot like wood.

5.     Wooden enclosure is the commonly used design of hutch however it is not the best choice in housing your rabbit.

For more info visit my articles about how to build a hutch for rabbit or visit the links below for more reference about hutches.

Pen: Free space to run for your rabbit

Pen is advisable to let your rabbit run free and feel the air outside.

1.     Select a shaded place or keep the pen away from direct sunlight.

2.     Make sure that the grass or ground where you will put your pen has no toxic materials.

3.     Beware from predators keep an eye on your pen to drive away other animals that may hurt your rabbit.

4.     Equipped your pen with improvement activities like passageways, toys like balls and shelves that truly fun for rabbits.

5.     A typical pen is usually made from a wooden frame with wires at all sides that allows the rabbit to run freely and safely.

Exposing your rabbit outdoors can be harmful, threats such as predators and toxic elements can causes harmful effect on them.  Please be careful if you planning to let your rabbit outside. Click me links about how to build pen for rabbit and learn how to build on your own.

Rabbitry: Builiding a rabbit facilities

Building a rabbitry takes an advantage of customizing the design to create space to fit all cages inside. The following facts are about designing and constructing a rabbitry.

1. Before start building your rabbitry ask some information from your local agricultural officers about the construction of rabbitry.
   
   
2. Prevent from stacking cages more than two tiers high.  More tiers produce management problems, one tier is less economical and two is advisable. Create or install waste removal system to remove wastes quickly and avoid diseases.
   
   
3. Avoid using hanging cages; it’s advisable to use cages with leg support on the ground for extra reinforcement.
   
   
4. Build the house with enough space for the cages. A 32 – 40 foot wide house permits the installation of three rows of cages while a 40-foot wide house can accept up to four rows of cages. One thousand rabbits require a house at least 32' x 310' or 40' x 250'.
   
   
5. Provide a well-ventilation system to protect the rabbitry from extreme heat and cold. Prevent your rabbitry from extreme heat by building a proper insulation under the roof. Consider the installation of electric light that can give enough lighting for the rabbitry.

Building a rabbitry works great for me. It gives enough security and easy management for my rabbit business. Just remember to make sure that you can check your rabbits for any diseases that may put the entire rabbitry infected. Designate an isolated cage or confinement area for those rabbit with health problems. Rabbitry works great manageable with proper management system. Just remember to always to consider that when you build a rabbitry cages should not be compromise by making it small just to make it fit for the rabbitry. Give your rabbit enough space to move around sit or stand.