Bunnie House

Before we even get chance to show you our new setup we have decided the old existing sheds need a little TLC so have stripped them to paint them all, do all those odd niggly little jobs like a new door handle,  and to give them a good clean up ready for the winter.  The first to be done is the Doe's Shed.  All the rabbits look quite amused at the hard work involved in painting!!!  Except Lena who would rather lay on her back with her feet in the air!!!

All rabbit guests to Bunnie House enter via the Bunny Gate!

The walkway houses 4 breeder stacks, the first being a 3 stack of  4'  x 18" x 18" hutches, the second being a converting stack of either 6 hutches of  3' x 15" x 15" hutches or 3 hutches of 6' x 15" x 15" hutches and the third and fourth stacks being 3 hutches of  3' x 18" x 20" hutches.  There are also 3 single hutches which are 3' x 15" x 15" and easily moveable for when those babies need that little extra tlc!  

The first shed is the Bucks Shed, an 8' x 6' shed containing 14 hutches and a grooming table.  12 of these hutches are 4'  x 18" x 18" whilst the other 2 are 3'  x 18" x 18" for bunnies who are being run on.

The main shed is the Does Shed, being 18' x 10' and housing 33 hutches. 10 of these hutches are 3' x 18" x 18" for the kits or rabbits being run on. 2 of the hutches are in the forms of small runs being 3' x 4'  x 18" which can then be used for many different purposes, but the remaining 21 hutches are all 4' x 18" x 18".

In the midst of all our does is a moveable block - on wheels! This has two sections to it, each being 3' x 18" x 18" with a carpeted training area on the top.  Just right for showing off those babies!

Through the back of the Does Shed is what is left of the garden! Out here we have a further 29 hutches. 4 of these are 6' x 2 1/2' x 2 1/2' for our French Lops.  Another 14 are 6' x 2' x 2' for French Lops. A further 5 hutches are 6' x 2 1/2' x 18" and the remaining 5 hutches being 6' x 2' x 18" also for Retirement Rabbits. The final hutch is a standard 4' x 18" x 18" right outside our back door!

In addition we have 3 huts which are 3' x 2' x 2' suitable as temporary homes for Mini Lops or kits, or just used for shelters in the garden. 

Finally, we have just added an old hutch which is 6' x 2 1/2' x 3' which was just too good to let go.  It has a lovely little hidey-hole in it and a platform and sits just nicely at the side of the run's.

Our exercise facilities are as diverse as our housing including 2 runs 7' x 5' x 2' which can be divided for Mini Lops making 4 small runs, a 6' x 3' x 2' run, and 2 at 4' x 3' x 18" runs.  All our runs have small hutches or shelters in them as well as toys and bottles to cater to the rabbits every needs.  We allow our bigger rabbits to run loose in the garden which has been furnished with kennels for the rabbits to shelter in, and which we seperate into two sections. Rabbits also exercise in the Does Shed meaning that we can allow a maximum of 10 rabbits to exercise at any one time.  With all this space to run around we still question why the rabbits end up running around in the house!!!

Therefore our final total is now 100 hutches! Before we expand anymore we need to move house. . .  and we never say never!

We hope to bring you updated photographs very soon!

We are doing our best to ensure that people are aware of how to look after their rabbits, what the best foods are on the market, what preventative medications are needed etc, and realise that there is a lot of information to take in when purchasing a rabbit.  For this reason we now have many many leaflets on rabbit care, and various rabbit products and medications and innoculations for our clients.  We have also featured many articles on the cages and around the rabbitry for our clients to read whilst they are in the rabbitry.

At certain times of year we can be very busy and clients may be kept waiting whilst we attend to other business.  We hope that the literature available will help to educate people in rabbit care and ease the wait.

This summer we intend to replace an old shed which contains all the junk possible and replace it with a nice new 8' x 6' shed for the bucks.  Even though we have now managed to get all but our Frenchie stacks inside we would still like to have a little bit more room.  As we are running on more and more bucks for showing purposes we thought it about time they had their own house!  The new shed will contain 12 4' hutches and a grooming station where we can teach all our bunnies how to sit properly, weigh them and take more gorgeous photo's of them. 

In addition to this we have already put in place another 4 stack of french hutches and are now looking to order another 2 stacks for the garden.

Finally we have also put into place a quarantine area within our storage shed so as not to pass any virus or illness to our buns, as well as having a new 6 breeder block outside the shed also already in place.

Watch this space for more news.

After some considerable work & expense this summer we have now set up our rabbitry.  We have a total of 39 hutches at the moment although we may be adding a few more in time.  Our setup consists of 3ft hutches, 4ft hutches and 6ft hutches as well as some runs which double up as hutches when needed.  Work is always continuing to improve the quality of the housing we provide for our rabbits and we will continue to update this page as and when we can.

 2008

Our major project this summer has been the building of a new rabbitry to keep all our precious rabbits safe & sound.  Much thought, planning, work & money went into what is our finished (almost) rabbitry.  The finalised shed is 18ft x 10ft and situated onto a patio.  The whole building is made from high density chipboard nailed & screwed onto a 2x2 wooden frame.  The doors were purpose built from the same materials.  There is a cut out on the back wall which has been filled with 1/2" mesh to allow airflow and the front wall has a 6" cut out under the roof to allow airflow.  All cut outs have been covered with fly net to prevent any insects.  Both doors are half wood & half mesh, with the mesh half again being covered to prevent insects.  The roof has been felted with a 12" overhang to prevent as much of the elements as possible, whilst the whole building has been positioned at the side of the house out of the way of wind, rain & sun.

The new rabbitry houses 6 hutches which are 3ft wide by 18" deep by 18" high, 21 hutches which are 4ft wide by 18" deep by 18" high and 2 enclosed run areas which are 3ft wide by 4 ft deep by 18" high.  Generally the 3ft hutches are used for running on babies or emergency accomodation if it is needed.  The runs double up as hutches in an emergency but are used to give the kits exercise before they are allowed out on the grass.  Again all our hutches are handmade from solid wood to a specific size.

As well as the insect nets we have everywhere we also use various methods of insect control.  Each beam across the roof has a fly paper roll stuck across it, stuck to the top of all the wall supports is a fly paper, and there are yellow top fly traps hanging at intervals throughout the shed.  In addition to this each of our rabbits & cages are sprayed with a herbal remedy to prevent flies and outside of the rabbitry we have red top fly traps as well.

One end of the shed houses our wall of treatment.  All our emergency medications, as well as our routine treatments are all together so that we can get to them quickly.  The other end of our shed has a list of how much of each medication or treatment should be given according to the weight of the rabbit, as well as how to treat certain conditions and other information it is important to have to hand.  We also have a wall where we display all our certificates and rosettes from shows.

Work still to be done - whole building is now due to be covered in shiplap to provide added insulation & stability, Small gap between roof & walls to be insect proofed.

This is one of our frenchie stacks.  As you can clearly see they have been made to order and are really big.  Each block houses 3 hutches, the bottom two being 6ft long by 2.5ft high by 2.5ft deep.  The top hutch is a retirement hutch for any of our mini's or dwarf's who are staying with us and although it is only 18 inches high it has the same length and depth as the french.

Izabel was certainly very pleased with her hutch and the solid wood ensures she has plenty of shelter from the elements.  Within the next week or so there will a carpet over our frenchie hutches to give that added protection when needed.

Millie is our oldest rabbit who has been through the wars a bit.  After suffering from E.Cuniculi she is unable to use the ladder in her double hutch anymore so we had a special hutch made just for her.  It is 6ft long by 18 inches high and 3ft deep.  This hutch is just outside our back door meaning that Millie gets lots of attention and can watch us all in the garden.  A carpet is available to cover the hutch when the weather is not so good.

As you can see, Millie is very happy with her hutch and we are now anticipating neutering Tommy so that he may live with Millie & keep her company.  Millie & Tommy have been good friends for a long while & we think they will be very happy together.

Due to Millie's recent house move, Shadow has decided to occupy her previous hutch - at least for the time being until he decides it is too small for him!  So he has this 6ft 2 storey house which has a ladder between the two floors.  It is 2.5ft deep and 18 inches high on each level.  Shadow certainly enjoys his space presiding over the garden and annoying the dogs when they come out the back door!  Again there is a carpet available for when the weather isn't too good.

Further work to be done here - needs a new coat of paint ready for the winter.

All of our hutches are hand made out of solid wood (tongue & groove) and then stained & weather proofed.  Every hutch has a hanging hay ball in it which provides entertainment as well as ensuring that every rabbit has a supply of fresh clean hay constantly.  In addition each hutch has 2 bottles which are all numbered so that the same bottle always returns to the same cage, helping to stop any infections.  2 bottles allow us to supplement with probiotics, tomato juice, or apple juice when needed but also ensures kits have access to water & no rabbit will ever run out of water.

Each rabbit is attended to a minimum of 4 times a day - breakfast, lunch, dinner & bedtime although there is always someone around generally meaning the rabbits are checked on every hour or so.  In addition each rabbit is handled daily and has access to exercise daily whether it be in a run, running in the house, the rabbitry or the garden.

Cages are thoroughly cleaned at least once a week but normally twice a week, and toilet areas at least once a day.  All cages are thoroughly disenfected at each clean out and treated with rabbit friendly fly repellant.  We use a mixture of beddings to provide the ultimate in bulk, warmth, comfort, absorption & nesting materials.  No one single product has worked efficiently for us so we mix Megazorb, Bliss, Medi-bed, Hemcore, Aubiose as well as Hay.  In the event of one or all of these products not being available we will substitute with Finacard, Shreddibed or Ecobed.  We are advised by a local wholesaler in terms of suitability and availability to ensure our rabbits have the best available at any time and are always looking out for new products to improve the quality of care we provide.

All our rabbits have various toys available to them - boxes, tubes, rattles etc and are put out in the runs everyday.  Our runs also have huts in them to provide shelter and toys to provide amusement for the rabbits.  We are constantly on the lookout for products and methods to improve the care our rabbits receive, and ultimately to improve their quality of life.

07904 645854

bunniehouse@gmail.com

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