Now you have decided you would like to adopt one of our adorable little fellas into your family, you will need to make some preparations. It is best to give yourself some time to get it right, before your bunny arrives home. It is best not to take the first available bunny if you and their new accomodation are not ready. A smoothe transition can establish a good routine and clean habits from the start. Making your pet more enjoyable, and the cleaning a breeze. Many customers have questions about cages. If you haven't checked out our rabbitry pages, now would be a good time to do so. The cage setups, we have designed, work very well in harmony with the natural instinctive behaviours of our bunnies. Ideally it is best if you build something identical or similar to these using the instructions found in the hutch building pages on this site. Many of our customers have done this. An advantage of this hutch design is that it can accomodate two bunnies in their own residences, which is the ideal situation whatever their sexes are. This design gives you a safe and space efficient option if you would like to keep two rabbits. It is also noteworthy that if bunnies are accomodated separately they are much cleaner as they are not intent on marking their territory. Otherwise the bottom level of this hutch design can be converted into a handy storage area to neatly stash away all your bunnies needs like litter for their pan, extra hay and rabbit pellets. Another change to this hutch design, that I would like to recommend if possible, is to increase the height of the second floor making it at least 60cm off the ground. This hutch was built to fit under a window so the dimensions are to suit that requirement. When building or buying your rabbit's hutch, the first important consideration, is that it must be mosquito and fly proof. This is very important here in Australia. Firstly we have alot of flys here in Australia and they carry a range of general diseases and bacteria that can easily cause your rabbit to become sick. The second reason is because Australian scientists regularly release the calici virus and the myxomatosis virus transmitted by mosquitoes to control Australia's wild population of rabbits. These viruses will infect your bunny friend and result in it's death unless you take suitable precautions. Alot of time, love and effort goes into raising our babies and this is not a situataion we would like to send them to. Now you will notice if you visit your local pet shop to buy a hutch, that the made in china, hutch 1 / 6
variety, are not mosquito proof. This means you will need to study the cage carefully to see if you can attach some pet and insect proof wire. The edges of the insect proof wire will need to be covered otherwise they will chew at it, and possibly hurt themselves. By adding another layer of wire over top of an existing mesh, you will impair the ability to watch your rabbit, and lessen your joy of rabbit ownership. One layer of thick pet quality fly screen works best. You may have already seen our rabbitry pages and noticed that we run our rabbits on sand. This is a cheap and easy way to keep your bunny clean and comfortable. The sand is easily seived to clean it and can be quickly done daily at their feed time. Why I mention this, is that many cages you can buy are unsuitable to use sand. If this is something you would like to do, you will probably need to build a hutch to make it sand proof. It is well worth the effort to do so. Other cage considerations if you plan on buying one: Is the bottom of the cage closed in so mosquitoes can't access that way. Ask yourself, can a bunny dig out, or a predator dig in? Is the cage large enough to live in most of the time and get sufficient exercise. Some breeders and owners assume a play pen in the backyard will be suffice during the day. Please ask yourself how safe that will be? Is it often cold and wet, like in Melbourne? Rabbits don't like being wet. Will they have protection from the heat of the day? Could a bird of prey carry them off? Could a dog or fox find them? Could they easily escape and contribute to the wild rabbit population? Will they be bitten by mosquitoes during the day? Does the cage encourage good behaviour, and give you control? I recomend that a cage should be elevated off the ground. There are quite a few reasons for that. Firstly, many parents want their children to enjoy and care for their family pet rabbit. Often young children will go to the pen to pat, or perhaps feed their apple core to them. Typically, the minute they open the door, bunny shoots out of the door straight past them and runs off to explore. Lucky for parents it turns out that rabbits are height conscience from quite a young age. The easiest way to calm or control a bunny is to put them up high. Instantly they realise there is no escape and they concentrate on the gifts of food their visitors bear or their affections. Rabbits make much friendlier pets if you are in control and elevate their cage. You can also control a doe that is hormonal or territorial alot better when she lives in an elevated residence. Most importantly you have full control over the time when your bunny can go for a run in your backyard under your 2 / 6
supervision. The children will enjoy the rabbit more as they can open the door and the bunny will come for pats and affection, rather than look for an escape route. Of course a rabbit on the loose before you leave to pick up the older children from school could be a problem. Chasing a rabbit is an undisirable, predatory thing to do. I prefer to let them loose on my terms and wait for them to finish their exploring, which usually involves checking out the opposite sex through the flywire doors, and then when they are finished they will usually return to me given enough time. The bucks will anyway, but the does usually won't come and I have to seek them out. Your bunny will also be more visible in his cage to watch, when their residence is off the ground. Another advantage factor to an elevated cage is that it is easier to daily clean. You don't want to be standing on a stool to do this, neither crawling on your hand and knees. It is kinder to your back aswell when your bunnies residence is at the perfect height. Just a tip: I usually let my fella's go for a run while I'm distributing food and cleaning their cages sand. Some bunnies as they reach maturity will object to your cleaning efforts if they are present. This may result in some aggressive territorial behaviour. If this happens, calmly remove them before commencing to clean the cage. What they don't see won't hurt them. Another consideration, is whether there is sufficient space for a large corner litter pan that our babies and adults are used to using. Ideally you will put it in the darkest back corner. I recommend you try and avoid the nestbox area if you can as you don't want them soiling their hay. If you are not prepared well before bringing your bunny home this is often the result. You should also choose a dry protected place undercover to place their litter pan in. We now stock the large corner litter pans with our special wire guards that we make, and we almost always sell this system to each new owner. You can view our cage and litter pan setup in our rabbitry information pages. Unfortunately the large corner litter pans are difficult to find in the pet shops. It is also best to choose a dark colour if you can. We specially try and order dark colours like navy or grey for our customers. All our bunnies are trained to use this pan system with a wire guard. The wire guard will save you a fortune on litter and keep your bunnies feet nice and clean. I found that some bunnies would dig all the litter out of their pan within minutes of cleaning it. Sometimes they would roll and play in it. I also found it expensive as I would need to cover the entire floor of the large pan with litter, only for them to use the corner which was a real waste. Now I simply use a small half a cup of litter in the corner under the wire guard, and can now afford to change it every couple of days. It is important to note that if kits are not raised using this system it is often very difficult to train them to step up onto the wire guards. It is a real challenge when we bring new bunnies in from other studs. Although they usually soon find out I'm a force to be reckoned with and a stickler for 3 / 6
cleanliness. Most of the time I'm successful. Dirty bunnies are hard work. Litter pan training them is also hard work and alot of patience is needed. It can take many months and perhaps a year. Sometimes with a doe I need to train their kits to train mum. Buying a kit that is trained to use this pan system I invented is a real blessing, and saves time and money. So I encourage new owners of Erinlea bunnies to get the transition to their new hutch right. What we like to do is give you a sample of used litter from their current pan that will have their own and their mothers toilet scent. We give it to you in a little plastic bag tied up for your trip home. When you get home put some new litter in the corner of the new pan and then put the soiled sample in the corner on top. Replace the wire guard on the pan and place in the darkest rear corner of the cage. Then release the bunny in their cage. They will imediately recognise the scent and understand it to be their toilet. If for some reason they choose a different spot, place the litter pan there. If you can't do that you could try placing obstacles in that location to stop them using it. Or perhaps put their feed bowl there. I like to wedge my litter pans in their pens with some rocks which makes it easy for the tiny kits to access the pan when they are very small and learning. Also some larger bunnies may want to adjust your arrangement, and by wedging the pan securely in a corner it will be more difficult for them to move. In this case a few house bricks often work well. If you plan to keep your bunny outside in a cage it is essential that a cozy nestbox compartment is an integral part of the hutch. A nestbox area will become the bunny's safe area out of the wind, cold and heat. It will also make the pefect area to keep the meadow hay for eating. Bunnies eat alot of hay and it is an important part of their diet. Hay everyday keeps the doctor away. The best type of hay to buy for your bunny is normal meadow grass hay which is rich in nutrient content compared to straw varieties. The far cheapest way to buy hay, is by the bale. I know what your thinking, how will I get it home in my clean car? It turns out some stock feed places sell hay bale covers perfect for transporting and storing your hay bale in. These covers are big zip up bags that will help keep the hay dry from air moisture while your storing it. When you buy hay, the fresher it is the better. Make sure it isn't damp and mouldy. Slightly green hay is very good as it is usually fresher. Water bottles are an essential item for you bunny. I like to use glass Super Pet ones. I find glass is more hygenic and easier to clean than plastic. Many plastic water bottles as they warm up release undisirable hormone disrupters into their water. Beware when shopping for a bottle that alot are designed to sit outside a cage through the wire. This also means they are often sitting in the sun, which you dont want as rabbits will not drink warm water. The other factor is they won't work with a cage that has been insect proofed. The Super Pet variety are easily attached inside the cage to a wooden wall with some screw eyes to hold the release spring and bracket. Read the hutch building instructions for tips on doing this and photo's. 4 / 6
Super pet bottles can be ordered in three sizes. Often two smaller bottles are better than one large as they will sit higher off the hutch floor. Please let me know if your having trouble finding one as I often have spare in stock here for my own personal use. It is good to have a wood chew available for your bunny. Don't buy fancy dangling stuff as they won't like that as much as a wooden cage. I found you can buy the wood chews from pet stores in a variety of colours and sizes. Simply screw these small blocks to a piece of plain pine wood. Not too big a piece of pine because it will serve as a toyl as they like to move it around their cage. You can supply your rabbit with some toys. Nothing fancy is really needed. Toilet and paper towel rolls are good as they enjoy the log toss game. A small cardboard box is good and will soon be remodeled. A pine cone is great to roll around and chew. I'm told a wicker ball is alot of fun for them. A small apple tree branch is fantastic to gnaw on and drag around. An old phone book can make a real mess. Paper cups and bags can be entertaining aswell. And what are bunnies renown for? Digging, a good layer of sand in your cage will make it easy to clean, keep your bunny at the correct temperature and provide endless hours of fun, especially kits. Pregnant does push and move sand into their nestboxes. I observe consistent behaviours that most breeders wouldn't, as my girls have a large supply of sand to use. What they are doing with their sand is a great indicator if a doe is pregnant and preparing. If you have a digger or intend to breed, the hutch design with the loft area works great. This gives you an area for a feed dish that won't be buried with sand by a multitude of kits playing. I hope you have a better idea now as to how to set up your bunnies new home while making it comfortable and fun for them, and servicable for you. Good hutches, house healthy and well behaved rabbits. You may now agree the best option is to build a great hutch like all our rabbits enjoy. If you have any more questions please contact Vanita here at Erinlea Rabbit Stud by emailing vanita@anitaearth.com or by using our CONTACT US page at www.erinlea.com.au 5 / 6
And we can add the answers to your questions here for all to benifit from. 6 / 6