Why a hutch is Not enough!

Over the past few years rabbits have increased in popularity
as pets, unfortunately educating the public on proper rabbit husbandry has not
kept up with the demand. There are many aspects of rabbit care to discuss, but
on this weeks’ blog we will focus on why a hutch is not enough for your rabbit
and how our products can be added into your rabbits environment to provide
enrichment and make them the happiest and healthiest they can be!

Many people will go out and buy a rabbit with a hutch or even a cage from their pet store and be none the wiser to the detriment this will have to their new pet, and more importantly a lot of staff in many pet stores do not educate them on this. According to the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (RWAF) a recommended minimum area of 10ft x 6ft x 3ft high (3m x 2m x 1m) is required for 2 rabbits regardless of whether they live indoors or outdoors.

The average hutch sold at a pet store, usually at a
discounted rate with food and bedding does not meet these requirements; due to how small the hutch is your rabbit will be exposed to all the weather conditions. For example, after a night of rain most of the living area of the hutch will be wet, forcing the rabbit to sit in the “sleeping” area which
usually tends to be their toileting area; this results in higher risk of fly
strike in hot months (a painful and often fatal condition where fly eggs hatch
in the dirty bedding and maggots become embedded in the rabbits bottom.) Your
rabbit is also at risk of developing sores and burns from sitting in damp
bedding which is painful and cruel to the rabbit.

The Three Hop Rule

Your rabbit should have enough room to fully stretch out, to
make at least 3 hops each way and to be able to stand on their hind legs
without their ears touching the top of the hutch, otherwise your rabbit can
develop painful spinal and arthritic conditions from being confined to one area,
imagine if you lived in a room that you had to lay curled up in and couldn’t
stand, sounds uncomfortable doesn’t it. The floor space needs to be at least 2
foot from front to back, in a two tier hutch the ramp takes up extra space and
needs to be considered.

 

Both the RWAF and PDSA think the minimum set up for rabbits is a hutch as described earlier, attached to a run (ideally at least 8 foot) it is in a rabbits nature to explore and this is where our products come in; connecting your hutch to an outdoor run with one of our tunnels satisfies their need to burrow and hide as they would in the wild, and gives them more enrichment and stimulation.  By then filling the run with toys, hay racks etc. you give your rabbit plenty to do! You can add in some of our smaller tunnels which our own rabbits love playing in, it is also good to have somewhere your rabbit can go and relax in your run. This gives them another space to hide if they feel frightened, rabbits are a prey animal and this is their natural instinct, a bunny can be frightened to death by a predator so it is important to make sure they have somewhere that they feel safe.

Feel free to look at our range of products on the rest of our website, and to look on our Instagram to see pictures of our own resident buns enjoying our products, we feel very passionately about a “hutch is not enough” and that is the driving force behind our company here at Pets Playstore. We want to educate and provide the public with products that will enrich the lives of rabbits and other animals… as unfortunately we cannot adopt them all (as much as we would love to!)

Please help us share the message that a hutch is not enough!