Future hutch building

So I'm planning on building a hutch I can put indoors this summer. It gets really hot here in the summer and I like to bring the bunnies in when it gets over 92F degrees. Well, this year I have over doubled the size of my rabbitry so I won't be hauling in the wire cages for +5 rabbits. Plus I don't want to buy wire stacked cages because I've had problems with the bucks spraying in the kitchen when they are too close to the females...it would be way to crowded in my kitchen for that many rabbits anyway, and I would not risk moving them off the tile with the spraying problem! :x So I want to build something like this hutch:



Something that has around 6 holes that are pretty small, just to keep the rabbits cool during the really hot times of the day, and once it gets around 90F they can go back outside to their two story mansions. :roll:
My only question about this is....I don't see a way to catch the waste in this hutch? It looks like it might just be solid floor bottoms? I found this on craigslist but it was too far for me to drive to pick it up, so I emailed the owner with questions on it but never got a response. Anyway, I'd like to build something just like it but what do I do about the waste? I want trays and wire so I can keep things clean and not stink up the house...ideas?

You asked about the hutch and waste and I don't know anything about keeping rabbits indoors and keeping the smells acceptable. But I wonder about the temperature change--how cool it will be inside and how well the rabbits will do being moved back and forth if the difference is significant and if it isn't that much, then what would be the point? :? :?

Rainey":3gba8fqg said:

You asked about the hutch and waste and I don't know anything about keeping rabbits indoors and keeping the smells acceptable. But I wonder about the temperature change--how cool it will be inside and how well the rabbits will do being moved back and forth if the difference is significant and if it isn't that much, then what would be the point? :? :?

Click to expand...

We keep our house at around 78F in the Summer, which is much better than +90F....even a 10 degree difference can be the difference between heat stroke and just a little warm imo. They would only be inside for a few hours a day when it gets to the peak of heat during the afternoon, and if there were trays I would clean them out daily. I've moved bunnies in an out in all weather for 2 years and have never had a problem.

We have our bunnies in our 2 car attached garage in Michigan. In July/August it can get warm in there so we run fans all the time and put 2 litter bottles with frozen water in them to keep our bunnies cool.

I would never bring them in the house because of the smell, pee/poo, and the flying hair........... especially in a kitchen where you have food and cook.

What do others do where you live that have rabbits??? I'd find out.

I would suggest you build a frame about a half inch smaller than the inside of your cage,[from wood or aluminum angle depending on your skill level] and fasten 1/2" x 1/2", or 1"x1/2" hardware cloth to it - I like to solder / weld the wire flooring to the aluminum frame--[ http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-weld-aluminum/ ] , fasten a couple of pieces of 3/4 x 3/4 aluminum angle on the sides of the cage for it to slide into the cage on, and hold it off the floor of the cage far enough for a litter pan to slide under it. Build the cages a little tall, so the living area is not too short after the floor, and litter pan are in. don't fasten the frame with hardware cloth directly to the cage, it needs to be removable,-or it will be very hard to clean up pee that missed the litter pan.
I build the litter pans from galvanized sheet metal, just bend up the sides about 2 inches, and pop-rivet the corners, and silicone the corner seam.