Hutch Design

Hi all,

New to the forums, and soon the rabbit life, so please forgive any shortcomings and please feel free to make comments and suggestions where needed. Now that my kids are reaching the age to be able to care for animals, we thought it was about time to expand our homestead to include rabbits.

I guess the best place to start is with my past builds - I live in a small farming community and rabbits, chickens, goats and pigs are quite common. I have been asked by friends and family at numerous points to build different items, including chicken coups and rabbit hutches. I have access to an extensive wood shop on the property where we have every type and variation of tool that I could ever need. I am normally given an idea of what the customer wants and do a quick mockup for them (and for me) on what is expected. This allows them to approve the design and/or make changes where necessary before I do the actual work. This also allows me to take the guesswork out of measurements beforehand.

Anyways, to start out with I am going to be building an outdoor rabbit enclosure/hutch. While some people may be keeping their rabbits indoors, our primary enclosure(s) will be outside so keep that in mind. Using one of the more popular designs for beginner rabbit owners, I wanted to get input on improvements. The steps below are for an indoor enclosure, so I have already identified some things I will need to do differently:
-Peaked and overlapped roof
-a way to completely seal off the enclosure without restricting airflow during bad weather.
-a way to heat/light the enclosure if needed

Note: I am no professional with 3D design, just ignore any errors.

The first step involves creating the shell/skeleton and attaching the bottom. Using 2"x2" lumber, I construct a frame that is 4'x2'x2' and attach a 2'x4' sheet of 1/2" plywood. To help illustrate the point, I have colored the pieces in the image below. The pink sections create a 2'x2' square which are then joined by the green 4' sections.


Next, I add in a partition which will create the 'den'. This is accomplished by adding two strips of 2"x2" lumber that has a 1/2" groove (shown in purple). This allows the 2'x2' partition wall to be inserted. Of course, the partition wall will have a cutout of some sort. I have done everything from half-circles to square entry ways.


Last, I assemble the top, back and sides out of cedar and galvanized fencing panels. At this point, I have started to include a choice of entry door. I either provide top or front access, depending on the customer. The image below shows a front entry, bottom hinged access.



After final buildout, all wood is covered with Mythic or a similar non-toxic and pet safe primer and paint. If needed later on, the top can be opened or removed to replace or completely remove the partition wall. Wishing now that I had taken some pictures of the final products... :x

Now for the "meat" of the post:
While I have never had any complaints with the design or construction of these hutches, is there anything that I should consider improving on?
Is the size (8 Sq.Ft.) suitable for the smaller (3-4 lb) breeds of rabbits?
Are there any considerations for housing multiple rabbits in the same enclosure?
Are there any breeds or crosses that are more suited to outdoor enclosures versus indoor enclosures?
Does the basic design lack any important features?
Does anyone have ideas for a larger scale hutch, possibly with partitions that can be added/removed to create multiple holes or a single structure?

I look forward to your responses!
BiggTexx

8 square feet is plenty of room for a few small breed rabbits.

I am assuming the hutch won't be on the ground.

I'm not sure what part of the country your in but excessive heat is more deadly to rabbits than the cold. Smaller rabbits tend to tolerate the heat better than those over 8 pounds, however they dont do quite as well in the cold. Your sheltered house area should offer plenty of protection from the elements and with lots of straw to snuggle into I doubt you'll need to heat it unless -40 is a common winter temperature.

With solid wood rather than wire flooring I'd recommend at least 3 inches of bedding to prevent premature rot - one of the reasons 1/4 x 1 inch flooring is more common rabbit flooring - and a lip that is 3 or more inches high is needed to prevent the bedding from spilling out.

I would recommend utilizing the vertical space by putting in 2 or more shelves that the co-habitating rabbits can retreat to for private time or to escape aggressors.

Contrary to what many rabbit sites state, not all rabbits are social and many are very anti-social and would rather murder a fellow rabbit rather than snuggle up with them. Two intact males can never share a cage and many cannot even be put next to each other without trying to attack each other through the bars. Your best bet to get a bonded pair or trio is two or 3 sisters, a neutered male and a female or a mother and daughter/s but there is no guarantee they will love each other for the next 10 years and you may need to separate them, most like when they are 4 to 12 months old and at their teenager stage of life.

Hi Dood,

I am assuming the hutch won't be on the ground.

Click to expand...

Quite right. This will actually be elevated to 3.5 feet off the ground.

As for the temperatures, heat is more of a factor here than anything in Southern Texas. This hutch will actually just wind up being a hold pen until I design and build the main unit.

Some other thoughts had crossed my mind:

I have been told that the rabbits will chew through the wood, so I have been using plywood instead of the cheaper OSB to prevent chipping, as well as painting all visible wood. You make some very good points I never considered, so I will take a look at modifications.

This isn't a necessity, but I do like to a a removable plastic or metal liner/pan in my "bed" areas. Some rabbits soil their bedding, some don't.
Rabbits may poo and pee on any solid surface, causing a nasty buildup you will have clean up, urine soaked feet and wood rot. Or not.

One thing you can do if they start that nonsense, is add a litterbox in places they are using as a routine potty.

What did you use to create to 3-D models

Welcome to RT!

I had a hutch very similar to that one when I first got into rabbits. At this point, I have made the following changes to it:
- completely removed the floor and put in 1/2x1 wire. The solid floor was tedious to clean. Treated wood eaten by rabbits is not a good thing. If you end up with an issue you need to really clean/treat for, treating wood is more difficult.
- removed the solid walls and added 1x2 wire. Heat was an issue, even here in Virginia.
- added a ledge under the hutch so I could add litter drop pans under the cage.
- added a 1 foot square box about 10 inches high for the buns to get off the wire floor if they wish.

I had a litter in that modified hutch this winter and they did great. The heat is much more of an issue and I would be concerned about lack of air flow. Rabbits really only need a hidey space when kindling, and I add a nest box at that time. Otherwise, their cage is completely open, except, obviously, for a roof.

Oh, one last thing, I would consider adding some braces at the corners to prevent racking. On a 4 foot span, it could be an issue.

Looks like Sketchup, a Google product.

ckcs":17oqwnah said:

What did you use to create to 3-D models

Click to expand...

As John Mc said, I am using Sketchup. not hard to work with if you have a bit of patience up front.

Marinea":17oqwnah said:

Welcome to RT!

I had a hutch very similar to that one when I first got into rabbits. At this point, I have made the following changes to it:
- completely removed the floor and put in 1/2x1 wire. The solid floor was tedious to clean. Treated wood eaten by rabbits is not a good thing. If you end up with an issue you need to really clean/treat for, treating wood is more difficult.
- removed the solid walls and added 1x2 wire. Heat was an issue, even here in Virginia.
- added a ledge under the hutch so I could add litter drop pans under the cage.
- added a 1 foot square box about 10 inches high for the buns to get off the wire floor if they wish.

I had a litter in that modified hutch this winter and they did great. The heat is much more of an issue and I would be concerned about lack of air flow. Rabbits really only need a hidey space when kindling, and I add a nest box at that time. Otherwise, their cage is completely open, except, obviously, for a roof.

Oh, one last thing, I would consider adding some braces at the corners to prevent racking. On a 4 foot span, it could be an issue.

Click to expand...

Some very nice additions here...

I may just have to rethink this design altogether!

BiggTexx":ikgbcmvc said:

Hi Dood,

I am assuming the hutch won't be on the ground.

Click to expand...

Quite right. This will actually be elevated to 3.5 feet off the ground.

As for the temperatures, heat is more of a factor here than anything in Southern Texas. This hutch will actually just wind up being a hold pen until I design and build the main unit.

Some other thoughts had crossed my mind:

I have been told that the rabbits will chew through the wood, so I have been using plywood instead of the cheaper OSB to prevent chipping, as well as painting all visible wood. You make some very good points I never considered, so I will take a look at modifications.

Click to expand...

Where in Texas are you? I am in SE Texas and that kind of hutch would be an oven. We have a very open barn with hanging wire cages. You will need as much ventilation as you can get and the less wood the better.

OneAcreFarm":5vifq30k said:

Where in Texas are you? I am in SE Texas and that kind of hutch would be an oven. We have a very open barn with hanging wire cages. You will need as much ventilation as you can get and the less wood the better.

Click to expand...

I'm a little slow OneAcreFarm, I just asked your location in another thread! :shock: I am SE as well - Liberty County area. Now, to be honest, I did leave some things out. As I said, this was going to be a starter enclosure until I built the main unit (which is still a ways away) but the main unit will be temperature controlled, so I had taken this into consideration.

Wooden hutches are quaint and appeal to one's sense of (human) comfort, but I personally prefer all wire cages with absolutely no wood components. They are the most sanitary (and well ventilated!) way to raise rabbits.

I would recommend focusing on building a support structure to suspend the cages from and provide protection from wind and precipitation.

You can find lots of ideas in our Gallery of member's set ups here:

gallery/album.php?album_id=8