Building a rabbit hutch---to stain or not to stain?

[CalicoPrairie]

My husband will be building a rabbit hutch for our new bunnies this weekend, but he's sort of run into a snag. Usually whenever he builds anything for outdoors, he stains it so the wood won't deteriorate as quickly as it would without. However, he is thinking that regular stain is not going to be good for the bunnies if they decide to chew on any of the wood. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do here?

 

[Secuono]

Simple, all wood on the outside and where the rabbits cannot chew, stain away. Any wood on the inside where the rabbits touch and can chew, do not paint or stain it, leave it natural. You can cover it with linoleum for easy clean up, but you cannot paint it.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Welcome to RT, CalicoPrairie! I know you'll like it here.

There are vegetable based stains available, but I don't know if they offer protection as well as color. Our dining table is rustic reclaimed pine, and had a petroleum based coating on it when we got it. That didn't appeal to me since we eat there, so I scraped it off and now use olive oil on it instead. I don't know if that would make the wood more appealing to your rabbits- they will chew any wood they can reach anyway, so making it more tasty wouldn't be a good thing.

For sanitation purposes, all wire cages are best, and they are simple to build. The rabbits will pee on the wood. Everyone here houses their rabbits differently, so the most important factor is finding something that suits your situation.

Have fun with your new bunny project!

 

[sommrluv]

Hey Calico!

I agree with chickens...stain the outside. Or we used tar paper on the outside, but I found the hutches weren't as easy for me as cages inside with resting boards. (It just rains too much here)

 

[CalicoPrairie]

Very cool, everyone, thank you. I shared with him what you all said and so I think he's got enough to go on now. Yay! This means it will be done this weekend, as opposed to next weekend.

Thanks again!

 

[Bramble Hedge]

I use white wash fence paint on all my hutches, my buns do chew a little coccasionally and don't seem to have any affect on them, having said that I like to line any edges that are overly easy for them to chew with thin strips of aluminum.

 

[CalicoPrairie]

Thanks Bramble!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

We used galvanized roof flashing on any wood that could possibly get peed on- browse around in the hardware store and you might find some useful stuff (I LOVE hardware stores!). They also have metal studs instead of lumber for framing- my Hubs hates the stuff and refuses to use it- but that might solve all of your concerns!

Make sure to post pics when you are done! We love seeing how everyone keeps their Buns!