When purchasing a home for your new pet you have a choice of an indoor rabbit cage or one of our strong outdoor waterproof rabbit hutches. The outdoor rabbit hutches available at Ideas-4-Pets have solid floors and a wire front.

Whichever choice of indoor rabbit cage or outdoor rabbit hutches you choose we recommend you place the rabbit hutch away from direct sunlight.

If you have decided to purchase an indoor rabbit cage keep it away from any cold draughts.

A rabbit can take a couple of days to settle into their new home but will need to feel wanted and loved. They love to have their noses and ears gently rubbed and are in heaven if you take the time to let them sit close to you. However, they can become lonely if left on their own for a long time.

Pet rabbit care is an easy to follow routine:

Feed your pet rabbit good quality rabbit food. You can add a few bits of celery, broccoli or curly kale to their rabbit bowl as a treat. Do not give them too much lettuce as it can result in an upset stomach.

Food bowls should be made of earthenware and not plastic. Make sure they have fresh water and keep their bedding clean.

Some of the smaller varieties of rabbits such as ‘Dwarf’ are reasonably small when fully grown. However, any rabbit you purchase will need a large rabbit hutch.

There area wide variety of rabbit hutches here at Ideas-4-Pets and we take pride in helping clients choose the correct rabbit hutches for the rabbit and space they have allocated.

A rabbit hutch needs to be large enough for your pet to stand up with his or her ears pointed. It has to have enough room for him to lie down in a comfortable manner.

There should be more than one room in the hutch so your pet rabbit can have a sleeping area as well as a living area.

Once you have decided on the breed of your rabbit and the size of the rabbit hutch the next important step is to decide if your pet is going to live inside your home or outside.

Rabbits living inside a home usually do get along fine with a domestic cat or dog. However a rabbit living outside requires a good rabbit hutch which is designed for outside use.

The staff at Ideas-4-Pets are happy to help with any further questions you may have regarding our range of rabbit hutches and accessories.

Furry care giving

Pet rabbit care is vital to ensure that your rabbit lives a long life. For that you need an adequate rabbit cage with enough room, ventilation and insulation. The rabbit cage or hutch should offer your rabbit shelter from the elements, enough fresh air and lots of space. Ideas-4-pets offers you a wide range of big and smaller rabbit hutches and cages with or without runs attached.

Your rabbit should get fresh food and water daily, keeping treats for special occasions. An important accessory to your pet rabbit care when keeping an outside rabbit is a run cover. These are great for keeping out the sun and the rain. The hutch or cage needs to be cleaned regularly, and that includes the food and water containers, in order to ensure good rabbit hygiene.

You should also keep a close eye on your rabbit’s habits and behaviour so that you can pick up on any illness quickly. Pet rabbit care need not be difficult or a chore with the right hutch or cage and accessories for your rabbit.

He is quite possibly the oldest living rabbit in Britain, if not the world, because the average lifespan of a rabbit is normally just six to eight years. 

I myself had a rabbit named Bill who lived to be 11 years old.  He started off his life with another rabbit in a small hutch in a garden down the road from where our family lived. His owner was a young girl who wasn’t interested in the rabbits after the initial novelty of them wore off.  As the rabbits grew, the hutch did not and my own daughter always felt very sorry for them.  As winter folded in, the poor rabbits had no rabbit hutch cover over their rabbit hutch and one of them died as a result of severe cold.

My daughter asked the girl if she wanted the black rabbit and she replied “No, take it!” so Bill came to live with us at the age of about 3.  He was loved and cared for by our family and loved to hop around in the garden during the better months and in the shed during the colder months.

At 11 years old he unfortunately developed cancer in his leg and had to be put to sleep as a result.  The vet informed us that Bill was the oldest rabbit he had ever come across and it proved to us that the right care and attention had paid off.

Apparently, Officials at Guinness World Records are now waiting to talk to Hazel’s owners who live in Pulham Market, to find out if he is indeed a the oldest rabbit in Britain and a record-breaker.

The oldest rabbit alive on record until last year was George, who was born in March 1994 and was owned by a couple in Massachusetts, USA.  He was declared the oldest living rabbit in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records after several vets confirmed his age as 14 years, as of March 13, 2008.

Hazel’s owners remembered their grand-daughter bringing the rabbit home when she was about six years old and she’s now 22 years old, so by their estimation Hazel must be about 15 or 16 years old.
 
Hazel has apparently gone through 3 house moves and has outlived his original rabbit hutch.

It is a well known fact that rabbits who are well looked after have plenty of exercise either in a rabbit run or in the garden and are fed the correct, healthy diet they require will live longer than rabbits who are cooped up in small rabbit hutches and do not have any exercise or much contact with their owners.

Hazel has proved this and we at ideas-4-pets hope he still has many happy, healthy years to come.

Are there any draughty areas where the wind can get through the wood?  Is the roof leaking and letting the rain in?  Does the door still fit properly or has it warped over the years?  Are there any sharp edges showing anywhere in the hutch where the rabbit or guinea pig can hurt himself?  Would the hutch be more warm and snug if it had a good hutch cover on it to protect against the rain and the wind?   Has the rabbit grown out of the hutch and could he do with a larger one?

Remember that a hutch should be high enough for your rabbit to stand on his hind legs easily and should be at least 3 times his length when stretched out.  Does your rabbit hutch fit into this criteria?

There are lots of great hutches on the market at the moment that you could be spoilt for choice.  The standard hutches are a favourite as always, but from your pet’s point of view, one of the larger pet houses are wonderful.  They are much, much larger than the average rabbit hutch and the rabbit runs are attached and are great as they allow much more freedom for your rabbit or guinea pig.

Imagine being cooped up in a tiny house throughout the winter with no hope of getting out until the summer months !! How awful would that be and how depressed and stressed would you feel.  Your rabbit or guinea pig is just the same – he needs exercise throughout the year and a run with a roof is the perfect answer for him.

Your rabbit also needs to be comfortable and warm so a draughty old hutch with a leaking roof will not do.  If nothing else, invest in a good fitting rabbit hutch cover to protect him from draughts, rain and the cold especially if he is outside throughout the winter months.  If you can bring your pet indoors or into a shed or garage then this will help to keep him warm and healthy.

ideas-4-pets would always advise that rabbit and guinea pigs owners should double check the state of their pet’s hutch after the summer has gone and think carefully about whether the one they have will keep their pet comfortable and warm during the winter.

Our pets rely on us, their owners, to keep them safe and well so it is out responsibility not to let them down.

ideas-4-pets have an excellent range of rabbit hutches on offer. There are rabbit hutch that have a rabbit run underneath so that your rabbit has a place to sleep and a place to play. Some of the rabbit hutches are on legs and others go straight to the floor so that you can put them straight on to the grass in the summer.

If you have more than one rabbit, there are rabbit hutches which has two sleeping areas and there are really big rabbit hutches that can suit up to 4 or 5 medium rabbits, giving them plenty of space to hop around.

Rabbits love to exercise so the more room you can give your rabbit the better. A rabbit hutch can never be too big, but they can be too small and all too often we hear of rabbits that are left on their own in small hutches with no company because the children have “grown out of them”

Rabbits can live for many years and crave the company of other rabbits or of their owners. They love to play in rabbit runs or in the garden and need to have toys to play with – a tube to hide in, an overturned plant pot to explore, a ball to throw about.

Be inventive with your rabbit’s playthings and make sure that he has plenty of clean, fresh water and good quality food in his rabbit hutch. These lovely little creatures are intelligent and need to be stimulated and handled regularly.

Make sure the rabbit hutch you purchase is good quality, make sure it is sturdy and will be warm and draught free in winter, make sure there are no leaks in the roof and that you have an adequate hutch cover to protect the hutch and your rabbit during the bad weather. And very importantly, make sure that the rabbit hutch is big enough for rabbit to stand on his hind legs easily and that it is approx. 3 times the length of your rabbit when he is stretched out.

If your garden is not rabbit safe, then purchase a rabbit run for your rabbit to hop and play in and you will be rewarded by having a rabbit who is happy and healthy and will be a companion to you for many years.

Did you know that the rabbit hutch or the guinea pig hutch that you choose should be at least 3 times the length of the animal and give them enough room to stand on their hind legs? The rabbit hutch (or guinea pig hutch) should allow the animal to sleep in an enclose, dark area and also have access to a light, play area.

Rabbits and guinea pigs love to run around and play and rabbits will kick their legs out when out of the rabbit hutch. They must have room to do this and if the rabbit hutch does not allow this, then they should have daily access to a rabbit run. Time in the rabbit run should be supervised as both guinea pigs and rabbits are prey to cats and foxes.

The rabbit hutch or guinea pig hutch should be cleaned at least twice a week and disinfected at least monthly. This is important as a dirty hutch can lead to infestation of flies and maggots and these can cause untold misery, especially to rabbits.

Rabbits also need regular grooming to keep their fur in tip-top condition and both pets need easy access to fresh, clean water and good quality food.

In winter, the rabbit hutch or guinea pig hutch needs to be sheltered and should be free of draughts – imagine being left outside in the cold and damp in a draughty hutch – not a pleasant thought. A rabbit hutch cover is a good buy as this stops the wind and rain from blowing into the hutch and causing discomfort to your rabbit or guinea pig.

In summer, your rabbit or guinea pig will need lots of exercise in the fresh air but will also require some sort of shelter in the rabbit run so that they can shelter from the sun or a sudden rain shower. Some rabbit runs have a covered area which is ideal.

Most of all, your rabbit or guinea pig will need lots of love and attention as they are both extremely sociable creatures and in the wild will live in family groups. As pets, they often lose this closeness to creatures of their own kind and rely on their owners to give them the friendship and companionship they need. Play with them often and handle them as much as possible as this will strengthen the bond between you and your pet.

Remember that a well cared for pet is a happy pet and will give you unconditional love for many years.

More

The survey apparently showed that rabbits were the most neglected of all the pet animals kept in their region and statistics show that their plight is highlighted all over the UK.

Many people are uneducated regarding the care and companionship that rabbits need. For far too long our pet rabbits have been kept in solitary confinement in a rabbit hutch at the bottom of the garden that is far too small for comfort. Rabbits are often bought as a present for a child in the family and when the child gets fed up with the daily routine of caring for the rabbit, the family ends up arguing over whose turn it is to clean it out, feed it and play with it. Meanwhile the cute little bundle of fur that they bought in the pet shop becomes forgotten about and neglected. How sad. Far too many rabbits are handed in at rehoming centres because people don’t realise how much time and care rabbits actually need.

Rabbits need spacious rabbit hutches and rabbit runs so they can hop around, kick their legs and stand up easily without touching the roof of their rabbit hutch. They are also very sociable little creatures who love company. If you can’t have 2 rabbits then you need to make sure that the rabbit you do have has plenty of human contact. Pick him up and cuddle him regularly, play with him often, give him plenty of toys to play with when you aren’t there and keep his rabbit hutch clean and hygienic.

Always make sure your rabbit has plenty of clean fresh water and good quality food.

Points to bear in mind when buying rabbit hutch covers

While buying rabbit hutch covers, you need to give due consideration to their quality.
Durability or the long life of the covers is another consideration. You just cannot compromise on quality to save money.
One also needs to consider the appearance of the hutch.
Size is a major factor to consider when buying hutch covers. Do check whether they can cover the whole hutch or only a part of it.
Also check whether you can use them during the summer months.
Check the provision for ventilation in the form of extra ventilation holes that might be needed in the hutch.

Maintenance of rabbit hutch covers
Their maintenance is equally important. Cleaning and maintaining hutch covers is not difficult. You can make use of a kitchen scourer or normal sponge with a bowl of soapy water for cleaning them.
You can get universal Nylon or PVC rabbit hutch covers that act as a shield against the elements to help protect your pet.

How many hutches do you see without adequate protection? Our furry little friends need to be warm and protected in winter and a rabbit hutch cover will protect your rabbit from the inevitable wind and rain. Put yourself in their place – they are reliant upon you or your children for everything – food, drink and their environment.

Keep your rabbit warm and dry this winter with a well fitting rabbit hutch cover and he will love you all the more for it !!