Q1. Very cute, but having rabbits and having made a cage like this myself, your rabbit is totally going to eat that cute circle divider.
A1. This is the main reason we decided to do a modification on the hutch! Honestly, (being first time bun owners) we were hopeful that he wouldn't go gnaw crazy on the centerpiece - silly us. Others voiced concerns about MDFs, which is another reason we decided we HAD to do something, if not just for aesthetic. I temporarily made chew resistance barricade (haha) so he couldn't get to it, and we started brainstorming. We are still working it out, but trust me he wont be able to chew anymore.
Q2. Brilliant, absolutely, Just one very major question. Maybe I missed something, but how do you clean it?
A2. A dustpan and brush like this one, and some good old fashioned elbow grease. :) Like Ellen mentioned, white vinegar makes a nice non-toxic cleaner.
Q3. It’s actually not a good idea to use a litter box with a metal grate on top - bunnies can get “sore hocks” from the wire.
A3. Sore hocks can be caused by a number of things, wire grate included - when rabbits have no support and are forced to be on the wire all the time (read more, here). So, its not an issue with just a potty that has a wire grate. Personally, this kind of potty was super important so he doesn't sit in his urine/feces. My favorite bunny potty, here (the large size).
Q4. Why are people so concerned about what a pet’s home looks like?
A4. A pet home should primarily be practical and fit the pet's needs, but by no means does it have to be ugly! It's personal preference.
Q5. I love it! However, I think tile might not have been the best for the floor. It’s not that comfy for a bun.
A5. Yes, tile can be hard on a bun's bum! Eames has a never ending supply of blankets, grassy mats, bedding, etcetera. All the necessities for a comfy place for his bum. When I have him out (on carpet, no less) I often find him stretched out on the tile in his hutch - it's nice and cool for him.
Q6. Rabbits’ feet CANNOT GET WET (and stay wet or even damp). They are acutely prone to infections of the feet and they need to be able to get up and off the bottom of whatever they live in.
A6. You should tell that to Eames, he practically dives into his water bowl! :) In all seriousness, wet bedding does soften and crack bunny feet which can allow infection. So, it is important to change bedding often, and keep blankets, grassy mats, etcetera.
(The pen is never this pristine, there are always toys, blankets, and hay strewn about; I just wanted to highlight the pen itself.)
Q7. Its to small for a rabbit, also for a small rabbit. why did you invest money and a lot of time but didnt think about the size??? thats cruelty to animals! do you want to life in two single rooms for your entire lifetime?
A7. I agree with you, completely! It would be cruel if we kept him in the hutch all the time! It is a night time place primarily, and a nice place I can keep him if the need arises. We purchased a Midwest, Exercise Pen at Petsmart (photos above) which is a great investment! The door allows us to put it right up to his hutch (the door will open to the inside of the pen) and let him go in and out as he pleases. It is very versatile, it can be used as a room divider, make any sort of shape, and conveniently folds up when guests are around.
Q8. Sorry, but I think water bottles with the metal spouts sold by pet stores for bunnies are downright CRUEL. I also think it’s cruel to deprive a bunny of a litter box.
A8. Personally, I don't see water bottles as cruel, but I do keep both! During the day, he generally has a combination, both water bowl and bottle, but during the night - just the water bottle. I think he likes to mix it up, he drinks from both during the day. Eames does have a litter box (see Q/A#3)! Of course it would be horrible not to have one!
Q9. I offer this link solely as a suggestion to those who may be looking for a well-designed pre-made enclosure for their rabbit. Click here.
A9. Awesome! I wanted to share this great alternative if you didn't catch it when she posted it on design sponge. (Thanks, Anna!)
Q10. Come on guys, cut her some slack! This bunny house is a serious labor of love. We all make "mistakes" the first time on something new - that's how we learn. We can't know all the regulations for bunny safety our first time. I think the project is fantastic - beautiful really. I bet my cats would love hanging out in it. On the subject of cats - who's going to take on the project of hiding my cat's little box?
A10. Thank you, thank you! It's so true, but I do want to thank everyone for the constructive criticism. Priority number one is to keep Eamsey safe, so adjustments had to be made! :) Oh, and on the subject of hiding cat litter boxes, Ikea Hacker has some awesome posts on that matter! Check them out, here.
Previous posts on the bunny hutch
/ dcdiy //
/ bunny hutch progress //
/ bunny hutch + eames //
9 comments:
I love your Bunny's home. The design looks beautiful! I love that litterbox too...my son has it for his minilop who gets dirty and doesn't always clean herself well. My rescued minilop (who is very neat ) likes to chew but I still leave hay and toys for him but like the grated litter box. The floor wire is tiny and doesn't hurt their feet...Your pen is nice too. Your bunny looks loved and very happy!
What a wonderful way to address all of the comments, I'm so impressed and I learned a lot! I raised a house bunny years and years ago. He was SO much fun and one of my all-time favorite pets. No offense Bon Bon, but Eames might be the cutest bunny I've ever seen. =)
As a bunny mom of 4 and a foster person for the house rabbit society, I was excited to see design injected into bunny life and knew certain things like the mdf would be modified with time and getting to know your new little creature(I had no *idea* how much rabbits would change my life). I'm really glad you did this post to help add some new insight into the cage building experiment.
I hope you and Eames continue to add some modernism and fun to the bunny world.
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR BUNNY TO SNUGGLE WITH YOU LIKE THAT!!?? mine will notfor long. and yours is sooo cute. I saed my bunnies from going to bunny heaven so i didnt choose what kind of bunnies i got. so cute though!
@renee g - the litter box is awesome...I'm a HUGE fan! thank you!
@rachel - thanks! I sure do think he is the cutest thing ever, and I'm glad you learned a lot ...I learned so much about buns during the building process....and I am STILL learning :D
@kelly prizel - that's wonderful, kudos for being a foster mom! and thank you, eames is a joy!
@faye - uh, well right now? not happening...I think he is going through a "I'm really tired of being picked up" phase....well at least I hope it is just a phase.
goodness gracious. what an effort you've made to improve his environment, good job!!! the only thing i keep wondering is, why when it is so easy to just bunny proof your house, protect the cords and keep a litter box conveniently located, don't you consider letting him be a free range bunny? it's so easy. bunnies are so much happier when they can go where they want when they want to. at night seems to be when they are the most active. maybe that's just my bunnies, but usually right about midnight is when they start to want to tear all over the house and play, sleeping most of the day. so when a bunny owner puts their bunnies away in their cages at night, that seems to be the most cruel time to restrict their movement.
maybe it's me, but i'll never understand caging bunny. D*S, you have such a huge following think of the good you could do for bunnies everywhere if you did away with the whole caged thing altogether....people everywhere may start to think, well maybe i don't need to cage my bunny either.
i've had my bunnies for 7 years and in that time we've moved at least ten times and lived in all sorts of different places. never have they been in a cage. the only time they were enclosed in a cage like setting was when we had to live in small one room space for a few months, fats needs to be separated from bells and nuage so i had x pens set up to keep them divided, but other than that they've always been free range.
my lop rabbit gets all clogged up with faeces and i have to clean it off every two weeks as by this time its almost golfball sized on her tail.when i clean it off she is quite raw underneath. She has a perfect diet and i dont know why she gets this. does anybody know?
I have looked everywhere online to try and find a company that makes bunny hutches like the one you designed. Yours is the only one I have found! I love that you managed to find a way to comfortably house your bunny without having a cage sitting around. We are striking out on our own bunny-hutch building adventure. If it turns out half as good as you've done, I will be happy! Great job and kudos to you; your bunny is well-housed, safe, clearly very loved and happy!!
I found the comment about it being cruel to deprive a bunny of a litter box as quite funny. My dwarf bunny Athena, when introduced to her litter box, immediately undertook the arduous task of aggressively removing it from her cage. She practically threw it! Then she pushed it as far away from her cage as possible and flipped it over, never using it once. I kept it ready for use for a while after that thinking she'd change her mind but she was very sure that it was cruel to HAVE a litter box. My other bunny, Thumper, however, swears by his litter box. People have made some rather prickly comments on here. I think what you are doing is great! I doubt any person or animal's life is perfect, domestic or wild!
Post a Comment