Nutty Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hi all We are just about to get our two minilop bunnies. I have read all the posts on this forum of relevance and although we love the rablu and all the features we still have a lot of concerns before buying one about: 1. size 2. shutting them in at night- we live in London and have A LOT of foxes everynight - i know the run is secure but i can see a fox having a fairly good go at it - will it be too cramped for them tho? 3. weather proofing the run 4. the negative comments about the rablu on rabbit rehome forum (of which there are a lot) 5. I e mailed Omlet and asked about the RSPCA position but did not get a response on this point I dont know if anyone ever got to the bottom of that? I know some people also have a hutch for their buns but we cant afford both as the rablu itself is so expensive, we would put in on patio over winter and on grass in summer (once they are 6 mths old). so i want it to work out ok but i am worried about the size and whether or not it is really that safe in the run (as we wont be home from work until after dark in winter) Any more advice, warnings or reassurance would be very much appreciated. we have to decide by Friday at latest to get in time for them - dont want to make an expensive mistake but then have not found hutch and run combo that i have loved either Thanks in advance for help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hi all Hiya Nutty We are just about to get our two minilop bunnies. I have read all the posts on this forum of relevance and although we love the rablu and all the features we still have a lot of concerns before buying one about: 1. size What do you need to knwo about its size? 2. shutting them in at night- we live in London and have A LOT of foxes everynight - i know the run is secure but i can see a fox having a fairly good go at it - will it be too cramped for them tho? Bunnies won't take kindly to being shut in at night - they are at their most active during the night and need to run around. I have used some tent pegs to secure the run, and they have a shower curtain over the run too 3. weather proofing the run See above 4. the negative comments about the rablu on rabbit rehome forum (of which there are a lot) We find the same on other forums about the eglu too - it's up to you to make up your own mind. Why don't you email barbara@omlet.co.uk and see if there's anyone in your area, who has a rablu that you can visit 5. I e mailed Omlet and asked about the RSPCA position but did not get a response on this point I dont know if anyone ever got to the bottom of that? Try ringing them - they are bogged down with emails at the moment, ask for Johannes or James I know some people also have a hutch for their buns but we cant afford both as the rablu itself is so expensive, we would put in on patio over winter and on grass in summer (once they are 6 mths old). so i want it to work out ok but i am worried about the size and whether or not it is really that safe in the run (as we wont be home from work until after dark in winter) Any more advice, warnings or reassurance would be very much appreciated. we have to decide by Friday at latest to get in time for them - dont want to make an expensive mistake but then have not found hutch and run combo that i have loved either Thanks in advance for help I hpe that this all helps, but feel free to ask any more questions. I have both a hutch and a rablu and love them both for different reasons. The bunnies definitely prefer to be in their rablu in the summer though. The lawn is too wet at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffet Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hi Nutty! I feel much the same as you - my brain has begun to disintegrate with all the possibilities to choose from. We are going to see a nearby rablu hopefully next week - I agree with Clare, you need to do this. Just post on the relevant site and I'm sure someone will help. There is a list too af paople willing to show you. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 yes i agree it is really hard deciding Unf we really need to decide by this Fri otherwise the buns will be homeless on arrival! have you already got rabbits in a hutch? some people seem to love them but others dont it is sooooo hard to work out what to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffet Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 My two bunnies are currently in an indoor run in the garage! (Does anyone ever use garages for cars?) We originally had a bunny and a guinea pig (yes, I know) and while they were tiny kept them in a hutch only, letting them into the living room for periods! You really are up against it for time aren't you? Can you delay taking them at all? If you have a secure indoor space like us, you can use something as basic as a children's fire guard to keep them in check while you find a more permanent home. Argos do reasonable ones. Cardboard boxes lined with newspaper make good temporary sleeping places I've found. I'd recommend the snugglepet heatpads, they are a godsend and much cheaper than trying to heat a large space (and safer too.) Let us know how you get on. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 HI yes we have left it a bit late. i think we need to take them then - they are not coming until 23rd Feb but if we got eglu would want the time to set it up, secure it make it waterproof in the run etc etc. we dont have a garage and space inside is extremely limited! I guess i feel like my issues are not really going to be resolved without taking a leap of faith I feel like i have a good impression of size and how it all works. i can see problems with the eglu for rabbits but then there are a lot of pluses. part of the problem is the lack of other good options i am mainly worried about foxes as there are loads around here and keeping the buns warm in winter what are your thoughts and concerns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffet Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 You know what? I think we'll just get the rablu and that's that. It does have a 30 day guarantee after all. Need to get ground mesh too - only costs £20 more. My present outdoor arrangement is home-made with strong wire, MDF and god knows what! We have a major fox problem - right on the edge of Brum, city one way and countryside the other! Fox heaven. With the ground cover mesh, and wieighting doen the "skirt" around the run with bricks. I think it should be pretty secure. Just use anything you have to hand to increase barrier - probably not necessary but you will feel better! I shall also cover with shower curtain (good idea - didn't think of that before reading this site). You can get the heatpads from a vet or on the internet - some petshops stock them too. Nutty, if you haven't had buns before, they do produce a lot of compost material, if you follow me. After hours of toil cleaning them out, I think the rablu will come as a welcome relief! Let's just do it. After all, like anything in liife, someone else will always know better!! Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I got a rablu but it quickly emerged as being unsuitable for my garden and bunnies. They would always poo in the same place - just outside the door in the run - and it's nigh-on impossible to clean there, with the result that the run became a big swamp of ground-in rabbit poo. They refused to go in the rablu at all except to wee and so were out at all times in the wind and rain, so they had permanently wet feet and looked pretty miserable. I also didn't find the rablu low-maintenance (the house itself is easy enough to clean, but as noted the run is pretty impossible if you keep them on grass and use the under-floor wire - if you haven't got the room to completely rotate the eglu and refresh the grass, your lawn will deteriorate rapidly!). Also I had concerns about size - the run is a good size, but if your buns did want to use the rablu to sleep in, they would barely have room to stretch out completely. I only lasted a month with mine before switching to a large double-storey hutch (which was more than £200 cheaper!) and my buns are much happier. They're always dry, it's just as easy to clean out as they use a litter-tray, and they come out every day to run free-range in the garden for a few hours. I live in a fox-free area so I'm lucky in that respect, and the eglu does offer excellent protection against foxes - but for me at least, it was not the right rabbit home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hi Tuffet me and OH are sitting here thinking exactly along those lines! How come you are looking for a new housing arrangement for your buns is the old one givin up the ghost? I agree that the cleaning is a major plus! how do you manage to keep those nasty foxes out at the moment i will let u know our final final decision but 90% sure of rablu! if you have a garage as wel i reckon you would be fine with one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffet Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi Nutty! Our old run is basically falling apart, unsightly and very hard to clean. Also too small for 2 buns really. We have looked at loads of hutches and runs, including a very nice combo.with fox-proof wire, but the run is small and not extendable (at least not officially - you could do it somehow I'm sure). As I say, I like the ease of cleaning the Rablu as I'm aware of how grubby the buns can get! Victoriabunny - I suppose our situation is very different. We have lots of foxes and a garden which can't be made secure (it's a corner plot with a long fence bordering on a wild area). I also have a big lawn so luckily can move the eglu regularly. I may cover the grass near the rablu itself - who knows! And in the winter they will either be in the garage or on the patio. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi Tuffet have you bought yours yet i am still worrying about it for the reasons victoria bunny says but i think we will go for it - ours will be on patio in winter too, lots of people do seem happy with theirs and we also have the fox and non secure garden issue so i dont want them cramped up in hutch all day. i agree there are no decent run hutch combos that are fox proof and with big run keep me posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 oh ps are you planning on shuting them in eglu at night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Please don't shut them in at night. The inside of the eglu is much smaller than it appears from all the pictures - it looks massive in the photos but that's because the walls are really thick to insulate it. Inside it is tiny - a cat-litter tray just fits in the inside tray of the eglu. My mini-lops, when stretched out and relaxed, completely fill the space - to be honest I don't really see that a bigger bunny can live in the eglu as they could not stretch out fully in the house, which is how buns like to get comfy. Sorry if I'm unduly negative about the eglu but I was very excited with mine and was very disappointed with the actual product. A hutch has emerged to be much cheaper and better in terms of animal welfare in my opinion. There's just too much wrong with the eglu where rabbits are concerned - the water bottle is way too low for them to drink out of, the hay-rack is positioned directly over the food bowl which is just asking for hay to go into their eyes, they drag all their bedding out of the house every time they go in and out of it, you cannot get into the run to clean it beyond the first third which you can reach through the door (and it gets filthy - when they leave sticky poos about and squash them in...) If you search for hutches online there are some excellent ones which look pretty fox-proof to me - not all particularly cheap, but then the eglu is hardly a budget option! www.rossrabbits.co.uk has some good hutch recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi again i dont really agree that there are any decent hutches with runs attached all the runs seem really small and a fox could also dig under them? we looked at some over the weekend and they also seem like hutch would be hard to clean because of run blocking main door. i agree with the downsides you have pointed out, these are my concerns with getting the rablu but i also have concerns about all the hutch run combos i have seen too. there are some great standalone hutches but they dont fit what we want... i am getting two minilops too so presumably if they can stretch out that will be ok for sleeping time? we were going to put some other covered litter tray etc in the main run thanks for all your advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffet Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hello again Nutty! I'm planning to see a rablu on Tues, so will decide for sure then. I agree with you, making a wooden hutch and run safe is harder - you would still need to put mesh under to prevent burrowing (in and out!). And I'm sure the grass would deteriorate in no time, so rather defeating the point of putting them on the lawn at all. I priced the previously mentioned good-quality hutch/run and would have spent £300+ so might as well get rablu anyway! I'm sure I'll end up modifying it somehow but time is pressing - the bunnies need to get outside. I would not shut them in the rablu personally. I think you could make a very adequate shelter - expecially at night - by the use of shower curtain and possibly something insulating under - a blanket for example (colour co-ordinated with the rablu, of course). As I say, I might pop some flooring near the rablu entrance - a small piece of outdoor ply would work fine, especially with maybe some plastic under. You can see I've done plenty of bunny DIY! Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyaholic Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I shut my two bunnies in a rablu at night & they're fine. I know many would disagree with doing it, but Its routine for them and something I've done since I've had them - as we're concerned about urban foxes too. All i do is go at at a roughly set time each night with they're food and they're straight in. My bunnies don't seem bothered at all - and seem to settle quite nicely both snuggled up together and they both have room to stretch out too. I think it depends on the size of your rabbits - I've got a tiny netherland dwarf and a minilop and its big enough for them (just to be shut in a night - I'd never leave them in all day!). Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi thanks that is really helpful i would only shut them in cos of the foxes - ours are two minilops so i guess slightly bigger in total than yours but it is reassuring to know you can get them comfy in there Jan - I agree re modifications to the eglu we are up for doing that, agree that other built in runs would have same problems keep me posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 I really don't think you should be shutting them in at night. The eglu is way smaller than the RSPCA recommended sizes for hutches - it's 2.5 square feet internally, and a hutch that two rabbits are kept in overnight should be at least 5 x 2 feet. You wouldn't shut them in a box that size overnight, and it's the same principle. The run is designed to be fox-proof so there really shouldn't be a need - if you have to shut them in the eglu, you shouldn't have them in an eglu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckmomma Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Hi Have you seen this? You could extend the run and put paving slabs around it to deter foxes from digging into it. You can close the pop hole at night for extra security, and I think there would be room for a litter tray http://www.ideas-4-pets.com/pages-productinfo/category-247_197/product-1602/products-for-poultry-chicken-coops-and-runs-select-cages-covered-cottage-chicken-coop-sel.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffet Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Nutty - just wondering what you did in the end? We went for it (finally) and the rabbits took up residence yesterday. They are happily sunbathing. I have reinforced it somewhat - more for my peace of mind than because it needs it I think! I shall also think about extending it a bit with something detachable so they can be locked away during the night but have a bigger run during the day. They do seem happy enough though. The main advantage of the rablu from a human point of view is the ease with which it can be moved. I have invested in a plastic lawn rake (for the princely sum of £1.99!) which I shall use to brush any debris into the grass. And of course the shower curtain! It would be lovely to hear how you are getting on. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutty Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hi Jan After many many (!) hours of agonising we decided against the rablu and bought a hutch and run from ryedale hutches - rehutches.com - the price worked out about the same and we came to the conclusion that both the rablu and the hutch +run would be equally good so it just came down to a personal preference we got them a double hutch in log lap which is very pretty with storage for food etc above then an under run that fits onto the bottom which they have access to all the time we are very pleased with it and they are using their litter tray mostly so that makes cleaning out easier glad you have yours sorted sounds like you have got it all organised and our bunnies are all happy which is main thing (so spoilt aren't they!!) x Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 We have 2 mini lops too and we also have foxes. I know they may not like it at first but for the bunnys safty we have to shut them in at night. They do get used to it and have enough room. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffet Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Nutty - glad to hear you made the right choice for you. I don't think anyone has invented the perfect rabbit home, but different arrangements suit different circumstances don't they? If I had a different kind of garden I might well have gone for a smart hutch! Do like the purple rablu though. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I think the Cube would make a better Rablu...........you'd have to use a ramp and not the ladder though........ I use an Eglu without the roosting bars but without the run as they are in a large grass run next to the Hens and the whole area is protected by electric fence. We don't need to shut them up at night. We do use the first part of the run as a porch - it has the shower curtain over it and that is where we put their food and the water hangs on the mesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunniesrus Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 We have a rablu + extension with 2 dwarf buns - been about a year now. Problem is, the Eglu was designed (rather well) for chickens - Rabbits were an afterthought - and its not that suited to them. I cant help thinking that the brilliant designers at Omlet would have come up with something else if they had bunnies in mind. There isnt enough room for the buns to REAAALLY kick up their heels, run & jump. The big plastic hutch is just a toilet - they never go in otherwise. In winter (Yorkshire) they would die from exposure. To move the rablu / buns you need to catch them first... which means crawling right into the pen - in cold rain & mud - not easy for an adult. We grass turfed the 4.5'x 6' greenhouse in autumn! - the buns went in there from 1st frosts - and still go in if its really cold or seriously rain. Rest of the year its Rablu for them, but we clean & relocate the rablu every weekend. Bottom line is Rabbits are NOT low maintainance, and the Rablu is not a complete Rabbit home. ps: ONLY EVER GET A BUN FROM RABBIT RESCUE / RSPCA. sorry to rant on - but its a responsability if you are going to play God with another creatures life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
