Poorly chicken

[ecudc]

I am a trustee for a rabbit rescuce and we would not home to the rabbit eglo. Our minimum standards for a hutch are 5ft by 2ft by 2ft with a 6ft run for use during the day and if properly fox proofed, accessible at night too. Our guidelines as such are to allow a good two or three hops by a normal sized rabbi. t It would be OK as a base for a house rabbit who free ranges in a larger room day and night.

[bethany]

I have two adult rabbits, a rex who is much bigger than others I have seen and a dutch. I am seriously considering buying an eglu for them as they love the chicken version and they refuse to come out of it. However now I'm worried that they're won't be enough room for them and that I won't be able to clean out the run. Does anyone have any advice? My buns already have an immense 3 storey hutch and have full range of my garden when the chickens aren't out because they get bullied for food so they have plenty of space, its the insulation that makes me most consider an eglu

[pepe]

Hi Bethany, don't know if I will be of any help, but I think its down to personal circumstances, I had a two tier wooden hutch, with a homemade 8ft run, we had a big garden and plenty of grass area, I bought a rablu, 3 years ago, me and the buns loved it, I got the extension and another play pen type thing for extra space during the day. However we have since moved, much smaller garden all decked we sold the extension, for lack of space, but my buns free range in the garden til dark, even when im at work, we are lucky as I've never spotted any foxes and we have 6ft fencing. My problem now is during wet weather they only have a little dog bed and 2 tree stumps to sit on out of the wet, they never shelter in the rablu, just eat in there. So im considering selling my rablu, not decided yet, to get a 6ft double decker hutch, they would have just as much floor space, and at least be sheltered during wet spells. So thats my situation, as people have said it depends what set up you have, sorry to go on, hope you find an answer soon.

[catherinee99]

It's personal choice and depends on the rabbits too. My 3 are happy in their rablu. They were housebunnies and are now loving the sunshine and the rain.

 

They are happy going into the eglu when they want more food but spend most of their time grazing on the grass. The run with underwire is messy when the bedding spreads all over the run but I am not fussed about the lawn otherwise I would not be putting rabbits and chickens on it!

 

I use a rake to get up the shredded paper and hay and it is quite neat. the rablu gives me piece of mind that they are safe when I am at work. They run into the eglu itself for treats and a cuddle and I find it works well. I move the run every other day as they are so effective at trimming the grass. I was never happy with a wooden/wire run especially when it got older and a bit rickety.

 

My rabbits bounce around kicking their heels and having a great time. I have a minilop, netherland dwarf and a dutch. There is a plenty of room and they choose to sit/lie on each other in a heap anyway- as do wild rabbits in a warren.

[bethany]

Thanks for answering my questions so soon, I'm selling my current hutch so I need to make a decision pronto. How much of a problem is bad weather for the rablu? I have bark chippings down in the garden, if I placed some sort of concrete slabs/wood/non-chewable plastic outside the actual house part so that when it rained they had somewhere to sit without getting filthy and wet do you think that would make a difference? I've noticed that when they're in the hutch they don't hardly use any of the space anyway, they just sit kissing each other in their bed so I don't think space will be too much of a problem.

[The Dogmother]

I use a plastic cover over the run (shower curtain) and it keeps my girls lovely and dry and snug.

[koo2cat]

We have only had our 2 Rex rabbits since June and our now on our 2nd Hutch. We considered the Rablu but felt the sleeping bit wasn't big enough for 2 medium rabs! We think we have found the perfect solution.

 

We tried a large 2 tier hutch but felt the ramp took up alot of floor space on both levels, plus the woodshavings and straw got kicked everywhere when then went up and down it. So we then bought the "Lavender Lodge" from Pets at home which is a VERY large single storey hutch. It is fantastic! They have loads of space to stretch out both up and sideways and can run around chasing each other. During the day we put them in their 6ft by 4ft galvenised run on the lawn. This is fantastic too! Half of it is covered with plastic shade to keep them dry if really wet and they have a small wooden house in there plus plastic tunnels etc. We put them back in their hutch when we go to bed. The run is pegged down and we to move it every couple of days to prevent over grazing. It only takes a minute to move them from hutch to run and works really well for us. I got the run off the internet and would highly recommend it as it has two large openings on the top and one on the side plus two smaller openings if you wanted to link it t a hutch. They are completely safe in there and it is big enough for my 3 girls to climb in and be with the rabbits!!!!

[pepe]

Thanks for the tip, Im changing from the rablu to a hutch, as my buns are on decking and getting a little wet, Im going to get a 6x2ft double story, I dont use shavings. I like you have a similar run, very versatile my buns freerange all day, lucky buns! So glad you have got things sorted, by the way I love rex bunnies!