Just wanted to post some cute photos of Dustin enjoying his outdoor pen, we have moved into a new house now and he has heaps of room indoors to run around (2 whole rooms) but he always enjoys an hour or so a day out in his outdoor running eating grass and lying in the sun :). As you probably can see I have not got that many toys in his outdoor area just because whenever I have had toys he has little interest in them as he is more in there to eat grass and his toys just end up getting ruined outside.
Dustin's outdoor housing hasn't changed a huge amount, I have just detached the hutch from his run and have put it in the corner of the garden as I won't really be using it any more. Then I just closed up his exercise run.. which is also off trade-me and is 8 panels 60cm wide and 76cm tall, but I have netting over the top to protect Dustin from cats and stop him jumping out. I have just used simple garden netting I got from Mitre 10. I have put a couple of things in the exercise run.. he has a cat tunnel, his plastic castle, a box with openings cut into it and a egg carton to chew on, most of the time in there he just feasts on grass he also has a big bowl of fresh water always avalible :). So the new routine is each morning and evening he goes out in his exercise run for a couple of hours, unless the weather is really horrible!! It is nice for him to get some fresh air a bit of sun and grass... I also have a piece of tarpaulin over half of the exercise run so he can have some shade and protection from any rain. Exciting news Dustin's indoor set up is finally finished!! It is not as big as I would have wanted but it is a good size for him as he gets a lot of time out of it and for our small house at the moment it is big enough :). So I have a few photos, pretty much I just have a pet shop bought cage which I have placed inside a dog exercise pen. Now I got the pen off trade me as they are way cheaper from there then from petshops... I got it for about 50 buks (including shipping) and has 8 panels that are 60cm wide and 90cm tall so there is no way he is jumping over it!! I went for a bit of shop today to look for flooring to put on the floor of the exercise pen as I don't want him directly on the carpet as we are renting and he tends to dig and chew it.. so I went into carpetcourt and got a offcut of vinyl for like 20 buks which I just cut to size and placed in the pen so I was happy with that :) I also picked up some grip rubber mats from mitre10 for 3 dollars which I have put on some parts of the vinyl to give him a bit more grip but I have to keep an eye on him because I am afraid he is going to chew them up!! I bought some fleeces from the warehouse for 3 dollars each I have put one over the top of his cage to give him a bit of privacy in his cage and also cuz he likes to sit on top of it so means he doesn't have to sit on wires... I may also place one down on the vinyl but we will see because he really doesn't like towels or blankets so he will probably chew it up. Last of all I have covered half of the top of the exercise pen with a old sheet,, purely because I don't want him going ontop of his cage and then jumping out. Rabbits are actually very clean animals so it is important that their cages are kept clean and tidy, for health reasons as well it is important animals enclosures are cleaned regularly. My cleaning routine includes every day or every other day carrying out a spot clean of Dustin's toilet area, his bed area in his outdoor hutch and now that he is inside his litter tray, so this involves removing some of the dirty bedding and replacing it with clean bedding as well as giving him some fresh hay. I will also do a quick brush of the cage to remove any poos or kicked out bedding but Dustin is usually pretty good at keeping it within his litter tray. I then carry out a full clean once a week which involves washing out the cage/hutch and placing clean bedding in the bedding area/litter tray. I clean out Dustin's bowls each morning but I clean out his water bottle thoroughly once a week as well. I am personally not a huge fan of the use of disinfectants with rabbits as I don't always trust how healthy they are to use within the cage or hutch. Usually I will use very hot water and thoroughly scrub the dirty areas of the cage/litter tray. Recently I have been using a new product that has arrived here in NZ by KAYTEE which is a clean cage habitat deodorizer and I find it quite good for cleaning and giving the cage a good smell, it is non-toxic and leaves no residue and you simply spray it within the cage and wipe dry. With your own bunny you will come up with your very own cleaning routine just make sure you keep their cage clean and give it a thorough clean at least once a week :)
So you have got the cage sorted for your little bunny, you have sorted out the bedding and now what do you place within the cage?? I will admit I do not overall pack Dustin's outdoor hutch at the moment with accessories, I just find the things I hang in his cage he really does not touch. I do make sure there is a salt lick hanging in his cage, I don't think he uses it very often but it is there for him just in case. Other then this I usually have some wood chews hanging on the side of the cage which he doesn't really touch and some toys hanging around. I think the most important accessory is a hay rack of some kind, I have a wood one as well as metal one.This allows you to provide your bunny with hay that is cleaner then the stuff available in the toilet area. Within Dustin's exercise pen I always provide him with a cat tunnel, bell balls for him to throw around, boxes for him to chew on and hide in as well as this great plastic castle that he loves to sit on. When I get his exercise pen all set up indoors he will likely have a few more toys, I find he easily amuses himself in an outdoor pen with digging and grazing but indoors he may be more keen on some toys. I will eventually get pictures of his indoor and outdoor pen all set up with this accessories :) Litter training is a great idea for bunnies and can make your life a lot easier when clean up time comes along!! Rabbits are naturally clean animals and will normally choose a corner in their cage to go toilet in. Litter training is relatively simple... place a litter tray with some bedding and hay in the corner your rabbit normally goes in, place some dirty bedding in the litter tray and your rabbit should quickly pick up on its new toilet area. Rabbits will go toilet as they eat so it is important that wherever you are planning to place the litter tray that there is plenty of hay around for your rabbit to munch on. There are many corner 'rabbit' litter trays available at pet stores but I find these far to small for rabbits, I have purchased a number of large cat litter trays for Dustin and you may need something slightly larger for multiple rabbits. As I mentioned in the bedding post I am planning to use a mix of pine and carefresh bedding in the litter tray in order to get him use to using a litter tray but after that I may use more of the carefresh because I find it a lot more absorbent. Like most animals with rabbits the younger the animal the easier to litter train but it is not overly difficult to train an older rabbit and rabbits are overall pretty easy to litter train... well I hope so I will find out soon with Dustin!!! Ill attach some photos of the litter trays I have purchased for Dustin :)
Often I get asked what kind of bedding is the best stuff for rabbits in their cages and I do think it is relatively dependent. It is important to get a bedding that is low in dust and absorbent, rabbits can be prone to respiratory issues so less dust is better and rabbit urine is strong smelling so it is good to have an absorbent bedding especially with an indoor rabbit. In the bed area of Dustin's outdoor hutch I place newspaper, a mix of pine bedding and carefresh bedding and then I put a lot of hay on the top of it as Dustin goes toilet in there and it is where he eats most of his hay. When I move him inside I will be placing similar bedding in his litter tray so it is a similar toilet area for him to get him use to using a litter tray. It is important that you regularly remove dirty bedding from your rabbits toilet area and give the area a thorough clean at least once a week, rabbits are actually very clean animals and they like having a nice clean cage. Always top up the hay that is within or near the rabbits toilet areas as this hay will be what they eat the most.
Now indoor housing is a new idea for me.. I have always had rabbits outdoors but due to the fact Dustin is on his own for now and he doesn't have enough space outdoors I have decided to move him indoors as of next week, so I can give him more attention and more room. This means I have bought a 100cm petshop indoor rabbit cage which I will be attaching a run to, but he will also have free roam of the house when we are home. Now indoor rabbits are good as they are protected from the elements and predators, they tend to have longer lifespans and are able to be given more attention then outdoor counterparts. Rabbits are also easily litter trained, which I will do a post on later to go over how you teach them etc, and are extremely clean animals making them great indoor pets. There is a need for bunny proofing the house and supervision though as they like to chew things like your electrical wires, carpet, lino and walls! When placing a rabbit cage inside make sure it is out of direct sunlight or drafts, not directly near heaters, smoke can be harmful to rabbits so not to close to kitchens and somewhere relatively quite especially during the day as rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk and so sleep for most the day. I will attach a photo of my indoor setup when I get enough money to buy the pen next week... very exciting!! Dustin will not be fully indoors though we will have his other pen still set up outdoors and I will most likely have him out there in the mornings and evenings for some grass and fresh air :)
The next important thing when owning a rabbit is what you are going to house it in. A hutch is not enough is a saying thrown around a lot with passionate rabbit people and it is very true, we can no longer justify keeping a rabbit in a tiny hutch in the back of the garden with little attention and exercise. Now most of the time the cages and hutches that are sold for rabbits in pet stores are not big enough, but that does not mean they can't be useful with some upgrades. I personally have an pet store hutch for my own rabbit which he loves but it always has a extra large dog exercise pen attached to it. I would love to provide Dustin with bigger and better outdoor accommodation but am currently limited with the house we are in and having issues with stray cats getting into his pens and harassing him so I have had to downgrade the pen size unfortunately, will attach a photo of current set up. So when choosing a cage for your own rabbit it is important your rabbit is able to stand up, stretch out when lying down, turn around and able to do 4 hops along the length of it, often cages like this are hard to find so sometimes it is easier to make your own or upgrade a store bought cage. I find exercise pens to be a really good thing to purchase for rabbits, they are good for attaching to hutches and also for setting up safe controlled areas indoors or outdoors where your bunny can have some free time. Remember to purchase pens that are tall enough to prevent rabbits from jumping out as they are impressive jumpers, I recommend a pen over 75cm tall and even then to place some covers over it to keep rabbits in and other animals out. I find exercise pens through trademe are the much cheaper option then in stores, you can find good ones between 30-50 buks, and I found garden netting to work well as covers to go over the tops.
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