On Kids , Rabbits And Rabbit Hutches. Or How To Keep Your Kids Happy

Children just love having a pet, and there’s dozens of different types of pets to choose from. There’s big and small, but many parents who are choosing a pet for their child would prefer to choose a small animal. And one of the best small pets for kids is a rabbit. Lets see why rabbits make such great pets, and let’s talk about some tips for building your own rabbit hutch to house that first rabbit for your kids.

Rabbits make wonderful pets for kids. They are very social, fun to be with and love spending time with people. They can be house trained so you don’t need to worry about mess, and kids love a rabbit as a pet. A pet rabbit generally lives around 10 years so you need to understand that once you have a pet rabbit you will have one for quite some time.

A rabbit can be easy and cheap to feed. You can buy simple rabbit pellets at the pet shop and they will also with a range of green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli leaves as well as hay and some fruits.

But before you rush out and buy a pet rabbit for the children you need to spend a little time thinking about housing their rabbit. You need to buy, or build, a cage for the rabbit, or what is technically known as a rabbit hutch. This is a cage which allows your rabbit to be housed in comfort whilst still being able to browse on grass outdoors if they wish, and which keeps him protected from predators.

Most rabbit hutches are made from timber and wire. Rabbits are generally housed outside and most rabbit hutch are portable enough to be moved around. There is a compartment that is protected from the weather so the rabbit can be comfortable and dry while sleeping and there is also an area to allow your rabbit to hop around for exercise and nibble on the grass.

If you’re using wire on the floor of the rabbit cage you need to understand that rabbits don’t like to walk on wire. If the hutch is placed on the ground and the wire is in contact with the ground the rabbit will be fine but if the rabbit hutch is lifted off the ground, which is a good idea again for cold weather to avoid the rabbit getting sick from dampness, then you will need to cover the wire something that makes it easier for him to walk on such as hay.

If you’ve decided to use wire then it works well allowing the droppings to fall through the wire, making cleaning easier. But again if the hutch is off the ground use a material like slats that allow the rabbit droppings to fall through but which doesn’t hurt the rabbits feet.

It’s not essential to use wire, you can use wood or metal. Wood will usually soak up urine and smell, so metal works better and is easier to clean. But a solid floor doesn’t allow your rabbit to eat the grass.

There are varying opinions about the size of the rabbit cage that you use. I have seen suggestions that a cage that is 4 times the size of the rabbit is adequate. Personally I think a rabbit hutch only 4 times the size of the rabbit is way too small and does not allow the rabbit to move around much for exercise. I would never house a rabbit in a cage that small. Bigger is always better, but if your rabbit hutch is very small you must ensure that you take your rabbit out daily to play and exercise on the grass.

And you need to clean the hutch and replace the hay each day, so you need a good door on it that allows this.

A rabbit is an excellent pet for kids. Do your research on rabbit breeds, and give yourself plenty of time before you buy one to sort out a solid, effective and well built rabbit hutch.

It’s not hard to build your own rabbit hutch, that’s part of the fun.