Rabbits can provide a lean source of meat for the self reliant family. They are quiet and relatively simple to raise. In this extensive article we're going to cover everything you could want to know about rabbit hutches. 

A Premium Rabbit Hutch Delivers Safety and Comfort with Aesthetic Appeal

The two most important words for any bunny are safety and comfort - and a premium rabbit hutch provides both. Hutches have come a long way since the early 1900s when they were made of a lot of chicken wire and whatever old boards could be scrounged up. 

What’s the big deal about a premium rabbit hutch over what hutches used to be from hundreds of years ago? When you buy a premium hutch, you get an added bonus that makes a difference to the rabbit and to you as well. Your rabbit will be able to have a great place to eat and sleep while you’ll get the peace of mind in knowing that you’ve provided the very best home for your pet. 

Some hutches tout safety appeal, but really aren’t that safe at all. They’re poorly constructed and at the first test of bad weather or someone pushing on them, they collapse. Or they don’t keep the bunny safely inside the hutch and you come home to a trail of droppings and chewed up legs on the furniture. 

Still other hutches claim to be safe and usually do stand up to that claim. But when they arrive and you put them together, they’re such an eyesore, you feel like you have to keep it covered because it’s so hideous! You might have seen a few of them and they were so ugly, you wondered what the designer was thinking. 

There is a solution. You don’t have to trade looks for safety. A premium rabbit hutch can be both safe and appealing - you don’t have to settle for one over the other. The good news about this hutch is that you can use it outdoor because it’s sturdy and offers protection from outside elements and attackers but it’s pretty enough to use inside as well. You wouldn’t be embarrassed to have your friends or family see it sitting inside your home. 

There are some really cute hutches that resemble coffee tables. They’re made with a top quality lumber and if not for the door letting the rabbit in and out, it’s hard to recognize as a rabbit hutch. Then there are those that look like decorative little barns that can keep your bunny happy for as long as he lives. 

You can settle for a hutch that won’t meet the lasting requirements you want it to meet. You can settle for a hutch that won’t meet be very attractive either. Or you can let both needs meet in one hutch. A premium rabbit hutch does the job it was designed to do but looks good while doing it. 

Beware of Cheap Rabbit Hutches That Leave Your Pet Vulnerable

Cheap rabbit hutches save you money, but only in the beginning of your investment. In the end, they cost you more because you’ll have to replace it - and your rabbit. Your bunny can be vulnerable to a host of different factors - from not having enough space, to being caged in the wrong kind of environment to being an easy target to a wily predator. 

A hutch for the rabbit isn’t just a house for him. It’s what will save his life when the animals higher up on the food chain come calling. All you have to do to see how many hutches are available for sale is to do a quick search. 

One browser brought up over half a million search results. You can bet that a lot of those results contain homes that aren’t suitable for any pet much less a rabbit. As a pet owner who wants to look out for the safety of your pet, you want to provide him with the best quality home you can afford. 

What is meant by cheap rabbit hutches? Any hutch that’s meant to be a temporary housing for a baby bunny is considered to be cheap. It wasn’t built to last. The materials aren’t sturdy enough for a full-grown rabbit and the amount of space isn’t large enough for an adult rabbit either. 

These kinds of hutches usually don’t take into consideration the health needs of the bunny. This is how rabbits end up with sore hocks and other painful areas on their body. So the first clue you’ll get if a hutch is cheap will be if it’s too small for a full grown bunny rabbit. 

Don’t think that buying a hutch means you have to shell out a ton of money in order to get one that suits your rabbit and keeps him safe. There are many safe choices that are reasonably priced. 

Look up some background information on the housing you’re thinking of getting. Check out the manufacturer of the hutch. Do they have a money back guarantee? Will they stand behind their product and offer any safety updates or changes if need be? Are other buyers happy with the product? 

Cheap rabbit hutches can masquerade as a decent hutch by having a lot of showy pieces to it but don’t be fooled. Look for quality wood, workmanship and parts that make up the hutch. Also see if the hutch has one area for sleeping for the rabbit and one for a litterbox. 

A decent hutch will offer these spaces apart from one another. To make buying a home for your bunny easier, have a list of the features you want in a hutch and features that your pet rabbit needs before you go shopping. 

Buy a Rabbit Hutch and Run Together to Save Money

Your pet bunny will need a rabbit hutch and run so that he can have both the comfort and the exercise he needs. If you buy both together, you’ll end up saving money in the long run. 

Even though many hutches are quite large, for their physical and emotional, rabbits need to be able to move freely about. They need to have that freedom yet at the same time, because they are small animals that can be targets for other animals such as cats or foxes, so they must be protected. They also need that fresh air and sunshine. 

It’s never a good idea to let a bunny alone in a yard. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can take your pet out of a hutch and turn him loose in a fenced in backyard and he’d be fine. 

Predators can get over or under a fence to get to a rabbit. The purpose of a rabbit run is to keep him safe from harm. The run is usually made of wire mesh or chain link fence material. The spaces between the wire are made so that the rabbit can’t get a foot caught up in the wire. 

When you get a rabbit hutch and run check with the manufacturer details on the kind of lumber or other materials that were used to make the run. Know ahead of time what’s safe for your bunny to be around and what’s not since some wood is toxic to a rabbit. 

A good wood to use in a run is fir wood that’s not been treated with any kind of sealant that has a noxious fume to it. You’ll want the run you purchase to have an access door for you to be able to get to the bunny easily but you’ll want that door to be sturdy enough so that if he pushes against it, the latch won’t spring open. 

A run that’s too small defeats the purpose. A good rule of thumb to follow when considering what size run to get is to make sure it’s at least twice the size of a medium hutch, which would be about 36 inches in width. 

Some runs come with flooring but most do not which allows owner to simply move the hutch to a new area in the yard if the ground becomes muddy or is no longer suitable for the pet. 

Having flooring on a run is a matter of personal preference but being able to nibble on untreated grass and be on a natural setting is more of a treat for the bunny than using synthetic means. 

Your pet needs both a rabbit hutch and run already in place before you bring him home. He’ll want to familiarize himself with his surroundings and the sooner he learns he’s home, the more secure he’ll feel. Buying a hutch and run that you can just assembly can give you that convenience factor as well as save you money. 

Buy a Rabbit Hutch for Sale Online and Get Free Shipping!

You can get a rabbit hutch for sale on a ton of sites online but have you checked out the cost of getting it shipped to your house? Talk about expensive! Some of the shipping costs are almost as much as the price of the hutch. With the economy going on the way it’s been lately, who wants (or needs) to hand over money just for shipping and handling? 

There are companies online that appreciate your business so much that if your order reaches a certain amount of spending, they’ll eat the cost of shipping the product to you. Now that’s what you can call smart business sense. 

They want your business badly enough to want to get the product to you! Some things you can order online you don’t really think about the shipping because the item is small and it’s only a few bucks at the most and who doesn’t have a dollar or two to hand over for a wanted item? 

But take a rabbit hutch for sale online and that’s a different story. First of all, the materials in the hutch can make them a little on the heavier than normal side. That’s not a problem if you happen to live right next door to the place selling the hutch. 

You can just zip over in your car or truck and pick it up. It’s a problem when you order one online and then go to checkout and the shipping is so costly it makes you not want to buy the item. But you need it so you feel like you’re kind of over a barrel. 

Perhaps you’ve always done business with the same gardening or pet shop online and you know them and they know you. But they’ll still charge you to get their product. Sometimes, there’s no loyalty or discounts when it comes to making a profit at any expense. 

If that’s the case, forget loyalty to the company that won’t look out for you, you need to do a little shopping around. You can go to a company online that will pay to ship you the product and will even pay for shipping back to them if you don’t like the item! 

Now you can find some companies that have a rabbit hutch for sale and they’ll offer you free shipping up to a certain amount. For example, you see a hutch that you’d like to buy. The hutch costs about $140. You see that they offer free shipping. 

But when you read the fine print, you see that it reads, ‘up to x amount of dollars’ or ‘up to x amount of weight’ and of course, that x is usually for something costlier and heavier than what you bought. Go with a company that will give you free shipping and a great price. You and your pet bunny will both be happier. 

Give Your Pet More Space With a Rabbit Hutch Run

Any responsible pet owner will tell you that your bunny needs a rabbit hutch run. If you take home a starter kit when you buy your rabbit, it’ll consist of a small cage and some supplies intended for you to be able to care for your rabbit right away. But those should only be considered a temporary measure. 

A rabbit needs to have regular exercise routine to maintain good health and those that lead a caged, sedentary life fall into poor health. Bunnies that don’t have the freedom they need to hop and move about can develop an apathy toward doing anything at all and due to their declining mental and physical health, they don’t live as long as rabbits that are cared for in a correct manner. 

Like people, rabbits that lie around most of the day and don’t have the space to move about, they tend to get fat. Not just a small spare tire, rabbits that don’t have the room to move can get quite obese. 

You only have to look at the sides of the rabbit to tell he’s packing on the pounds. When a pet lies around all day with nothing to do, it’ll naturally eat more. Sometimes out of boredom - also like people do - and sometimes because the food is there and gives it something to do. 

Without the benefit of a rabbit hutch run, your bunny can develop problems like heart failure, brittle bones, skin infections and feet malformations. Their quality of life is greatly diminished.   

New rabbit owners often think that the cute little wire cages they see bunnies in are suitable environments to keep the bunnies in. They might even believe that rabbits are easy to care for and low maintenance animals suitable for a small environment but rabbits need a higher level of care than a simple cage can provide. 

Rabbits that get daily exercise are happier and not as likely to be aggressive. Bunnies are not by nature aggressive but can develop the trait due to the frustration they feel by having to remain so long in such cramped quarters. 

Not only does the ability to run and hop help give your pet a good disposition and a healthier life, but the opportunity to be outside and eat grass can also improve digestion and keep his bowels moving on a regular basis. 

When you set up the run, don’t place it on an area of the yard that’s been treated by any chemicals or you can make the bunny get sick. Double check to make sure all the latches are properly secure once you put your pet into the new home. A rabbit hutch run gives your pet a safe environment from the weather as well as predators where he can enjoy his days.