Hutch Crutch
I "rabbit sat"
a French Lop in my apartment for a couple of months and she taught
me what a great house pet a rabbit can be! Then I found out that
rabbits can live years longer when they are kept inside.
Rabbits
can be well cared for and live in properly built hutches. They can live as long as an average house
rabbit or longer. The difference is the rabbits' owners visit frequently, put
the hutch in a protected area, take their rabbits out for exercise and give them
plenty
of social time with people, other rabbits or both.
Unfortunately,
parents
e-mail me to say their child has tired of their Easter rabbit who is in a hutch
out in the backyard and acting very aggressively during a daily feeding.
My advice is to spay or
neuter your rabbit and while it is recuperating bring it inside. Give your
rabbit all the care and attention you would give a
cat or dog. Amazing things happen! The rabbit all of a sudden is
"intelligent," "affectionate," "entertaining" and
has a "personality."
Ten Reasons NOT to put
your Bunny in a Hutch!
- Winter -
rabbits can freeze especially if they are solitary and can't snuggle up
together. Temperate climates work better for hutches.
- Summer -
rabbits can overheat and die. See Buns
in the Sun - it explains how to help your rabbit keep its cool.
- Predators -
even if the predator can't get to the rabbit, the rabbit can still die
from shock. I get e-mails from distressed rabbit owners that just
found their hutch bunny has passed away overnight without a scratch on it.
The vet can't find a reason.
- Wire floors -
most hutches have wire floors with trays under them. Wire floors make
it easy for someone in the rabbit production business to clean up after
them. A condition known as "sore hocks" is aggravated by the
wires that cut into the rabbit's feet. They need a resting board and a
litter box at the very minimum. Rabbit feet are not padded!
- Obesity - if
the rabbit is confined to a hutch and doesn't get exercise, it will get
overweight. This causes more problems. The cecotrophs (the soft
mucus covered waste) many not be redigested resulting in poor
nutrition. Or the cecotrophs fall through the wires and the rabbit
doesn't have a chance to eat them.
- Bone and Muscle Problems - without exercise and confined to a small place a rabbit
may develop bone and muscle deficiencies. Their bones will break
easier when handled.
- Boredom and
Depression - rabbits are very gregarious animals! They need
social interaction. A rabbit in a hutch may be forgotten outside
except for feeding. A rabbit kept like this can become aggressive because it isn't socialized to people or other
pets or even other rabbits.
- Toxic Building
Materials - Hutches are sometimes made with redwood (toxic to rabbits)
or other treated wood materials that a rabbit will naturally gnaw.
- Poor Construction -
Most hutches and cages are not large enough for the rabbit to really stretch
out completely and stand on it's hind legs without hitting the
ceiling. Some rabbits can even escape hutches with simple latches.
- Out of sight - Out
of Mind - the rabbit owner doesn't notice when the rabbit is sluggish or
listless or any other sign that the rabbit is sick.
The Best Reason: House Rabbits
can live an average of 8 to 13 years while a Hutch rabbit has an
average lifespan of 2 years!
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