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Introduction
As small as rabbits are, they can be an adorable addition to any household.
When you do decide to make a rabbit a part of the family, make sure you will provide them with a safe and cozy place to call home.
Below is some necessary information about how to set up for your bunny. We believe it will help you with the happy days ahead.
How to set up for your bunny?
The most common type of hutch for rabbits is outdoors hutch. It makes a very natural and traditional means of housing for rabbits.
However, it is better to place hutches indoor to keep our fluff balls from predators.
The indoor location would also guarantee that our family interacts more with the rabbit, make this little one happier as a social creature.
As you set the housing and hutch for rabbits, keep in mind a few things:
Set up your rabbit in a sheltered location. Ensure neither severe weathers nor predators can get to it.
On the other hand, it is advisable to place the rabbit in a common place where family members can see and interact with him.
It can be in the living room, the kitchen or the entertainment room.
Remember to educate everyone in the house on how to pick up your bunny and how to clean your bunny and keep their belongings out of the bunny’s naughty claws to prevent the unwilling attack.
Some enthusiasts advise us to use the central place of our home to place the rabbit. A puppy pen is sufficient to keep the rabbit, as long as you use the whole corner of the room for it.
The hutch or the pen should be spacious enough to provide space for:
- 1 litter box
- One food bowl
- 1 water bowl
- and 1 hay box
- 1 cardboard house
The rabbit would also need plenty of room to hop around in.
How to choose a good house for the rabbit?
Between a cage and a pen, it is always better to use a pen for your rabbit.
It gives the animal more room, and we can always adjust it easily to suit our needs.
A lot of adopters find that it is more convenient to increase the area inside the pen gradually as the rabbit becomes more active.
Eventually, it gives the bunny a free rein if we decide to make the room bunny-proofed.
Moreover, puppy pens should have doors, which is a plus because the bunny can exercise easier that way.
Modify the room to welcome the bunny
It is already quite a feat to set up the main housing location for the rabbit.
However, there’s still more to be done!
Modify the area around the hutch will not only keep the rabbit safer but also save you a lot of frustration in the future.
A rabbit is an active animal, meaning it will romp, rumble and play around.
If the surrounding areas have electric sockets, make sure that they are covered with wire protectors.
Lift all cords out of reach, at least 3 or 4 feet.
Bunnies are naturally drawn to wooden furniture legs, books/stray papers, remote control buttons, moldings, rug corners, and basically anything else available to chewing.
There are many cases when people carelessly leave these things around the pen, thinking that the bunny won’t be able to reach.
However, as it accommodates to the new house, the stress would urge the bunny to thrust his teeth in. The disaster is bound to happen when you are not around to take control.
What to put inside a rabbit hutch?
We will need to equip the inside of our rabbit hutch with a few important items to bring the rabbit more familiarity with the surroundings, thus preventing stress and fighting.
Litter box
Bunnies are quite smart, and they can learn to use a litter box well.
Upon settling inside the new house, any bunny will choose a corner of the cage/pen to do the deed.
As soon as you acknowledge the spot, like in the corner with newspaper, place a litter box there. We recommend lining the litter boxes with scraps or paper.
Avoid materials with scents like wood shavings from pine and cedar wood, because it can affect the rabbit’s liver enzymes terribly.
Clay litter materials are also dangerous because they often cause respiratory and digestive problems.
Remember to change the litter daily. The rabbit would be a lot happier living in a hygienic and fresh location.
Hay
Hay is a vital ingredient in the diet of a rabbit.
If you want to keep your bunny guts healthy, don’t forget to maintain an unlimited amount of hay at all times.
As you may already know, a rabbit keeps munching on hay regardless of what it might be doing.
Therefore, experts recommend us to place the hay box near the litter box.
If our rabbit is new, place the hay box after it is accommodated with the litter box.
Water box
A bunny keeps himself healthy by drinking a lot of water.
Therefore, having a water box inside the hutch is one thing you should pay most mind to.
A water bowl is barely acceptable because it will surely get dirty when the rabbit does his daily things.
Seasoned rabbit owners always use the water bottles to hang from the side of the cage.
It supports the cony to access water through a valve. There are all types of water bottles or boxes. The best bottles are stainless steel ones.
Rabbits might be small, but their teeth are surely mighty weapons that can only be harness by sturdy materials.
Food bowl
Likewise, food bowls or feeding bowls inside a rabbit’s hutch should also be made from ceramics or stainless steels.
Aside from food palettes, rabbits also feed on dark leafy greens, so make sure you know how to feed your bunny and have a separate bowl for these kinds of veggies.
Exercise area
Rabbits are naturally active creatures.
In fact, without abundant work out time, they would cause disasters with their gnawing tendencies.
To keep the bunny preoccupied, put plenty of appropriate toys inside the hutch. For example grass, wicker balls, digging box and a hiding house made of cardboard.
Some people even use thick boos or telephone directory for the rabbit to chew to his heart content.
Sleeping box
For a human, the sleeping room could easily be the most important place in the house, hence for a rabbit.
Our bunnies don’t need many fancy beds, only a metal box lined and filled with straw is more than enough, you can even try hand made grass bed.
Buy these boxes ready-made. The medium size is 16 inches long by 10 inches wide by 8 inches high for a medium-sized rabbit.
Once you have the rabbit’s cage set up, then it’s time we moved the long-awaited angel in.
Check your bunny health
Bunny is one of the most loved house pets for a number of reasons.
They can be affectionate like dogs, but at times they are independent no less than the cats.
Their personalities help soothe us a lot because they never hide whether they are happy with the environment they are living or not.
If you want to know if the bunny is healthy and happy in its new home, look for these things:
Licking and grooming
Bunnies love grooming!
They can spend hours and hours on end, grooming and licking each other.
If your bunny is happy with the new home and considers you a family member, he just might start licking you. This is the beginning of the ultimate trust between you and your pet.
Hopping and doing binkies
A cony is nothing but a hopper. Seeing a rabbit hopping means that the creature is enjoying himself around you.
People just love bunnies for this positivity. Cheering bunnies can jump really high in the air, and kicking its feet so fast that it can twist its body like a dancer.
Chinning
Rabbit has biological glands under their chins that can emit a scent. When the bunny is rubbing his chin on you, he is basically marking you as his.
This behavior appears to be similar to felines. Brushing the chin on properties to claim.
It is also a different way to say “hooman! I love you. You are mine and I am yours.” So, don’t ignore but respond back with a soft voice and cuddling.
How to Tell If Your Bunny Is Happy and Healthy?
If the new house is not to their liking, or there is anything that makes the bunnies uncomfortable, they might:
Thump: Rabbits instinctively thump when they sense danger or feel unhappy. They might even try to catch your attention to their rescue by thumping or jumping.
Grunt: They also tend to grunt against threats Or, they can grunt to catch others’ attention.
Squeal: Like a human, rabbits squeal when they get frightened.
Bunny Supply Checklist
Below, we have provided a list of amenities that you will need to set up for your bunny. Remember to print this out so you won’t miss anything:
- Indoor housing: Get a puppy pen or indoor bunny pen that is at least 36 inches so your cony can’t jump out.
- Puppy pen/ Baby gates: Use these to block off the area. We suggest using metal ones, or you can invest in a high-quality bunny hutch.
- Floor proofing (optional): You may want to use chair mats to proof the floor in the sunny areas. Hard plastic ones are alright.
- Cords covers: Use plastic sleeves to gather them conveniently to your walls, or flex tubings to cover the bundles at once.
- Litter box: You can use a shallow container or a medium-sized cat litter box for this purpose. Or you can always buy one at the rabbit pet store.
- Litter linings: The cheapest and safest option is recycled newspaper pellet, made from unscented recycled paper.
- Food bowls: Deep ceramic dishes are heavy so your rabbit won’t be able to either chew on or flip them over.
- Hay feeder (Optional): It keeps hay fresh and available to the bunny all the times.
- Food: It is best to purchase hay from a local farmer (you can ask on Craiglist or Facebook). If that is not possible. You can also purchase hay and pellets from pet stores.
- Cardboard box: Your rabbit would very much enjoy a cardboard castle, you can easily cut out a large cardboard box to make doorways and windows out of it.
- Toys: We can use woven grass balls to satiate munching tendencies. Seagrass mats are not only delicious and distracting for the rabbits, but can also be used to cover areas. More specialized options include wood and rope activities.
- Hygiene care: Aside from special litter materials, you should also disinfect and air out the cage weekly. Even you have already known how to clean your bunny’s cage, a friend’s help is still appreciated in this case to prevent the bunny from freaking out as it is temporarily removed from its new house.
- Nail clippers: Not only their teeth need taking care of, but bunnies’ nails also need regular clipping.
Is your house ready for the new cony?
That is how to set up for your bunny for the best reaction of his first time living with a human.
Preparing a home for a new pet needs love and care. Place your heart into the task, you will see how recreational it is.
As you finally see your rodent hopping confidently by your side, that is a rewarding feeling to have a happy healthy rabbit to spend a life with.