Rabbits are great for keeping as pets. They are cuddly and joyful at the same time. Ensuring a safe and comfortable home for your cute bunnies is also essential. Come to think of it, some prefer a rabbit cage, and some people prefer a rabbit hutch. If you want to house your rabbits outside, you will need a rabbit hutch. But that is where the problem begins.
You will find a lot of ready-made rabbit hutch in the local pet stores. But sometimes you may feel they will not fulfill your needs. You may need a more massive bunny hutch. Today we are going to talk about, how to build a rabbit hutch at home. Mainly, this is mainly tutorial content. I Hope, you will fulfill your requirements by reading this content.
How to build a bunny hutch: Easy steps
A rabbit cage can always be a temporary solution for your bunnies. If you want to keep your rabbits indoors, you will need a rabbit cage. But if you have a bunch of bunnies, things might get a little messy. You will need to look for an outside solution.
A rabbit hutch is always the best choice in this case. Now, in this part of the content, we are going to guide you with some simple steps by which you will be able to build your own rabbit hutch.
1. First you need to make a blueprint
When it comes to building a rabbit hutch, it’s not just building a wooden frame. You need proper planning. Which means you need to plan a blueprint to get the job done. Planning the design is mandatory as it requires complete and accurate calculation.
First of all, you need to consider how many rabbits you will accommodate. After that, you will need to make the right calculation on the size of the hutch. So outdoor rabbit hutch plans for multiple rabbits are essential.
Whatever you build it doesn’t matter you need to make a hutch plan. These plans help us with getting the number of materials we need, the size we need, and many more additional requirements. After making a plan, you need to design your plan.
The first thing to overview is the number of rabbits you will accumulate in your hutch. Rabbits need enough room so that they can move around. They will need space at least 4 times more than their body size. As an example, if your rabbit is 13 cm long and its width is 25 cm, the bunny will need 4.2 square feet of room to move around. You need to think about whether you want to place a divider or not.
You will need to calculate how much wood you will need, how many rabbits you will accommodate, where you will put the hutch, and many more. One important thing I should mention is that, do not keep the depth of the hutch more than 30 cm. Otherwise, you will face difficulty in getting them out of the hutch.
2. Second step: Choosing your location
Choosing your rabbit hutch location is very important. After choosing your location, you will be able to make the perfect rabbit hutch plan for yourself. You will also find a lot of plans online, but choosing your location is very important.
Mainly, a rabbit hutch is used for accommodating multiple rabbits outside your homes. But if you don’t have any space outside, what will you do? Well, there is always a solution no matter which problem you face. You can use the space under the stairs, or alcove to make your hutch. Find any corner that you can use to build your hutch indoors.
3. Third step: Collect all the materials
You will need to collect all the necessary materials for building a hutch. You will need wood, plastics, wire mash, safe rabbit paint to build a rabbit hutch. You can use any wood you like. But I think pine or plywood is fine. Look for plywood or wood that has a light reddish or brown color. You can use plastic sheets as they are as great as building materials. Your hutch also needs a mesh section. Weldmesh is better as they have a beautiful finish than the chicken wire.
You can also use a coated mesh wire to make safe rabbit paint. You need your rabbit hutch to look beautiful and colorful. But one thing you should be careful about. Rabbits chew anything they find soft. So whatever materials you collect doesn’t matter as long as they do not affect the rabbit’s health. If you want to expose your rabbit hutch roof on different weather conditions, you should purchase shingles. Buy a sliding bolt lock mechanism for the doorway of the rabbit hutch.
4. Fourth step: Cutting your woods
Earlier we talked about the materials. After you have collected your wood, you will need to cut them in the right size. You will mainly need two cut-out pieces of wood — one piece for the roof and the other for the flooring. Buying a wood sheet is an excellent choice I think. You will cut the sheet according to your plan, and you will also be able to use the spare pieces for other building purposes later on.
First, measure the wood sheet according to your blueprint. Use a measuring tape to mark on the wood using a pencil or marker. The mark will determine where you will cut the wood. You can divide your wood into different sections. Measure them and mark them using a pencil or marker. For better results measure the mark two or more times.
After that cut the wood according to your marks, use a saw blade to cut your wood sheet. Align your saw blade with your measurement mark. Then cut the wood. If you are a beginner at cutting wood, take safety precautions. You should wear safety gloves for safety purposes. Your limbs position is an important thing while chopping wood.
Make sure they are in the right position. If you are not comfortable with a saw blade, you can use any electronic hardware. Or you can ask for help from a professional. It’s up to you.
5. Fifth step: Form your mesh
After cutting all the woods, you need to form the mesh. First, you need to choose your wire mesh pieces. In my personal opinion, 14 or 15 gauge galvanized wire is the best choice. As we mentioned above, the rabbit tends to chew on stuff.
So, this wire will not break even if the rabbit chews on it. Avoid using chicken wire on your rabbit hutch because it is not strong enough to hold rabbits. If you don’t want to go with this sort of problem, you can simply buy ready-made mash from any local pet store.
Use a pair of wire cutters to cut your wire mesh. Cut the wire mesh according to your plan. Cut the wire mesh for the barricade, the doorway, and many more places. You should cut them according to your plan and design.
6. Sixth step: Setting out the rabbit hutches basic structure
First, attach two of the width pieces and two of the long pieces together. Once you connect them, they will form a rectangular shape. The height and width pieces will stay on the opposite side of both. You will need two square shape pieces to create the basic structure.
After that, you will need to attach the two rectangular pieces. You should use wood screws to attach all the parts. Use single length pieces of wood to run it from the corner of one end to the corner of the other complete end. You should continue this process for 4 long pieces. So, at last, your rabbit hutch frames a three-dimensional rectangle.
7. Seventh step: Attach your mesh on the frame
Now you need to attach the wire mesh with the wooden frame. First, you need to rotate the frame as long as it is not positioned properly. By this way, you will understand how you will attach the wire mesh. Take the pieces of wire mesh and secure the mesh in one of the open spaces of the rectangular frame. You can use a staple gun to attach the mesh. Use a staple in every inch or so. Take a good look for any gaps.
Another thing to mention is that you need to hold the mesh tightly to get the best result. Attach mesh from bottom to top. You screw the roof on the head. You should screw the roof into the frame around the edges. The same goes for the flooring piece. You can use multiple plywoods to act as a divider. And do this carefully and according to your plan.
8. Eighth step: On with the door
Now you will need to make the door. This is one of the most important and challenging tasks for you. You should use a wire cutter and cut a small portion of your wire mesh. Now roll pieces of plastic trim over the edges of the cutout wire mesh. You can make a square wood frame for the door if you want. But if you do so, attach two hinges on it and then cover it using wire mesh. After that, you can install the door. You can also make a door using just wire mesh. You can attach the wire mesh door using staples. But going for a wood door is the best choice for me. Because a wire door is easy to create, but you will face difficulty in opening the door.
On the other hand, a wooden door consumes a lot of time creating. But they are sturdier and easy to open. You can also consider a simple latch for your entry.
9. Ninth step: Now off with the support posts
You will need a leg post for your rabbit hutch. First, flip your rabbit hutch upside down. Then, use 4 combinations of L-brackets and wood screws for the leg post base. Attach just a single leg on each of the corners. When do you say how to build a rabbit hutch? We say follow these steps.
10. Tenth step: Add other features
Now you need to attach the shingles and drainage on the rabbit hutch. Well, you necessarily don’t need a shingled roof on the rabbit hutch. But shingled roofs make the rabbit hutch long-lasting. To keep the hutch water protected, you need to consider the position of the shingles. Extend the shingles to overhang slightly if you are worried about drainage. Stacking them also creates a slight downward angle. You can also add a layer of tar paper under your shingles. This will make the rabbit hutch much more water protected.
11. Eleventh step: Locate position and secure your hutch
At the very beginning of the step process, we mentioned about choosing the perfect position for your rabbit hutch. You need a place where there is not too much cold or too much hot. The place needs to be well ventilated. Avoid the noisy and crowded areas and secure your hutch from predators. Because rabbits like beautiful and cozy area. They are delicate.
After placing your rabbit hutch on the exact position you want, you need to secure the support posts. You can do that by using concrete. Most hutches are heavy and generally don’t tip over. But if you are worried about the post-tipping over, you can use concrete to make them stable. Dig 4 holes, place the support legs and use concrete to give it stability.
12. Twelfth step: Setup your rabbit hutch
Now you can set up your rabbit hutch and accommodate your bunnies. Provide them bedding, food, water, and many more facilities they need to stay active and healthy.
What Kind of Wood Should I Use to Build a Rabbit Hutch?
The material you use to build the rabbit is very crucial for your rabbit’s healthy growth. So, you got to be careful about it. First and foremost, the materials must be nontoxic and chew proof.
In that case, using wood is an excellent option. Now you might be wondering, what is the best wood for a rabbit hutch? That’s a good question. Any untreated wood will do fine, for instance, plywood is a good option. Besides that, you can also use poplar and oak but never go for cedar.
Outdoor rabbit hutch plans for multiple rabbits
For those who want to fosterage multiple rabbits together then it is wise to build a big rabbit hutch. Cause, the maintenance will be easy also the cost will be efficient. To create an outdoor rabbit ark, at first, the owner has to decide how many rabbits he/she wants to accommodate.
Besides that, select the aim for creating the cage. For example: if one wants to make money by selling rabbits then, the suggestion is to: create a strong cage by spending some money because this will be long-lasting.
Or, if anyone wants to create the hutch for enlarging the collection then, the hutch should be like that. So, the number 1 thing is to ensure the aim. On that basis, we can suggest you that- it is easy to create a rabbit hutch by own, you just need the material, either you want to make that with wood or brick, maybe steel.
To make the statement more clear we are suggesting you some steps, they are:
First set your aim: Select the place where you want to install.
Make sure a sufficient flow of water and food supply.
How far the place is healthy for your rabbit?- Think about the comfort zone of your rabbit. Then, think either the plan will execute with wood or steel.
Frequently Asked Some Questions & Answers
Purchasing a rabbit hutch or build a rabbit hutch, which is better?
Build a rabbit hutch is still better than a ready-made hutch. Your rabbit will get more benefits from a homemade rabbit hutch.
How much will it cost to build a rabbit hutch?
It may cost 150-200$ to build a sturdy & high-quality rabbit hutch. But the cost of making rabbit cages is less expensive than hutch, you can build a right rabbit cage in 50-100$.
Can the rabbit be alone in the hutch?
Rabbits are very friendly; they usually cannot stay alone. So we recommend you to keep more than one rabbit, and as the owner, you should spend more time with your loving rabbit.
Does the rabbit need sunlight?
Must be needed, so keep your rabbit outdoors for some moments in the daytime, so design the hutch with enough ventilation.
And Finally…
So, how to build a rabbit hutch? We answered this question, and finally, we just reached a conclusion. You cannot deny that bunnies are cute as pets. But you need a safe home for them. If you own just one rabbit, you can go for a rabbit cage. But if you have multiple rabbits, you will need a rabbit hutch. You can make one yourself at home. But you will need to make a good plan and work according to the plan. We talked about the plans and steps you need to follow. I Hope, this will help you to make your desired rabbit hutch.
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