outdoor rabbit hutch

2 of 2 people found this post helpful

Post Reply | Watch this Post

Moderator Post: > Rabbit Hutch Plans by Handyman on 10/28/2004

Rhea,
Your requirements for an outdoor hutch together with connection to indoor area is beyond what I have done, but maybe I can help. The hutch I have made for our bunny is about 25 feet long, 3 1/2 feet wide, and 2 1/2 feet high. It includes an underground burrow or den where bunny can be protected from the elements, as well as from predators (not that they can get through the cage).
Here's what I did. I dug a big, deep hole in my backyard. Then I made a box out of old scrap wood, cut holes big enough for bunny on both sides, and wrapped the whole thing in chicken wire (obviously, I had to cut the wire over the holes after wrapping). I found some plastic drainage piping, about 6 inches in diameter, wrapped it in c-wire, then dug an inclined trench leading down to where the box's entry holes would be.
I put the box in the pit, put the "tunnel" in place, placed plastic sheeting over the box and its sides, then piled earth on top. Because of the displacement of the box, I actually wound up with a big mound of earth, which dragon loves to lie on top of and sun himself.
Then I bought chicken wire. I know, I know, most "experts" tell you to avoid chicken wire (thinking it's not comfortable for bunny I guess), but hear me out. The rabbit doesn't mind the chicken wire (hereinafter referred to as "c-wire"), because the wire (the floor part at least) is on the ground. It lies nice and flat and now that the grass has grown through it, you can't even see it. And I very much doubt that bunny can feel it beneath him. It's there to prevent him from digging out, and predators from digging in, and it works perfectly.
The c-wire, bought in 25 foot lengths, 4 feet wide, is stitched together using tie-wraps (a.k.a. cable- ties), every 3 inches or so. First I laid a 25 foot length of c-wire flat on the grass (making sure to cut away the wire from his tunnels), then I hammered 2x2 posts into the ground through the c-wire (near the edges, every four feet), until the post were at the height I wanted. Then, I cut some 2x2 cross pieces, which I placed on top of each set of posts, then nailed them in place. So what I had then was kind of like wickets or rectangular arches every 4 feet.
Okay, so from there, I took 8' long pieces of 1x2 (by the way, just use ordinary lumber. Do not, under any circumstances, use pressure treated lumber. It's poisonous), and nailed them along the outsides, at the top and bottom, connecting 3 sets of posts with each (wish I could draw you a sketch). At this point I have my c-wire on the ground, posts hammered through it near the edges, cross pieces on top of each set of posts, then rails along the top and bottom sides, connecting the posts all together.
I stitched two lengths of c-wire together, making one sheet 25' long and 8' wide. With help from my daughters, we picked up the sheet and brought it over the top of the framework, making sure it was centred properly. Then we used the smallest tie-wraps I could find (4") to stitch together the 8' wide sheet to the 4' wide floor piece. After that, all that was left was to sew together one end of the run, and make a gate for the other end.
So, that's about it. I hope this helps you. In your request you said something about a place where your rabbits could dig, which might be possible, but I think that's a bit ambitious. The only way I could see is to dig a 3 foot deep trench and line it with chicken wire, then put earth back on top for the run. But boy, I think that would be an awfully big job. I mean, just digging a hole big enough for dragon's box was a chore. I can't imagine digging out a whole 25 foot run.
Anyway, good luck with your project, I hope it works out great and I know that your bunnies will really appreciate what you have done for them. After we first put Dragon in his run, and he'd checked out the burrow, I could almost hear him saying, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

All the best,
Mike