Outdoor Rabbit Hutch

Although there is an infinite number of types of hutches theprinciples underlying the construction of the best types arethe same.

There are certain essential points which must be consideredif housing is to be suitable.
Essential conditions are :
(1) The hutch must be sufficiently large for the purpose forwhich it is intended.
(2)It must be comfortable and escape-proof.
(3)It must be sanitary and capable of easy cleaning.
(4)It must be convenient for the easy handling of stock.
(5)It must be well constructed of sound materials, butas cheap as possible.
(6) It must be so constructed that the animal can neitherhurt itself nor the hutch.

There is obviously no best type of hutch, but it is alwaysdesirable to so construct hutches that they can be easilymodified for different purposes. For example a large breedinghutch should be capable of division to make two hutches forrunning on. It is sometimes practicable to remove thedivisions from between breeding hutches to make larger colonyhutches. and so on.

Types of Hutches

No one hutch will be suitable for all purposes, and the typesof hutches required will depend on the system operated by thebreeder and his reason for keeping rabbits. For meat production breeding hutches and colony pens will usually be',pined. For pelt production, although the young rabbitscan be run on together for a short period in colony pens, theywill eventually need separation into single hutches, and thesame system, possibly running the young in pairs rather thanin colonies, will be used by the exhibition breeder.

When hutch accommodation is limited it is preferable tohave hutches of adjustable size which can be adapted to suiteither breeding stock or individual animals. Stacks ofhutches can be divided with removable partitions, partitionshinged to the roof, or with removable double hay racks whichfit the entire depth of the hutch.

The number of hutches for young and single adult animalsproduced from each breeding hutch will depend largely on therequirements of the breeder, but often the number of thesehutches is underestimated. A minimum of four hutches forsingle animals or pairs of young is necessary for every breedinghutch in the stud of the exhibition breeder, and for adult peltproduction, more would be required.

Hutch and Pen Sizes

The different breeds of domestic rabbit vary in weight fromjust over 2 In about 15 lb. therefore the sizes of hutch must alsovary. Too small a floor space results in overcrowding, a predisposing condition to a number of troubles including poorgrowth. A simple standard for hutch size is to allow onesquare foot of clear floor space pert lb. weight of adult. Thisstandard is rather severe on the smallest breeds, but perhapsover generous on the largest. Thus the average size of breedinghutch to be aimed at is about 21 feet x 2 feet for the smallestbreeds, 3 or 31 feet x 2 feet for medium sized breeds, and4 feet x 2 feet and upwards for the largest breeds.

Due allowance must be made for any utensils which maytake up floor space. For example the nest box will certainlytake up t1 square feet, and a hopper attached to the door afurther amount.

The height of the hutch must be adequate. Low roofs arevery unsatisfactory, both from the point of view of ease ofhandling, and because they certainly affect ear carriage. Theminimum height of hutch for the small breeds should be 16inches, although 18 is much better, and 20 desirable. Thisheight again refers to uninterrupted space. A 16 inch highhutch with 4 inches of bedding On the floor (not a good idea !)is not satisfactory.
It is desirable to allow as much space for young, growingrabbits as possible. In fact within reason, the only limitationwhich should be imposed should be one of necessity, and easeof management. In small hutches 2 square feet per youngrabbit is an absolute minimum. In larger colony pens,although this amount is certainly desirable, it could be reducedslightly. The larger the colony pen, the (slightly) less theamount of floor space required by each youngster. Again theamount of floor space required will depend upon the size. Foralmost fully grown stock the above figure would be a definiteminimum.
Colony pens may be of any size, although it is never desirableto have more than about 30 young together as accidentssometimes occur through panic. It follows therefore that themaximum size of colony pens will usually be about 5 feet by12 feet. This does not of course refer to the warren type ofcolony, which may cover a large area, and is in general not asatisfactory system of keeping rabbits.

Breeding hutches for stud bucks should be rather larger dial hutches for single adult animals, and it is an advantage0, Inane them rather narrower from front to rear than thecustomary two feet to allow of easier handling. In all casesthe hutch door should open the full width of the hutch so thatthe !nick or doe can be rapidly caught and separated if fightingstarts.

The Hutch Floor

The floor of the hutch is most important, for on its con-struction will depend much of the case of management. Thefloor may be solid, part solid and part perforated, or completelyperforated (self-cleaning) through which the faeces andurine drop.
The advantages of the solid floor, which is by far the mostcommon type in this country, (although it is largely supersededin America by the perforated floor,) are that it is cheaper,heckling can be used with it, there is possibly less trouble fromsore hocks, although this is by no means certain, and draughtsare completely eliminated. On the other hand, the perforatedIloor does greatly assist in disease prevention, and it certainlysaves a good deal of labour in cleaning out.

There is a good deal to be said in favour of both types,particularly when both are well designed and constructed,hut probably the tendency in the future, particularly with thedevelopment of metal hutches, will be in favour of the perfor-ated floor.
The semi-solid floor which consists of part boarded portionand part mesh, has little to recommend it, for it has the dis-advantages of both other types, without their particular merits.The only point in its favour is that it certainly does keepbedding dry, but under good management this would beaccomplished on solid floors.

Unless the perforated type of floor is properly constructed,it is definitely unsatisfactory. In the past many of the casesof unsatisfitctory perforated floors have been due to their construction with the wrong material. The only suitablematerial for these floors is woven wire or welded wire of notless than i6 s.w. gauge. The ideal mesh is inch for themedium and small breeds, and I x /- or even t inch for thelargest breeds.

At the American Research Station perforated steel sheetfloors with inch square holes at inch centres were designedin the hope that the larger surface would prevent sore hocks.This type of flooring was not so satisfactory as the a inch wovenwire, due to the fact that there was considerably more labourrequired to keep the floors clean and the surface retained the moisture during the foggy and rainy seasons, which in factincreased the prevalence of sore hocks. Thus the I inchwoven wire is now the recommended type.

Self-cleaning perforated floors are mounted over a tray or asloping sheet of metal, and the faeces drop through the sheetand are easily collected for removal.
Solid floors can be constructed of wood or asbestos cementboard. The latter has the advantage that the floor can bemade from a single sheet, and there are therefore no cracksthrough which moisture can drip into the hutch below. Evenwith tongued and grooved boarding this sometimes occurs.

When fitting asbestos sheet floors it is sound practice to sealthem on to the floor supports with the use of one of the plasticsealing compounds.

Some laboratories overcome any difficulties arising fromsolid or perforated floors by using pans or trays which fitthe entire floor and which are removed complete with beddingfor cleaning. Another system is to stand a perforated floored hutch, with a large mesh, on to a tray filled with bedding,simply lifting the hutch on to a new tray to remove the oldone for cleaning.

A type of flooring quite common on the Continent is theslatted floor. This consists of slats t to 2 inches wide and to 4 inches thick, placed at z inch spacings. These floors,although suitable for Angoras, have little to recommend them.

Hutch Doors

The efficiency of the hutch doors will have a marked effecton the management of the rabbitry. A slight delay in openingeach door will amount to a very considerable period throughoutthe year in a large rabbitry.

If feeding and watering can be done without opening thedoors, so much the better. The operation of the door will notthen be of such importance. The door will usually be hingedat the side and swing outwards. It should do to in such a waythat it does not interfere with the movements of the attendant,and it is desirable that all doors should swing the same way;and that away from the normal line of travel of the attendant.It is an advantage for the door to cover three hutches atonce, although some breeders prefer a door for the two tophutches and a single door for the bottom, which assists inpreventing the escape of the occupants of the bottom hutch.If, however, there is a good litter board on the bottom hutch(and there should normally be one for each hutch) then thisproblem is very slight, and a door to cover the three hutchesis desirable.
There are a number of designs for doors which swinginwards, or which slide along the front of the hutch, or whichare hinged at the base and which swing outwards. Thesetypes of doors are usually suitable for special purposes only,and apart from the type which tilts into the hutch and liesclose to and parallel to the roof, these designs are not entirelysatisfactory for the general breeder.

An excellent system is a combination of litter boards anddoors, the three doors being fastened together with an uprightbar. This bar keeps the litter boards in cacti hutch closed,and usually the litter boards are also independently hookedto the hutch fratne. The litter boards as well as the doors arehinged, and the advantage of this method is that the wirenetting of the door frame is in the same plane as the face of thelitter board, and consequently no projecting edge is available for the stock to gnaw. If the litter boards are made fairlyhigh feeding utensils can be slotted into them.
All doors should be uniform and should be strongly con-structed with suitable braces to prevent sagging. Adequateclearance should be left between the door and the frame toprevent jamming if the door swells slightly in damp weather.

Door hinges are important. " Unusual " hinges found inmany rabbitries, such as leather straps, twisted nails, woodenbuttons, etc., are great time wasters. A good T or strap hingeis undoubtedly the most satisfactory for it assists in preventingthe door from sagging.