If you’re considering keeping rabbits as a pet, it’s essential you know what size hutch it will need. So here are some useful tips and pointers on the perfect size hutch for your furry friend.
Rabbits make great pets and are an ideal first pet for children, who are keen to have their own pet to look after and take care of.
Most rabbit hutches are kept outdoors and, as well as being in the hutch, it’s highly beneficial if there’s an area of grass or a run where the rabbit can be let out to stretch its legs and hop around, whilst under careful watch, on a regular basis.
Before you leap in and buy a rabbit, it’s important to ensure you have a hutch in which it can make a home.
As with other pets, it’s very important to ensure you purchase the right size of hutch – if it’s too small, your rabbit may be very uncomfortable, unable to move around, turn around or stretch it’s head up, and it could lead to long term damage.
Official Hutch Size Recommendations
Rabbit experts recommend that the minimum length for an outdoor rabbit hutch is 5 feet or 150cm.
With this length of hutch, they’ll be enough room for the rabbit to take three to four hops along the length of it and comfortably turn around. But it’s not only the length that is important – the width and height are crucial too.
The minimum width and height recommendations for a rabbit hutch are 2 feet (60cm). This applies to both the width and height.
The width means the rabbit will have enough space to easily turn around, whereas the height means the rabbit can stretch upwards too and has room to raise his head without it hitting the roof of the hutch.
A wide format wooden cage with lots of headroom and floorspace.
W180 × D66 × H72 cm
Available from amazon.co.uk
A rabbit hutch measuring 5 feet (150cm) in length and 2 feet (60cm) in height and width is the ideal size for one or two small to medium sized rabbits. If you have a breed of rabbit that is renowned for being larger, then you’ll need to invest in a bigger hutch.
If you’re don’t quite have enough space to install a hutch measuring five feet in length, then there is always the option of a multi-storey hutch. As the name suggests, this is a nifty rabbit hutch with more than one level for your bunny to explore.
This 2-tier option features an internal ladder and pull-out trays at the front.
W180 × D66 × H130 cm
Available from amazon.co.uk
The minimum length of a multi-storey is four feet – anything less than this is too small. The height and width of each level of the hutch should be at least two feet. A multi-storey hutch with these minimum measurements will provide an ideal space for your rabbit to move around and explore.
Ideally the hutch you have for your rabbit should have easy access for you to open it up, as this will make it a lot easier for carrying out rabbit care, like cleaning and feeding your rabbit.
Chicken wire has been traditionally used on the front of hutches, but a stronger options is weld mesh.
Hutches can be purchased new, as second-hand models or you can have a go at making one yourself.
If you do go for the DIY hutch option, then be sure to measure out the components carefully, so the eventual hutch meets the recommended sizes.
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