How to Easily Build a Rabbit Hutch

A healthy rabbit needs sun, shade, and plenty of food and water.

You can use the many ways to build a rabbit hutch yourself or you could easily spend hundreds of dollars to buy a fancy hutch for your rabbit. The easiest and most effective method of building a rabbit hutch uses chicken wire and hay, allowing the rabbit freedom of movement and plenty of food. The most important thing to remember with any hutch is that rabbits can jump, so you either need high walls or a roof.

Things You'll Need

• Chicken wire
• Plywood
• Hay bales
• 2 Large Bowls

Instructions

1. Make a determination for the size of your hutch. This depends on the number of rabbits and their size, though a circle with diameter of 5-10 feet is ideal. Make sure you have enough chicken wire to make two circles this size (using the formula pi * diameter).

2. Place the hutch in an area that will get lots of sunlight during the day, though too much direct light will overheat your rabbit and evaporate its water more quickly. The amount of direct sunlight can also be adjusted when building the roof of the hutch.

3. Dig a thin ditch the size of your planned hutch at a depth of about six to eight inches. Once dug, lay the chicken wire in the ditch and pack tightly. It is recommended to make two complete circles for extra reinforcement. This will act to stabilize the chicken wire so the rabbit's incessant gnawing won't uproot its hutch. This is also the most difficult step of the process, since five foot chicken wire is somewhat unwieldy.

4. Fill the hutch with hay to a height of 12 to 24 inches. The reason for this is twofold: first, rabbits love to eat hay, and second, your rabbit will fashion its own burrows in the hay if it is sufficiently deep. You may also want to put a solid hay bale in the hutch if you have room to allow the rabbit further jumping and burrowing options.

5. Fill the two bowls with food and water and place in the hutch. Be sure to place the water bowl out of direct sunlight.

6. Lay a sheet of plywood over the top of the hutch to give the rabbit shade and prevent him from escaping. Several sheets may be placed so as to allow some direct sunlight for basking.

Tips & Warnings

• Water should be replenished as needed, no less than every two days, depending on the size of the bowl.

• Food should be replenished as needed, depending on the constitution of your lawn. Rabbits love to eat many varieties of wild grass, most notably clover.

• You may wish to place a container for litter. The rabbit will instinctively emit waste in a concentrated location for easy cleanup.

• You may also want to include a piece of bone or untreated solid wood to reduce gnawing on the cage walls.

• Replenish hay every month or two as necessary.

• It is not recommended to leave a rabbit outdoors year-round if the temperature drops far below freezing. Be sure to crack any ice formations in the water bowl so the rabbit will not dehydrate.