# Flooring and Warmth for outdoor hutch



## studiobird (Apr 26, 2010)

I am in the process of building a rabbit hutch for a bunny or two. 

The floor is a piece of masonite and I want to cover it to make it easier to clean, and to reduce wear and tear from bunny waste. 

What are the pros and cons about vinyl or linoleum?

What are the pros and cons about tiles (little ones)?

Is there something else I should consider for flooring (not wire) that could weather well outside, as well as with bunny foot traffic?


Also, is carpet an ok consideration for flooring inside the house of an external cage? I am wondering about whether a bunny would be likely to chew their bedding lots. Or would I be better off using shavings for insulation and warmth?

I am sure I will have lots more questions


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## studiobird (Apr 28, 2010)

anybody please?


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## aurora369 (Apr 28, 2010)

I use lino on my cages. Do it in one big piece if possible, they will pick at the seams and pull it up.

I like lino because it is super easy to clean and waterproof.

The tiles would be okay, but I have heard of some buns pulling them up. Some bunnies ignore them, and some bunnies just want to rip them up.

-Dawn


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 28, 2010)

My buns have a large converted shed, with quite thick wooden walls. It is out of the direct sun, wind and rain, which is a must for outdoor housing. 
It is all wooden- it has three wooden levels. The box at the very top of the shed is small, and always stuffed with hay. They can snuggle together for warmth, and whenever it is cold, I often go out there to check them, and their ears are actually warm, so it clearly works .

Then for the flooring, I put a layer of newspaper, and then about 3 or 4inches of hay, so it's very soft etc. It gets quite expensive, and makes for a lot of compost, because I clean the whole thing out once a week or fortnight etc. (they are litter trained, and have a litter-tray box down the bottom).

It seems to work very well, and is easy to clean etc, if you didn't want to go down the tile/carpet route.

ETS- sorry, your first post was at 4.19am for me 

Jen


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## studiobird (Apr 30, 2010)

Thank you Dawn and Jen 

I am thinking of doing Lino on the base, some tiles on top of the house box (to help with cooling in summer), and perhaps some carpet in the house to maximise warmth at night. There will be hay in the house for buns to snuggle in as well. 

I am trying to maximise the use of the space, by choosing materials that have dual purposes (Lino is cool and easy to clean, tiles are durable and hold in the cold, carpet is texutural and warm)

I guess I can try it out and if it doesn't work move onto something else


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## pamnock (Apr 30, 2010)

I wouldn't use the carpet - it can cause intestinal problems if they are ingesting long pieces of the nylon.

A nest box packed with hay/straw is a good way for outdoor bunns to keep warm.


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## Cabrissi (May 1, 2010)

I use lino under the buns ex-pen... it's indoors, so a bit different but imo it works well and cleans easily. 

Carpet can be an issue with ingestion... but it depends on the bun... younger buns are going to be more cheeky than older buns, some individuals are just chewers by nature and it also depends on how many other/better (in THEIR opinion!LOL) chewies there are as well as how much environmental enrichment there is in general I'd guess as if they've got 99 other things to soak up their attention that they really like, then chewing carpet will be much lower on the list of things to do. I use La and Lily's old bunny-rugs and polar fleece 'blankies' to ensure mine have a soft place to lay down. They are cheap, get the bunny-stamp of approval, can be tied into a 'taco shell' and stuffed with newspaper/hay/whatnot and are easy to toss in the wash frequently.

ETA I get cardboard boxes from Aldi's in a variety of shapes and sizes. Stuff a few small boxes into the bigger ones and stuff various ones with hay, blankies, newspaper that's scrunched etc. They burrow into it, chew it up, dig like mad and sleep in it. When it gets grotty/chewed up the whole thing goes into the compost. Free is my favorite price!


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## studiobird (May 1, 2010)

We got some lino from bunnings today  Going for the fake wood look.

We will try the carpet to see if they chew it, and if they do, then will remove it and stick with something else.

We also got a monster cardboard tunnel/tube. Very exciting.

Will have to save my pennies for the proper aviary wire though, didn't realise how expensive the stuff is!


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## Cabrissi (May 1, 2010)

Forgot to mention - Bunnings has seagrass mats for $2 the buns LOVE! Great for lounging on, chewing and if you take a couple zip ties to a rolled up one they make good hidey-holes. (Can you tell I am so excited you're getting a bunny???)

For the aviary wire you could always advertize on Freecycle to see if someone is looking to rehome an old aviary you could repurpose wire from or maybe has large offcuts if they're building a really big flightcage?


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## tamsin (May 1, 2010)

How cold does it get? I'd use lino then fill the bed area with hay. Use a litter tray for the corners (paper based cat litter or shavings, covered in hay). Apart from very cold weather that should do them fine. 

If it gets very cold you could add straw to the bed (better insulator) and then cover the whole hutch in insulation (bubble wrap/blanket/tarp - leaving ventilation). Bunnies have the equivalent of fluffy slippers so don't worry about chilly floors - it's the roof/sides you want to stop the heat escaping out of


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