Rabbit Keeping & How to Build a Rabbit Hutch

Free plans, tips, designs and links to help you build your very own rabbit hutch & run

Keeping rabbits is fun, rabbits are great pets. They can be kept indoors and outdoors. They are quite easy to look after and they are very, very fluffy. On this page you will find tips and links on how to build your own rabbit hutch. If you are in the UK you will also be able to buy the rabbit wire mesh that you will need to do this. Speedwellstar supply direct throughout the UK next working day and most addresses get free delivery

Keeping your rabbits indoors

Rabbits make great house pets. They can be easily trained to leave there droppings in one place even if given the freedom of the house. They are also a great alternative to a cat or a dog as they are less demanding in many ways.
If you keep your rabbit indoors you may still want to build a hutch for it to live in. On this site you can also buy a rabbit playpen, which is perfect to keep your rabbit out of danger – or your washing basket. These playpens can also be used outdoors, so you can let your house rabbit enjoy a bit of fresh air and tasty grass.

Keeping your rabbits outdoors

If you decide to keep your rabbit outdoors you will want to make sure that your rabbit is properly sheltered. You will also need to make sure that they have a secure area at night to protect them from predators. Further below you'll find tips and links to building your hutch. You may also want to build a wire mesh run for your rabbits. This can be a permanent structure or a movable run. However if you don’t think that you have space for a solid structure like a run in your garden these pet playpens fold flat and are easy to store when not in use. You can also add more panels to make them larger and shape them to fit the space you need. They are a great temporary home if you decide to keep your rabbit in the house during the colder winter nights.
If you keep your rabbits outdoors and have a vegetable patch or flower bed you do not want them to eat you may want to put some wire fencing around the plants themselves. This way your rabbit has a larger area to roam, and you can protect you lettuce from your pet and other unwanted night time visitors – like wild rabbits. Wire mesh is the best thing to do this – we’d recommend one with 33mm hole sizes. Remember to bury the mesh at least 1 foot into the ground – rabbits are very good diggers.

General Tips – Keeping your rabbit healthy

There are a few common mistakes which can harm your animal. Luckily most of them can be easily avoided. Here are a few top tips on keeping a healthy rabbit:

Rabbits and other animals. Rabbits are often kept with other animals such as guinea pigs. They will most often get on during the day, but when they are shut in for the night in a confined area the different species will often fight. I know of one rabbit that was put in a hutch overnight with a chicken. In the morning the owners let them out to find one distressed rabbit and one completely bald chicken. We would advise that you only keep rabbits with rabbits

Water - Your rabbits will need access to water when inside the hutch if they are going to be shut up for the night. Change water regularly

Rabbits like to chew wires – so be careful with house rabbits

Hay - Give your rabbits plenty of hay to eat. Grass hay is best. Hay is better than pellets as it is good for the rabbit as well as keeping your rabbits teeth down – otherwise you might find your rabbit chewing things in your house to help keep their teeth from growing too long

Don’t give your rabbit iceberg lettuce, surprisingly it is not good for them

Greens - Your rabbit should also eat lots of greens. We recommend 3 lots of greens a day and try to vary the types you give your rabbit. Favorites include kale, red or yellow peppers, parsley, clover, broccoli, carrot (though high in sugar) and sprouts

If you use newspaper for the rabbits hutch avoid using coloured newspaper as the colourings can be poisonous, if you can, use hay

Company - Rabbits are very social animals, when you see them in the wild they always have burrows near one another and play together so think about having more than one. They are more likely to be happy, healthy, and better behaved if they have a bit of company

Rabbit Housing Tips

Here are some more specific tips on building your hutch, whether you create your own design, or use one of the links at the bottom

Access - Remember that not only will the rabbit need access to the hutch – so will you. Rabbit hutches need to be well cleaned out. The best way to do this is to have a large hinged door

Security - Rabbits kept outside should have an enclosed area for security against predators such as fox and mink. The wire mesh on this area should be 25mm to help prevent mink from getting in. The mesh need not have such small holes on a run – if your rabbits are going to be kept in there only during the day

Keeping your rabbits in - If you build a permanent run you should make sure that there are no holes at the bottom where your rabbit can escape. You can peg the base down – or preferably bury part of the mesh under the ground so that your rabbit does not tunnel out. Alternatively you can purchase a playpen

Hutch base - Avoid using wire mesh on the base/bottom of your pen or hutch. This can harm your rabbits feet. Make sure you only use wire mesh on the sides or top of your hutch or run

Inside the hutch - The inside of the hutch should have compartments for the rabbit to snuggle into and keep warm. They should be about 25cm wide- depending on the type of rabbits you keep. Your hutch should have at least one of these compartments for each of rabbit the rabbits living there

Off The Shelf

For an easy solution these great value pyramid hutches will get you up and running with your new pet with minimal hassle. The 4ft hutch is small enough to find a space in the home whilst the 5ft hutch provides a safe space from predators at bed time for outdoor rabbits. Think about adding lots of bedding and keeping your hutch from being directly sat on the ground for warmth. Only use these hutches for sleeping, they are not big enough for a rabbit play, that's where your playpen, or mesh run come in

Building Your Hutch

Below you’ll find some great links to building your own rabbit hutch. In the UK you can buy the wire mesh at speedwellstar.com. Also a pet playpen is a great addition to the hutch:

Here is a great indoor rabbit hutch
Rabbit Hutch Design #1

Made from wire mesh!

A traditional outdoor hutch with very detailed PDF plans to print out
Rabbit Hutch Design #2

Another traditional hutch
Rabbit Hutch Design #3

Here's how to use 4 pallets to make your hutch, the ultimate in saving money and eco building! Personally I'd cover the mesh floor with a removable tray to protect the rabbits feet
Rabbit Hutch Design #4

Finally, a great resource to answer any rabbit related questions can be found here Rabbit Advice