After buying or building your hutch, the first thing to consider is: “this is my pets house.” And just like your home, it will need regular maintenance and cleaning to stay safe and comfortable. Unfortunately, your rabbit cannot do his own home maintenance and cleaning, and he cannot ‘mark a repair’ either. Therefore, it is 100 percent up to you to make sure the cab is kept in good condition.

The following 3 tips will help ensure better protection and health for your pet rabbit (s) and save you money by extending the life of your hutch.

1. Protect your hutch from day one.

Wooden hutches are made primarily of organic and biodegradable materials that need regular maintenance to extend their life. As soon as the hutch arrives at your front door, and before putting in the new residents, you should immediately apply some kind of protective coating on the wood to make it too waterproof. Only then should you put it outdoors. When you buy a hutch, check if it already comes with some kind of waterproofing included.

2. Perform regular maintenance

As we said before, your pet depends solely on you to keep its home in good condition. To save you time and avoid last-minute situations where help breaks down, you should run simple maintenance checks every two months and in-depth maintenance annually. The annual check should be carried out during the summer months. This is because wood is porous and absorbs water / moisture during the fall and winter months. In summer, the wood is drier and more accepting of protective coatings that can be applied.

Most of the protective coating products available on the market today are water-based and non-toxic, but it is an issue that you should always make sure to clarify before purchasing. Don’t forget that rabbits are pets that like to chew, nibble and scratch, and as the years go by, you will discover that their hutch is also ‘chewy’, especially on the inside. So first of all make sure the coating product is non-toxic and then don’t apply it inside. Also keep your pet away while applying the product and allow it to dry completely before returning it to the hutch.

Normally, the roof is the section that suffers the most in a rabbit hutch. This is because it takes the most hits during the cold / wet winter months, and also during the hot summer months. These ends cause the wood to constantly expand and contract, and naturally lead to cracks that will break the hutch’s insulation from the elements. This is why annual maintenance is so important.

The regular two-month checks you should do mainly involve things like checking that the latches are working properly, that the wiring does not have holes (or if it is loose), that there are no protruding nails that could hurt animals, etc. .. All the simple things that will only take a few minutes to check and repair, but make sure you have fewer headaches down the road.

One important thing to keep in mind is mold, as it will affect not only the hutch but the health of your rabbit as well. So if you spot it, treat it right away.

When choosing which hutch to buy, you can also consider the future maintenance factor in your choice. A hutch with a removable roof is the most versatile. This will allow easy access to the interior to clean and reposition the bed. Look for a design that requires the least possible maintenance other than seasonal surface coatings. The plastic huts will be durable and come with a ticket that requires almost no maintenance, but make sure they are suitable for your animal and respectful of the planet. However, wood is still the main choice, much more adapted to its function and much more attractive.

3. Keep the hutch clean

This is where the uh-oh start to appear. Yes, you have to clean the hutch. It’s like mowing the lawn. If you don’t do it regularly, it will be much more difficult to do it in the future. The easiest way is to set a regular day and time for homework and get it done. You will find that after the third or fourth cleaning, the task will become a normal routine and will not pose any difficulty for you. And in your hutch it is outdoors, do not put it ‘out of sight, out of mind’, otherwise you will regret it later. Indoor booths will generally be cleaned more regularly, otherwise they will start to smell …

Cleaning is one of the best ways to keep your hutch in tip-top condition, as it will prevent many unwanted problems like organic moisture from animal droppings and even uninvited guests like bug infestations.

Use a wire brush on the outside of the hutch to remove all debris, hair, leaves, and twigs. Do this also on the cage wire. This will prevent litter from building up, keep moisture from settling, and won’t allow the wire in the cage to rust. When brushing, be sure not to damage the coating you gave the outside of the hutch.

Cleaning the interior of your hutch will depend a bit on the type of setup you use. First of all, you will need to remove the bedding, which will likely be shredded newspaper or wood chips (do not use pine or cedar wood, which is harmful to animals). This is a simple ‘pick and drop’ routine. However, this will uncover the biggest problem in your cleaning routine … rabbit urine! This urine will soak into the hardwood floor and turn into an ammonia smell that is harmful if not treated properly. For this you can use bleach or vinegar (both diluted in water, of course). Vinegar is not so aggressive for animals, because its smell does not last as long and it is a more organic product. In either case, be sure to rinse with clean water and allow time to dry before replacing the rabbit.

On the other hand, if your hutch has fences on the floor, be sure to clean up all feces, as accumulating means one thing … parasites.

If you follow these 3 tips, a good outdoor hutch should last for years and years. It only takes a few minutes of your time each week and an hour or two each year for in-depth maintenance. Nothing that is not outweighed by the joy of having healthy and playful rabbits all year round.

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