How to: make a hutch for your easter bunny

A bunny isn't just for easter, but only a responsible pet owner would take responsibility for this project: a very smart hutch, fit for a respectable rabbit.

The first thing to ask yourself is how large will Flopsy be when s/he's fully grown? This, together with how many rabbits you intend to have, will determine how large the hutch should be. Standard hutch sizes for a single grown rabbit should be approximately 45 cms deep, by 40cms high and 105 cms wide.

Once you've determined the size, you'll need to gather the following materials and tools:

- MDF for the walls of the hutch
- 6 pieces of wood for the frame of the hutch
- chicken mesh
- 4 hinges for the doors
- 2 catches for the doors
- screwdriver, drill, jigsaw

Follow the jump for instructions.

The hutch should be divided into two compartments, as indicated in the sketch.

One compartment, the 'sleeping area', should have a solid door and the other larger, 'living and eating area' should have a door covered with chicken wire mesh (approximately 60cms long).

Both doors should have hinges at either end of the hutch and swivel catches in the centre where the two doors meet, so that opening and closing the hutch is easy. Use a power screwdriver to put in the screws quickly and easily.

Internally, a divider between the two compartments should have a shaped hole, 15 cms square in the bottom back corner, which you can create by using the jigsaw, so the rabbit can hop through from one to the other.

Using adrill to create a number of small holes in the floor of each of the two back corners of the hutch to help with draining of the rabbits lavatory area.

The roof of the hutch should overhand the perimeter of the hutch by 5cms and slope from front to back by 3cms, to enable rain to run off the roof easily. This roof should also be covered with asphalt material to ensure the hutch is not damaged by rain.

Material for the construction of the hutch should ideally be preserved hard or soft wood, but plywood or MDF can be used.

Ideally, the outside of the hutch should be painted with a protective paint.

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