Bunny Playhouse

Snapelover

Any bunny lovers on here? I have two bunnies who currently live in a two storey hutch but am having a 5 x 5 playhouse built for them. My concerns are do I need to insulate the playhouse? Obviously the hutch they are currently in isn't insulated but it's a lot smaller that their playhouse will be. They currently have fleece on all of their floors apart from the floor of their "dark side" where they pee and poo and the playhouse is going to have something like lino or carpet tiles down so will be cooler.

If you have a bunny shed/playhouse is yours insulated? If so, how and with what? Did you put a membrane on the walls before insulating? Do you have any ventilation apart from the windows for good air flow?

wierddumpling

What sort of ground will the play house be on?

It shouldn't make much difference as long as they have plenty of bedding plus they have each other to snuggle up to.

I would remove any plastic windows and replace with wire for better ventilation.

Ps my bunny has a blanket to snuggle up to, she's a bit spoilt

ANGLICANPAT

Not really a playhouse ,more a large aviary with a roof and 3 sides, so open one end, but I had a hutch inside it,(floor flagged) and I put a 2" thick sheet of polystyrene under the hutch and between the hutch and the inner wall it was against , Hutch roof was about half " thick covered in roofing felt. Plenty of bedding and rabbit was plenty warm enough.

Snapelover

It's going to be on top of paving slabs and then possibly wooden bearers.

Oh, there will be meshed windows but I will have framed plastic (ventilated of course) to fit over the mesh in really windy/rainy weather. They always do have plenty straw/hay bedding but that is only currently where they pee and poo - they always sit on their warm fleece.
They are very hardy - even sit out in snow so I think I will just leave the insulation for now, invest in a good tarp for rain protection and have a large piece of hessian backed carpet to fit onto the front of their new playhouse when very cold (only ue when below zero). If I find they are feeling the cold then I will insulate.

I have been quite fascinated surfing the net researching this - some people go to the extremes of fitting heaters into their bunny sheds and one post I read where they were considering fitting a double glazed window!! Just taking it a bit to far in my opinion.

krlyr

I would just have a smaller bed area for them, should stay nice and warm. Would their current hutch fit inside? If not, maybe look for a smaller hutch (a little guinea pig hutch cheaply off Ebay should do) just for them to sleep in, that can be packed with warm bedding/hay.

Mine lived out in sheds for a while - one group had a puppypen in the corner of a larger shed that housed my other small furries, so that was insulated with polystyrene, foil (to reflect the heat back in) and then plasterboard lining, but this was more for the benefit of the other animals than the bunnies. The other group were in a brick outhouse (the old WC!) and I put an old front door on it (and a babygate behind it so when I opened the door, they couldn't run out) and I didn't bother with any insulation or anything in there, it was quite a sheltered spot in the garden anyway, they just had tons of hay and bedding down (I used to buy bales of shredded cardboard bedding for all the animals so I just put an extra deep layer down for them) and they had a wooden box to sleep in.

To be honest, I'd worry more about how warm it may get in summer. I fostered ferrets last summer and the summerhouse got roasting even after I removed the glass windows (replaced with mesh) and covered the roof with white tarp to reflect the sunlight.

hayleyc_2

when I had my bunnies in a shed, I didn't insulate it, but I did provide them with a small hutch inside to use as a bed so they had a smaller draft free area to snuggle at night. I too would be more worried about the heat in summer than the cold in winter unless your rabbit is old or ill. If you look on the rabbit rehome forum under the housing section there's a section on playhouses.

alec_eiffel

My buns are indoor but if I had to put them outside I'd have a smaller box or hutch for them to sleep in as well as the main shed area, just something raised up off the floor.

You could buy a snugglesafe for them when it's very cold, they stay warm for a good long while. In the summer it gets quite hot in our living room so we have lots of frozen bottles to keep them cool. And thermal curtains and a fan and a custom built pen with a shaded end... they are spoilt I admit it.

Kavanne

I recommend Snugglesafes as well for the times it's below 0. They are microwaveable heat pads for small animals. Can be found at Pets at Home or online