Secure rabbit hutch against martens – How to do it!

Your children have nagged so long until you finally gave in – and now you have bought rabbits? Of course, you now also like the cute rodents, but then in the house you do not want to have the animals. Unfortunately, the little hoppers have an unpleasant characteristic – if they are not cleaned regularly, then urine and feces smell unpleasant – for many owners, this is one of the reasons why they prefer to keep their rabbits outdoors. Here, the hutch can also be built individually, if possible even with a large outdoor enclosure.

However, care must be taken that the rabbit hutch:

• constructed weatherproof
• protected against animals such as dogs, cats, foxes and martens
• in the right place
• is equipped appropriately for animals

Of course you can buy a rabbit hutch – but it is nicer to plan and build it together with your children! And if you follow a few guidelines, everyone will feel comfortable – the animals and you.

First of all, look for a place that is protected from the weather. Because of their fur, rabbits are susceptible to great heat – a place in blazing sun is therefore taboo! Of course, it must not be placed in such a way that the inside can be soaked by rain – so a roof is an advantage. The rabbit hutch should also be large enough to accommodate at least two residents.

So pay attention to the size when you buy or build a rabbit hutch yourself. This will probably be an all-around closed hutch with a door or front with a wire mesh. In order to ward off martens, foxes or other animals, special care must be taken here, including the fastening of the wire mesh. The most common wire is a so-called six-corner mesh; significantly more stable, however, is the aviary wire, which is known, for example, from birdhouses and which is quite suitable to keep away “predators”.

Also important are the bolts with which the doors are closed, because they must also be strong enough to prevent them from being opened by “unauthorized persons”. The same applies, of course, except for the construction of a rabbit hutch, also to the construction of the free-range enclosures planned for it – here the danger can come even additionally from above, from hawk, buzzard or falcon.

Proven means to repel the marten are the application of dog or human hair or so-called scaring agents, which can be purchased, for example, in the country store.

Ideal would be of course a “hutch in the hutch” , that is – if you buy a rabbit hutch or build it yourself and place it, for example, in a garden shed. During the day the rabbits can be in the free run and at night they are additionally protected by the “outer” hutch, because especially the marten is mainly nocturnal.

Of course, this also provides better protection against other animals, such as dogs. Especially dogs with a pronounced hunting instinct, or which are oriented to meaty food, can be particularly attracted by the smell of rabbits.

Of course, this hutch must not have any opening, no matter how small, through which the predator can enter. The disadvantage of this is the daily transfer of the hoppler, but this can be combined with the necessary petting.