Maintaining Rabbit Hutches

Cleaning rabbit hutches and ensuring that hygiene is adequately maintained, is probably not the best part of keeping one of these adorable creatures.

However, they make the perfect pet, are highly intelligent and fantastic for children. Cleaning therefore is a small price to pay for such a rewarding pet and if undertaken thoroughly and regularly, you will be ensuring that your rabbit will enjoy good health in surroundings which are warm, clean and comfortable. Furthermore, adopting a good cleaning regime as far as your rabbit hutch is concerned, will help to ensure that your rabbit hutch stays in good condition.

Just as we need to live in a clean, bacteria free home, rabbits need their hutches to be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week, with regular little clean ups each day. Ensuring that you have a high quality rabbit hutch also makes the cleaning easier and means that the hutch will last a lot longer with all of the thorough cleans that it needs.

This practice will ensure that when you do come to do a thorough clean, the process is made that much easier because of the regular little tidy ups that you implement throughout the week. It may sound like a time consuming practice but once it becomes part of your everyday routine, you will wonder what the fuss was all about. It is certainly worth it considering what wonderful pets rabbits can make.

Rabbit droppings need to be cleared regularly to prevent a build-up of bacteria which can make them seriously ill if not addressed thoroughly.  Similarly, any leftover food needs to be discarded as this can also cause bacteria and make your treasured pet sick.

Any insulation such as newspaper, chippings or hay should be replaced as part of the weekly deep clean.  Fresh water should be replaced regularly too and food bowls thoroughly washed.

The deep clean should be undertaken using disinfectant to ensure any bacteria is removed however it is really important that any cleaning substance that you intend to use is pet friendly or you will run the risk of making your rabbit ill. Some people prefer to use soapy water and thoroughly scrub out the hutch before applying a disinfectant. Not everyone uses a disinfectant but it will come down to personal choice. It is important to remember that the aim is to get rid of bacteria – some decent pet friendly soaps will contain an antibacterial agent and this is a good alternative to those whom prefer to use soap.

Older children may enjoy being part of this process because it gives them the sense of responsibility that comes with owning a pet.  It will also help them to be more independent and will demonstrate that whilst it’s fantastic to have a rabbit as a pet, part of the experience requires proper maintenance of the cleanliness of their hutches.

Rabbits really are wonderful additions to families and provided you clean out droppings regularly and replace soiled newspaper, water and wash any food bowls with leftover food being discarded, the health of your rabbit will be retained for a good time to come.