When it comes to keeping animals, it’s easy to make mistakes. This goes double if you don’t have the necessary experience with the animals you are handling and taking care of.
Knowing how to feed them and entertain them is extremely important. However, no less important is the accommodation you give them. The requirements vary depending on the animal, some prefer spacious areas while others do just fine in confined spaces. Today, we are specifically checking on rabbits and how they function within hutches.
Why would hutches be considered cruel?
Rabbits are animals that are used to hopping around and moving about. Active rabbit is a much happier one and giving them enough freedom to move about is the best way to keep your rabbit.
When there are multiple rabbits involved, this freedom becomes even more important. The area they are located in should provide enough space for each in order to keep them moving. This means their housing should be able to provide a suitable environment for the animal. It should never be too small to the point they feel restrained or claustrophobic. The same stipulation goes for any rabbit hutch you may consider putting them in.
So are hutches cruel?
There are plentiful people out there who would consider rabbit hutches cruel. The idea of a small box that the animal has to live in for the better part of the day definitely doesn’t sound like a good time. The experience can be rather stressful, causing physical and mental problems in the animals. Of course, that’s assuming the rabbit hutch is too small for comfort.
It’s possible to get hutches that fit your rabbits. These hutches should fit a few criteria in order to not be considered cruel for the animal. The hutch should allow the rabbit to stand up on its hind legs without having its ears touch the ceiling. This gives vertical space to the rabbit and helps it feel more free and safe.
There should also be enough space for the rabbit to stretch fully across the hutch without touching the sides of the hutch. The rabbit should be able to relax and unwind without feeling the walls of its abode.
The last thing to keep in mind is that there should be excess horizontal room for movement. At least enough space for the rabbit to do a few hops before reaching the other end of the housing.
These criteria are simple, straightforward, and important. Without them, it’s very likely that the rabbits within them will suffer. Of course, it’s expected that the hutch will contain all the necessities for the rabbit be it toys or dishes for water and food. The rabbit hutch should be equipped to provide additional comfort and functionality.
However, no matter how good the hutches they live in are, rabbits need to have a place to run around and get active in. These can be any sort of fenced-off areas or a simple run that could be part of the hutch’s design. Recreation is extremely important for rabbits and it helps them stay healthy for a long time. The more rabbits there are the bigger these runs should be if you don’t intend to give each bunny a separate hutch and its own run.
Exponentially so even, giving each rabbit enough area to have fun in without constantly bumping into the others.
