Where to Situate Rabbit Housing?

[nonseq]

I have rabbits currently housed in my shed. I need to get them out of my shed b/c there isn't enough room for them and they are urinating out of the cages. I also think it won't be cool enough for them in the summer, and I would like a more efficient rabbit waste disposal. I was going to build roofed, sided frames for the hutches and get red worms to help compost the waste in pits under the cages. But I am unsure of where to put these hutches.

Originally I was going to put them on the north side of the house where the sun rarely shines. The area is in shade cast by the house much of the day. The rest of this part of the yard is my garden. So there is a fence in place to keep the dogs out and away from the rabbits. I planned on putting a privacy screen in front of the hutch to keep the hutches from view of the neighbors. There is no ordinance against rabbits in my town but I have had problems with these neighbors before and I don't need to give them any ammo.

The other site I was considering is the south side of the house. It does get more sun but with the privacy screen in place it should be shaded enough. I would have to figure out a way to keep the dogs out of the area without it being obtrusive. A plus is that the neighbor on that side of me is a friend of mine.

Do you think that the south side of the house would be adequate or do you think I should stick to the north side as I originally planned? Do you think it really matters?

 

[mom2jedi]

Yep, it matters. I would put them on the north side. Rabbits do not do well in direct sunlight, they overheat quickly. Even if their hutches are roofed and sided, if the hutch itself is not shaded it will become too hot inside for the rabbits. I have my rabbits under a couple fruit trees and they do very well there. Keeps them shaded and the sound of the trees makes them happier I think, more of a natural habitat. When we first built the hutch, we put it in an open area next to the trees thinking they would be cool enough with just the roof for shade. They did fine until we had a day that hit over 100*. When I went to check on them discovered both rabbits panting heavily even with frozen water bottles. Brought them both inside right away and had DH help me move the hutch under the trees. Haven't had a problem since.

Anyway, back to your question, I think the north side where they are protected from dogs and just putting up a privacy screen is a better way to go.