- Apr 25, 2010
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(am sharing this story - which I wrote for another forum - with BYC because it is thanks to this forum I've been able to visualise and create this hutch so far...)
We don't have a bunny.
Not yet anyway.
But we (my daughter and I - ok - ME) are working on it. Or working on my husband at least.
You see, the fact is, the bunny is *his* idea. Well, we make him think it was his idea. And my 4.5 year old - Little Bit - has convinced him he is being very special in letting her get a bunny and telling everyone she meets that "We've got a new house and Daddy said I can get a bunny".
I trained her well.
So, in trying not to give my husband an aneurysm in buying a new hutch (and discovering our new council have curb-side hard rubbish collection), Little Bit and I went for a drive to see if we could find a hutch on the side of the road - or the raw materials to create a Bunny Condo.
Three car loads later of other peoples' rubbish later, we have the beginnings of Le Chateau du Lapin. (We are still tossing up names for this monstro... er... hutch)
So - in our haul of usefull 'stuff' we came home with pieces of 3 different cots, chicken wire, wooden dog kennel, golf bag buggy/wheels, wooden 'thing' or steps, hand saw, wooden stakes, offcuts of ply wood, wooden slats from a single bed, wooden kitchen box, thin roll of carpet and last but not least, a massive headache and a bad back.
I still didn't know how I was going to put it all together, but I knew I wanted a raised bunny bed, to minimise ground chill and Frost Bite. I wanted to keep the slats of the cot to reduce ability of predators while using the chicken wire. That will be replaced with hardware cloth later on - but for now, the chicken wire is what I have.
I thought I would create the frame for the run using some of the cot frames, and the step thing, with the kennel on top of the steps - but it just didn't want to come together - but as I discovered the 3rd cot on the 3rd car trip down the street, the vision appeared! Hallelujah!
There was even a bunny picture on the cot! It was fate! Or just a sign of how old the cot was. But I'll stick with fate!
So, with that vision firmly etched into my brain, and my staple-gun in my hand, I set to work creating House of Hare. (doesn't have a good ring to it, does it?!)
There are photos coming. I promise.
I then took my trusty rusty hammer and my bent saw and dismantled the kennel roof and sawed the apex off. All by myself. No male-help at all. Insert Chest Puff here. Little Bit was even proud of her mummy!
I grabbed the base of cot #2 and decided it would be the roof. With all cots being the same size, it was a perfect fit. Some high density shade cloth in black (it's slimming dontcha know!), and half a box of staples later, the hutch had a roof. Plan is to add some waterproofing underneath for half of the hutch down the track. I need to find a drill however to attach the hinges (which were bough new), and make the lid work properly.
Adding the chicken wire on the other side was going to be a bit tricky. I was going to leave the cot as a drop leaf, but as I was fumbling around (like all true artists do!), the side of the cot went to fall off, but was attached on one side, and revealed that the whole side could open up with a hinge like action. Whoo Hoo. I am a genius! I planned it that way from the start, honestly!
Some doweling stablised the end of the new door (again, found on the side of the road and was a perfect fit! Serendipidous!)
So now... that's where we are at. A roof/lid that is not attached, wired on two sides, no locking mechanism on the door, a hidehole that is not habitable yet, and no bunny run.
But it's looking cool! Well, in my not-so-humble opinion, anyway.
So with no more ado about nothing.... the coveted photos!
The Mess
It's a Bunny! It was meant to be!
Looking through the door
The side of the Cot opens for a door
A better View - upside down kennel - will have ramp up to top
Shade Cloth Roof
Inside the Once-Was-A-Kennel
The top of the Hutch lifts, for extra easy access
Another View 'cause I know you all love photos
The Wooden Step Thingo at the bottom of the photo
So there we have it... a long winded story about not having a bunny.
The End. For Now. Until next time. Stay Tuned.
We don't have a bunny.
Not yet anyway.
But we (my daughter and I - ok - ME) are working on it. Or working on my husband at least.
You see, the fact is, the bunny is *his* idea. Well, we make him think it was his idea. And my 4.5 year old - Little Bit - has convinced him he is being very special in letting her get a bunny and telling everyone she meets that "We've got a new house and Daddy said I can get a bunny".
I trained her well.
So, in trying not to give my husband an aneurysm in buying a new hutch (and discovering our new council have curb-side hard rubbish collection), Little Bit and I went for a drive to see if we could find a hutch on the side of the road - or the raw materials to create a Bunny Condo.
Three car loads later of other peoples' rubbish later, we have the beginnings of Le Chateau du Lapin. (We are still tossing up names for this monstro... er... hutch)
So - in our haul of usefull 'stuff' we came home with pieces of 3 different cots, chicken wire, wooden dog kennel, golf bag buggy/wheels, wooden 'thing' or steps, hand saw, wooden stakes, offcuts of ply wood, wooden slats from a single bed, wooden kitchen box, thin roll of carpet and last but not least, a massive headache and a bad back.
I still didn't know how I was going to put it all together, but I knew I wanted a raised bunny bed, to minimise ground chill and Frost Bite. I wanted to keep the slats of the cot to reduce ability of predators while using the chicken wire. That will be replaced with hardware cloth later on - but for now, the chicken wire is what I have.
I thought I would create the frame for the run using some of the cot frames, and the step thing, with the kennel on top of the steps - but it just didn't want to come together - but as I discovered the 3rd cot on the 3rd car trip down the street, the vision appeared! Hallelujah!
There was even a bunny picture on the cot! It was fate! Or just a sign of how old the cot was. But I'll stick with fate!
So, with that vision firmly etched into my brain, and my staple-gun in my hand, I set to work creating House of Hare. (doesn't have a good ring to it, does it?!)
There are photos coming. I promise.
I then took my trusty rusty hammer and my bent saw and dismantled the kennel roof and sawed the apex off. All by myself. No male-help at all. Insert Chest Puff here. Little Bit was even proud of her mummy!
I grabbed the base of cot #2 and decided it would be the roof. With all cots being the same size, it was a perfect fit. Some high density shade cloth in black (it's slimming dontcha know!), and half a box of staples later, the hutch had a roof. Plan is to add some waterproofing underneath for half of the hutch down the track. I need to find a drill however to attach the hinges (which were bough new), and make the lid work properly.
Adding the chicken wire on the other side was going to be a bit tricky. I was going to leave the cot as a drop leaf, but as I was fumbling around (like all true artists do!), the side of the cot went to fall off, but was attached on one side, and revealed that the whole side could open up with a hinge like action. Whoo Hoo. I am a genius! I planned it that way from the start, honestly!
Some doweling stablised the end of the new door (again, found on the side of the road and was a perfect fit! Serendipidous!)
So now... that's where we are at. A roof/lid that is not attached, wired on two sides, no locking mechanism on the door, a hidehole that is not habitable yet, and no bunny run.
But it's looking cool! Well, in my not-so-humble opinion, anyway.
So with no more ado about nothing.... the coveted photos!
The Mess
It's a Bunny! It was meant to be!
Looking through the door
The side of the Cot opens for a door
A better View - upside down kennel - will have ramp up to top
Shade Cloth Roof
Inside the Once-Was-A-Kennel
The top of the Hutch lifts, for extra easy access
Another View 'cause I know you all love photos
The Wooden Step Thingo at the bottom of the photo
So there we have it... a long winded story about not having a bunny.
The End. For Now. Until next time. Stay Tuned.
