A bunny extention
Or, what happened when a dress designer became a bunny architect for the day!!

How it all started



In the beginning there was just Jasper, a tiny bundle of fluff who lived in a little hutch from a Pets at Home (Petsmart) starter kit.
This hutch was just 42" long by 16" high and 16" deep. But Jasper was tiny, and spent most of his day free range in the house, so this was not an issue.
Then there came Jessica, and now 2 tiny bundles of black fluff lived in the tiny hutch.
Then they grew, and grew! And two big bunnies need more space than an economy hutch can provide.

The options
There are many ways this dilemma could be resolved.
One was to buy another, bigger single storey hutch, of at least the 5' by 2' by 2' recommended by the RSPCA. However, Jasper and Jessica are indoor bunnies and the greatly increased footprint of this type of cage would not be desirable indoors.
Another plan was to buy a two storey hutch, (or condo). This is good as it gives the bunnies extra space without denying us humans, also because the bunnies cannot climb on top of a two storey hutch, the roof can be used as a shelf for stuff like food
But both the above are very expensive (in excess of around £100 for a good one) and would involve ending up with an extra hutch, that is technically too small for a rabbit (and as such, I would not pass it on to house other rabbits) but still in decent condition, being less than 6 months old.
So we went for secret option number 3! To build a condo using the old hutch as one floor and building another level above or below it. The aim being to do it better and cheaper.

Considerations
As the old hutch was supposed to be an outdoor hutch (despite having thin, non waterproof walls) the roof was fairly sturdy and felt covered; the floor was thin, and as a hatch would have to be cut for a ramp, it was decided that the old hutch would be the top level.
The old hutch was not tall enough for the bunnies to stand tall in, so the new lower level would need to be taller, I went for the recommended height of 24".
The door of the old hutch opened horizontally, Jess liked to open and close it herself (sometimes locking herself out) and we were constantly falling over it, so the new hutch door would open vertically and turn into a ramp, it would therefore be solid, rather than wire covered.
There was no lip on the threshold of the old hutch, and the bunnies would drag hay, ripped newspaper and general mess out of the hutch with them, making a mess in the rest of the house, the new one would need to have a doorstep to contain the mess.
Also this mess would find its way underneath the hutch (which was on short legs for ventilation's sake) causing a hoard of mess underneath, that was very hard to clean.
In our house the side of the hutch faces a window, we wanted an open side to let the sun in so they can bask in the sun, even when we arn't around to let them out.
There needed to be as much floorspace as possible, and also hiding places.

The Design
The new level would be 24" tall by 42" by 16" and fit directly underneath the original (a larger floorspace downstairs was considered, but deemed unnecessary, and awkward to do whilst providing sturdy support for the top level).
An intermediate platform would be placed 6" off the floor, providing more space, a hiding place and a higher starting point for the ramp (making it less steep), at this height is is high enough for a bunny to comfortably hide under, but low enough to be accessed without the need for a second ramp.
The back and one side (the side of the platform) would be solid, but the front (excluding the door) and one side would be wire covered.
A door the size of the entire front, with a small hatch for bunny access was considered, but it was decided that it would make for a more stable structure if there was a single door. The door is 12" wide and 16" high and sits in the middle of the front of the hutch in order that the entire level is accessable for cleaning from this single doorway.
The hutch sits on three legs, two small ones at the back, and one long one, running the entire length of the front, air gets underneath through the sides, but nothing can get underneath from the front.
There is a 1 1/2" lip all the way around the bottom level and this is raised by a further 2" at the doorway.

The Ingredients



Everything I needed for this was to be found at local hardware stores. I used:
Two sheets of 6mm MDF one 45" by 24" and one 75" by 24" cost £3.48 and £4.94 from B and Q
One pack of 4 wooden posts 35mm square by 2.1m (about 6') cost £3.10 from B and Q
One roll of cage wire 24" by 5' cost £2.99 from Wilkinsons.
6 packs of 2 corner plates cost £0.39 each from Wilkinsons.
Netting staples one pack of, cost £1.49 from Wilkinsons.
4 chrome 1 1/2" bolts cost £0.59 each from Wilkinsons.
One pack 2 corner braces cost £0.29 from Wilkinsons.
One pack 2 hinges cost £0.49 from Wilkinsons.
A load of wood screws I already had (would cost about £1.50).
Some timber off the back of some old curtain rails I had lying about (used this for the legs and door frame, half a pack of the posts I bought would do the same.)
The total cost of the conversion was under £20! The original hutch cost £35 (and included some bowls and bottles etc).

Tools
One drill, cordless, as I was working in the garden (for pre drilling screw holes).
One handsaw (but do I wish I had has an electric Jigsaw, I could have done the job in half the time).
One stanley knife.
One hammer.
One screwdriver (again electric would be nice, but my drill didnt want to do screws that day).
One set square (a big one from my pattern cutting kit).
One tape measure.
A pen.

How it was done
I started, like a good Girl Guide, by getting prepared, I got everything I needed, into my work area, laid out ready.
My first plan was to saw off the legs of the old hutch, so it could sit directly on the new frame, however, when I started this I discovered that the legs were actually integral to the frame (I know, it's bizarre, but they where holding the whole thing together) so I scrapped that idea and started sawing.
First I drew out the shapes of all the walls, floor, door and ramp on MDF, then I cut them out with a handsaw. Due to the size restrictions of the MDF the door was cut in two pieces and glued and screwed together with a third piece over the join. The ramp was given 'steps' by attaching strips of MDF with a strong wood glue.
The posts were cut to size to make the frame.

The sides of the frame were made up first, with the weight bearing verticals and the side supports forming a rectangle, corner plates strengthen the join between the vertical and top horizontal, and cross over with one screwhole left to join to the leg of the old hutch.
The bottom front and back horizontals were screwed onto the floor, followed by the side horizontals (in position at the bottom of their rectangles) angled screws joined the verticals to the front and back horizontals.
The feet were screwed onto the underside of the floor.
The top front and back horizontals were fixed in place with corner plates, again with an overlap in the brace to fix the top level.
Now we have a sturdy frame!

The next stage was to fit the platform. Squares were cut from two corners of the platform to allow it to slot into the vertical posts, the small support post for the platform was screwed to the floor from underneath, and the platform was screwed on top. The corners of the platform were fixed to the verticals with corner braces (right angles of steel with a screwhole in each end).



The doorframe was made by fixing two pieces of timber vertically and correctly spaced with screws and corner plates. A threshold was fixed between, just another piece of timber.

A hatch for the ramp was cut through the floor of the old hutch with a stanley knife (the wood was very thin).
The old hutch was then mounted onto the new level and fixed with the corner plates.



The solid sides and back (MDF) were then screwed onto the back (into the main frame on all four sides), screws are best for all this type of thing as they hold better than nails or staples, so you save repair work in the long run.

The next stage was the ramp; I had anticipated it attaching to the floor of the top level, but found that this was too cramped and there was not much space for manouvering on or off the ramp, so I gave it its own beam, fixed between the front and back horizontals (so it worked out well that I left the legs on the old hutch, this would have been a more complicated issue if the horizontals were flush with the floor of the top storey.)




Then there was the door, the bolts and hinges were screwed on, with a strip of timber behind as the MDF was very thin and a longer screw was needed to secure these important components. The old plastic closures on the top floor were replaced with metal bolts for security (as past escapes had proved the old ones ineffectual)



Finally the wire was secured to the frame with netting staples.

Very finally, the entire structure was checked for safety, no sharp edges and the timber edges were sanded.
Felt floor protectors were fixed under the legs to prevent scratches on the floor, and the hutch was made up to recieve the bunnies!

The result



It took a good afternoons work, but it is well worth it!
The buns had trouble with the ramp, so I cut up a ribbed doormat and glued it onto the ramp and inside of the door, I also put some on the outside of the door to protect the floor when it is open.
After this it took about an hour for them to learn how to climb up, and about another 12 to figure out how to get down again! I actually saw Jasper teaching Jessie how to do it, he was half way up the ramp encouraging her to come down.



Now they love it, they can play and jump about without needing me around to let them out, they do seem really contented in their new home.
I would really recommend this as a cheap and worthwhile way of improving inadequate housing bought when you didnt know any better (or expanding for new bunnies) or even a cheaper way of getting a 2 storey hutch.

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