rabbit chewing hutch

Question
Hello

My mum owns two female neutered lop/dwarf rabbits who are just under a year in age. They have always been housed in the same hutch which is one of the  wooden hutches with the run attached beneath accessible by a ramp.
Within the last 2-3 months one of the rabbits has started to chew at the wooden hutch, to the point where she has gone right through it to the outside. She does not isolate the chewing to one particular area, it is happening all over the hutch. The rabbits have free access to the run, lots of toys designed for chewing but she still wants to wreck the hutch.
It does appear to be just the one rabbit, and when asked my mum says she is in good health ie eating well and no signs of dental pain.
As the hutch is now getting to the point where it needs to be replaced my mum is concerned that she will pay out for a brand new hutch just for the rabbit to attack it again. I am emailing to enquire why the rabbit might be doing this and also any suggestions to how we can stop it/type of hutch that may be best to move on to.
thanks in advance
Laura

Answer
Laura,

Most of the time when bunnies do this, it's out of boredom. I might recommend cycling the toys in - put only a few in at a time and leave others to the side, then in about a month or so, swap them out for "new" toys. You'll fool your buns into thinking their space has changed and they have all new things to play with. I could also recommend purchasing a few willow items (see below for suggestions) to offer something more attractive for her to chew on. A random question that also might help understand this behavior - are these buns housed indoors or outdoors?

As for suggestions on a new hutch, I've included a few links below for those too. There are stands designed for most of these cage sizes, but please be sure to research that before purchase to ensure you have everything you need to make your buns home safe and enjoyable. Don't mind that they say ferret - the thing you want to look for is size. If it's a smaller base (30"w or less) you'll want to find one with several stories for additional space.
One option a lot of our bun parents use are the C&C grids (last links under cages). You can make quite the cage with enough of these and some coroplast or fleece-lined blankets. Amazon and eBay are the two biggest sources for these products. You'll have to stack up more than what you see in the picture since bunnies can jump WAY higher than guinea pigs every could hope to, but this product is customizable - your size and configuration options are endless.

Hope this helps!

Christine

Willow items:
http://www.petco.com/product/121597/WARE-Willow-Branch-Ball-Chew-Toy.aspx?cm_mmc

https://store.binkybunny.com/willow-tent---unpeeled-p40.aspx


Hutch/cage options:
http://www.petco.com/product/122284/Marshall-Pet-Products-Townhouse-II-Add-A-Sto

http://www.petco.com/product/116383/Midwest-Ferret-Nation-Double-Unit-with-Stand

http://www.ferret.com/item/critter-nation-small-animal-cage-double-unit/650232/?

(C&C Grids - product)
http://www.quill.com/retail-cubes-containers/cbs/50072335.html?cm_mmc=SEM_PLA_X_

(C&C Grids - cage image)
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/70746-Addition-to-the-Midwest-Habitat-cage