hutch or cage?

Question
hi lee, i have a rabbit, right now she lives in a cage a good size for one rabbit but i don't know if its better to keep her in the cage or get a hutch for the. another question if i get her a hutch what can i do to keep her warm besides bringing her in because she is a outdoor pet and are cherries bad for rabbits?

Answer
Hi Kiki,

well hopefully you know from my profile I am a house rabbit advocate.  I believe that rabbits tend to get the best care if they are inside and are treated as an indoor family pet.  They are social animals and enjoy the presence of others rather than long periods of being by themselves.  

The main reasons for indoors: safer from predators; safer from illness and disease; safer from insects; people tend to pick up on their being sick quicker if they are around them more; they trust you more; better quality relationship between rabbit and owner; better temperateures indoors; food and water easier to keep clean and change; can play with inside the house.

Now you do not mention if your gal is spayed or not.  If not I would recommend having her spayed so that she is litterpan-trainable, and so that she won't most likely die by 5 or 6 from uterine cancer (over 80% of females will if left unspayed).  It will make her a lot easier to bond with you as well.

I can't recommend any hutches because I've never looked at them.  There is a great indoor cage company called Prevue that makes a very nice cage (model 620) here at the best price I have seen:

http://futurepet.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=PR620

Get the biggest one, she will need the room.  It gets filled up quick with a litterpan and a hay basket and a hidey box.  You will also need to get some bedding material or some cotton towels to lay over the mesh grating so that she can rest and sit comfortably (and avoid hock sores and such).

Cherries:  the fruit of the cherry is okay.  Cherry pits are poisonous, as well as bark and leaves to rabbits.  I would say one cherry per day is fine if her stomach can tolerate cherries.  Not any more as cherries are high in sugar and can cause gut bacteria problems and also lead to an overweight rabbit.

Lee