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What is the best rabbit hutch or cage?
The best rabbit home is a two-part set-up: a dry shelter to sleep and eat in, joined to an exercise area the rabbits can reach whenever they like. The RSPCA and PDSA both say a hutch alone is not enough, and the Scottish Government's rabbit welfare guidance says many hutches on the market are smaller than recommended for two rabbits. Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk, when most people are asleep, so a run they only visit for an hour in the afternoon does not solve it.
So when you shop for a rabbit hutch or cage, you are really shopping for the bedroom. Buy the shelter, then plan the run or pen it opens into. Our guide to rabbit cage size explains where the numbers come from, and our page on rabbit hutch size covers the shelter alone.
Hutch, cage, pen or shed: which type to buy
| Type | Best for | Good points | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hutch plus run | Outdoor rabbits in most gardens | Familiar, easy to find, can be moved into a shed in winter | Most hutches are too small and too low; the run must be joined on |
| Shed or playhouse plus run | Outdoor pairs and groups | Lots of room, you can stand up to clean, easy to insulate | Gets very hot in sun, even in winter; needs ventilation |
| Walk-in run | The exercise area of an outdoor home | Tall, roomy, easy to extend | Needs a weatherproof shelter inside or joined on |
| Indoor pen | House rabbits | Most floor space for the money, easy to reshape | Jumpers may clear a low pen; needs a hide and litter tray |
| Indoor cage | A bedroom inside a pen or rabbit-proofed room | Solid tray, contains hay and litter | Far too small as a whole home |
The Scottish Government guidance calls a shed or playhouse with a cat flap into a secure run "ideal". If you are deciding between living indoors and out, our page on indoor or outdoor rabbits goes through both.
What to look for in a rabbit hutch and run
Take a tape measure to the shop page. Every rabbit should be able to take three big hops end to end, lie fully stretched out and stand up on its back legs without its ears touching the roof. For medium rabbits the Scottish guidance gives a shelter height of at least 75 cm (30 in).
- Shelter at least 180 x 60 x 60 cm (6 x 2 x 2 ft) for two small or medium rabbits, and taller for big breeds
- Two rooms: a dark sleeping area and a lighter living area
- A run of at least 240 x 180 x 90 cm (8 x 6 x 3 ft), joined to the shelter
- Waterproof roof and walls, and legs that raise it off the ground
- Vents high up in both rooms, so air moves without a draught
- Solid floor, never bare wire
- Strong welded mesh and bolts a fox cannot nudge open
- An underfloor mesh or anti-dig skirt for rabbits that tunnel
- Doors big enough for you to clean every corner
- A hiding place for each rabbit, plus one
Rabbit cages and hutches to skip
Skip anything that only works if the rabbits never leave it. That rules out most small "starter" cages, two-storey hutches with a short ramp and tiny rooms, and hutch-and-run combinations under 2 m (6.5 ft) long in total. Many are sold as suitable for three or four rabbits when the rooms are too low for one to sit up.
- Wire floors, which the House Rabbit Society warns can ulcerate a rabbit's feet
- Rooms your rabbit cannot sit fully upright in
- Steep ramps as the only way between levels
- Thin, stapled chicken wire that a fox can tear
- Glass tanks, which trap heat and stale air
Best indoor rabbit cages and enclosures
For house rabbits, HouseRabbit.org calls a 1.2 x 1.2 m (4 x 4 ft) puppy exercise pen "ideal for most rabbits", combined with free-roam time, and treats a cage as a resting space rather than a living space. The House Rabbit Society suggests at least 2 x 2 x 4 ft (60 x 60 x 120 cm) for a single rabbit's base, with several hours of exercise outside it every day. HouseRabbit.org says at least four hours.
A good indoor set-up is a pen with a hide, a litter tray and hay at one end, on a washable floor, in a room people use. If you have a cage already, open its door inside the pen and use it as the bedroom. Our rabbit cage setup guide shows layouts that work, and our litter training guide covers where the tray goes.
Our picks: rabbit hutches, runs and pens worth a look
We don't make pieces for rabbits yet, so these are from other shops we'd look at. Check the live measurements against the sizes above before you buy, because ranges change.
Omlet Walk In Rabbit Run
A tall run sold in sections, so you can build it to 3 x 2 m (10 x 6.5 ft) or far bigger and stand up inside to clean. It suits outdoor pairs and groups. It comes with an anti-dig skirt and a connection kit for a hutch is available. It is not a shelter, so you still need a weatherproof house joined to it, and Omlet itself says no run is fully predator-proof overnight.
Omlet Eglu Go Rabbit Hutch
A twin-walled plastic house that wipes and hoses clean, with a slide-out bedding tray and a door that shuts the rabbits in at night. The house is 78 x 75 x 59 cm, so treat it as the bedroom and join it to a walk-in run rather than relying on the short run it can come with. It suits owners who want a hutch that will not rot.
Omlet Zippi Rabbit Run with roof
Clip-together steel mesh panels with a roof, in single or double height, with underfloor mesh for lawns or a skirt for patios. Zippi tunnels link it to a hutch so the rabbits can come and go. Choose the double height, about 105 cm (3.4 ft), so rabbits can stand up, and add extensions to reach the minimum floor space.
Omlet Zippi Rabbit Playpen, double height
The same panels without a roof, about 96 cm (3.1 ft) high, which works as an indoor pen or a supervised garden pen. It suits house rabbits and owners who want to reshape the space. Add panels to go past the 146 x 98 cm starter size, and add a roof if your rabbits jump.
Full Cheeks 58" Wide Play and Exercise Pen
A 16-panel indoor pen, 76 cm (30 in) high, with a removable cloth liner. It is an affordable start for a house rabbit's base. Check the height against your rabbit, since some can clear 76 cm, and link two together or give plenty of free-roam time to get past the 1.2 x 1.2 m (4 x 4 ft) mark.
Ferplast Vital Rabbit Cage 120
One of the few indoor cages tall enough to matter, at 120 x 60 x 116 cm (47 x 24 x 46 in). Use it only as a bedroom with its door left open into a pen or a rabbit-proofed room, never as the whole home. Check the floor and cover any wire parts.
How to set up a new rabbit hutch and run
- Pick the spot. Sheltered from the prevailing wind and rain, shaded, quiet and out of sight of predators. Indoors, a room people use, away from radiators.
- Raise and join it. Lift the shelter at least 10 cm (4 in) off the ground and connect it to the run with a tunnel or ramp so the rabbits can come and go day and night.
- Bed the bedroom. Newspaper, then dust-free pellets, then a deep layer of hay or straw. See our rabbit bedding guide.
- Add hides. One per rabbit, plus one, each with two ways in and out. Our page on rabbit hides and houses has ideas.
- Put in food, water and a toilet. A hay rack beside the litter tray, at least one water bowl per rabbit, and toys to chew and dig.
For everything else, from diet to health checks, see our complete rabbit care guide.
Rabbit cage and hutch questions
Are rabbit cages cruel?
A cage on its own is too small for a rabbit to live in, and the RSPCA and PDSA both say a hutch alone is not enough. A cage used as a bedroom, with its door open into a pen or a rabbit-proofed room, is fine. The problem is the hours spent shut in, not the cage itself.
What is better for rabbits, a hutch or a pen?
For most homes, a pen, because it gives far more floor space for the money. Outdoors, the best set-up is a weatherproof hutch or shed joined to a large run. Indoors, a puppy pen of at least 1.2 x 1.2 m (4 x 4 ft), with a hide and litter tray inside, beats almost any shop-bought cage.
Is a 6ft hutch big enough for two rabbits?
As the shelter part, yes, if it is at least 60 cm (2 ft) deep and tall enough for both to sit up. As their whole home, no. A 6ft hutch needs a run of at least 240 x 180 x 90 cm (8 x 6 x 3 ft) joined to it and open day and night.
Can a rabbit live in a dog crate?
A large dog crate can work as an indoor bedroom, because it is tall and has a solid tray. It is not a home on its own. Leave the door open into a pen or a rabbit-proofed room, cover a wire floor if it has one, and put a hide and litter tray inside.
Are wire-bottom cages bad for rabbits?
Yes. The House Rabbit Society warns that wire floors can ulcerate a rabbit's feet. If a cage or hutch you already own has a wire floor, cover all of it with a board, a grass mat or thick cardboard, and give the rabbits a soft, solid floor for most of the day.
Where should I put a rabbit hutch?
Somewhere sheltered, shaded and quiet: out of the prevailing wind and rain, out of direct sun, away from where predators can see or smell the rabbits, and raised at least 10 cm (4 in) off the ground. Indoors, choose a room people use, away from radiators and draughts.
