This time last year we started framing up some larger rabbit housing behind the housing we made the year before, which very quickly became too small as Zapp grew to his full size – male angoras are pretty huge rabbits – and I took in another pair of bunnies (Licorice and Toast).

We had this project on hold all winter but we were finally able to work on it again this month. Shortly after getting back in action I discovered one morning that Zapp had passed away suddenly in his sleep which was actually fairly horrible, I’ve really had enough of death and dying and finding dead bodies for the next little while, thanks. With the loss of Millie earlier this year as well I am back down to essentially 4 pairs of rabbits so this housing will be extra spacious.

J has been working on it a ton and now it is almost complete, and it looks AMAZING. The big thing holding us back was roofing material; we found some used material for free last fall that we had grabbed for the bunny house, but it wasn’t really suitable for the size of the roof so we used it instead to cover our woodpile. I bit the bullet and bought new roofing and now I’m really glad I did because it looks most excellent. Once the roof was on things went really quickly.

I salvaged this roll of insulation and we used it to create a (hopefully effective) cold-weather barrier between the plywood and future siding. The mesh ventilation windows will have wooden inserts that can be locked on in the cold or stormy weather which I’m pretty excited about. I have been lining the windows with plastic which works well to keep out drafts, but the rabbits tend to chew and tear at it which I’d like to avoid.

The house is divided into two halves, the first one being complete save for the laminate floor tiles. It has 3 levels, 2 ramps, and 4 doors, plus floor space for the rabbits to use and a storage space above for metal pens and window shutters.

^ We even did trim boards on the roof capped with metal flashing, and we will be adding a gutter to drain into the rain barrel.  So fancy!

The “old” house finally got it’s door painted, and will soon be consolidated into 2 hutches for 3 rabbits, rather than 4 hutches for 8 rabbits (plus one inside the house that we really need moved out of the basement). Toast and Licorice are really enjoying the extended run we set up.

I’m going to try to bond Momo and Leela (both widowed) together to make a 4th pair, but so far things have been a bit hit and miss. Momo can be fairly aggressive with other rabbits, but so can Leela so it’s an interesting mix. Stay tuned!