A hutch full of buns!

Before I begin I must apologise in advance for the incredibly annoying thing Flickr has decided to impose on its users - adding massive white edges to all embedded photos, along with a logo and whatnot. Nobody on Flickr actually likes or wants them there so I hope they'll see sense and get rid soon. It's certainly annoying me already and I've only posted once with them in place!

Anyway, moving onto a more pleasant topic - bunnies! :D

When Julip launched their latest range of adorable latex animals several months ago I knew I'd be needing a few for my own little yard and pre-emptively constructed them a hutch to live in. I hadn't bothered to check how big they actually were so it was a bit of a risk in case I got some and they didn't fit but luckily I'd made it just the right size.

As seen in my previous post, I bought myself four bunnies from the Lake District Live last weekend and I doubt they'll be my last, they're just ridiculously cute.

From left to right: Teasel, Smudge, Sooty and Barnaby

Smudge is the crafty one, always plotting his next escape attempt...

Teasel was half wild when he was adopted and is still very wary of people.

The other two are perfectly friendly and approachable and are easily the most popular out of the four.

I didn't look at any actual plans for the hutch and simply eyeballed it from photographs of real ones I found online. It's certainly not the most efficient way of making things but I liked the kind of 'rough and ready' look it ended up with.

 

 It's nothing more than stained balsa wood with a roof covered in black felt and some wire mesh I found lurking in one of my scrap drawers. The door has a working hinge made from a metal pin and some thin metal cut from a tea-light holder. The ramp was made later and just leans against the opening, though I added a couple of strips of wood underneath so it hooks over the edge.

 Located right next to the feed shed, I reckon the bunnies get more than their fair share of treats...







They've also made friends with the resident guinea pigs - all made by myself a few years ago from fimo. I'd quite like to make some more to sell as I remember them being quite popular when I sold a few at a live show.



Although the playmobil(?) fencing makes an admirable enclosure for them, I'd quite like to make them a proper run so that may well become a future project...