The Pony In Your Hutch ( Or How Much Space Do Rabbits Really Need?)

I’m going to take an honest look at what can be a contentious subject. The amount of space that rabbits need to really thrive. And I’ll compare rabbit living space per pound of body weight, with a range of other domestic animals. You may be surprised at the results… I certainly was!

The Pony In Your Hutch

Imagine I told a friend that I was getting a new animal. They have to guess what it is.  But I give them some clues. I tell them that my new friend:

• Can reach speeds of over 30 miles an hour and sustain those speeds over fifty yards or more
• Can jump over 3 feet in height
• Has a preferred diet of grass and leafy herbs and likes to graze over large areas of grassland
• Can sleep with their eyes open
• Has powerful back legs and can deliver a nasty kick 
• Lives in herd and suffers if kept in isolation
• Dislikes hot weather but can thrive in freezing temperatures

My friend would be justified in thinking that I am getting a pony, or maybe a llama. 

But these are all features of the domestic rabbit. And the sad fact is that most rabbits are utterly deprived of almost everything that is important for them including the ability to run, jump, graze and the companionship of other rabbits, for their entire lives. 

I appreciate that some of this isn’t comfortable reading, but please bear with me. We’ll talk about solutions too! Let’s look at the extent of the problem first.

How Rabbits Are Missing Out

If we compare rabbits with several other domesticated animals, I think you’ll agree that we are shortchanging our bunnies to a worrying degree. 

Please note that the chart below is NOT recommended space, but instead it is the amount of space that is often available to the average domestic animal relative to their size.

What I have done in this chart is to look at the average body weight of a few different pets and domestic animals. And at the square footage of the area per pound of body weight,  in which they spend the majority of their lives. By majority, I mean more than 12 hours per day. 

Average space commonly available to domestic animals

	Body Weight	Sq Feet Living Space	Sq Feet Per Pound
Sheep	100lbs	21780	217
Cat	7lbs	900	128
Pony	500lbs	21780	43
Dog	30lbs	900	30
Hamster	0.2lbs	4.8	24
Rabbit	5lbs	8	1.6

I knew things were bad for many pet rabbits, but making this chart surprised even me. It’s worse than I thought. And it’s no better for meat rabbits in many parts of the world, where it is standard practice to keep them in cages measuring 3 feet by 2 feet. Even a 5lb pet rabbit in a 6 foot hutch (not a common sight), has only 2.4 square feet of space per pound of body weight. It makes our hamster cage look positively palatial.

Let’s look at how I came to these numbers so that you can decide for yourself if this is a fair assessment and comparison.

Body weight

The first thing to say is, this isn’t an accurate or definitive guide to pet animal body weight. Obviously there is huge scope for individual variation, my rabbits are bigger than 5lbs, yours may be smaller. I’ve thrown a sheep in there for comparison because I happen to keep sheep. Ponies are often less than 500lbs. And of course, dogs vary greatly in size depending on breed. 

Living space

I have assumed that the cat and dog in this example live indoors. And taken my square footage from the average size of an apartment in the USA. The square footage available to the rabbit is a basic hutch size, the kind you can buy in any pet store. The same goes for the hamster. Though hamsters often have two storeys to their cage plus an exercise wheel. Which helps.

For the pet pony and the sheep I have assumed a half an acre paddock. In reality, my sheep and many ponies have more space than this.

Many cats have unlimited access to outdoor space and most dogs have access to a yard or garden for much of the day, so most have even more space than shown in this chart.  And of course if your pet rabbit is a house rabbit they are doing very well for space. 

This is just a guide to highlight the realities of what we are doing to our pet rabbits when we put them in a hutch. 

Do Rabbits Actually Need A Bigger Space?

You could argue that rabbits sleep most of the day anyway. Many pets do. 

In fact dogs and cats sleep for more than half of every 24 hours and if left to their own devices tend to intersperse bursts of activity with long periods of sleep. This is fairly typical behavior for many predators. 

Predators can behave this way because they are able to consume a large part of their daily nutrient requirement in a very short space of time, and don’t actually need to expend much energy again until it’s time to catch the next meal.

The rabbit on the other hand is not a predator. And its digestive system is completely different from that of most other household pets. A rabbit is designed to keep moving and eating for long periods of time, with short rest breaks in between grazing. 

My rabbits like to graze, run, and jump. They do spend some time resting but they move around their space as much if not more than my dogs move around theirs. 

The simple fact is that the rabbit in your hutch has far more in common with a pony or sheep, than it does with a dog or cat. And yes, it is my belief that rabbits need a lot more space than most domestic rabbits will ever get. 

Making a change

The rabbit is an amazing athlete, whose entire digestive system only functions efficiently on vegetation that is predominantly grass based. Being fed on breakfast cereal and incarcerated in a space with 1.6 square feet of space per pound of their body weight, is not a life for a rabbit. It’s an existence. 

But hey, it doesn’t have to be like this. 

I’m sure that if rabbits were ‘discovered’ today, we would not question their need for space, and a sensible diet. And as rabbit keepers, we don’t have to continue with the mistakes of the past. We can move forwards with a new protocol. And new, better standards. 

And that is why I started this website. And what so much of it is all about. 

I know that change takes time. And I’m not judging anyone on what they’re doing or have done with their rabbits. And while I’m gradually making improvements to my own rabbit’s living accommodation, it’s not perfect yet. 

This is about what we do going forwards, and making the most of what we have, rather than what we did in the past. 

There is much you can do to help your own rabbit without spending a small mortgage on a huge rabbit condo. 

Rabbit Keeping Options

There are two main ways to help pet rabbits have a great life. And both can work really well

Option 1: Keep your rabbit indoors

Option 2: Create the right living space outdoors. 

The second option is more expensive. And it requires some outdoor space. So the first option is often the best for a pet rabbit owner. Rabbits can be house trained and kept as indoor pets in just the same way you would keep a dog or a cat. 

There are certain compromises you’ll need to make. Small adjustments to your lifestyle. But keeping a house rabbit can work really well, and provide a lot of pleasure. 

If you are homesteading and keeping rabbits primarily to feed your family, or if you simply don’t want to have your pet rabbit indoors then there are outdoor options that are achievable for many of us.  

A garden shed for example, with a fenced area of grass next to it, can make a great rabbit enclosure. The shed could be divided so that you can still keep your lawnmower and tools in one half while the rabbits have the other. A small pophole can be cut in the wall so that the rabbits can come and go. 

What To Read Next

These options are explored in much more detail in other articles. You might want to read:  “Where should I keep my rabbit” next

The purpose of this article is to highlight problem areas in current attitudes to rabbit housing and try to find ways in which we can do better. 

If you keep rabbits, or are thinking of keeping rabbits, I hope The Pony In Your Hutch has given you food for thought. 

If you think this will interest others please share with your friends on Facebook, instagram, Pinterest, and other social media accounts. It’s all about making life better for rabbits