Most people, if not all, love pets and quite a number love to keep rabbits for a number of reasons. Just like many other animals’ houses, rabbit hutches need to be properly taken care of in order to keep them from smelling and to have them look clean. To achieve this goal, you need to take steps such as cleaning of the hutches to make. At the same time, you need to know to do this in the correct way. Most people take steps to try and make sure that the hutches stay clean and don’t smell but it’s not always the case. This would mean that they’re doing something the wrong way. If you’ve experienced this or are just looking for a way to keep the hutch clean and smelling nice, the following are a few helpful tips for you.
1. Carry out daily cleaning of the rabbit’s hutch – Most of us loathe the chore cleaning of the hutch. However, there’s no option for us if the smell is to be prevented from coming and the hutch to stay clean. Any fresh foods that have not been eaten by the rabbit should be removed from the hutch. These include veggies and greens among others. This should be done twice a day, ideally, in the early morning and at night. You should also ensure that all the hay from the floor is removed especially if you don’t use a hay rack. Any hay that is soiled or wet needs to be removed too. Other tasks in the daily cleaning include washing out food bowls and washing and refilling the bottles of water. There could also be messes such as spills of water or misses of the litter box which should be spot cleaned to make the weekly cleaning job much easier. The litter box should also be always kept clean. Therefore, check them out and scoop, clean and change it regularly as may be needed.
2. Carrying out weekly hutch cleaning – During the weekly cleaning of the rabbit’s hutch, all the accessories in the cage must be removed and washed. All bedding in the hutch also must be removed and washed during the weekly chore. The cage should be wiped down with hot water. If there are urine deposits, you may use vinegar to remove. Even if you haven’t noticed any urine deposits, use the vinegar anyway to wipe out the cages. Alternatively, for those with smaller cages, it’d still be okay to take it apart and then rinse it with hot water. This can be done with a hose or in the tub. Other things that should be cleaned with hot water include the water bottles, litter box, the hay box and the feeding dishes.
3. Periodic disinfection – Periodic disinfection of the cages is advisable. However, the disinfectant should be thoroughly rinsed to ensure that none remains in the cages. This is also not a good idea if the cages are wooden as the disinfectant may soak.
Conclusion – Vinegar is a great option for cleaning the rabbit’s hutch and cages as it can dissolve calcium salts that precipitate from the rabbit urine. Another great idea is to choose the right litter and litter train your rabbit as this will ease your cleaning chore. Absorbent bedding should be used as it also makes cleaning the cages easier. Neutering or spraying the rabbits will reduce the incidences of territorial marking and spraying. Therefore, it should also be done to keep the cage and the hutches clean.
