Many rabbits are quite a bit bigger than the available hutches, especially if you want to house a pair. These giant bunnies are living in a dog kennel, converted by making a little door in the big door. Some budget sheds are cheaper than buying a hutch and big runs can be made from aviary panels, turned on their side, for the same cost as a small run.

If you have anyone handy, who might make panels up for you, present them with all the materials and save a lot of money by making them yourself. Iit will only take a few hours to make a set of 6' by 3' frames with mesh fixed on. It will also give great satisfaction, especially if the kids helped grandad to build it.

Make them into a U shape up against a wall and fix them together and you have a six by six foot run that you can get into and sit down and socialise with your rabbits. Better still put the hutch inside the area and make it a feature with some logs and tunnels. The buns can have access to it every day, no matter the weather as they can go back inside if they need to. Two more panels make a hinged top and they are safe from predators.

Toys do not have to be expensive. A plastic flowerpot is a toy, as is a wicker basket or a tree branch from an apple tree pruning. An old sandpit with gravel or soil is a digging pit and a drainage pipe is a warren. Old plant pots with dead plants and lots of mud are hours of play, if a bit messy.

Call me if you are finding it difficult to get things and see if we have any second hand hutches around, as long as you dont mind a bit of scrubbing and painting.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a new hutch supplier, then we recommend www.happyhutch.co.uk