The Bunny Hutch: 99.9% Recycled FREE Materials

Over the last two weekends, Dan and I have been working on a gold elite status mutli-level bunny hutch made completely of materials we had laying around, left over, or collected for free from others. 

Whoop! Whoop! Nothing like turning "trash" to treasure!

The only thing we paid for were the hinges and the slide lock for the hutch side door. So, this magnificent fur baby summer home, which would probably cost us about $300-400- based on size and "accessories" alone- cost about $4. Of course, it also took about 10 hours of our time, some planning, some patience, and a review of all materials--but over the course of two lovely weekends, it really seems more like a pleasure than a chore....and the end result has lasting value.

The hutch features a ton of venting for great airflow to keep things cool. A top level complete with snoozing loft, slatted flooring, and ramp access to a 9 square foot base level, half shaded by a flat roof that doubles as a drop in access door. That way, if they decide they do not want to be in the upper level when I need to grab them, I can access them from below as well. We are just going to throw a few cinder blocks--or maybe a cool little yard statue-- on top of the drop in panel. The buns will only be out during the day as well. 

All of the wood came from our various build leftovers and pallets that we have collected. The screen came from a few rolls I had made a point to save and hang on to for two years! They were for the small garden I grew in Cumberland for two years. I carefully dismantled and stored the fencing, not knowing what I would use it for, but feeling good that I didn't just say, aw to heck with it, and put the whole mess on the curb. 

We picked through the wood we had and after establishing a basic frame with the stronger pieces of wood (2x4s), the rest of the process was more organic. I really enjoyed working with Dan, building something once again. The whole experience was further bolstered by the fact that we were making something we needed from things we already had on hand. Not only were we slowly cleaning up our scraps, we were producing something of serious value. Down at the local hardware store, a hutch about half the size of this one was going for $179! 

When we finished the hutch, we laid down fencing to block any digging, then set the hutch in place. Then, we immediately put the bunnies in there, excited to see their reactions and just genuinely appreciated what our time and tenacity had produced. In the past, I would have looked up how to do this and then marched out to the big box store and bought all materials brand new, undoubtedly purchasing more than I need for some supplies simply because it only comes in one quantity. (Why do I have to buy 5000 staples?!) I look forward to approaching so many more projects with this mentality: "I can't spend money on this...how can it be done?" Up next? The container gardens!

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What A Hump Day! (That's a good thing.)

Our version of a romantic date. :) 

We hope all you people that are moms and people that have moms (that covers everybody, right?) had a nice weekend! 


The work continues. Dan has been steadily collecting and dismantling more pallets. We have had a few runs of luck at the pallet place that takes them apart, but we are finding the wood is better quality from the ones we take apart. 

On Saturday, we were told it was going to rain- so rather than sit home twiddling thumbs, we decided we would do something we don't do all that much lately- go on a date! Naturally as we got ready to go the weather cleared up and became beautiful- but it didn't take much to convince each other to keep to the date. ;) Since it was so nice out, we improvised. Our romantic date consisted of take out in the back of the pickup, parked in the back mall lot. The lot is abutted by large chunks of granite and trees, so it is kind of nice back there. We enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine, then headed in to watch our movie. 

Of course, as soon as the movie was done the sun went away and the weather predictions started looking more accurate. We resolved to work anyway. After returning home and changing clothes, we jumped in. I started the disorienting job of organizing the wood pieces...somehow. Dan continued ripping things apart.

I finally decided on sorting out all of the wood, loosely, by width and thicknesses. We finished up just before the rains started. On Mother's Day, we put together a little pen for Wendy outside. Once we move to the farm, we plan to make a secure area for her outside. We figured it would be better to adjust her slowly, so we've started putting her outside while we are home for a few hours at a time. I don't think she's a big fan of it right now, but TOUGH! We aren't about to have her stay inside with her own personal fan blowing all day- not with solar power! 

Sorted....sort of..

Just yesterday, Dan started ripping all the pieces of wood down to a 3 inch width. The pallet pieces came in all different widths, but the vast majority were around 3 inches or could be cut to this. It definitely feels good to start seeing a stack of uniform pieces. Next up after ripping: filling in all the nail holes with putty, then planing the boards so they have a smooth face. 

It is certainly a lot of work, but it's free and it's recycled. Two factors that make it very much worth the effort!

Yesterday also held other exciting things! A lady from a prominent television network wanted to interview us via phone on Tuesday. She liked us so much that she wanted to do a Skype interview and consider us for a possible show!! Needless to say, it was exhilarating just talking with her! This might not turn out to be anything, but just sharing our story with someone and receiving such a positive response felt great. She really liked us! We will hear more next week on what her team thinks!



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Bun-bunnnns!!!