Useful tips and product info

Hutches

Hampton's french lops and Alexia’s mini lops are kept outdoors, in the large airy hutches  - the french hutches are in a minimum of  6 x 2 x 2 ft and the mini lops are in 3 x 2 x 2ft. 

We cover the hutches with ventilated plastic in wet or very windy weather and on very hot days we swag them with white cotton sheets to help reduce the temperature and we put frozen bottles of water in the hutches which the rabbits soon learn to drape themselves over.

We are presently using Darren Brittain, a carpenter in Coventry, to make us some new hutches, one of them pictured below.  We have opted for 6ft x 2ft x 2ft to give the french lops plenty of room, we have not had a 'bedroom compartment' but have kept the insides open plan, giving these large lops more room to hurtle about.

 We have found Darren's hutches to be solid and sturdy and they are definitely made to last.  

Should you wish him to make a hutch for you he can be contacted on his mobile number 0779 22 333 99 or you can email him on darrenjbrit@hotmail.com .

Darren can make them to your own particular requirements and can deliver, for a small fee, within the Uk.

Easy Fill Up Water Bottles

Being reordered in 2012

We have recently sourced a brilliant top filling sipper bottle which we are buying in bulk for our buyers at a mere £4.50 for a large one which holds a litre of water.

These bottles are also much easier for the rabbit owner as the water is poured in from the top and need not be taken from the hutch every time for refilling and are also much easier for the rabbit to drink from as they have a push up stopper system rather than the normal metal ball ended ones you get in pet shops.

They are also very simple to clean with an overnight soak in a solution of baby bottle sterilising liquid - you would need a spare bottle to put on while the other was soaking though, so why not buy two   :)  as these are nearly half the price of similar on line top fillers.

Feed bowls

Don't pay a fortune for a pet shop rabbit bowl!   They tend to be far too small for a french lop and often too high sided for a big headed rabbit to get their face in. Buy your rabbit a medium sized, low sided lasagne dish from your local pound shop or second hand shop and save yourself a fortune !

Feed info

Here at Hampton Stud we like to think our rabbits are given the best possible care and the best possible feed we can afford.  In the beginning we tried various ‘pretty’ mixes but found them sorely lacking and extremely wasteful as our rabbits, being sneaky devils, ate all the pretty coloured bits and left all the pellets which were the bits that had the nutrients in!

 We did a bit of breeder research and found that many breeders used pellets so have now transferred all our stock onto Haygates Country Feeds rabbit pellets which is 18% protien and 16% fibre, perfect for a breeding line, we also mix in Spillers ReadiGrass which they absolutely love.

This two part mix seems to work very well with our line and is highly recommended though we advise pet owners with just one or two rabbits, to use Burgess Supa Excel for French lops and  Supa Rabbit Excel Junior & Dwarf for mini lops which, in our opinion, are the best feeds on the market  - if you can afford the prices !

Transportation

We use and highly recommend the large Savic Pet Caddys for transporting our rabbits, they are good and sturdy, airline approved and open topped which makes 'packing' very stress free.

this link will take you to a search page, we suggest getting the larger of the two sizes which is plenty large enough for a french lop rabbit and is    55x37x33cm   they will cost you around £35

Must have Meds!

We use and recommend these   Carrs Products,

Entracare Aqua and Bums and Tums both are designed to stimulate good gut flora in rabbits and a real must have for new arrivals

this is what Carrs have to say about these products.......

Carr’s Bums and Tums
A natural herb extract for rabbits of all ages with upset Tums and runny bums.
Bums and Tums will help to firm up their droppings and improve their gut function.  It will also help to reduce the possibility of fly strike. Try it also for rabbits with a slow gut (statis). It is used by hundreds of professional rabbit breeders for keeping their rabbits in top condition and its NATURAL all from plant extracts.

How Entracare works

In the intestines of all animals, birds and even humans there is a mucus lining, this is called the intestinal mucosa, it is a naturally occurring layer that is  produced constantly through the life of the animal this layer is grey and warm and it it can become a breeding and feeding ground for many stomach pathogens, (ecoli, coccidiosis, salmonella etc)  left alone and in a situation that  is beneficial to their reproduction  ie gut statis or a collapse of good bacteria, the pathogens can multiply quickly to many millions, having the effect of dragging the animal down, to, in many cases, death.

The action of Entracare is to losen this intestinal mucosa and lift it away from the intestine, it is then passed out in the faeces, flushing with it all the pathogens that are present in the mucosa by using the Entracare continually the mucosa that is always being produce is lifted and passed all the time, the pathogen counts go right down and the animal improves in health because it is no longer fighting and feeding the pathogen population.  The good bacteria then have a chance to multiply and  an improved immune system is hopefully achieved.

Savlon Wound Wash

brilliant for the odd bump or scrape on both rabbits and humans!