The Hutch Company 6ft Chartwell Hutch (Single Tier)

It is slightly less wide than our previous hutch which was a Maple XL from petsathome but it is slightly higher and slightly deeper than that model which was suffering from our 2 English Lops chewing at the corners and a door. Also, the floor was falling out and needed bricks to support it.This Chartwell model is far tougher and after a period of getting used to it the bunnies are perfectly happy with it. They weren't happy at first for going up the ramp, maybe because the slope is left to right where previously it was right to left. We got round this problem by taking the old ramp and fixing it to the new ramp and it worked!One thing buyers should note. Two persons are said to be needed to construct the hutch. I would say four are needed. Two to do the actual construction, one to brew the tea and a fourth to stand around not knowing what to do!Something else I could suggest, if the hutch is going outside then send off for a brochure from a company called Omlet.They provide all you need for a metal caged area around the hutch. If the area is flagged in the compound then the rabbits have all that is needed to be happy.

Needed to get a new hutch for the rabbit. The last one had gradually been eaten over the past 5 years and after a few patch jobs was getting to the point of needing to be replaced. A quick google and I narrowed the options down to this hutch which I then ordered. Delivery was pretty quick and arrived in 2 boxes that weren't difficult to carry for the average sized bloke. I picked a reasonably dry day to put the hutch together. Instructions are not great, but could follow with a bit of common sense. Advise to have both a power drill-driver and a ratchet screw driver for the more fiddly bits on the inside and front of the hutch. Assemby basically starts with the back and sides, then the front panels, put the plyboards into the hutch for the floor and the separator board before putting on the roof panels. Make sure to assemble on a flat area and line up any sides properly so they are squared before driving any screws in - will make assembly much easier on yourself! Hardest bit was getting the rabbit into the hutch after assembly - she was confused and still wanted to go into the old one. In the end she is settled in and now has much more room and a better environment than before :-)

After researching various hutches we chose this one as it looked strong, sturdy and higher quality than some other designs, and we were not disappointed. It was more expensive but in my opinion well worth the extra cost. It arrived the next day in 3 big, fairly heavy boxes. It took me and my 14 year old daughter around 3 hours to fully build the hutch, although this also included lining the floors with lino to protect the wood and to make it easier to clean. We got the lino free from our local carpet shop as it was off cuts, thanks carpet right! The hutch will house 2 spoiled bunnies in a room of our house so waterproofing wasn't really an issue, although it seems to have an excellent quality roof which looks like it might withstand the weather. It is really heavy once built. Overall I would definitely recommend this hutch.

I love this hutch (I bought two) but I it is a little difficult to build. I've build 100s of hutches in the passed (worked in a pet store for over 10 years) and this has to be the most difficult to build. Instructions are clear and it's just an awkward biuld but that may be due to the size. I've built equally as big hutches but they were in more manageable chucks which you put together at the end. I did feel that whilst building it if a gusset of wind blew it would have smashed to pieces. But once built is it very sturdy.As for design three things I would like to be different;A plastic base instead of just a wooden base. I'm worried the drips from my waterbottles might ruin the wood so have put bowls under them and worried about cleaning up messy tummies as my rabbits are very old.I would change the ramp. The angle as it's slightly steep for my old boy. I would make it a bit wider and a coating to make it less slippy. My big girl has to take a run up to make it. The access hole would have been to small for my half French lop so have had to take the door off which is gonna be a bit of a pain when cleaning her.And last I would have liked the mesh to be held within two pieces of the wood like my old scratch and newton hutch instead of held on by long staples. Thinking of double wiring the hutch due to this as we do have foxes. I don't think it would break but I won't take the chance on my little ones.If your wondering why I gave a 4 star rating, I dealt with loads of brands of hutches over the years and think for size and value for money plus the style of hutches covers these are very good hutches.

My handy man told me they were very easy to assemble and he thought they were very sturdy and roomy. I have 3 guinea pigs living in each hutch that I brought and could easily have room for one more in each at a push.However, I'm not sure on the sliding bottom tray, it is fiddly to use and as the door is not as wide as my old hutches I can't quite reach the far corner near the bed area to clean it. If the door had been another 4 inches wider then it would of been even better. When building hutches you need to be able to reach in to scoop up your pigs gently, without stress as they will go to the furthest point to avoid capture no matter how tame they are!