What’s a rabbit digging field? Do rabbits want a dig field? What occurs when you don’t have one on your rabbit?
Rabbits are identified for 2 issues: breeding and burrowing. Digging is a pure intuition in all rabbits, whether or not within the wild or your property. The one distinction is that home rabbits don’t get the identical alternatives to train that behavior.
However not having the ability to dig and chew doesn’t imply the intuition will ever go away. Maintain studying to be taught extra about dig packing containers and make a DIY dig field on your rabbit!
What Is a Dig Field?
A rabbit digging field or dig field is a good enrichment instrument to assist your rabbit train his natural habit to dig and chew issues up. It’s a easy field filled with shredded paper or different varieties of substrate, however don’t let appears deceive you. This one easy instrument can prevent tons of stress and cash, and it’s a no-fail solution to make your rabbit comfortable.
Why Your Rabbit Wants a Dig Field
Rabbits are pure burrowers, that means they like to chew and dig issues. Within the wild, this may be for housing and security functions. They reside, breed, and nest in these burrows. And, if in case you have a colony close to you, you might have even seen this community of holes and tunnels.
Even in home rabbits, this urge to dig and chew runs sturdy. This intuition dulls when your rabbit’s fastened, but it surely by no means actually goes away.
When a rabbit doesn’t have a delegated house to train this intuition, he’ll most definitely attempt to train it someplace, like his litter field, bedding, and even your flooring. This may turn out to be extraordinarily hectic (and costly if it’s so unhealthy you’re changing issues).
Earlier than I found dig packing containers for rabbits, my rabbit would dig in his enclosure, and I at all times got here residence to a large number. And I additionally couldn’t belief him round costly or good issues, so I held off on changing my flooring for years. However, as soon as I gave him his personal place to dig, I solely needed to appropriate him twice earlier than he acquired the trace, and we haven’t had an incident since.
However except for the stress and mess, giving your rabbit a solution to train a core intuition in a non-destructive means is extraordinarily vital. In case your rabbit doesn’t reply by chewing and digging the home, suppressing this intuition might lead to your rabbit turning into burdened or depressed.
Advantages of Giving Your Rabbit a Digging Field
Listed here are the primary advantages of giving your rabbit a digging field.
Prevents Family Destruction
Once more, having a digging field provides your rabbits a solution to dig and chew with out destroying your home and making an enormous mess.
A Protected Place to Dig & Chew
Not solely can the burrowing intuition be dangerous to your home items, however it will possibly really be very harmful on your rabbit, relying on what he will get into. And rabbits don’t typically like digging within the large open, so the field may also present a way of safety.
Extra Train & Enrichment
Giving your rabbit one other enrichment choice will assist him keep match and lively. So, in case your rabbit wants a bit extra “stand up and go,” a digging field is a good motivator.
An Total Happier, More healthy Rabbit
Giving your rabbit this enjoyable solution to train a powerful urge with out wreaking havoc is sweet for maintaining him lively and bodily wholesome. However it’s additionally useful to his psychological well being as a result of it prevents your rabbit from turning into burdened or depressed.
How Huge Ought to a Rabbit’s Digging Field Be?
A rabbit’s digging field might be as massive as you’d prefer it to be and what you’ve acquired house for, however the beneficial minimal measurement is the dimensions of a cat’s litter field.
In fact, that is fully dependent in your rabbit’s measurement. The rule of thumb right here is on your rabbit to have sufficient house to maneuver round and truly be capable of dig with out making an enormous mess.
What’s the Greatest Type of Field for a DIY Rabbit Dig Field?
A big cardboard field or cat’s litter field is one of the best sort of field to begin with. In case your rabbit is cramped or wants extra room, measurement as much as a cat provider.
You can even get inventive and use a big woven basket. Another choice is a spacious plastic tote, however you’ll want to chop a gap so your rabbit can get inside and sand down the perimeters. Maintain the highest open to permit the air to flow into.
My rabbit Chillé loves the cat provider as a result of it’s already like a burrow, so I made a low bar to barely shut it in and crammed it with crumpled paper and a few hay to entice him. He completely loves it since there’s extra room and privateness than the cat litter field choice.
What Do You Put in a Rabbit’s Digging Field?
You’d assume that sand and filth could be what a rabbit actually desires to dig, and chances are you’ll be proper, however filth and sand might be extraordinarily messy. Even when it by no means comes out of the digging field, your rabbit will monitor it throughout your home. I discovered that the arduous means.
Listed here are another rabbit digging field supplies to make use of as a substitute:
- Shredded or crumpled paper or newspaper
- Chunks of cardboard
- Bathroom paper rolls
- Rabbit bedding
- Aspen shavings
- Hay
Easy methods to Set Up a DIY Rabbit Dig Field
The very first thing you have to do is make the rabbit digging field, which you merely do by inserting the supplies within the field. In the event you’re utilizing a cardboard field, make certain to chop one aspect to ensure it will possibly maintain all the supplies, however your rabbit can simply hop out and in of it.
Set your rabbit’s digging field wherever you’ve seen him digging or chewing the bottom earlier than. In the event you haven’t seen that, put it near his station or enclosure. Additionally, sprinkle a number of treats inside to entice him to make use of it.
What to Do if Your Rabbit Isn’t Utilizing the DIY Dig Field
In case your rabbit isn’t utilizing his dig field, he might not like the place you’ve put it. Rabbits might be very finicky over this type of factor, which you’ve most likely already discovered throughout litter field coaching. Typically, it’s pure for us to need to maintain our rabbit’s stuff all collectively, however this may trigger overstimulation.
So, if that is so, attempt transferring it away out of your rabbit’s station or the remainder of his toys. Or, in case your rabbit doesn’t just like the digging materials, swap it up till you discover one thing he likes.
And eventually, in case your rabbit isn’t utilizing the dig field at first, he might not know use it. So, entice him with some treats to get him in there. As soon as he will get going, he’ll like it. I promise!
Conclusion
A rabbit’s dig field is among the most vital instruments you’ll be able to have for enrichment. DIY rabbit dig packing containers are easy and cheap to make, and this technique of releasing a standard intuition is helpful to your rabbit’s bodily and psychological well being. Plus, it saves you a heck of numerous work and stress. Who doesn’t love that?!
