Painting a rabbit hutch
Looking for an animal friendly paint to paint your rabbit hutch? Moose Färg paint is an excellent option!
Moose F is a strong, non-toxic and robust paint. All Moose Färg paints contain a minimal amount of preservative and are therefore also suitable for coops of animals that sometimes chew or lick the wood.
The paint is very easy to maintain and is available in beautiful, matt colours. It is ideal for brightening up your wooden rabbit hutch and protecting it at the same time!
Need paint for painting a rabbit hutch?
Fam. Basters (The Netherlands): “Our rabbits were in need of a new home. And what’s better than getting them a villa painted in traditional Swedish colors (Moose F Skåne Gul)? A pleasant paint to work with and a beautiful color. The result: happy rabbits and we imagine ourselves on a holiday in Sweden every time.”
Which paint for painting a rabbit hutch?
Moose Färg has different paints, all suitable for painting a rabbit hutch. Both the opaque paint and the (semi) transparent stain are water-based and contain a minimal amount of preservative. This makes the paint safe for rodents such as rabbits.
Opaque paint colours
Moose F is a wood paint best described as an opaque stain. It has the protective characteristics of a stain, but gives your rabbit hutch a beautiful opaque paint colour. Moose F opaque stain is therefore very suitable for painting your wooden rabbit hutch.
Moose F soaks into the wood, giving it full colour coverage. Any wood grains are still visible. The paint is available in natural, matt colors. These colors are characteristics of the Scandinavian landscape and have a peaceful look.
Would you like to see the Moose Färg colours in real life?
Andrea Koolwijk (Hillegom): “Here is the (almost) final result of painting my rabbit hutch in Bohus Blå and Kiruna Grå (Moose F). It turned out beautiful, beyond expectations. What a nice paint and it smells so wonderful! A bit of Sweden in my own backyard, I am extremely happy with it.”
Transparent stain
Would you like to paint your rabbit hutch with a transparent product? Then you can use our colourless stain Storuman Skydd or our semi-transparent paint Dimma. Dimma works like a wash paint: it puts a haze over the wood, but still partially shows the wood colour. Popular examples are white wash or grey wash.
Painting advice for a rabbit hutch
- Allow the wood to shrink and expand first
When painting a rabbit hutch made of new wood, it is advisable to let it ‘work’ first for a while. Rabbit hutches are often made of pine, a type of wood that shrinks and expands considerably when exposed to moisture differences. To get a nice long-term opaque result, you can paint the first coat immediately and then wait a while before applying the second coat. It is also possible to leave the wood untreated first and then paint twice after a few months.
- Painting an impregnated rabbit hutch
If your rabbit hutch comes freshly impregnated from the hardware store, it is best to leave it for a few months first. The impregnation will seep out of the wood. This can cause stains and adhesion problems. If you do want to paint immediately, it is important to degrease the wood thoroughly. Some impregnating agents are greasy, which results in water-based paint not adhering well.
- Repainting a painted rabbit hutch
Is there an old layer of paint on the rabbit hutch? Assess how the adhesion of this layer is. If the paint layer is peeling, we recommend removing it before painting with Moose F. Sanded paint residues are no problem.
- Painting
The painting itself is very simple and a joy to do (really!). The paint doesn’t smell and spreads out nicely. A really pleasant job for a sunny day.
Make sure the wood is thoroughly clean and degreased. You can do so with our linseed oil soap. Coarsely sand planed wood with 80-grit paper. If the wood is sawn (rough) this is not necessary. Apply 1 coat of Moose F with a brush. Dilute the first coat with 5 – 10% water to ensure good penetration into the wood. Allow to dry thoroughly – how long this takes depends on temperature and humidity – and then apply a second coat. After 2 to 3 days, the paint is fully dried at a temperature of 20 °C. - Maintenance
After painting with Moose F, you usually have no maintenance for 5 years. However, rabbits may nibble at the hutch or urine and faeces may cause faster weathering. When repainting, just clean the wood and give it another layer of paint. Sanding is not necessary. Cleaning can be done with water and possibly some soap. Do not scrub too hard.
- Painting the inside of a rabbit hutch
With Moose Färg’s paint, there is technically no need to paint the inside of the rabbit hutch. The paint is vapour permeable, so the wood will not warp if you only paint one side. If you like it though, it is completely safe for your animals to do so with our paint.
Why Moose Färg to paint a rabbit hutch?
- Animal friendliness. The rabbit-friendliness of the paint is, of course, the most important consideration when painting your rabbit hutch. Moose F, Dimma and Storuman Skydd are all non-toxic to your rabbits (and chickens, bees, horses or other animals, of course). It is even safe if the rabbits chew on the painted wood. The environmental impact is minimal anyway.
- Vapour permeability. A stain or vapour permeable paint protects the wood from moisture. A lacquer paint seals off the wood so that moisture cannot get in, but cannot get out either. Wood that is damp for a long period is susceptible to mould and the paint will eventually flake. A mouldy environment is also not good for your rabbits’ health. Moose Färg products ensure that the wood can “breathe” and that it will last longer.
- Easy maintenance. When painting a rabbit hutch, you don’t want to redo it every year. Moose Färg products soak into the wood like a stain, making it virtually non-flaking. So you don’t have to sand and repaint everything every year. If the color starts to weather, you don’t need to sand. Just clean the wood and put a new coat on it. One coat is sufficient here. After that, you are maintenance-free for a few years. An additional advantage of a paint that does not need to be sanded down completely is that no paint residues end up in the environment.
Staining or painting your rabbit hutch?
