Outdoor rabbit run setup for summer

Getting your Tan set up outdoors before summer hits is exactly the right time to do it — you want everything weatherproofed and settled before the heat arrives. Before I point you in the right direction, a quick but important note: most hutches sold in pet shops are genuinely too small. Rabbits need space to do at least three full hops, stand fully upright on their hind legs, and have separate areas for sleeping and toileting. Is this one rabbit or more, and are you looking for a combined hutch-and-run setup, or a standalone weatherproof run to attach to housing you already have?

That makes sense — a permanent outdoor run that handles whatever the weather throws at it. Before I recommend something specific, can you give me a rough idea of how much garden space you're working with? And is your hutch raised off the ground or sitting flat?

With that much space and a raised hutch, you're in a good position. The run I'd point you toward is the Omlet Walk-In Rabbit Run. It's powder-coated steel mesh — so no warping, no rust — and the mesh is specifically designed to keep foxes and cats out, which a lot of cheaper runs fail at badly. It's tall enough for you to walk into for cleaning and interaction, which matters a lot for a Tan since they're an active, alert breed and do better with space to move properly. It connects directly to an Omlet hutch natively, but it can be adapted to work alongside a standard raised wooden hutch with a tunnel connector. The modular design also means you can extend it later if you want more room.

It pegs firmly into the ground and the frame is solid enough to handle normal wind without issue — it's not going anywhere. For sun cover, Omlet sell a shade cover specifically sized for it, and I'd genuinely recommend adding that for summer. Rabbits overheat faster than most people realise, and a Tan sitting in direct afternoon sun is a real welfare risk. The cover clips on and off easily, so you're not committing to full shade all day — you can adjust it as the sun moves. That combination of the run plus the shade cover is the setup I'd go with if this were my rabbit.

Really glad you held off — most of those are suitable for a guinea pig at best. Your Tan will have a proper outdoor life with the setup you're putting together. If you hit any questions once it arrives about positioning or connecting it to the hutch, feel free to come back.