rabbit run - not nice in this weather - any ideas?

[roundabout1]

We have 2 bunnies we got in the summer, they have a very large hutch off the ground with a ramp down to the attatched run. They come out for a run out in the garden every day but we have neighbours cats that I dont trust with them so dont leave them outside run unattended. The grass where the run was wasn't great even before the rabbits but now all the grass has gone & it is just mud. They have a tunnel and toys & shelter underneath the hutch so seem happy enough but the mud just looks horrible. Any ideas?

Move the run around? Any grass that is grazed outside growing season will look like that after a while.

I cover ours in sand now and again.

Ooh never though about sand, do bunnies like sand? - sorry if that is a really daft question!

The run is attached to the hutch so can't move it around & we have a strange shaped lawn so it porbably wouldnt be possible to move it anywhere else anyway. Luckily the rabbits dont seem to mind but it looks a bit dismal.

Could you maybe get a couple of rolls of turf from anywhere, I know this really isnt the right time of year for it, but it might help to keep the area from being too muddy. Moving it all is really the only option but if you are short of space this is a problem- it is a rotten time of year for all small furries.

Have you tried a tarpaulin over the open bit? This should stop the rain getting in and making it muddy. If you've got some spare cash (I know it's christmas) and some diy skills you could try come corrugated plastic so that the light can still get in but not the rain.
I hate all this rain, my buns are o.k but outside their houses where I have to walk is awful.

I don't know what to suggest except, they shouldn't really be in the damp for too long...but if their hutch is dry I'm sure they will manage this themselves.

We've a walk in, covered chicken run and I intend to put our large boys in there in the new year. (with the chooks) For now they are just stuck in a (fairly big) hutch, very bored.

Thanks everyone

Dh is going to temporarily put some tough plastic sheeting over the top of the run to stop more rain, then after Christmas will try to get hold of some tough plastic.
They have constant access to the run & spend most of the time out there. Their hutch is big with a large bedroom area with a very low powered heater thing on the roof to stop it getting too cold, it just keeps the damp off really. If its very cold or wet they disappear in to the bedroom area but the rest of the time they are on the run.

that sounds good...I also wondered if some planks of wood might help with the ground issue? Not as heavy as slabs, but might stop it descending into Glastonbury

I have used a camping ground sheet to cover half our run over. Its not big enough to cover it all but at least the rabbits have some cover when its rainy and they still want to be outside. They can get back into thier shed whenever they like but even when its cold and wet they seem to prefer to be out. Our run is on paving slabs with a couple removed for a grassy bit.

Glad its not just my buns who prefer to be out whatever the weather!

Just had a thought - what about a thin layer of bark chippings to cover the muddy bit?
What do you think?