Things to avoid?

[Ms-Read-A-Lot]

 Hello!

    I was wondering what I should avoid while bringing my BonBon out. We are visiting my parent’s place tomorrow. My parents have 24 acres and 9 hectars…Veggie gardens, herb gardens, flower beds, apple orchard ( and a bunch of other fruit trees), grape vines and so on. What are things that my BonBon should NOT get into? Also what are thigns that are ok?

 

Thanks in advance!

[bunnyfriend]

Is there any way you could keep her at home? A lot of bunnies get really stressed out when you take them places, I know it seems like a fun and exciting thing to do, and you don’t want to leave them behind but the bunny won’t view it that way. Many people will claim that their bunny “actually likes it” but rabbits being prey animals hide their fear and sickness. Stress can cause them to stop eating which cause GI stasis which can very quickly cause death.That being said, are you going to let her loose outside at your parent’s place? If so, I would really really recommend not doing so. Too many predators and trouble she could get into. Flowers, apple sticks that aren’t fully dried out, grape vines, ect. are poisonous to rabbits, along with many things in the grass like creeping charlie. Also do they use pesticides? The amount of things that are not okay greatly out way the amount of things that are safe.

[tobyluv]

Hi.

I don’t like to see rabbits outside at all. I have read and have heard first hand too many horror stories of a predator coming out of nowhere and attacking the rabbit. There is also the problem of the rabbit eating vegetation where other animals may have used the bathroom, and getting worms from it. A rabbit could also get spooked by a sound or motion and take off, getting injured or getting lost. There are fleas, ticks and other insects to contend with. Even if it is inside of a fenced area, a predator can come out of the sky or over the fence, and a rabbit can dig or squeeze under a fence and run off. Leashes aren’t recommended for rabbits because they can cause severe injury if a rabbit gets frightened and pulls away.

Here is a link to a list of plants thought to be poisonous to rabbits, so they should certainly be avoided.

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/health/poisonous.html

I agree that most bunnies feel more safe and secure at home and are not fond of traveling or new places where there may be unfamiliar sounds, smells, etc.

[Ms-Read-A-Lot]

Oh my. I am not going to let her out free. She is trained on a harness. The grass is timothy. The lawn was mowed yesterday so there shouldn’t be any flower blossoms. Apple twigs are poisonous for them when not dried? How long must they dry before it is safe. They don’t use pesticides. It used to be a farm but my father fell ill years back so its no longer running as a farm. BonBon wouldn’t be left alone. I would probably sit on the grass with her. There is a lot of clover and my parents went collecting dandelion leaves for her. I’ve never kept a rabbit as a house pet before, but my parents used to rescue rabbits from shelters and so on( saved from people who would have eaten them if they were left there). We used to have several dozen at one point. However; they were all in a bunny barn, well what my parents called it. Do herbs need to be dried out for her to eat? The lists just say certain things that they can eat, but not in what state. We have rosemary, oregano, basil, mint, summer savory and so on. I know they cant have the onion family and potatoes are a nono.

 

 

edit: We used to let them roam outside as well. I remember when we were little we would sit in a circle and let themg raze. The grass type was chosen for grazing whne my parents bought the land and completely flipped it. Although I wouldn’t know what weeds could have gotten in. I live in Eastern Canada. So maybe some of the toxic plants mgiht not grow here?

[bunnyfriend]

You are correct about the onion family and potatoes not being safe, corn, yogurt drops, and anything like crackers, cookies, bread, cake, ect. is also not safe; all the herbs you listed are safe and do not have to be dried out except for I don’t know about summer savory. I am not sure about how long they must dry sorry, but I know it’s the same with pinecones which is why I just buy apple sticks and pinecones already dried out from the store. So you will be watching her the entire time she is outside? That’s good! Also what about leaving her at home?

[Monkeybun]

predators.

That said, keep them indoors. it’s safer.

[Ms-Read-A-Lot]

The main reason I am bringing her over to my parent’s place is because I want her to become accustomed to them . Bon Bon is a therapy pet for my daughter and she visits the doctors often, most times we need to travel for a specialist. My parents will be handling her often for her to get used to them because when we travel for medical purposes, my parents will take care of bonbon. They have a play pen which they have made a cover for.( my father is a cabinet maker). So predators shouldn’t be a problem. I just want to be sure where the pen is placed, she will not encounter any toxic plants. ( she will have her cage inside the house but the pen is for exercise seeing their house inst bunny proof and cannot be due to my father’s illness). She will also have a new bunny hutch outside shortly.

My parents live rather far so it would be difficult for them to come see her every day while I am away. This is so BonBon doesn’t get lonely and so that she can have the exercise, play and care she needs while I’m away.

[Stickerbunny]

Most herbs don’t need to be dried, you can give them fresh parsley and basil, etc. But I am not sure on all those you listed. Make sure wherever the pen goes there have not been other animals – dogs, cats, racoons, etc, scan the area for droppings of animals. A back porch is safest, but a clear grass area should be fine. Never, ever leave her out of your sight though, even in a pen a predator can break in if you aren’t watching or a bun can dig out (they are great diggers). And never leave the cover off, since birds of prey would find a tame rabbit sitting in a fence very tempting.

[bunnyfriend]

How long are you keeping her in a pen outside? Overnight (if so rabbits should really never be kept outside overnight)? Even if predators can’t get in rabbits very often die from fright from a predator.

[Ms-Read-A-Lot]

The pen is only for running and exercise. It gives her room to jump and play. She will NEVER be kept out of sight or outside at night. it is strictly for her play time. We would let her play inside but the amount of meds my father takes a day…they don’t want to risk her finding a dropped pill. They are very careful about it but when he takes 50 pills a day ( not exaggerating) sometimes when he refills his dose boxes, one could fall without our noticing. The time outside would be variable depending on weather and such. She would not be left unattended. Most wild animals stay closer to the orchards and the forest. They seldom come near the house. The pen will be very close to the house…not out in some field.

[bunnyfriend]

Ohhhhh sorry!! Good (:

[Ms-Read-A-Lot]

Does this sound alright though? She will be supervised for her play times and she won’t be loose. She has a harness for when I carry her to and from the house Just in case she were to jump away or something.

 

You have nothing to apologize for. <3

[Stickerbunny]

Yes they like to stay nearer the forests, but you can never know – we had three snakes come INSIDE the house at my mothers place after my pet rat when I was a kid, eek! If they smell prey, they want it and no house will scare them off. As long as she’s always supervised, it’s covered and you’re careful that she isn’t exposed to other animals droppings, it’s probably OK if weather is permitting. If it’s over 80F or under like 50F I would probably not want them outside for any length of time though. You could set her up a run inside the house for when weather is bad, that way they’d only have to worry about keeping one area clear of pills. X-pens are pretty easy to put up / take down and store.

[Ms-Read-A-Lot]

I have an x pen on order. I went to all the pet stores in town and they didnt have any. Winter is approaching so I agree that she needs a run indoors.

[BinkyBunny]

 As long as you are closely supervising her, it will probably be okay.  As far as plants, if you are not sure about the plant, then just avoid it, but for the plants like basil and rosemary which are fine for her to eat, then you would just have to make sure that they haven’t been sprayed with pesticides and that fertilizer wasn’t recently used.  

I used to have an outdoor back run when I was in San Francisco and my bunnies really enjoyed it.  But when I moved to the East Bay, there was more of a flea problem — probably because the yard was more accessable to raccoon and possums.   My bunnies got fleas right away as opposed to being in San Francisco, they NEVER got fleas and they had been in the outdoor run many many  times over the years.

We also have to watch for hawks around here.  We had a member (can’t remember where she was located), but her bunny used to hang out on their back patio/porch, and all of a sudden she heard her bunny screaming running inside the house—with a hawk attached to the bunny!  The hawk let go and flew away, but it was scary because she was standing nearby.  So if you have birds of prey, be sure to cover the xpen or keep a watchful eye. 

I do hope that one day, I will be able to live in an area where I can create a safe (safe as possible) outdoor run that can be enjoyed by both human and bunny!   I know some members have created some pretty nice and secure outdoor runs. (Still for supervision), but even then you do have to deal with any sort of pests like fleas.  

Some members have bunnies that just love going outside, while other bunnies are terrified.  A few of my bunnies have enjoyed it, while others, like Jack…was not terrified, but he wasn’t fully happy either. 

Where your bunnies will be, what is around, what kind of predat, rs, parasites, pesticides/yard treatments etc are all things you have to consider and then decide what is best for your situation. 

[Ms-Read-A-Lot]

I’ll definitely make sure to consider those things before we place the run. Fleas were never an issue with any of our animals in the past. It has been years though. My parents have never used pesticides. We see the occasional peregrine, but we VERY very rarely see them this time of year. My father offered to make a bigger cover for the run. A solid one so that any bird of prey would not spot her from the air. Luckily the orchards attract the most pests. We placed them there when I was little to avoid critters coming to the house. what better way to side track them but with what they like.

Thanks for the advice everyone, if you feel that there is something to be added please feel free to say so please!<3

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