free range bunny questions

[peanutsmom]

hey, just a couple questions for people who transitioned their bunnies to be free range all the time.  so, whenever i let peanut out he doesn’t show any interest in chewing on furniture or wires and hasn’t had any bathroom accidents.  i don’t have carpet so he can’t do any damage there. 

i would like him to be out all the time since he loves it so much and hasn’t caused any trouble.  my question is, has anyone done this and come home to unexpected bunny destruction?  also, i need some inexpensive and easy ideas for covering my electric cords just in case. 

thanks!

[KytKattin]

Definitely block off all the cords before you leave him unsupervised. It is not an “if” it is a “when” in regards to wires. lol. There are cord protectors that are sold at places like Lowes or Home Depot. They won’t be very expensive. The other option, for something like a TV, is to make sure the rabbit can’t get behind the furniture it is sitting on. That is how I have my room set up. I just block off access to places I don’t want her to go with NIC panels.

If you have anything old/valuable/sentimental take it out of bunnies reach or block it off somehow. It doesn’t matter if it is your grandma’s heirloom coffee table, or your prized DVD collection. If you really value it, keep it out of the reach of your rabbit.

If he isn’t neutered/is under 6 months to 1 year, there is a good chance his behavior will change as hormones come into play. Your snuggley, perfectly behaved baby will enter the bunny version of terrible twos and everything you thought was safe now looks like a rabid wolf tore through your home.

Ask yourself: Am I okay with my *insert here* having some teeth marks on it? What if it is sprayed with urine?

Some people might be okay, just finding those things annoying, while others would be very angry. Be realistic with yourself and realistic about what your bunny has the potential to do (destroy!). There is nothing wrong with taking things slow and building up with supervised free range time, or semi-supervised free range (for instance, when you are asleep, gone for short durations). It has taken me about 2 months to “bunny proof” my room, and I would say I have a very non-destructive rabbit. Set backs included realizing she needed a litterbox outside her cage, learning how to block certain areas off to truly be bunny proof (boy can she jump!), realizing she will pee when the fire alarm goes off, an isolated instance of carpet dismantling, and teaching her not to attack me when I walk around my room. Basically, they will show you what needs to be done, and it is best if you are there to see it!

[Sarita]

You want to transition slowly to free range and usually older rabbits do better. You also want to make sure if he’s a small rabbit that there are no cubbyholes or areas that he can squeeze into that you cannot find him. Start him out in one room and slowly introduce him to the rest of the house.

[AbbyGirl]

Definitely block of behind or under anything and all the wires. I have ours behind nic grids or furniture which works for us but I have a BIG rabbit. We stared out by letting Abby be free range in the daytime and only while we were home. After months of that we tried her while we took a quick trip to the store. We slowly let those trips get longer and longer. Then one day we were crazy enough to try it over night! We have had a few accidents but nothing major. I do have to say that she is not a chewer or digger and is just a big lazy girl. Going free range will not work for everyone.

[LoveChaCha]

The tips that I will give is to invest in NIC (neat idea, or storage cubes) cubes to block off TV, lamps, whatever electronic wire, area that you do not want your rabbit going to. My bunny would munch on baseboards, but I put stinky perfume on the baseboard. she was not pleased with the smell and never chewed another baseboard since.

I started out little by little. My dad and I would go to the store and he said “Just let her stay out, she’ll be fine,” and we came back without no accidents.

It really depends on the bunny’s personality as well. My girl is very feisty and demanding, yet very lazy. She just sleeps during the entire day, so no mischief until mom gets home from work at night.

[Stickerbunny]

Agree with everyone to go slowly. And you do want to block off the cords! You can buy vacuum tube like cord protectors, or clear fish tank tubing for them, or a few other styles to cover them. Or use NIC cubes. I didn’t have any cord protectors around and Powder likes to eat the phone cord, so one night I just wrapped it in cardboard and he leaves it alone. Whatever works for keeping the bun away from the cord. Even a good bunny will get tempted if you’re not around and nibble if it’s left out.

I started out with Powder having a totally bun proofed area I would baby gate him into (which was 3 rooms) when we left to go anywhere. There were no cords, worst he could have done was nibble the baseboards or mark outside the litter box, but he didn’t do anything bad. After that we would go to the local store and leave him out and he was OK then too. Now he is never baby gated in anywhere, though I do have the birds room and the laundry room gated off – the birds room has my boyfriend MTG collection in it, which would become a tasty bunny snack and the laundry room is blocked off because he marks it and he likes to try to get behind the washing machine.

[emkvet]

My bun has been free range ever since she was spayed. She actually was more destructive when she was in an enclosed area than when she’s free-range, so I didn’t have to do a lot of bunny-proofing. I just make sure all the cords are out of the way, and that she has her own area where her toys, hidey basket, litterbox, and food/water are. She sleeps on an ottoman that I covered with a blanket in my room, and I have more litter boxes in there for her.

Going free-range is trial and error. Sometimes Hazel has weird territorial issues, and will randomly pee somewhere. This can happen if you change things around in the house or bring in new smells. Today I caught her peeing over by the chair in the living room! I have no idea why…but always have white vinegar on hand for clean-up, and be patient. Hazel is excellent about her litter habits most of the time, but rabbits do have accidents. But Hazel loves being free-range, and it wasn’t that hard of a transition to make!

Since your bun is a baby, be warned (like the others said) that he may suddenly change his behavior and start marking like crazy. It’s just something you’ll have to deal with until he’s neutered.

Good luck!

[Malp_15]

My Tait is a lot like Chacha. He sleeps underneath my bed from when he eats breakfast to when I get home from work. If he ever does anything bad, it’s when I’m home and within hearing distance… the weirdo

I started by leaving him out in my room longer and longer periods about a month after he was neutered. It only took me 2 weeks to start leaving him out permanently in my room He still gets locked up if I’m going to be housesitting or anything, just incase. But I also like doing it so that if anything ever happened he is used to being in the x-pen and doesn’t freak out. He is just a year old now and I’m going to start letting him out in the basement living room as well, as soon as my schedule calms down. I waited this long because I wanted him to have totally calmed down before doing a full scale introduction to the dogs.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL Yes definitely but you can start in small increments, like overnight or just for a few hours while you are out-to give them a bit of freedom and see what the ‘problem areas’ are (i.e. what is interesting that you need to bunny proof).
Make sure cords are blocked off-they are dangerous not just irritating if they get chewed. Other than that, your priceless breakables and antique books and hand woven rugs don’t tempt fate, put them away and then give your bunny some unsupervised small periods of time to see what they’ll get up to

[peanutsmom]

thanks guys!

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