Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HABITATS AND TOYS Free Range to Cage – Please Help!

Viewing 10 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • TamarizRabbit
      Participant
      118 posts Send Private Message

        We have been bunny parents for 18 months now and Tizzy is (approximately) 20 months old. We think she’ll be two in February. We love her more than anything and have tried to do everything right for her. 

        When we first got her, we had her in a suitable cage whilst she litter trained, then eventually we were able to get rid of the cage all together and she had free roam of a room (my study) when we were out and access to the rest of the house when we’re in. This has worked brilliantly for a year. Since the summer though, she has become increasingly minxly. It started with chewing the sofa cushions and graduated to scratching at the door when she wanted to get out. Now she has started to chew the carpet and has made a big hole! Obviously, this is not good for us and not safe for her!

        She has toys in the study – sea grass balls, willow tubes, stuffed animals and tunnels etc. The chewing / digging doesn’t seem to be boredom. It seems to be a demand to be let out into the rest of the house whenever she wants. The main problems are that the room she lives in is also a human room and we cannot turn it over to complete bunny room and replace flooring etc. Not an option. Also, if she chews and digs when we’re in (early in the morning when we want to sleep a bit longer for example) then we have to get up and let her out because we don’t want her to destroy things – this essentially rewards her bad behaviour! I just don’t know what to do. I think we are going to have to go back to a cage for when we’re out and free run when we’re home. I know many people do this, but having had her completely free range I can’t help feel guilty. To be honest, I’m a little bit heart broken.

        I have been looking online at different bunny home options. For us, I think trying to make something bespoke would be best. I am thinking of buying a big TV cabinet or dresser and converting it into a bunny home so that the room still looks like an office / snug for humans. What do people think about this?

        Everyone seems to have such strong opinions on how to house a bunny and I really want to do the right thing. I thought we had the perfect solution, but now we seem to have an impossible problem. Binkybunny people were so helpful and kind to us when we got Tizzy, I hope you can help us again.

        Laura and Naughty Bun xx 


      • MoveDiagonally
        Participant
        2361 posts Send Private Message

          Sometimes free range doesn’t work, it’s not your fault. You’re really great with Tizzy and she’s lucky to be with you.

          Would it be possible to set up a bunny proofed area in the study? Maybe an X-Pen or two with a vinyl tile covered wooden base? X-Pens can be nice because you can always reduce them when you need the space and expand them when you’re out/not using the room.


        • TamarizRabbit
          Participant
          118 posts Send Private Message

            Thank you for being so nice. It’s really breaking my heart. She would still be out a lot I suppose. Would be easier if she’d always had some kind of cage. Just feels awful going from complete open space to confinement.

            The problem is that she can jump really high and push stuff over when she’s determined and grumpy so I’d be worried about X Pen. It’s like living with a moody teenager! In addition, the house belongs to my partner and, understandably, he wants it to look nice. The room has to be functional everyday for us as well as the bunny. That’s why we’ve been sharing it with her free range until now. He’d hate an Xpen or cubes.

            I loved the idea of this http://www.designsponge.com/2009/07/diy-project-nicoles-modern-bunny-hutch.html but would want something taller and longer if possible. I have a week’s holiday so could try to do something this week. What do you think of this as an idea?


          • MoveDiagonally
            Participant
            2361 posts Send Private Message

              I think something like that could be really neat! There was a post a while back where someone posted some pictures of more furniture like habitats, it’s old so please don’t reply to it, but it mght help give you some ideas:
              https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/109276/Default.aspx

              For cage habitats, 4′ X 2′ or 8 sq ft is the smallest recommended for a small to medium size bunny. For a larger bunny it’s about 4X4 or 16 sq ft. I think for a project like this you would probably want to focus on square footage because different furniture will have different measurements.

              I’d love to see what you come up with.


            • kirstyol
              Participant
              580 posts Send Private Message

                We had intended to do the same as you when we got Bramble, we got a cage for him for night time and when we were out but it was only supposed to be temporary until he was litter trained and neutered and just generally a bit better behaved for free roaming. It hasn’t worked out for us either, Bramble just cant be trusted to free roam unsupervised, I am still hopeful that we will achieve this one day, he is only six months old but for now we have a cage for night time and a huge pen for day time when he cant be supervised. We cant leave the pen up at night because it unfortunately blocks access to either our bedroom or the bathroom depending on where we set it up and its too big for any other room but I am working on trying to make space for it because I don’t like him being in his cage, even although it is big enough its 4′ by 2′ and he is not a big rabbit, although maybe a little bigger than we expected him to be having met his parents.

                I have been looking at housing options for Bramble a lot recently and had planned to buy something last week but there is just so much choice and I cant decide. I had settled on the cube condo but I was finding it hard to get the cubes at a reasonable price, then I found a place that sells wooden indoor cages that are a bit like the outdoor hutches you see but with more space and levels, but those were far too expensive to have shipped to me. I am interested to see what others suggest for you, it might help me decide.


              • TamarizRabbit
                Participant
                118 posts Send Private Message

                  Once again, Binky Bunniers have come up tumps and made me feel so much better! We followed the Ikea Besta model in the end, but I bought an extra unit so it’s super big. So far, it only has one door on (full door for cosy room) and she LOVES it. I think she really likes having litter tray in private dark space. We are now trying to find white pvc coated wire mesh that is strong enough for the other two doors. Having real problems sourcing it in the uk though. I’d be really interested to know of anyone who has managed to find this in UK.


                • drwil
                  Participant
                  191 posts Send Private Message

                    We have a large chicken cage meant for outdoors. It is about 2 meters by 2 meters by 1 meter tall. It is easy to reach in to give her a good bunny massage. Underneath we have vinyl flooring with the edges outside the cage to make chewing impossible.
                    Bunny can go out for 4 hours in the evening but eventually goes back to her pen on her own.
                    Something like this could give bunny a large living area at a cheap price.
                    If digging is a problem you can get a large planter or high walled large cat litter box and fill it with organic soil (no clay at all).
                    Good luck.


                  • Tully
                    Participant
                    11 posts Send Private Message

                      Hi,

                      Most of what you described are behavioral issue that happen after your bunny reaches maturity. We had the same problem with Tulley until we had him fixed.


                    • Ruby n Max
                      Participant
                      23 posts Send Private Message

                        Hi!  I have had rabbits go from free-roam to staying in a cage/pen while we were not able to watch them.  I totally hear you about being heart broken, we want to make sure our fur babies are as happy as possible, but sometimes we have to do what is best for them, even if they don’t like it at first.  I like your idea about the furniture hutch, this would definitely look nice and I think it would get some more of her energy out.  A few months back we converted an entertainment center into a hutch, and our rabbits LOVE it!  They are constantly running up and down it, surveying their kingdom.  I think they have been much happier since we moved them into it, and it takes up less space in our apartment than a pen.

                        If you are wondering how to do this, check out http://www.thebunnyguru.com/care-guide/building-rabbit-hutch/

                        I have detailed instructions on how to do this on this page.  

                        No matter what, just know that your bunny will be happier in the end for you doing this.  When we had Max and Ruby, we first let them free roam, then started to pen them up when they became destructive.  They actually seemed more settled and content when we did this!

                        Here is a picture of our hutch


                      • Ruby n Max
                        Participant
                        23 posts Send Private Message

                          One other thing, I wonder if she could use a friend. I have had several rabbits settle down once they had a friend to live with, and that was even after all sorts of toys, hidey huts, and copious amounts of attention from us!


                        • LongEaredLions
                          Participant
                          4482 posts Send Private Message

                            Hi Tully and Ruby n Max,
                            We ask that members to do not reply to old topics, over a month or so old. I am going to lock this topic.

                        Viewing 10 reply threads
                        • The topic ‘Free Range to Cage – Please Help!’ is closed to new replies.

                        Forum HABITATS AND TOYS Free Range to Cage – Please Help!