Rabbits are not outdoor animals, they should be kept inside where it is safe and not stressful for them. You’ll also need to have two separate enclosures because you’ll have to separate your rabbits at roughly 12 weeks before their hormones kick in.

it is a common misconception that bunnies should be outside. It is actually very dangerous for them even in an hutch. They can get attacked and harassed by predators and scared to death, temperature changes can kill them, and not to mention all the health issues they can get due to fly strike, parasites, fleas etc. Bunnies as small as Netherland dwarfs should definitely not be outside as they are at even bigger risk as they are so small. I would recommend you reconsider the intention of keeping them outside. Bunnies deserve a warm and loving family home with care and cuddles. Also you should separate the two bunnies as they need to be properly bonded before they can be kept together safely.

As for the flooring…the less it slides the better. I have regular carpet for Sprocket around the house and a fleece blanket in the bottom of his cage but he is free roam. Bunnies should be fed unlimited Alfalfa Hay in the first 6 month, with some timothy hay or alfalfa pellets, and limited veggies starting at about 3 months old. At 6 months change to timothy hay and limited timothy hay based pellets and limited veggies. Unlimited clean water daily.

being together since birth means nothing when not bonded properly. They are not like puppies. once hormones kick in they can have vicious fights to the death even.

it is safest for bunnies to be inside… especially since bunnies that are gotten as pets are NOT wild rabbits and are nowhere near the same which is why they should not be kept and treated as such.

We have people on here from Australia and other warm countries and majority will op for keeping bunnies inside as it is the best for a bunny to be inside in a controlled and safe environment. Cold is not the only outside risk…bugs, predators, and heat as well as rain and winds are all risks. Fly strike is a deathly condition that can affect inside rabbits too but is a high risk for outdoor bunnies.

Binky Bunny is a house bunny forum, so most of us here house our rabbits inside. You might find people with more experience in outdoors housing on other forums, for example Rabbits United. Here’s a sticky from that forum:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?311878-Outdoor-Housing-Tips-amp-Examples

If rabbits are housed outside they should have a hutch that’s elevated off of the ground. The hutch should have one section that provides shelter against sun, rain, snow and wind. The whole hutch should actually be placed in a shady spot, because rabbits don’t cope well with heat and heat stroke is a very real danger.

The hutch should also have a run, where the rabbits can get exercise. The netting you use should be welded and of a mesh-size that stops rodents and other animals from gaining entrance. Some predators can dig their way into a run, and rabbits can (rather obviously!) dig their way out, so the bottom should ideally also have netting. Netting is ok if it’s directly on top of grass, otherwise wire bottom cages should be avoided because rabbits have sensitive feet with no pads, just hair.

There must be a roof or prey birds will attack. You should also try and keep out insects like ticks and mosquitos that spread disease (I think you have myxomatosis and RVHD in NZ just like in Europe and Australia). If you can have your buns vaccinated, I’d strongly recommend that.

Young buns will fight once they reach puberty, so they need to be separated no later than at 12 weeks and then be properly bonded about a month after they’ve had their procedures. Don’t wait until they fight before you separate. They can hurt each other bad and you might never be able to bond them.

I agree with all others.

Pet bunnies are much better kept inside, where they can receive consistent attention and monitoring, and are safe from predators and disease. Bunnies can get very sick in a matter of 12 hours, so it is important that you are able to monitor them closely. You must make sure that they are eating and pooping regularly- even 6 hours without eating can jump start an episode of GI stasis. You’ll also want to know what their normal behavior is like, so you can determine when they are acting “off” which may be a sign of illness. Obviously, it is much easier to get to know all these things your bunny does when they are inside.

As bam said, wire floor should be avoided unless over the grass. Placed over the grass, the bunnies won’t be handling all their weight on the wire bottom. If they are suspended off the ground with a wire bottom, they will have to put all their weight on their feet- which can cause sore hocks.

And yes, they must be separated at 12 weeks at least. Even though they have grown up together, hormones will cause your bun to act much differently toward each other.

Bunnies are not safe outside, it’s as simple as that. You can argue that it’s more natural, but wild rabbits die/are killed very young (hence why they are programmed to breed – to maintain their population)

Regardless of whether they are litter mates or not, they’ll need separation. And they’ll need to be bonded properly which requires 24/7 supervision – something you can’t really do when they’re outside.

Regardless of the conflicting opinions on indoor/outdoor do you not think it will be an issue that your buns aren’t going to be acclimatised to being outdoors? You’ve obviously decided that you would like to have your bunnies outdoors. So should you not have them get used to living outdoors right from the start rather than have them struggle with the sudden change in temperature because they have started their life with you indoors. I’ve seen many shelters where I’m from that are happy to let people adopt bunnies for indoor or outdoor but they are very strict on the time of year that this is being done if the bunny has previously been indoors as they need time to adjust to the temperatures. I completely agree with everyone on here that bunnies should be indoors for various reasons but I also think that if you are set on them being outdoors then they shouldn’t be in the house at all. It should be one or the other. I just don’t think it’s fair that it’s dangled in front of them if it isn’t going to be permanent

Posted By Eddyw111 on 8/21/2017 11:02 AM

Regardless of the conflicting opinions on indoor/outdoor do you not think it will be an issue that your buns aren’t going to be acclimatised to being outdoors? You’ve obviously decided that you would like to have your bunnies outdoors. So should you not have them get used to living outdoors right from the start rather than have them struggle with the sudden change in temperature because they have started their life with you indoors. I’ve seen many shelters where I’m from that are happy to let people adopt bunnies for indoor or outdoor but they are very strict on the time of year that this is being done if the bunny has previously been indoors as they need time to adjust to the temperatures. I completely agree with everyone on here that bunnies should be indoors for various reasons but I also think that if you are set on them being outdoors then they shouldn’t be in the house at all. It should be one or the other. I just don’t think it’s fair that it’s dangled in front of them if it isn’t going to be permanent

Very good point!

Speaking for myself (and my buns), the only time they’re ever going to be outdoors – I’m pretty certain on this now – is when they’re in a solid, secure, safe carrier being carried in my grip or safely belted into the car. In fact, I’m probably going to scout around before I even walk out the door with said carrier to make darn sure there’s no dogs or cats anywhere nearby, even though (so their foster mom told me) Panda and Fernando are used to the noise of barking dogs. I’m just not taking any chances with their safety.

Posted By Jack&Lola on 8/21/2017 1:19 AM

We live in New Zealand where temperatures don’t reach as cold as other countries, and in the wild they are outdoor animals and they will have a very cosy home in there hutch (made sure it’s well big enough) and will spend a lot of time inside and playing on the grass, we are also worried about them becoming to hot in the house, we have a few weeks to prepare for our new arrivals so if need be they can be brung inside, we just want to look at all the possibilities and know how to make them as happy as we can, we would just rather keep them outside with grass and a more natural environment, thank you a lot for your feedback and as much knowledge as you guys can pass on to us would be very very helpful as we have found forums to be the best way to learn on how to take care of our bunnies in the last couple of weeks of researching. Also both our bunnies have been together since birth and we will get them neutered as soon as they can so do they still need to be separated?

Hi

I have six buns, 3 bonded boy girl pairs. In summer, ours go outside in enclosed runs on the grass early in the morning, between 5 am and 6 am. They have shelter and shade, and all love their garden time. They usually come indoors around 2 pm, when our garden becomes a suntrap, and the blinds are shut in the room they are in, keeping it cool and shady for their siesta. In winter, I keep the house at 15-16 degrees Celsius, which means that they can still go out for an hour or two if its dry and no more than 10 degrees colder out than in.

In the evening, and on winter mornings, each pair in turn gets let out of their section of the dining room for floor time in the living room. During floor time, they have access to our stairs, which they all love racing up and down

My buns all get jabs to prevent myxomatosis and RHD, panacur to prevent them picking up any nasties as they eat, and spot on, to prevent fly-strike. All six buns are healthy and happy with this indoor/outdoor mix

You will need to separate the buns as they reach puberty to prevent fights, how long you have to wait after varies, some buns get a post neuter craze, which means you’d need to wait longer.

In answer to your original question, our bunnies are all on lino, and are fine with it, though some buns can struggle with it, ours all got accustomed to it pretty quick!

Posted By Jack&Lola on 8/21/2017 1:12 PM

Thank you all very much, it looks as if we are going to have to keep them inside (which we were considering anyway and happy with) we appreciate everyone’s input and it has helped a whole lot with how we are going to set up for our bunnies, the only last thing is we are worried they will get too hot in the house as it really does heat up a lot, what is the best method to keep them cool

You can use fans just make sure they’re positioned in a place where the buns can move away from. Frozen water bottles for them to lay against, tiles for them to lay on, ice cubes in water bowl etc

My bunny gets outdoors time in a metal run. It’s only during daytime though, when I can watch him, it’s not a rodent-safe run. I have mosquito netting over the run to keep blow flies and mosquitos out.

Technically, a bunny can be transferred outside from indoors and vice versa if the temperature difference between outdoors and indoors temp isn’t more than 10 degrees Celcius (sth like 17 degrees F). If the temperature diff is greater, it’s best to wait until it isn’t. Once outside the buns will grow the fur they need to keep warm, but this obviously takes a little while. They should have bedding in their hutch (I forgot to mention this earlier), some form of insulation during the cold season, and if it gets freezing cold, warmed water must be served twice a day, because they (obviously!) can’t drink frozen water.

As I mentioned before, the Binky Bunny forum is a house bunny forum, and as you probably have noticed by now, many here have strong feelings about housing buns indoors vs outdoors. It is however completely up to you, and it’s perfectly legal to house rabbits outside.

As for flooring, I have lino floors inside covered with vet beds and wool mats and fleece. Traction is very important for bunnies, but the flooring mustn’t be abrasive.

Jack&Lola, sorry, I somehow missed your latest post, so my post was still on the subject of housing rabbits outside.

A fan with a wet towel on it (if it’s the type of fan you can hang a towel on without risk of fire), frozen waterbottles to snuggle with and tiles that you put in the fridge and rotate are all good tips for cooling down buns.

We’d be delighted to hear more about your bunnies!

Just want to wish your buns a ((((Hoppy Homecoming!))))) I’m glad you decided to keep them indoors.