A new bunny haven? Dumb idea?

[Nibbles_NZ]

So, I have been struggling with ideas as to where to put my little Baxter. He has been just about everywhere in my house. I moved my scrapbooking things out of a spare bedroom to move my almost 5 year old daughter into. She has just informed me that she doesn’t want to be by herself in a room. So, a new bunny haven? Dumb idea? I don’t really have another use for that room. We don’t get guests that stay over.  Is it too over the top to dedicate an entire room to a rabbit? I know we could all enjoy it. Any ideas?

[jerseygirl]

Is it too over the top to dedicate an entire room to a rabbit?

Lol! Well speaking for myself I’d say No it’s not over the top. Heck, I think my house has been given over to my rabbits! You’ll find many members here have a rabbit room. It doesn’t work for every household off course.
One thing though…I would wait until Baxter has had his snip before you give him too much space. I gave my Doe alot of space from a young age and now she is such a dominant thing. Maybe it’s just her and different for Bucks…

Take a look through the habitat threads and Great Habitats Gallery and you’ll soon be inspired.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I agree with you about giving them too much space. He will not be allowed to have full control over the room at all times. I just want to build him a bunny house and attach a play yard to it on one side of the room. That’s where he will actually live. The other side of the room would be when I came in to play with him. That’s where I would let him run for a few hours a day. I would like to have some bigger toys and things for him in that area. Like the diggy box! I think that is such a great idea! So when I said he would have the entire room, I meant that it wouldn’t be used for other things. This also won’t be forever. I thought I could slowly house train him that way. Litter train him in his cage and pen first, then move to the room, then when he is a little older and my toddlers have the bunny rules down better, I will introduce him to the rest of the house. I was also thinking that if I still wanted a female, that’s when I would get her. That way I can bond them in a place that is unfamilier to both of them. So, he (or they) will probably run my house too! lol

[usagi]

The bunny room sounds awesome! Having a home base with a bunny yard and a play yard sounds like a great idea, with the rest of the room to roam while supervised. Lemony just got neutered a week ago, but we started giving him more space in the weeks after he first came home. Maybe it is different for bucks, because although Lemony is dominant, he also knows that the rest of the apartment is a shared space. If Baxter has a “homebase,” then maybe he won’t be territorial about other areas.

Have you thought about bunny dating at a local shelter before you settle on a mate? That way you can find somebun that fits just right.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Well, I’ve searched everywhere around here. I even looked in the next state. There are no rabbits in any of the shelters. The ones that I called said they only take cats and dogs. I went to the pet store today (just to look). lol And I saw this adorable little girl (we think it’s a girl). She is a Dutch and she is like a butterscotch color and white. I brought her home with me I just figured, what the heck, I want another one anyway. I have the room to seperate them where both are happy and I have little girls who are very good being gentle and loving them. Got the “female” home and Baxter sniffed her bottom and jumped on her and started humping. It was hard to get him off of her. Needless to say…they are seperated until AFTER Baxter is neutered. I’m calling the vet Monday and we’re going to see when he can be neutered. I’m not having any newborn bunnies! So that’s the latest I don’t regret it. I will buy another play yard tomorrow for Bella (our new bun) and we are getting wood to make them each thier own bunny palace! My husband thinks I’m nuts! He said that I went bunny crazy! lol

[usagi]

Haha, my fiance loves Lemony, but today at the shelter, as I was mingling with other bunny lovers, it finally dawned on him that I “was one of them” (them, as in crazy bunny people).

Perhaps you should think about getting Bella a checkup as well, for baseline health? It’s a good idea to get new buns looked at in case there are any problems that you can’t see or notice on your own.

Also, did you find a good vet that has experience with bunnies? HRS has a really good section on choosing a vet, and questions you should ask. You should check that out. And, I don’t know where you live, and it sounds like there are not a lot of buns in the area, but an exotic pet vet is always the best option, as buns are considered “exotic” because they are so different from cats and dogs. The neutering process for a bun is completely different from that of cats and dogs, so its important to find someone that knows what they are doing. And buns are oh so sensitive to being put under! They are so delicate… And pain meds are important too.  I would recommend finding someone that will give them medication for the pain as they start to heal.

Sorry, we have just so recently gone through all of this ourselves, as Lems is 5 months now (we got him at 2).  I remember having to do a ton of research on all of this – bb in a really great resource.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I live in Southern Indiana. On the Kentucky border. I am in the Metro area of 3 large cities. It’s not that we don’t have a lot of bunnies around here. I just don’t agree with the way people treat them around here. I don’t like breeders. My bun came from a breeder He was living in a small tote with 6 other bunnies He was supposed to be used for meat! I think I saved him. There are A LOT of breeders and people who use them to show in 4h. I don’t agree with that either. There are websites for the local 4h and a lot of the members on there place ads that they are selling thier rabbit because it is too old or won’t cooperate with them in the shows. They get rid of them as soon as they have no use for them anymore. One guy sold his rabbit because he had a tiny tear on his ear! “not show quality”. Anyway, the shelters here won’t even except them. I don’t know what happends to them because the pet store sells them like crazy! Over 60 around Easter…and that was just one store! Anyway, sorry, I just go on a rampage about the way they are handled around here.

Yes, I did find a good vet that takes exotics! I was so happy when I found them. It is actually a bigger Clinic that has 5 experienced vets! They are not cheap though. $58 just for a simple check up. That’s per bunny! I can’t imagine what they are going to charge me for the spay and neuter!

[The Rabbit]

That is so Awesome! My Bunny just stays in my room.

[Nibbles_NZ]

My Husband won’t allow our bunnies to be in our room. He thinks they will smell. They don’t at all though He is just not an animal person lol.

[Beka27]

I don’t like bunnies living in the bedroom, just to visit. They can be very noisy at night, and I like to sleep! They have their space, we have ours… and everyone is happy.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Lol my bunnies live in my room and yea they are noisy sometimes, but I have just learnt not to give them noisy toys at night! And I keep the fan on so it blocks out their noise a bit.
I don’t find they smell unless I skimp on the litter box cleaning or need to change their garbage can.

[Elrohwen]

Definitely not over the top! I can’t wait until we have a house with a room that can be the bunny room. It will probably also serve as a library (with books well protected!). The bunnies are temporarily living in our living room and I can’t take it – there’s bunny junk everywhere and I feel like I’m the one living in a cage 😛

[LoveChaCha]

my bun used to have her own room until the ceilling collapsed.
she now has the living room to herself!!
bunnies do NOT stink at all!! its just.. a sad thing that people believe it only stinks if their litter boxes aren’t changed often
my bun used to be in my room until she got noisy at night LOL i couldn’t sleep!!

[Andi]

I ahev a room dedicated to my bunnies, it’s one whole area of my basement. When i only had 3 bunnies, two lived in my living room and one lived in my spare room free run untill one day she decided to burrow through the foam boxspring… didn’t go over well with the other half.

[BinkyBunny]

I have a bunny room and it’s great. Though the bunnies are allowed to roam around the rest of th house, they only do that in the evenings for a couple of hours, and we have a gate on the bunnyroom when we need to keep them confined in there for any reason.

I think your plan to slowly expand the space is perfect – that will definitely help with litter-training.

Good Luck and keep us updated.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Thanks! I am really trying. I am also realizing that I don’t have as much time to work with them as I would like.

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