bunnies prefer out to in?

[Sarah Jones]

When I leaved in my teeeeeeeny one bed flat, my buns used to live indoors, and whilst I’m sure they loved the freedom, I now have moved onto a two bed flat with a garden and they live outside in a dog kennel that is 8 x 4 x 4 (see attached). They get an hour or two out in the morning and come rain or sun, winter or summer, i leave the back door open so they get run of garden and flat, i then feed them greens when i want them to go back in and they generally charge back, and seem to like it a lot. They then get anything from 2 to 7 hours out in the evening running around causing carnage, until they get their second lot of veg and go back in again. I loved having them as house bunnies, but it seems they really like their new regime, and having their own space. I’m sure some of it is that I like not having to see chewed wires, but does anyone else find their buns prefer the outside life? I didn’t even think about it til logging on here again and realised that mine are locked up whilst I’m at work. It didn’t cross my mind as they seem so happy coming in and out morning and night!

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[Sarah Jones]

ps. that’s not my actual dog kennel of course. mine is now covered in poo and wee stains and i added a stable door to the enclosed section, a drop down on the enclosed section hole to block off and a shelf in the outside bit where mine sleep all the time!

[Sarita]

It’s not safe outside and they can escape easily from a garden or back yard area. I just would never take that chance.

The setup you have outside is really neat though. It would be too hot where I live to let my rabbits live in this though.

If it wasn’t I wouldn’t mind that set-up for them when I could supervise them outside but never running around the yard or garden – don’t know what they would eat or what predator could get them or if they would escape – too scary.

[Sarah Jones]

ah, i am lucky, i’m in london in a terraced house, with 5 – 10 foot high walls all around the garden. there is no escape from the garden, and i would never let them out of the shed unless i was there! quite agree, foxes are everywhere and i did wake up one morning to find one playing football with one of the rabbit toys on top of the shed once! i’m quite glad it was 5am because i’m sure the neighbours wouldn’t have appreciated me chasing it off with stern words and minimal clothing. it stole the ball as well and has never come back!

i hate to admit it, but i actually sold and bought my new flat solely so that i would have the exact type of outside space i wanted so that the lil buns could experience freedom.

mostly though, they eat all the strawberry leaves, hope in and live under the coffee table whilst i cook and watch tv

[Sarah Jones]

wall height can be seen in additional photo!

[Sarita]

That is a nice set-up! My set-up is somewhat similar – I live in a townhome – the back is all fenced in and concrete but the fence right now doesn’t go all the way to the bottom. The front has a little courtyard that has some shade but right now it’s in need of a makeover but it is enclosed too – I can understand why you chose this space for you and the bunnies.

I don’t know I think your neighbors would still be talking about that incident :~) Sounds like it would have brought some life to the neighborhood :~)

[Sarah Jones]

there is one bit at the back at the top where i’d like to willow fence it, so that foxes can’t even see in, and then it is pretty safe. not that i’d let them out anyway without being there!

this is north facing as well, so it gets a bit of sun but mostly is shaded and gets no wind so bunnies are nice and sheltered. our front badly needs a makeover too! i share the freehold though and the rest of them don’t seem willing to make the front nice. and some bugger has stolen my plants OUT of the dirt at the front!

i live in a right pikey area – that is what you get when you upgrade in size!

the neighbours upstairs are french so they seem to be quite easy going hee.

[kralspace]

ok, I have to show my central Texas redneck ignorance and ask…….what is a right pikey area? lol

that’s a beautiful hutch!

Kathy

[Sarah Jones]

hee. i doubt it’s ignorance so much as british! pikey’s are the type of people who are “gypsy like” and steal your stuff and are a bit rough. pikey is the sort of place you go “i have found a flat i love dad, and *no* it’s not in kilburn (which is pikey) honest!”

still, pikeys don’t seem interested in highjacking over my entire 3 storey building and stealing my little bunnies so i’m safe!

[kralspace]

oh I see….heheh, ;yeah, we have plenty of that too.

I live in a small town that has a large older Czech population, and they love rabbit. In a stew, a soup and especially chicken-fried! There are some people in the country that raise them for meat and the town people will go pick them out and have them dressed….{shiver} to cook.

Freaks me out when they come over to visit and want to grope my bunnies to see if they’re ‘ready’ yet. They can’t believe they are pets AND I keep them in the house…lol

I always count heads before I let anyone leave my house!

Kathy

[Sarah Jones]

oh no! though, honestly, i do have respect for anyone who is willing to grow their own “meat” – and i’m a vegetarian, but if you are going to eat meat, then i’m a big believer in growing your own. meat is there to be eaten. just not my bunnies obviously! though rabbit isnt massive over thank goodness!

and certainly not my eyeless and tailless, scrawny little bugs!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

WOW great setup!!! That looks so cool!

[Sarah Jones]

i just found pictures of my very first bunny house, when i first got dougal! i miss that flat! but dougal is so tiny. i had great fun building it though, but it was about 4am by the time i was done! thank goodness i saw the light and got dougal some friends!

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[Beka27]

that was a nice cage. what kind of stuff did you use for the shelves? i see you had grassmats, but what was the base made out of, the black stuff?

he blends in so well, i had to look for a few seconds to find him!

[Sarah Jones]

i used this website http://www.guineapigcages.com/ to get ideas, and then ordered chloroplast (estate agents signs) for the base off ebay, and got the squares from argos. i bought loads over the years, but argos have stopped doing them now and my mum half inched them all and now her guinea pigs have a garden run the same size as my flat!

blimey – to give you an idea of what us Brits will do for our buns: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=115939 haha. they might have to live outside, but they do it in style!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Incredible thanks for the link!!

[Beka27]

wow, that’s quite an impressive hutch and run!

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