Could I keep a rabbit responsibly?

[kinui]

 All right, y’all. There’s this rabbit at my work, Squirt, who I wrote about here - https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab…fault.aspx I adore him, and I want nothing more than to bring him home to live with me. Right now, that’s just sort of a fanciful longing but I’m really trying to figure out if I can make it happen. I’m just not sure that I have the means to care for him like he should be (although, I worry about any home he goes to if he is adopted…the majority of people just don’t take good care of their small animals). Anyways, I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me. 

 

First Question: Can one responsibly keep a rabbit in an un-insulated outdoors shed? I understand this is specifically a house rabbit community but I’m trying to get information from many different places. We have a small, two-story barn. The top level is a large room that we’ll be turning into a sort of rec room. Ideally, I would like to section off a part in the corner and keep him there. What are good ways of keeping rabbits cool in summer and warm in winter? Although we have all manners of predatory animals in the area, the second floor would be completely predator proof once I was through with it. 

 

Second Question: Exactly how sensitive are rabbits to temperature? I believe I read that they do better with cold than with heat. Just how cold can it get before taking action. At what heat should you be concerned? Also, I read that if they are an outdoors rabbit, you shouldn’t bring them into an air conditioned house in summer, and vice versa (heated house in winter) or else it could screw up their body temperature and throw them into shock or something? Any information on this would be wonderful.

 

Third Question: What’s the recommended cage size for an average-sized rabbit (as well as two as I would get him a companion later down the road)? I’m not entirely sure what breed he is, but he’s not very large, or very small, just sorta…average.

 

Fourth Question: How susceptible are rabbits to getting sick from “drafts”. I live on an island where it can get quite windy much of the time. If I got him, I would like to also build him an outdoor run, and we also have a screened in porch he could be in during the day so we could easily spend time with him. Would the wind be a problem?

 

Fifth Question: How much light do they need to be happy. The barn has a skylight in the roof and a door with a window, so it’s not dark at all but it’s not super bright either. I could possibly put in a window right over where I build his cage if that’s a concern. 

 

If anyone could answer any of these, I will be eternally grateful. I have to have my plan all worked out before pitching it to my parents. (although, they already love all the videos I’ve showed them of him  

 

Thanks!

[MoveDiagonally]

He’s definitely a cutie and I can see why you’d want to bring him home!

Unfortunately, I do not think your shed sounds suitable for a rabbit. While sheds can make better homes than an outdoor hutch I think it takes a lot of work to make them safe. It really should be insulated/heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. It would need to be secured against predators but ventilated. I’ve read that bunnies should not be kept in temperatures below 50 or above 80. Warmer temperatures also increase their risk of getting fly strike.

The recommended minimum size for a single rabbit is 8 sq ft (4ft X 2ft). The minimum for two bunnies would be double that 16 sq ft (4ft X 4ft).

Is there any way you could have him inside? If your parents have said no to indoors, did they give you reasons? I’m not suggesting you push them to explain themselves, because it’s their house their rules, but if they voiced some concerns maybe we can help you come up with ways to address them and approach the subject again.

[Bam]

I have a hard time picturing your barn in my head. Do you have any pictures? What type of island is it? What part of the world? In a run there needs to be a sheltered place where the bun can hide if it gets scared. It should be elevated at least a few inches off the ground and give protection against rain, wind and sun.

The problems with keeping a bunny outside are obvious, still many people do and at least where I live it’s not illegal. But stuff like mites and intestinal parasites and diseases like myxi and VHD are much more common in outdoors-bunnies than in house-bunnies. That could cause rather high vet-costs.

Bunnies do well with cold, less well with heat. If it gets really cold you can put hot waterbottles in the cage, but when it gets really hot I don’t know, I live in a country where it never gets really hot. Here many people keep rabbits in unheated horse-stables, and it’s permitted even if the temp drops far below zero C or 32 F, as long as the bunnies are given fresh water twice a day (because the water freezes). So it is absolutely possible to keep rabbits in really cold environments, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for them.

Some people keep their rabbits outside in the summer and take them in in the fall and keep them in during the winter.

 

Sorry, I couldn’t make the link work and only now I realized I could check back on your first post from your profile. He’s so cute! But since he is a special-needs bun, I really think he’d be better off indoors, as Sarita says. You seem to be a very responsible person, just asking these questions is proof of that.

[Sarita]

I can absolutely see why you want to adopt and help Squirt but seeing that he has head tilt he really needs to be inside where he can get the proper care. He’s very cute.

Because of his head tilt he is going to be more susceptible due to a lower immune system. Also he just needs more care and you cannot give him that if he is outside.

Also being inside makes a rabbit part of the family where as outside rabbit’s tend to be forgotten (not that you would do this as you obviously care). Rabbits are social animals and prey animals so inside is really best for them.

I imagine too that he is not going to be as adept in going up and down ramps and probably would be best in a one story environment.

[bunnylova123]

My bunny lives outside in a converted shed with run, so I can probably answer your questions:

You could easily insulate the shed, I use lots and lots of bubble wrap, a friend of mine has stapled an old duvet to the roof for her guinea pigs and I know of people who use lots of off-cuts stapled together to keep them warm. I would recommend insulation.

Rabbits can be quite susceptible to temperature, Vienna isn’t though, she’ll be outside eating grass whatever the weather, It was hailing a minute ago and she just moved under the table after doing bunny 500’s, maybe she likes rain. Below 0 is the weather when Vienna is a temporary ( very stressed ) house rabbit, getting a cheap indoor house for after surgery and overly cold weather ( it never gets too hot for bunnies were I live ) is something I would recommend.

I have a windproof ‘bedroom’ for Vienna at her top level, because of the head tilt an upstairs wouldn’t really work, but you could put a hay bale in so he can dig into it and lie behind it or make a big inclosed bed out of wood.

They don’t need huge amounts of light in their indoor hutch, but Vienna loves her window, I think Squirt would too.

Questions:

How hot/cold does it get where you live?
How good is he at jumping?

[kinui]

Thanks for all your responses!

“Island” may have been misleading. It is an island, but just in Maryland, not some exotic part of the world :3 Right on the bay. It’s sort of “countryside” ish, farms and horses and the like.

 

 There’s usually a couple snowfalls in the winter, but I would say it’s rare for it to drop below 20 F. Summer is usually has highs in the 80s, average in the 70s, although due to humidity it’s possible it gets to 90s. 

 

It’s not really a matter of having a rabbit inside, just that there’s no space for him inside currently. He couldn’t be a “house rabbit” as we have cats and a dog. I have a large 9 ft x 10ft closet in my room that would be perfect, although the problem with that is that I also keep guinea pigs. They’re in my room, and one already has a weakened immune system, and as rabbits can carry pastuerella I wouldn’t want to risk keeping them so close. I live in an attic room connected to the room below by a small staircase. My sister currently has that room, but she’s trying to find a better job right now so she can move out. Once she moves out, it’s possible that I could move Squirt into a cage in that room, but there’s just no telling how long it will be till it’s open. 

 

Sarita, you’re right in assuming he doesn’t do well with anything off the ground. I would be keeping him on a flat surface with nothing he can jump onto. I know he would love to climb but he would just tumble right off. 

 

The head tilt doesn’t really effect him at all unless he’s in a small space (like the cage he’s in now). If he has to make sharp turns, he’ll tumble onto his side and roll. But if he’s in a large area, he rarely has a problem. He loves to run around and play. 4 x 2 actually seems really small to me, as I keep my pair of guinea pigs in a two level cage with each level those dimensions. I would give him much more room than that, but it’s good to know.

 

Here are pictures of the barn:

 

 

This is the room I would keep him in (in an enclosure in a corner):

 

 

The room is going to be a sort of hobby room for my mother and I, so it will be a place that is actually used and cleaned regularly, as opposed to some musty shed that no one ever goes to. It has electricity, so I could easily place lamps and fans, or a greenhouse heater as need be. 

 

For bedding, I was thinking about using an absorbent U-haul furniture blanket, covered with fleece, as I use for my guinea pigs. 

 

What do y’all think?

 

 

[bunnylova123]

WoW! That’s great, Vienna would be jealous. It’s not really a shed, I was imagining it was. I think he’d be very happy there.

[Bam]

That’s one de luxe-barn!! I imagined sth with old bales of straw and rat-poop and decrepit pieces of machinery =)

For island I had sth like the Shetlands or Hebrides in my head, bare rocks and and a raw North-Sea wind sweeping all year round =)

I think Squirt will like the barn. I would like the barn =)

[Sarita]

That is a fab barn! I think he would be happy there as well but I do worry that he doesn’t have any interaction in the barn like he would in your home but if that is something you can arrange in the future that would be great. It just sounds like he might get lonely in that big beautiful barn by himself.

[Sarita]

Another possible option for Squirt if you haven’t contacted them MIGHT be the Maryland House Rabbit Society:

rabbitsinthehouse.org/

Just a thought.

[MoveDiagonally]

That was not what I was picturing at all! It’s a very nice space.

4′ X 2′ sounds small because it’s the MINIMUM. Bigger is always better.

Just make sure you spend lots of time with him out there so he doesn’t get lonely. I do still think bringing him inside when you have the room would be a great idea. 

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