How do I make her a certified house bun?

[MissPinUp]

Lucy is my dwarf bun.  She’s 2 pounds right now, and at the rate she’s growing, I’m starting to think someone lied to me   Either way, she’s got a cage, but I really want her just to hang out in my room.  I got her in July, so I’ve had her about a month.  She’s made a space in her cage to go potty, so I moved her litter box there.   I don’t like her being on my bed because she always goes to the bathroom on my spread, I’m not sure why.  That’s the only play she ever has accidents, and at this point, I don’t think they’re accidents   Right now she stays in her cage when I’m at work, then I come home and let her out for close to 5 hours until I’m ready to go to sleep.  She knows “Good night!”, so I say good night and she’s pretty good about getting into her cage and calming down.  Should I continue doing this until she’s spayed?  Or do you think I can let her roam around?  Also, this may be a stupid question, but I want to make sure, I should only let her out when she’s supervised, right? Thanks 

[KatnipCrzy]

It sounds like you are on the right track- my first bunny that I got was a youngster also and she had “accidents” (not really accidents) on the couch blanket frequently.  She is great now that she is spayed and her hormones are settled.  Some bunnies can nver be completely free range if they a carpet diggers or chew on wood molding- but some are well behaved and good behavior seems to improve with age 9and spaying).  For now it is best to keep a routine that keeps her safe and you happy (bed is dry).

[Barbie]

I’ve bunny proofed the living and dining rooms for Leroy (well, I thought I did, and then he found some stuff to chew, so I had to reinforce my bunny proofing ) and started leaving him out for a couple hours, just as I was running errands or out at the pool. And now we’re up to 4-5 hours while I’m gone for work in the morning. I go home and check on him at lunch time and then back in his cage he goes until I get home and he can come out for more play time. We’re working up to a full day now. Having a bun meet you at the door is so much fun! Good luck! But I agree with Katnip, just do whatever works best for you guys.

[Beka27]

She is definitely doing fine for her age I think. And to be clear, she IS a house rabbit… she is kept indoors, she is allowed outside of her cage for daily playtime, she is doted on by her bunny slave… all that = CERTIFIED HOUSE RABBIT!!! ;o) You are doing great!

In my experience, many buns like to have a cage or enclosure or pen of some type. Even when mine are free-roam all day long, they choose to go and lounge in their xpen, I’m guessing b/c it’s their own, private, special bunny place. So you may always want to have some type of place for her. I love xpens b/c they are easy enough to move to clean, they can fold up compactly for storage (not the case with a NIC condo or plastic bottom cage!) and if the bun is littertrained, you can place it right on an area rug or square of linoleum and you’ll have minimal cleaning except for the litterbox.

When you’re at work, she’s probably just dosing in and out… make her cage as comfy as you can, but be sure that she still has space to walk around a little bit to stretch her legs. She might become an entirely different bun between now and being spayed due to hormones, so I’d continue to supervise for the most part, it’s okay to run out to get a drink or whatever, but not for an extended length of time. Is your room fully bun-proofed?

[jerseygirl]

That’s so cute how she knows “Goodnight” . I would continue the way you have been for now. It’ll be easier then for her to be caged during her recovery post spay. Also, if there is temporary loss of litter habits, it’ll be easier to re train her if she’s used to cage time too. After she’s recovered, you’ll be able to increase her out time. If you bunny proof your room, you don’t have to supervise 100%. Good idea when first allowing more time out, to be around at home but checking in on her alot. After time, you’ll get to know her behaviours and be more confident about the time she spends out.

Peeing on the bed and things like sofas is really common. It’s where our scent is strongest so the rabbit mark on these items unfortunately.

Were you told she was a dwarf of a specific breed? She could be a dwarf version of a large breed. Or else just a cross of a largish breed and a dwarf breed.

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