Ideas for distructo bunnies?

[AbbyGirl]

Last night while we were sleeping Bonnie and Clyde chewed through the front of a box blocking their way.  Per earlier advice I switched to using wire grids.  They has ate half of their house buy this afternoon so that became gids as well with a sheet thrown over the top.  They don’t show any interest in the untreated 2 by that I put in there but love their coardboard tube from a carpet roll.  They don’t show much interest in their hay or bags.  Does anyone have any suggestions on thing I could try for these buns?  Thanks!

[jerseygirl]

That they’re eating a lot of the cardboard makes me think 1) they’re wanting the fibre but have some aversion to their hay or 2) they just like a project.

Maybe try some different hays?

You could ziptie down some grass mats on a sheet of carboard on the floor and let them tear into those…

Were they free range at the former home?

[AbbyGirl]

They were actually not fostered. They were adopted and returned but yes, they were free range. The chewed through the cords and finally the washer hose!  That’s when I got them.  I have orchard hay right now. Almost a whole 50 lb box from Oxbow. I could see if I could get some Timothy from the shelter to try it. They haven’t seemed to eat much of their hay. A small handful between the 2 since they got here. I’ll have to see if I can find those mats anywhere. I’ve never seen them before.

[jerseygirl]

Oat hay is another option too.

You can get sea grass mats and tim hay mats too. The shelter might know where you could get some locally. And there’s the BB store of course.
With your crocheting skills you could whip up a few hay mats!   I actually thought about latch hooking hay before but then considered how long it would take me v’s how long it would take to get eaten.  So I threw that idea out the window.

[AbbyGirl]

Thanks for your help Jersey. You are more creative than me! I would have never thought of making them. The orchard hay is too soft for that I think.
I did speak to the shelter. She said they were always huge cardboard chewers. She also said they were decent hay eaters but she gave them pellets only every other day so they would actually eat their hay. They may also still be pretty stressed. I’ll try a new hay if they aren’t eating it by next week.

Any ideas on so other toys they could have? Hugo wasn’t found of playing with anything. Just eating his hay out of empty boxes. So I’m not use to finding toys.

[jerseygirl]

Seems the easiest thing is…..boxes. lol Let them tear into those. Hide in, jump on etc. But are they eating too much of it do you think?

You could give them willow things to demolish. I’ve given big pieces of weeping willow to occupy mine before. The wood can be eaten green. They like to strip the bark off.

 Someone made a big sisal rope thing and post a pic on here one time. I’ll try find it.

edit to add: I think this is what I was thinking off. Good idea anyway. This sort of thing could work with boxes too, so using sisal across and entry so they have to work on it to get into the box. https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab…fault.aspx

What I was wondering with my questions about free range is whether they are less likely to be destructo free range?  Provided things are sufficiently bunny proofed?  Some rabbits, if barricaded in somewhere, just view it as a challenge and get to work on removing said barrier.

 

[Beka27]

I’m really glad you proofed the back of the washer/dryer better! I knew it was just a matter of time!

I’m interested in what Jersey suggested, if they are less destructive when allowed a larger area.

[Beka27]

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-6/chew-stick.html

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/toys.html

And a couple toy links, altho you may have already read them.

[jerseygirl]

I’m interested in what Jersey suggested, if they are less destructive when allowed a larger area.

haha. I’m actually interested if this proves to be true for some too!

I’ve just noticed with my own recently that if I don’t shut them in certain rooms, they actually don’t leave as much of a mess for me to wake up too. I normally shut them in “Rabbit Room” overnight but on occasion leave them in the living room with the door closed. I’d was having to bunny proof the chairs and lounge. Since leaving the door open, I’ve not had to do that. Course now I think I have them sussed, they’ll switch things up on me.

[Beka27]

Amy, you have had the unique experience of having multiple (adult, altered) bunnies in and out of your home in a relatively short time. This doesn’t happen to many people. Even people who foster, they will very often have the same rabbits for months. So you’ve seen a wide range of behaviors and personalities, and you’re doing a great job accommodating to them all.

And as you can tell by now, what works for one bunny won’t work for another, but we give advice based on our “best guess” of how it will work. But even then, when confronted with the same issue, Bunny A will do X… Bunny B will do Y, and Bunny C will do a combination of X & Y!!!

Keep us posted on what you try with them and how they respond.

[AbbyGirl]

Thanks Beka. Actually they are no less destructive while free range in my home. Last night they came out of their shells and started destroying my home. I have nic grids every where! In 4 places in my living room. Every time I block something off they dig in the carpet and at my furniture. Then they figured out the stairs where they decided the banister would make a good chew toy. I can’t block this off as it is a 4 foot wide open stair case. I talked to the shelter about it and she is thinking it might be best for them to take them back for now to see if they calm down. They did live with them for over a year. I’m definitely getting frustrated with all this and I’m at a point where I think I might need to take a break.

[Sarita]

These are rabbits who like projects! I think they need alot of stimulation and boxes and toys and all that. I had a rabbit much like this and she was always busy, busy, busy. I could not let her out free range although I wanted to so badly because she was such a social and sweet rabbit. She did eventually calm down as she aged but she still loved projects.

[AbbyGirl]

I’m now determined. I like these bunnies a lot. I’m more attached to them already than I was with Rhine. I’m trying to find ways for them to not get into trouble. I found a folding table that I blocked my stairs off with to protect my banister. I also fixed the problem with the tree…….I think! lol I put a cardboard box house at the end of the couch that Bonnie dug at the most so she would play with the box instead. I also put a pet bed at the other end part way under the couch so if she digs there it’s not in the carpet. I’m going to make a diggy box today too to see if they like that.

I just had to replace 2 tie rods on our van, get an alignment and 4 new tires installed so I can’t afford to buy toys at the moment. Which is why I’m also hoping they’ll start eating the hay I have. I need to order pellets again too. I’m going to be one of the crazy people out on black friday trying to get gifts for my girls! =)

[Sarita]

They may calm down too once they get over the stimulation overload of a new place. Sometimes it just takes being a little smarter than our rabbits which I never am – they beat me in intelligence every time – so frustrating!

I bet eventually they’ll eat that hay.

Oh, you are brave to go out shopping on Friday :~) Hopefully you’ll get it all done and can relax for the remainder of the holiday season.

[AbbyGirl]

Any suggestions for things from the BB store that I should consider? I could buy one of everything! My cart got very expensive very fast. lol =)
I considered the tunnel but they would destroy that in a day.

[Beka27]

I would stay away from the cardboard items (Maze, tunnel, etc…) They are very cost-effective IF the bunnies don’t obliterate them quickly, otherwise, I think you’d be better off with just plain boxes with a couple holes cut out. If you could try to build wood hidey houses, that might work better and last a longer time.

I know that you really want a free range bunny(ies), but not all rabbits can be free range.  This is something you need to consider when thinking about whether or not you want to adopt them.  Prior to Meadow being spayed, she was incredibly destructive, and it is very physically and mentally draining when you’re trying to always be blocking something and supervising, but still more things come up chewed.  Having children makes it more difficult too because they are not always going to pick up after themselves.

It is very possible that they could work in your home, but I think they would need a dedicated area.  A bunny room doesn’t always work with destructive bunnies because they will find a way to eat the room from the floor up.  Something like my double-xpen setup might work well.  The good thing with this is they only have access to what is in the pen… no walls, no woodwork, no door frames, no carpet.

[AbbyGirl]

My problem is that I have absolutely no where to put anything else. I even had to get rid of our saltwater fish tank because there was not a spot for it. My house is only a 2 bedroom 1,200sq ft home with 4 people in it. It’s not that I WANT a free range bun it’s the I HAVE to have a free range bun or no bun. I’m going to give it a few days and see what happens. Thanks for everyone’s help!

And they don’t like the baskets filled with hay and papers. They just go look for something else to do.

[Sarita]

LOL – they sound like they have tons of personality and energy too.

[Beka27]

I get it. We also have a tiny house with 3 of us, but fortunately, there is a 3rd “bonus” bedroom which we can use as a computer room/bunny pen room. I’m sure you’ll figure out what’s best for everyone.

[Author]

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