Indoor Bunny, moving outside?

[bunnylovep]

my parents are wanting to send my bunnies to the outside world… (the porch) they want to build a hutch and stuff but i want them to stay inside where i kno they will be safe from wild animals. also they always complaining about how messy they are. it just  seems like putting them outside is like.. ‘out of site, out of mind’  kinda thing, but i love my bunnies!

is it even safe to take an indoor bunny outside??

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[BinkyBunny]

I’m not sure what kind of hutch your parents are thinking about, but even if you are able to make a completely safe hutch (that no animal could break into,) rabbits can actually be scared to death by predators that never even touched them – just by animals trying to break in can be enough to scare a bunny to death.  (and yes, people have backyard hutches all the time. Many parents are used to that because they grew up during a time when much wasn’t known about rabbits.)

Most people would never think about putting their cat or dog out in a hutch, but yet because rabbits were once seen as “hutch” animals, it still seems perfectly acceptable, even though rabbit need more running room and human interaction that many people give them credit for.  Cats and dogs can also be more overt in their displeasure, while rabbits, as prey animals, will stay quiet even when in pain, so most people misinterpret that as being content – even in circumstances where they are not.

Also, you are right, out of sight, out of mind can happen when rabbits are outside. This site really advocates having rabbits in the home.  

So let’s address your parents concern.  They may only see the problem and not understand that there are long-term solutions.

Messy:  From the pics, they look very young, but in your profile, it shows they were born in 2006.  Is that correct?  If they were actually born in January 2008, then they are reaching sexual maturity right now, and they really are the messiest right now due to hormones.   
Spaying and neutering will solve this problem.

Also, do they have free run of the house right now? What are they being housed in now and where are they being housed?

Do your folks have a problem with just the messy behavior right now or do they also have problems with smell?

Write down all the things your parents are concerned about, and post their exact concerns here, and let us help you find solutions.   This way you can show them that you understand and care what  their concerns are, and you are looking to find solutions that will work for you as a family.

[Beka27]

yes.  more info on your parents concerns would be great.  are the buns on a table in your pic?  it looks like they’re high up somewhere, or maybe it’s just the angle and my bad eyes… lol!

question: why do they have a hamster wheel and what looks like a lizard or snake hidey hole?  neither of those are appropriate toys for rabbits.  they wouldn’t hurt them, but they’re not going to get any enjoyment from them either.  for a cheap, entertaining toy, try giving them a cardboard box with some holes cut out.  for more toy ideas check out the toy test forum.

it’s best to have rabbits inside.  it is very difficult to know them and learn their personalities when they are separated from the family.  i think it would be really mean to boot them out right now as they are starting to get used to you guys.  how old are they?  have they seen a vet yet?  they will need to be altered very soon.  unaltered rabbits are very destructive, smelly, messy, territorial and aggressive… both towards the humans and each other.  do your parents know that they will need to be altered?  if not, please direct them to this website or house rabbit society (rabbit.org) for more info.

[bunnylovep]

thank you so much!!!

this is our first time with rabbits, except once we had a wild rabbit my dad caught in the field thinking i would like it, but i felt bad for him and let him back into the wild.

their major concern is the messiness of the bunnies and the smell and now the noise!

last night i brought them in the living room to sleep and while we were sleeping they were playing and jumping over each other and such. it didn’t bother me at all, but of course my parents flipped out and put them in the kitchen in their cage for the night =(

they were born in Jan. 2008 and no they haven’t been altered. I dont kno if my parents kno they should be or not. the litter we got them from, none of the rabbits have been altered yet and the person we bought them from sadi we reallyw ouldn’t need to if we didn’t mind baby bunnies… but after much research on here and on other sites i have learned that spaying and neutering is more of a must, than choice. so i am saving money to get them altered as soon as possible. they have never been to a vet yet either, but i’m saving up money for that as well.

i love my bunnies! and i will do anything to see that they are 100% healthy and having fun =)

oh and the toy wheel and log…

the log is actually made for rabbits. its actually pretty big and they really like hiding in it.  =)

the wheel was an oops gift. my best friend wanted to buy them something since she feel in love with them too. she was really happy about the wheel, but soon saw that the rabbits are quite too big for it. lol its not in their cage now however. =)

in the pic they are in a storage box. my dad bought it and cut a little door thingy in it so they can go in there and poop when they have running time.

we do let them out, but my mother freaks when they pee on the carpet.. something they haven’t really mastered in the litter box yet. so if shes sees pee she send them back to their cage… it upsets me, b/c when i let them roam around and they have accidents i just show them the litter box in their fav. cornor and them clean up the mess myself.

 

 

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[Sarita]

They are cute and it does sound like you want what is best for them. I would be very concerned if I didn’t know their sex – have you had them at least sexed by a vet?

[bunnylovep]

i also just read this post to my mom and now she is concerned about putting them outside and is letting me take them to the vet asap! =)
she is really concerned with smell as well! lol since they seem to pee outsdie their cage a lot!

[bunnylovep]

Posted By Sarita on 04/02/2008 9:52 AM
They are cute and it does sound like you want what is best for them. I would be very concerned if I didn’t know their sex – have you had them at least sexed by a vet?

 

 

the people we bought them from says that batman (the blacka nd white one) is actually a girl and snowball the boy. i looked online at pictures and how-tos and that does seem correct

[Sarita]

Oh, you definitely want to separate them then at this point until the male is neutered – the female is too young at this point to be spayed – you will want to wait a few months more for her – but even once you get the male neutered he can still impregnate the female up to 30 days after the procedure. Once a female is spayed though she cannot get pregnant.

I’m so glad your mom is wanting to keep them inside and getting them to a vet as soon as possible.

The smell will be less once they are altered.

Also what kind of litter are you using for their litter box? Having the right litter can make a huge difference too.

[bunnylovep]

well we were using reg cat litter but i read somewhere that it could bad for them, so i got some odor controling stuff but they kick it out, so we have newspaper shavings, hay, and random fluff. i know taht doens’t sound very good but its all i got right now… what kind is the best for them and where do i get it?!?!?

[Sarita]

Well, there are many options. Aspen shavings are the most affordable and they do an okay job of odor control.

My favorite is Lone Star Bedding but I don’t see a distributor in Kentucky. Feline Pine is another good one and it’s comparable to Lone Star Bedding. Another safe one is Yesterday’s News but I don’t find it controls the odor nearly as good as the Lone Star Bedding or Feline Pine.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

The best is “yesterday’s news’ or “carefreash” You can get them at the petstore!

Never use: corn cob litter, wood chip litter (pine/cedar), or cat litter!!

If you have nothing ritght now, newspaper is the best, because they can eat it and it won’t hurt them. I’d take the shavings out, and that cotton stuff

[Sarita]

I don’t think you will be happy with the Carefresh – it’s safe but it doesn’t control odor very well and I know that is a concern with your mother.

Do please take heed about separating them right now though as there is a possibility that the female could get pregnant since neither one of them are altered – this is the MOST IMPORTANT thing I think any of us can tell you as you don’t want any unexpected litters – that could be bad for you and for your rabbits.

[skunklionshow]

I would definately separate them ASAP!  Too many accidental litters happen b/c they are sexed wrong or seem too young to breed.  Just out of curiosity are these your only pets?  I’m just wondering how much “pet experience” your parents have had.  I’m glad that you are taking the time to readup and educate your parents.  It’s very important to understand that pet rabbits have changed alot since they were kids…I’m going to assume they are around my age, mid to late 30’s or even early 40’s.  In today’s society they are seen more as dogs or cats were in the “olden days”. 

Can you work on this as a “family project”?  Parents love to spend time w/ their kids, esp when they start to become teens, so this might be a great way to bond w/ your parents.  Even ask them for advice on how they potty trained you.  What kinds of things worked, what didn’t work.  How did they deal w/ your “accidents”.  Go to the vet together for your initial visit so you both can learn at the same time.  Even develop a list of questions b/f hand.  Can you and dad build a NIC cube bunny condo together?  Just some thoughts…

You’re bunnies are adorable!  I love their names.  Sounds like you are very committed to them.

[bunnylovep]

thankx again everyone! you all have very helpful! right now the bunnies are playing around in the bathroom, their favorite place to hangout =) i cleaned their cage out and got rid of all fluff and shavings! my dad is bringing in some litter, i gave him a list to choose from.

my parents are in their late 40’s, i am 17 and they do love spending time with me since i am always out with friends or boyfriend, etc. lol

we are going to seperate them, but we cant right now b/c money is tight. the cage we have has 2 sections.. a bottom layer and a top layer.

i used the toliet paper roll stuffed with hay idea and they love it so far, espically snowball!

thanx again everyone!!! you guys are so helpful!!! =)

 

[Sarita]

Well, I am concerned that you won’t separate them until you know their sex for certain – money will be much tighter for you if you have an unexpected litter – not to mention the stress that could occur with your family.

The paper toilet roll is a great toy for bunnies too – good choice.

[bunnylovep]

Posted By Sarita on 04/02/2008 11:00 AM
Well, I am concerned that you won’t separate them until you know their sex for certain – money will be much tighter for you if you have an unexpected litter – not to mention the stress that could occur with your family.

The paper toilet roll is a great toy for bunnies too – good choice.

thats very true

so we need to get them sexed.. FOR SURE…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

With your cage, with the two sections, can they be seperated like that?

I’m concerned because if you do have a litter a) it’s hard b) it’s hard to find homes c) what if your bunnies are siblings? they could have birth defects and d) Your parents will sooo move those bunnies outside at the very *least* if you end up with eight more!!

[Beka27]

i loved what skunklionshow said about making it a family project. things are so much easier and less stressful when everyone in the family loves, wants and cares for the animals. i am very happy that you’re reading up on rabbits and trying your best to do what you need to to provide for them. please try and separate them as soon as possible. i have heard people say that some vets can terminate the pregnancy, but i’m not sure how expensive that is and if they have to be a certain age. prevention would be much better.

[Gravehearted]

Hopefully reading a lil more about it will help convince your parents to allow the bunnies to stay inside.

I would really consider if there’s a way to further separate them for now. I will tell you, where there’s a will, there’s a way.  I have seen and heard about bunnies breaking through alll kinds of things to get at a bunny of the opposite sex!   I just don’t want them breaking through the barrier between the two floors of the house.

I’d recommend aspen supreme litter.  it’s great with the odor and not terribly expensive – petco sells it.

Most vets don’t know much about rabbits, so it’s important to do a lil research in picking a vet.  Here’s a list of bunny vets – the  bottom of this list includes Kentucky.

[MarkBun]

I will just chime in as well.

Seperate them, don’t let them play together and get the boy neutered asap. A boy can get a girl pregnant even a month after the neutering (at least that’s what I heard although it doesn’t make sense to me).

[JK]

I will chime in as well.  You MUST separate them as it will be way more expensive later if you have a litter! A rescue here just took in 29 rabbits that someone dumped because of this same situation.  The person bought 2 bunnies from a pet shop and one became pregnant and voila 29 rabbits! This person did nothing to spay or neuter any of them.  It is very irresponsible these days to not neuter or spay with the extreme over population.  The shelters and rescues are bulging with unwanted rabbits. Regarding litter – I use wood stove pellets.  A 40lb bag costs $8.00 and I never ever smell anything.  Good luck!

[MooBunnay]

I noticed that you previously said that one of the ways they make a mess is kicking hay and litter all over, the best thing you can do in that situation is get one of those covered cat litter boxes with a lid, then they can dig and such and their poops don’t go flying everywhere I know its tough separating them, but if it were me I’d spend the whole time absolutely PETRIFIED that the girl would be pregnant! It is sooo hard to take care of baby buns in addition to getting them adopted out – really a lot lot harder than separating two buns until they get fixed, so I’d highly recommend it.

[BinkyBunny]

Great suggestions and advice from everyone. Such a smart suggestion about family bonding time.

I double whammy ditto on separation. Females can get pregnant as early as three months. This is much harder on a such a young bunny, not to mention what your family will deal with. You think you have mess problems now…oye! As you are finding out babies are the messiest.

You might get an xpen for exercise so that they don’t have so much freedom right now to mess up the house. Plus giving them too much freedom too fast can make it harder to littertrain them. You don’t want to keep them in a cage all day without exercise, but for now just give them a room or get an xpen (check out people selling used ones on craigslist and I think someone here saw one for around $40 bucks via amazon) so just check around. This is the best way to allow exercise while limiting freedom during training. They need to know that they have an “area” and the rest of the house is general territory that isn’t to be marked in. (it’s everyone’s territory) Now this might be difficult right now because they are in the “marking” stage, but you can still set up boundries, and start training so that it will come more naturally after they are neutered.

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