New House with Outdoor Bunny Space

[ALRyder]

I am looking at buying a new house, and I’m hoping to setup a bunny room. It will probably be a bunny room/office for me. So, any advice on cheap ways to bunny proof cords and such would be greatly appreciated. I’m thinking I’ll set up a pin for when I’m not in there with them, but I also want to put in a small doggy door so that they can go in and out at their leisure.

My plan is to make the outdoor area covered, so no predators can  get to them. My female rabbit is a digger, though, so I was wondering if anyone has advice to block her from digging an escape route, and preventing predators from being able to dig their way in. Would it be best to put chicken wire or something under the soil?

I’m also wondering if anyone has advice for keeping indoors clean with hay. My daughter always feeds the rabbits their hay, and inevitably drops some on the carpeted ground. I feel like it’s a constant struggle to keep the area clean. I’m always scooping up as much hay as possible by hand then hauling in the shop vac, so my regular vacuum doesn’t clog up.

[Wick & Fable]

I highly recommend going to a hardware store and getting PVC pipe if you truly want bunny-proofed cords. Things like the plastic corrugated loom will only be a delay tactic for a determined bun, so blocking, elevating, and hiding cords is the general first approach, and cords that cannot be put away should be covered in something rabbits cannot bite through (e.g., PVC pipe).

Re: the outdoor set-up, are you talking about permanent outdoor housing? Supervised outdoor time only? This is important to clarify because if you intend to leave a rabbit outside for either long periods of time or unsupervised, the parameters to ensure a safe environment (not just predators, but weather, temperature, escape, bugs…) are more extensive than having an hour outside every day where you are watching the rabbit.

Re: the hay, putting the hay in a place closer to where it needs to be refilled (or bringing the litterbox over to the hay source) can help, in addition to cutting the hay somewhat shorter so the strands don’t cling onto each other and drape all over everything. A rubber brush/dust-pan is also a common cleaning tool for rabbit owners.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LBJ10]

Wait? You’re not supposed to use a shopvac to vacuum up hay?  😛

I agree. If you cannot hide the cords or keep them out of reach, then you need to use something to cover them that a bunny can’t chew through. You can also block off areas, like behind a desk using NIC cube grids to make a fence.

As for the outdoor enclosure, if the intention is for them to be out there unsupervised, then you absolutely need to make sure something cannot can in and your bunnies cannot get out. Digging out the area, laying down chicken wire, and then filling back in with dirt is the only way to keep something from digging underneath. You need to provide shade and protection from the elements. You also need to protect them from bugs. I don’t remember where you are, but there are concerns about RHDV spreading here in the US. Not everyone has access to the vaccine yet. So that could be a concern as well.

[ALRyder]

I’m in the Northwestern United States. Also, the area would be unsupervised and they’d be able to go inside to outside whenever they’d want.

I also get all of the seasons. I was wondering if the area is covered and they can go from inside to outside at their leisure if it would be okay to continue giving them access to outside during snowy days. They should know enough to come in out of the cold on their own, right?

I’ll ask my vet about the vaccine. I know there was recently some sort of rabbit health concern in my area. I don’t know what it was, because I caught the end of it on the radio. But they were telling people not to allow others who aren’t the owners to handle their rabbits.

Thank you for the advice with the PVC pipe. I’ve seen a lot of people suggest using the lighter plastic tubing, and I always think my female rabbit would chomp right through that. She’s my stinker. Too smart for her own good (or mine) and always finding trouble.

[DanaNM]

For bunny proofing I like to use NIC cube grids to block off areas with lots of wires, rather than trying to protect them individually.

As for predators and outdoor runs, chicken wire is not predator proof. It keeps chickens in but predators like coyotes can easily chew through it. You would want to use something like hardware cloth.  There’s some examples of safe outdoor runs here: https://binkybunny.com/bunnyinfo/safe-outdoor-runs/

And I agree that you should definitely get your buns vaccinated for RHDV2 before letting them have any time outside. There is some more info on it here: https://binkybunny.com/forums/topic/please-read-rabbit-hemorrhagic-disease-rhdv2-outbreak-in-north-america/

For cleaning up hay, I really like using a rubber broom to use on carpets for in-between or before vacuuming. It works great and picks up a lot of fur too! If you search “rubber broom” you will find lots of options.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

RHDV is throughout the western half of the US. Both domestic and wild cases have been reported in almost every state west of the Rocky Mountains. So yes, you most definitely should ask your vet about the vaccine. The disease can spread between wild and domestic rabbits. It can also be spread by insects.

If they can come and go as they please, then I would still make sure they are kept inside at night. Yes, they should understand that they can go inside if they are cold or whatever. But there are definitely more things lurking at night, so best to not have any bunny outside to entice them.

Good point Dana – Heavier metal cloth should be used instead of traditional chicken wire. I guess when I think of chicken wire, I think of the heavier stuff. But I know what you’re talking about. The flimsier stuff is definitely not predator-proof.

[DanaNM]

Yeah I think the flimsier stuff is usually sold as “Poultry netting”, that’s the one to avoid. And I agree that bringing them in at night would be safest, even if the run is very secure.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

Yep, no reason to have the temptation there for predators if you don’t have to.

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