One rabbit having more out time then other..

[Alicia Conklin]

Drue does really well being out of the cage.  He’s not spooked by the dogs, and he’s not NEARLY as destructive as Tucker.  We also don’t have to block off the couch with him becuase he doesn’t eat carpet…and I think his butt is too big to fit under it anyway. I wanted to try tonight while my husband and I both have off from work letting him out with the dogs down there to see how that goes.   The problem with the dogs and Tucker is that she goes all crazy around them and then they get spooked and jump around and I’m afraid they’ll jump on her.  Tucker and Elphie (little dog) get along ok. 

Anyway…yea so I was thinking of letting Drue out tonight.  The thing is that he is litter trained and he’s not destructive so it’d be easier for us to have him out more then it is for us to have Tucker out.  We let her out in the kitchen most times because it’s not carpeted and it’s easier to clean up in there if she poops and pees.  But I am worrying that she’s going to get upset that Drue has more time out in the living room then she does.  But for Tucker to come in the living room it is a BIG production.  We have to block of every enterance to the sectional and then we have to clean up every single thing off the floor because it’s going to need a vacuuming after she’s been out.  We also have to block off any furniture that she can get under because she’ll get under it and chew the carpet.  So, I let her out in there but not nearly as often.  Will the kitchen be enough for her or do you think she’s going to end up resenting us and Drue too.  We make sure to go in the kitchen with her and give her attention and people are always in and out of there cooking lunch, dinner, getting drinks, snacks, it’s a busy room, it’s just it’s not where we actually sit down to relax in.  

I try to make the kitchen fun for her, she has her cardboard box and a litter box with hay, toys, her fleece blankie, her stuffed bunny, a diggy box, etc.  She doesn’t SEEM to mind it, she sits in her box and watches things most times..but it’s really hard to tell with rabbits if they are happy or PO’d!

If she couldn’t SEE Drue do you think she’d sense otherwise that he was out running around the living room while she was in the kitchen?  There’s a gate up but I could throw a blanket over that so that she couldn’t see him at all.

[Beka27]

i wouldn’t really worry about it at this point as long as they both are getting adequate exercise time. it’s tough with an unaltered bunny who is not 100% (or even 90%) with littertraining… until things are better in that regard and she is spayed, this might be the best solution. and of course you’re aware that the destructiveness might decrease, but it may not be completely eliminated post-spay. this is likely something you will always have to watch with her.

[Alicia Conklin]

Yea I know I really don’t have high hopes of this stopping with her spay.  She is just a chewer and finds carpet irresistable.  But, once she’s spayed I can atleast open up the big area where she’ll have the pens, the half of the living room that they are in that leads over to the kitchen, then all ofthe kitchen, and the halls.  Right now since they need to SEPARATE play spaces she can have only the kitchen or only the area by the pens.  So..she really doesn’t get a whole lot of run space.  I’m hoping that if I can get Drue used to being with the dogs and the dogs used to being with him that I can block him off from the pens area and let her have the kitchen, that part of living room, and the pens…that would give her A LOT more play room.  And if I put Drue’s carrier in the bathroom he’d have a quiet space to go to if he wanted to since that’s in the other half of living room/hallway area.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

You know when my rabbits were caged and I didn’t have enough time to let them out seperately (one bonded pair, one single) I would let one or the pair out together when I could supervise and let the other out overnight blocked in an area I could trust them (it was their cage open so they could return plus the hallway and our bedroom).

This was a huge help as I do lots of volunteering and cannot be home in the evening for two x four hours!!! AND everyone was happy (well except Dave “why do they have to be out so much?” )

Maybe Tucker can play when you can watch and clean, and Drue can stay out overnight in bunproofed rooms? Trust me they are very active at night and even with low lighting get lots of playtime in! (Rupert thought it was the most special priveledge ever to be out all night and would binky like crazy when we woke up in the morning!)

[Alicia Conklin]

Well so far it’s going awesome.  Drue has been running around free downstairs and Tucker is in the cage area with a HUGE play space set up..I used both NIC grid gates put together to make a big circle for her and she’s happily running around and binkying.  It’s like 9 cubes long by  7 cubes wide and then on top of that space she has access to  the regular pen space and the upper condo this way so she’s having a blast.  Drue and the dogs are getting along GREAT!! He is even grooming the big dog.  They have been following each other around like long lost loves all afternoon.  Drue’s bigger and slower then Tucker so I think he doesn’t excite the dogs as much as Tucker does.  I’m keeping a very close watch on them of course..but so far it’s going really well.  Tucker doesn’t really seem to care that Drue is more out then she is..she’s quite happy having her giant pen to run around in   She also helped me clean the litter boxes earlier LOL.  I usually take them all out, empty them and out them in a row on the floor and then go around and fill them all.  She was hopping around from box to box while I filled them and then followed me around as I put them away.  I really think she’s just happy to be out of that kitchen!!  So, it looks like we’ll probably keep this up and then sometimes at night give her access to the kitchen as well. 

I was thinking about letting one out during the night but with kids around the house is NEVER really bunny proof.  There’s always the possibility of them leaving something down where they shouldn’t so I like to always be around when they’re running about.   I stay up pretty late though so they’re usually out until about 11pm.  My buns are usually pretty active in the morning and evening anyway though, they never seem to be all that active at night …like late night anyway.

[Alicia Conklin]

OMG it’s still going incredibly well!  We even opened up the stairs for him but blocked off the rooms upstairs.  So we can make sure that he doesn’t get too lost, he learned stairs pretty quick! He’s been really enjoying the freedom to just lounge wherever he feels like it.  Mike says that Drue is trying to lounge in every possible space of the house.  Sammi is still being really good about him and isn’t jumping at him or being threatening at all.  Elphie is basically just ignoring him..she doesn’t seem to care one way or another.  She’s not nearly as infatuated with him as Sammi is lol.

[MimzMum]

Those lops, what can I say? ^_^ SO well-behaved! *pokes Mimzy & Drue*

Pip is the bun in my group who seems to need the most ‘out time’. She goes bananas from one end of the pen to the other, scattering all sorts of nice things on her way (poops, mats, toys) and it’s really best for Mimzy not to be in the way when she is in launch mode. Since I currently have to exercise each one separately I tend to give her the kitchen the most often…then Mimzy as he seems to need it and Fiver gets his time out on the bed in the evenings.
I think some exercise time is better than none. I am sure Tucker and Drue will enjoy time together when she’s been speutered. ^_^ Hopefully some of his good habits will rub off on her!

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