Outdoor during day?

[RowlyAndRalphie]

Hello!

I have four lovely house buns – two boys and two girls. The boys have been with me since they were babies and are well trained, however the girls are recent rescues (about a month ago). The boys have been used to living indoors their whole life but the girls were previously outdoor buns.

All four buns live happily together in my kitchen and are completely cage free. The girls aren’t very well litter trained and due to this, the boys also poop everywhere as well, I guess to mark their territories! All four are neutered but I guess because they’re a group they just like to mark their space!

I’m struggling to keep up with the cleaning so I was wondering if it would be okay to keep the bunnies in a run outdoors during the day and bring them back inside during the evening/night? I live in england so we are just coming into winter and it’s currently 6-9 degrees Celsius during the day, but this will drop. Will the buns manage with this temperature during the day?

Look forward to some advice!

Kind regards,
Kate

[Wick & Fable]

You are correct that they could be marking because of each other. They are all fixed, which is good. Have they all been properly bonded with each other? I have no experience in bonding, but from what I’ve read, I think the marking of each other’s territory lessens/stops once they’ve established the proper rapport with one another and do not feel the need to mark.

— And generally speaking, no. It’s very dangerous to let pet rabbits run outdoors. There’s constant predators, loud noises, potential for parasites, infections, poisonous chemicals, etc…..

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.

[Bam]

You can make a safe run for rabbits outside, but the temperature difference between outdoors and indoors should preferably not be more than 10 degrees Celcius up or down.

A safe run has netting on all sides, 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch welded netting is the best. The absolute best thing is to dig out an area and put down netting and then fill up with earth, but if you can’t do that, netting on top of grass is fine. Girl buns especially likes to dig and they can dig quite impressive tunnels in a very short time. Predators can also dig in, but most predators are active at night and that won’t be a problem if the buns sleep indoors. There must be a roof on the run because otherwise birds of prey can swoop down on the rabbits and kill them.

Since you are in England, the buns need to be vaccinated against Myxo, RVHD1 and RVHD2.

ETA: Our member Vienna Blue In France lets her buns out during the day. She’s in the north of France (=similar climate as England). You can PM her and ask about her arrangement. 

[RowlyAndRalphie]

Hi both thanks for your replies!

Sorry I definitely meant I would keep them in a secure run during the day 🙂 it was the weather differences I was more concerned about! Would they be cold during the day or would they get too hot indoors at night!?

They’ve only been together for a month so I guess they probably aren’t 100% bonded yet. They get along well enough for them to live together but I wouldn’t say they’re completely in love with one another yet! There’s no squabbling, just a little bit of chasing and getting cross if someone steals someone else’s food lol.

They’re all vaccinated too so that’s all fine ?

[Bam]

As long as you adhere somewhat to the 10 degrees C rule, I think they’ll be fine. Make sure theres some type of hidey-box with bedding in it so if they do feel cold or if it starts to rain, they can hop into the box and keep warm. The box should be elevated off the ground a little bit and there can be straw in it. Rabbits are good at keeping warm, but if they get wet or there’s a very cold wind that they can’t get away from, they will be cold.

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