Outdoor to house bunnies

[Ell]

Hello! Not sure if this is the right place to post so hope this is okay 🙂

I have 2 minilop bunnies, male and female who are almost 4 years old. When I got them, I was living with my parents and they were adamant the rabbits could not live inside – they said ‘my house my rules’ kind of thing. Anyway, my bunnies live in a hutch outside – it’s really well made, warm, clean etc. I think because they live outside I’m overly anxious about their welfare (I mean you can never be too over the top). I love them so much and honestly they’ve gotten me through some tough times.

Now onto my question – me and my boyfriend have bought a house! And my boyfriend is completely fine with me moving the bunnies in with us (to be house rabbits) which I’m so excited about. We haven’t moved in yet, but when we do, it’ll probably be around March/April time which is still pretty cold for where we live in the UK – I’ve done some research on moving the rabbits from outdoors to indoors and I’ve seen a fair bit about temperature change – so I think I’ll wait until May/June so it’s not such a dramatic change for them.

But I need some advice – has anyone done this or have any advice on the topic? I love them so much and the last thing I want to do is stress them out and upset them and in turn putting their health at risk. Is it possible to do this move from outdoors to indoors – or am I being selfish doing this? And if it is possible, what steps should I take – in terms of making it safe and easy for them?

So sorry if this is long! Thank you so much in advance 🙂

P.S. I’ll attach a photo of them for cuteness purposes

Otto and Juno 3 year old minilops <3

[DanaNM]

I think it is really wonderful that you will be able to move your bunnies inside! It is generally healthiest for rabbits to be inside, so I don’t see it as selfish at all, as long as they will still get plenty of exercise inside.

The main issues with switching temps occur when it is done regularly, because going back and forth between temps is harder for the buns. When the go from cold to warm they will start shedding, and then going back out to cold can be shocking. I actually think you could move them in right away and don’t need to wait till spring.

Setting up their area so they have their old “stuff” should help them feel more at ease in the new space. If they enjoy being outside and seem to miss it (some bunnies really do, others don’t care at all), some people like to set up a secure outdoor run for exercise when the weather is nice.

. . . 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.  

[GlennTheLionhead]

Really lovely that you want to have your buns as house bunnies!

I just wanted to second what DanaNM has said. I don’t think there is necessarily any need to wait, as long as you make sure your house stays generally cool it should be fine.

When I adopted my newest bunny she had been outside for 4 years of her life and outside in the shelter, I have no means of safe housing outdoors for bunnies so she was inside straight away, we just kept the window open a crack in her room the first few nights so it wasn’t overwhelming and she was totally fine with it. She was actually flopping the first night which the rescue were very surprised about… my theory is that she was always an indoor bunny at heart and just loved the peace and quite lol… maybe your bunnies will feel the same who knows!

[Bam]

Its wonderful both for you and your buns that they’ll get to become house buns!

A general rule is that the temperature difference shouldn’t be much more than 10 degrees Celsius between outdoors and indoors when you make this kind of move. Its more important when you move a bun outdoors from indoors in a cold climate and the buns don’t have thick winter fur.

I think April will be great if you’re in the UK. I once brought in a rabbit in mid April, he’d been living feral in a community garden for some time. He never seemed to have any problem with indoors temps. His poops became a little oval, possibly  from the change in diet, I think, but they soon returned to normal.

The picture is lovely! So much cuteness! 🥰

[ParsleyBun]

As a general rule, just don’t make more than a 25 degree Fahrenheit jump at once. Otherwise you should be totally fine!

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