Problem with parents moving the rabbit outside

[Usagikun]

My current dilemma is that my father doesn’t want the rabbit inside the house anymore after the cleaning of the rug area my rabbit lives in, and was move to the front of the porch (with the rabbit’s living quarters moved outside).He said that he’s “allergic” to the rabbit’s fur, and that the rabbit can survive outside with it’s “thick” fur. 

The problem I have with his reasoning is that the weather is almost below zero (lowest will be 1 degree C), and that the wind is pretty harsh (wind gust being 38km/h at the time of this writing), more worse during the evenings and the fact the rabbit is 8.5 years old. I also don’t believe my father’s alleged “allergies” due to the fact he was a farm boy that took care of the chickens.

I also immediately noticed odd behaviors that my rabbit started to exhibited after the first night. He’s barely eating his pellets and grass, and barely drank from the water bowl. He also doesn’t want to get picked up anymore, and panicked when I tried to (when he was inside, he’s usually fine with it, cause I give him treats afterwards). His ears also became chilly. He’s also not relaxing in his usually Sphinx-style posture anymore.

PS. I putted the tin foils for the wind draft, if you saw the picture that is.

[Mikey]

If hes not used to living outside, putting him out there while its that cold can likely kill him either due to stress or freezing. Him not eating is also a starting stage to GI Stasis which can kill a rabbit if not treated correctly. Him being nervous and attacking you means its likely an animal was trying to get to him during the night. Im not trying to scare you, honest, but a house bunny shouldnt just be thrown outside like that. Is there any possible way for you bun to come back inside if you alter his living area? You can use coroplast and/or cardboard to help protect the floor

[Usagikun]

Good news! I told my mom how the rabbit was oddly behaving, and she told me afterwards to bring the rabbit back inside. I think she caught on the fact that the rabbit didn’t like his new living quarters.

[Usagikun]

Good news! My mom told me to bring the rabbit back inside after i told her that the rabbit started to act a bit weird.

[BinkyBunny]

The whole ordeal was probably quite stressful for him. Keep a watchful eye as stress can cause physical problems. Your father may actually be allergic to the hay, not the bunny. Most people think they are allergic to their bunny when in fact it is the hay. So you may look into oat hays that may help alleviate his symptoms. Definitely keep your rabbit indoors as he used to this — Drastic temperatures either way can cause issues, which may have happened both bringing him out and then back in. I’m glad you are able to bring your bunny back in. It’s important to keep him inside!

You may also try different flooring for your rabbit so it’s easier to clean and won’t soak in smell when your rabbit chooses to pee elsewhere. Sheet vinyl or linoleum can be a good option. Has your bunny been spayed/neutered? That can help with litter box habits and the strength of the urine scent.

You said your rabbit was 8.5 years old. Have you had him all this time? Did something recently change with his litter box habits? If so, then it might be wise to take him to a rabbit savvy vet.

What’s his story/history?

Is he neutered? Do you have a rabbit-savvy vet?

I am also glad he is back inside, but with more information, we can be of better help.

[jerseygirl]

So happy to hear he’s able tp come back indoors. Are you able to set him up in your bedroom perhaps? Maybe the hay and fur will be less bother to your father that way.

How is your rabbit acting now? Is he eating and toileting?

[Usagikun]

@BB
My family had the rabbit since he was a few months old.

His litter habits returned back to normal after bringing him back inside. Although, he has an odd habit of drinking too much from his bowl of water when I give him too much water, which causes him to poop really wet, and stinky droppings. But, the wet droppings are rare though.

My rabbit’s story is that he was bought from a pet store as a kit by my little sister who just wanted a rabbit at that time. I think I was around 13 yrs old when my sister bought the rabbit. But the responsibilities of cleaning, and feeding him eventually fell on me and my mom. So, overall we have had him from a few months to current 8.5 yrs of age.

My family choose not to neuter him since there wasn’t really a reason to.

I don’t have a vet for my rabbit, since only times my family took him to the vet was when he started to poo wet droppings, nail trimmings, and his shots. And my mom said that it’s a waste of money to take him to the vet compared to just taking proper care of him.

@jerseygirl
He’s back in his usual area of the house, which is the near the front door that we rarely use.

He’s also acting as usual now, which is sleeping in his little hub during the daytime. He’s also eating his pellet and grass now too. Although, I reduced his pellets to make him eat the grass more often.

Also, apparently my dad just indirectly told me that he doesn’t have allergies to rabbits, and that he just hates the rabbit cause it’s eating the baseboard all the time, and also just because. I told him that the baseboard can be replaced with a new one, and covered up with a cheap wood so that it doesn’t get eaten by the rabbit. But my dad, being stubborn about the issue, didn’t want to do that until my mother told him do it >.>

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