RABBIT DAMAGE!!!

[Nibbles_NZ]

I was just moving Baxters xpen around so I could have my scrapbooking table back and THIS is what I found!!! It was behind his hidey house. I didn’t even think he could squeeze his big butt back there.  I don’t know what my Husband is going to say I know it won’t be good. I really hope he doesn’t want to get rid of him 

 

[Monkeybun]

The line I use for damage is… “Would you get rid of a kid for breaking something/peeing in bed/putting something in their mouths they should’t?”

Alot of people shut up after that

[Nibbles_NZ]

LOL that’s a good one but wouldn’t work on my Husband. I don’t think he would really ask me to get rid of them. He knows how much me and my kids love them. We would all be heartbroken and he couldn’t handle it. I am just going to cover it up for now. I know, that sounds terrible but he works a lot and any stress I can avoid putting on him is worth it for all of us. I am going to go to lowes and get a piece of carpet that will match it and repair it. Then, I will tell him.

[bunnytowne]

That sounds like a good plan.    That little bunny is just too cute

[LoveChaCha]

perhaps get some carpet scraps so the bunnies can chew those rather than YOUR carpet?

[lashkay]

There is an exposed area of carpet in the corner of Dustor’s pen where the linoleum doesn’t cover, I shoved his corner litterbox against the corner and so far, he isn’t trying to shift it out of place. I know I’m taking a big risk! LOL Buddie was obsessed with shifting the litterbox out of place and lifting the lid, but so far Dustor isn’t messing with it, except to mess it. Gosh only knows what’ll happen if he ever fully settles in! My first bunny Lash did exactly the same thing to the carpet in my bedroom as in your picture. I did the same thing you plan to do, and the house was sold that way to a new owner who I suspect didn’t notice the repair.

[MimzMum]

Wow…I’d be more worried about all that going through my bunnies’ digestive system okay. 0_o Is your bun feeling alright?

[lashkay]

In my case, the tufts of dug up carpet were in a pile. She would dig it up but apparently not ingest it, thank heavens. She would root out the carpet tufts with her front paws and teeth and then fling it back with her front paws between her hind legs into a pile. Like a bunny making a burrow in the dirt – only with carpet! I guess for rabbits, necessity is the mother of invention. LOL

[Beka27]

I’m also concerned Nibbles… were the carpet fibers laying in that area, or did he actually EAT all of that?! Carpet PULLING is okay… but carpet eating is definitely not safe!

[Deleted User]

That’s why my rabbits don’t free-range. I recommend highly to look into building an NIC condo and only give supervised roaming time.

[KatnipCrzy]

I agree- do NOT give your bunny carpet samples to tear up- bunnies can ingest the fibers and get a blockage- there are many other safer options to keep your bunny entertained.

[Beka27]

Posted By Petzy on 05/25/2010 07:50 AM
That’s why my rabbits don’t free-range. I recommend highly to look into building an NIC condo and only give supervised roaming time.

 

I strongly agree that free range is not for everybunny.  I would never recommend a rabbit be free range before they are spay/neutered, and in most cases, probably not before they are at least 1-2 years old. 

The problem is… like in this situation, you hardly ever notice the damage until it is already done.  So many bunnies end up surrendered to shelters within the first year… and a big part of it is destructive behaviors that could have been avoided with proper housing and supervision.  Spay/neuter may decrease these destructive tendencies, but a big part of it is their natural inclination to “grazing”…

[Nibbles_NZ]

Posted By bunnytowne on 05/24/2010 09:36 PM

That sounds like a good plan.    That little bunny is just too cute

 

LOL I need to update my Avatar pic! That bunny is about 3 times the size he was in that pic. He is a BIG bunny! lol Still cute though thanks!

[Nibbles_NZ]

It was all there in a big pile. I just vaccumed it up before I took the pic. He didn’t eat any of it. He is also not free range at all. That was just an exposed (I didn’t think he could get to it) peice of carpet behind his hidey hut. I was planning on covering it up with wood and peel n sticks like I did with all of the other flooring before he tore it up…he beat me to it! He lives in my room. I have a big dining room table in there I use as a scrapbook table. He lives under the table and along the entire side of the room He has 3’x10′ space. NOW, it is all done with wood and peel n sticks.

[Nibbles_NZ]

And he has proper housing and won’t end up in a shelter. This was an accident. Something that was in his pen that I should have taken care of so I realize that it isn’t his fault.

[4Lily]

Awe, I would give him a box to dig in. I have trained my bunny to dig only in her box! Sounds like he has lots of space and proper housing!

[Nibbles_NZ]

Yes, the diggy box is a wonderful thing….for my other bunny lol. Baxter (my trouble maker lol) is needing neutered so he is losing his litter habbits and just goes to the bathroom in his diggy box I had to temperarily take it away. I replaced it with his new favorite thing…a phonebook. He loves that!

[4Lily]

That’s good! Lily goes poo in her diggy box too! I just clean it like I do the litter! I use an actual covered litter box as the diggy box! It works for Lily, but all bunnies are different! Lily is a male as well! LOL! He started going in his diggy box around the same time he reached maturity! Needless to say, he hasn’t stopped even though he is neutered!

[Balefulregards]

The thing is, Rabbits ( Like Toddlers) are usually up to no good when too quiet. And for my two, even though they are free roam, and we have rabbit proofed the heck out of the house….there are still one or two spots they Just LIKE, like the digital cable cord. I have rabbit proofed that thing four ways to sundown, and they usually find a way to get through it, at some point.

One of the ways I think about my two is that they need problems to solve, not simply “play”. When they have problems I have posed ( like the hemp rope tied into knots and blocking the entry into one of their hay tunnels) they put all of their energy into solving the problem. Sometimes I have introduced a box with an opening that is just a wee bit too small, and they work the heck out of the box to make it into an opening they like.

Not unlike people, they need brain stimulation. When we don’t provide acceptable problems for solving…they will find ones to solve on their own – and usually that means trouble!

[Nibbles_NZ]

Well that is a great way to think! I bet something like that would work with mine. Hmmm….what problem could I cause for them? lol I did take a paper lunch sack and I put his veggies in that and twisted the end. Boy did he work to get them out! Lol. I did it because I don’t give him treats as he his still begining his veggies. So it was like a treat bag. I didn’t even think about it as he liked to solve that problem! I am going to have to think about what else I can do….what else do you do?

[Deleted User]

Posted By Balefulregards on 05/27/2010 02:18 PM
The thing is, Rabbits ( Like Toddlers) are usually up to no good when too quiet. And for my two, even though they are free roam, and we have rabbit proofed the heck out of the house…

Rabbits as a species are destructive. Some rabbits more so than others. It is possible to completely bunny-proof a home, but with small children it is not possible. There will always be some thing sitting around for a moment that could hurt a bunny if ingested. It is good, Nibbles,  that you have a pen for Baxter to be inside when you can’t watch him. A rabbit, especially a juvenile, may not always decide to ‘problem-solve’ with the object you provide but find another more fun thing to ‘problem-solve’ like your new shoes or xbox etc.
 

[Nibbles_NZ]

lol…my carpet. Baxter is not in his pen “when I can’t watch him”. He is always in his pen. I extended it. It’s 3’x10′ now and there is no carpet for him to tear up. lol I laid wood down and put peel n stick tiles on it. Those are on his entire floor. Than, I just went to Lowes today and got him 4 ceramic tiles. He has big tube I got him from the post office, his phone book (GREAT IDEA!!!) and other things. He is destructive at times but mostly a loafer. He likes to lounge, get pets and eat. lol

[Balefulregards]

Oh, absolutely Petzy – My DH just “lost” his fave alarm clock which got snipped by Coco. He was upset, but I reminded him that it goes with the territory. He knew when he didn’t properly rabbit proof the cord that it was at risk. Just as I know when I leave my birkenstocks out that there may be Rabbit teeth marks when I put them on in the morning. However, I think from my many years as a Preschool Teacher, I take the attitude of ” As the adult, how can I change the environment to promote behaviors I want” rather than “How Do I stop the kid from doing this?”

Same problem, really, but very different perspective.

I also think it is important to think about “problem solving” versus Play, as I think it is often thought that rabbits ( and children) can “Play” with anything. Just throw it in there and let them have at it. Its not that easy – as we all know. You have to fine tune your response to what the rabbit LIKES to do, and then provide materials. I think “problem solve” also reminds Us that rabbits are VERY smart and need to be stimulated in a variety of ways, particularly the brain.

I hope I don’t sound too pendantic ( although I may) and I am not taking issue with the fact that some rabbits may never be able to be free roam due to environment or personality. I am simply offering a different way to approach Rabbit “destruction”.

[Deleted User]

Well, as a preschool teacher, Baleful, you have seen destruction. Nothing can compare to a room full of human toddlers ‘probelm solving’.
I was reading in Rabbit USA magazine recently about games rabbits like to play and I liked the article a lot. It said that rabbits love to knock things down (you already knew that) and also that they like to play hide and seek. I have never played that with any of mine. I was surprised at reading that they would play hide and seek. Worth a try.

[Balefulregards]

Oh Petzy – A group of 4 year old boys was almost the professional death of me. They were master schemers.

And the years I did work withToddlers, I used to say that when they went Quiet, something was Very Very wrong. Like the moment I was changing a diaper…realized the others had gone quiet, and turned to see one little boy passing a ball point pen he had snatched and broken in two – to the other 5 who were now smearing ink all over their faces. All within no more than 5 minutes.

I used to tease the other Teachers that as the adults…we were supposed to be able to out think the kids, but dang were they smart!

I definitely look at Coco and Jackson as clever 2.5 or 3 year olds!

[Deleted User]

Posted By Balefulregards on 05/28/2010 07:00 PM
Oh Petzy – A group of 4 year old boys was almost the professional death of me. They were master schemers.

And the years I did work withToddlers, I used to say that when they went Quiet, something was Very Very wrong. Like the moment I was changing a diaper…realized the others had gone quiet, and turned to see one little boy passing a ball point pen he had snatched and broken in two – to the other 5 who were now smearing ink all over their faces. All within no more than 5 minutes.

that’s it? I was in E.C.E. for a while and I shudder at some of the things I witnessed. Too gross to share!

[Nibbles_NZ]

I read that too. I played hide and seek with both of mine. Baxter likes it but Bella is more interested in bowling. lol. Baxter will go around the recliner or the T.V (when I used to let him out) and I would be waiting on the other side, then he would do it over and over again. After a couple of times and places he started doing this on his own. lol It is really neat. I would be sitting there watching TV and I would see him doing it and looking for me.lol

[Deleted User]

The only game from the magazine mine will like, I imagine, is the knocking down of the cardhouse… again, again and again…

[LoveChaCha]

I have the Rabbits USA issue as well.
The cards and also the bunny bowing set. I have both for my bun and she enjoys knocking the pins over.

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