Rabbit Sleeping Outside

[Bubbles]

Hi there,

My family wants to buy a hut for my rabbit to sleep outside. This is because he pees and poo’s everywhere and I always clean it up. I’ve tried litter training him but with research I found that it is best to wait for him to reach the proper age for neutering before litter training as that will ease his territorial feelings.

As for him sleeping outside, my family hates the smell of his litter everywhere and the urine stains on the carpet. I’ve told my mum to buy vinegar because I also heard that helps with getting rid of the odour?

I’m rambling a lot here but my point is that is it safe for him to sleep outside in a rabbit hutch? It’s autumn (fall) here and the weather is getting cold and windy and rainy. I’m very worried he might get sick from sleeping outside or worse.

Are there ways to have him sleep outside? Perhaps by making the hutch warm?

Also, how do we keep out predatory animals? Like cats, dogs, etc etc.

[Meg]

I’m so sorry to hear this, Bubbles!  You’re right that he’s safer inside.  If it helps, you could show your family this page on the dangers of making a bunny live outside in a hutch: https://rabbit.org/faq-rabbits-outdoors/

How old is your bunny? If he’s not old enough to get neutered yet, he should soon.  You can find details on litter training here, though it sounds like you’ve already read up: https://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/  In my experience, it’s hard to keep *all* poops in the litterbox, as some stray ones do tend to find their way around the places bunnies are allowed to go, but you should definitely be able to make sure all the urine stays in the litterbox.

I work all day from home in the same room where my bunny lives, and the smell is not bad unless I’ve just changed the litterboxes.  I use CareFresh litter and an AirSponge odor absorber near where I sit.

If your bunny is still not old enough to be neutered and effectively litter trained, could you compromise by keeping him out of certain rooms, or keeping him in an exercise pen most of the day?

Good luck, and good for you for looking out for your bunny!

[Dface]

While it can be more difficult, unneutered rabbits can be litter trained.

What is his current set up? What litter are you using? From the sounds of it I would likely agree with your mam, having an animal peeing everywhere really isn’t okay.

 

Rabbits cope pretty well with living outdoors in lower temperatures as long as it isnt a huge /sudden drop. They need to have a dry, draft free space with plenty of hay to eat and nestle down into in the cold.

Hutches are largely considered a waste of money because they are expensive and generally not fit for purpose,  the latches and bolts will need to be modified to keep predators out. Remember that a determined predator can and will open an accessible dead bolt.

As this is a house rabbit forum most of us keep ours exclusively indoors at night, but The rabbit welfare association covers the topic of outdoor housing in good detail and also has some examples of how you can make great outdoor set ups for buns:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-housing/outdoor-rabbit-housing/

[Beau Bunny]

Sounds like he is free range? I think your best bet is keeping him in an enclosure inside at least until he’s neutered and litter trained…maybe in your bedroom or study if to keep from offending your family..lol. You can get cubes or an xpen to keep him out of trouble, and watch how he’s using his box. Any stray droppings sweep up and place in his box.

When you see he is exclusively using his box, increase the area he’s allowed in. This should help with the litter training as well as not offending your Mom.

[DanaNM]

Second what others have said. This should all get better once he’s neutered.

Puppy pee pads are really awesome for protecting floors, assuming he’s not a crazy chewer (you don’t want buns to eat them). You could confine him to an x-pen with the floor lined with pee-pads (which also absorb smells) to protect the floor.

Also, the litter box shouldn’t really smell. What type of bedding are you using? I use pine pellets with a hay layer on top, and dump all of it every other day, and it doesn’t smell at all (I’ve confirmed this with honest friends lol). So you may need to clean the litter box more frequently if you are smelling it (which should make your mom happier).

Carefresh bedding is more expensive, but it is very soft so it’s good for litter training as it entices the bunny to pee on it.

. . . 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.  

[Hazel]

So are your parents saying they want him inside during the day and outside at night? I don’t see how that would solve the problem since he will still pee and poo during the day and will need to have a litter box in the house. So I’m guessing once they get him a hutch they really plan to keep him out there 24/7. I think this whole keeping him indoors/outdoors part time idea is a slippery slope (and as Dface said, the temperature changes would be unhealthy for him) and he would likely end up being a full time outdoor rabbit. Which is why I think it’s important that you find a way to compromise with your parents and keep him inside even during the night, you’ve already gotten great advice on how to accomplish that (restricting him to your room, using x-pens etc). Of course, at the end of the day it’s your parents house, and their choice. This is why it’s so important for the parents to do their own research before agreeing to getting a pet, so they don’t end up being caught off guard by things like this. Try to explain to them that this is temporary and it will be easier to litter train him once he is neutered.

[Bubbles]

wow, thank you everyone for your replies ! i will follow up on your advice 🙂

 

[Beau Bunny]

Dana is right about the Carefresh… I litter trained Beau with it for the first few weeks after I adopted him with wonderful results. He hasn’t been neutered yet, and doesn’t have any accidents or marking behaviors…but again he’s introduced to new areas of the house slowly and always with a litter box in close proximity.

Recently switched over to yesterdays news with no issues. Good luck!

 

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