Time for bed…need help!

[bun-crazy]

I’m looking for advice from u all about “rounding up” ur bunnies when it’s time for them to go back into their homes at night. I just opened up my living room to my bunnies Frank n Beanz today. Up until now they’ve been limited to my sunroom, kitchen, and dining room. So tonight when I was ready to put them into their x pen, they weren’t done checking out their new space yet and didn’t want to go back. So…I was wondering what some of the tricks u all have for putting ur buns to bed. Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions!!

[bunnyfriend]

My bunnies have free range of most of the house during the day but at night I like to keep them in my room and put a baby gate up in the doorway. The best way I’ve found to get them back into my room is to shake some hay (one is deaf though, but she figures it out when she sees the other bun running) or lead them back with a treat like a piece of fruit or craisin. Most bunnies have a big sweet tooth so it’s irresistible.

[LBJ10]

Mine get “bed time pellets”. They see that food bag and they hop right in. No problems.

[Stickerbunny]

Craisins if it is an odd time or i wait and feed them dinner (pellets) before bed.

[Elrohwen]

I feed the bunnies at bed time. You can bet they’re excited to go back to their cage when they know dinner is coming!

In the morning they get fed first, then get time out after, but they’re good about coming back when I get out the craisins.

[bun-crazy]

Thanks for the ideas so far!  Sounds like bunnies are a lot like me…driven by food!   I think I’ll have to put craisins on my grocery list and give them a try!  Thanks again everyone!

[Stickerbunny]

Watch your hands when you feed craisins and be prepared for bunny climbing all over you lol

[Malp_15]

haha yes Stickerbunny! Tait literally tries to climb my legs and starts jumping when i pull the Craisins out

[RexEnabler]

I use the treat bribery-trick too…or used to.

My little guy is so used to associating food and treats with his pen downstairs that, if I need him to go to his pen because I am going to work, bed, or out, all I need to do now is stand at the top of the stairs and enthusiastically call him over. He comes zipping and binkying down the hallway and then follows me down the stairs and into his pen..even into his carrier if I happily tell him “go into your hole!” I only rarely was able to get my dogs to do the same when I had them.

[Mr.Buck]

RexEnabler, your guy goes down the stairs?!?!? We’ve always thought they were safe and buns just didn’t do that?

bun-crazy, it doesn’t always work from the beginning, but he will definitely figure out the craisin bag sound very fast! And yes, they are like bunny crack, but remember not to feed too many craisins.

[RexEnabler]

Mr.Buck: Yup. My little guy lives on the first floor of my townhome (nice and cool down there with a view of the front garden). His first few weeks were spent exploring (highly supervised) the floor and walls…then, he found the stairs. After a week of exploring the first stair and hopping up on it and then down and up and down and up and down…he went up to the second and did the same. He gradually added stairs on his own terms and now zips up and down them as desired, having incorporated them into his Bunny 500 route. Granted, he is much more cautious going down the stairs than up, but he does it

[Mr.Buck]

That’s awesome, now I’m going on youtube for buns and stairs!

[Malp_15]

Mr. Buck: My Nate, does stairs too! He learned stairs before he learned to jump onto the couch haha. I think he felt too left out when the dogs would go upstairs, now he just follows them.

[kinggoblin]

When its time for bed I say “come on goblin, lets go to your pen” and snap my fingers to get his attention and he will follow me into the kitchen and sit in front of his pen door, then I snap my fingers inside the pen and he jumps in. Then I give him a piece or two of dried fruit as his reward

[bunnnnnnie!]

Yup, another vote for a bedtime meal. Zeus practically dives into his cage when he knows there’s kale or dried fruit to be had!

[Hazel]

Yep, a special treat at bedtime works wonders! All I had to do was call my bun or shake the box of treats, he would come running and take a flying leap into the cage. If I wasn’t fast enough handing out the treat, he would start jumping in and out over and over as if to say “Look mommy, I went in!! Are you blind??!”

[bun-crazy]

Those are some awesome bunnies, guys!  I hope Frank N Beanz both learn that trick. I’ve been trying to give them a reward once they do go in and I’ve been using dried papaya.  They really love it and I crinkle the bag while saying “Time to go home!”.  Usually it takes quite a bit of herding to get them in there, but then I give them the treat.  Is this the best way to start? And is dried papaya ok to use for now?  There are no additives, just dried papaya and its in small cubes.  I don’t give them many, just a few each.  And when I switch to Craisins, how many do you usually give them? They are both 4 and a half months old and weigh about 5 and a half pounds.  I just don’t want to overfeed treats…don’t need fat bun buns on my hands! 

[Hunny's Momma]

We do the bedtime snack also… She’ll climb up on my lap snatch it from me & gobble it up. While she’s eatting it I rub behind her ears & smootch her on her head & then off she goes to her pen. Of course at first it was me putting her in the pen after she finished the treat but she caught on real quick!

[Stickerbunny]

I feed 1-2 craisins each for my buns.

[bun-crazy]

Thanks everyone!!

[LittlePuffyTail]

My buns also get a bedtime snack. A small sprinkle of pellets and a Romaine leaf. Olivia used to be difficult about going home after run time and since she hates being picked up, I trained her (using papaya treats) and she now goes right to her condo when I whistle.

Stormy is my only bun that goes up and down stairs. Hes not allowed but if he gets a chance, he zooms downstairs. When I go find him, he knows he was a bad bunny so he runs right back up them, sometimes jumping two stairs at time!

[buggyeyebun]

We use treats to draw out binky or call his name.

[RabbitPam]

kinggoblin, that’s clicker training. Your finger snap is a variation on the clicker sound, which some people prefer since they don’t need a clicker handy to do it.

[bellemarie]

I feed Peter – once he sees his food bowl being taken out and filled with yummy food, he follows me around with it! So it’s very easy.

[bun-crazy]

The training is going very well! I’ve been using dried papaya and Craisins. They are getting very good at hearing the plastic bag crinkle and will normally come running. Beanz goes in the cage great, but Frank is kind of a slow learner and just tries sitting with me outside the cage; finally he’ll go in and then get his treat. LOL.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I think you can accomplish anything with Craisins! 

[tanlover14]

We’ve always had this problem with our two baby tans. The one is extremely energetic and since he just was started on veggies, we havent had much in the terms of treats to give him so instead we made a system with one of the little animal fences, we’ll put it in a half circle around him and then use that to herd him to his cage so it makes it a lot harder for him to escape.

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