What are good outdoor pets for a small yard?

[CharlotteBun]

I would love to get another pet but I need advice on what animals can live outside year round without too much maintenance. My yard is small and I have a strict HOA so my options are limited.  I already have my rabbit, Peach and my dog, Bear.

Thanks for any replies,

[Sarita]

I honestly do not know of any animal that can live outside year round.

Is your rabbit outdoors?

[tanlover14]

Most pets should probably always be kept inside unless you have a suitable living arrangement for them that ensures they can handle any type of weather without any harm — such as a barn or shed with proper ventilation and insulation for the different weather conditions.

[bunnyfriend]

The only animals that I can think of that are okay being outside at night and during the winter are horses and other “farm” animals, but even then they need access to a shelter and to be kept inside in bad weather (and of course they need a lot of land). Are your dog and rabbit house pets?

[Roberta]

Tortoise ? Quail, Canaries or love birds (in an aviary)

[Roberta]

Why don’t you just make a corner of the garden frog friendly with plants and a little pond and put in some frog friendly fish and let mother nature provide the residents.

[Sarita]

I don’t think birds would survive outside where I live. We have had a massive outbreak of West Nile Virus where I live. I’m not sure either that most birds can live in extreme heat and extreme cold which is why they fly south for the winter.

[Roberta]

The tortoise would have to come in for hibernation too…. Nope… I think the frog garden is the go.

[Roberta]

You can put in a NO DIG frog garden. Get one of those round ponds that looks a bit like a washing tub, put lots of leafy pots around it and some edging then fill in the gaps with some bark or compost. You can do it in an area as small as a meter squared. Also very easy to rearrange if you want to change the look.

[CharlotteBun]

Hi Sarita,

Yes my rabbit is outdoors. She roams our yard on nice days and on bad days she stays in her hutch. She is only 3 1/2 months old so she hasn’t been out in the winter yet but I know many people with rabbits that live outside year round.

[longhairmike]

outdoors are for wild rabbits,, house rabbit breeds are called such for a reason.

are you going to test your young bunny’s winter endurance based upon other people who have outdoor rabbits?

maybe you should consider some

[Roberta]

Hi Peach,
Its nice to think a bun can enjoy the outdoors. I would love to let mine outside but there are too many dangers here. Disease and predator. Having them inside as part of the family is joy. They love the company and even interact with the cats. They are social animals and being outdoors they can often be forgotten or overlooked as the weather is too bad for us to venture out to be with them. Its your bun and only you can decide but trust me they house train very well and love to be included.

[Hazel]

Don’t take this as a personal attack, but noone on this board is going to tell you that housing your rabbit outdoors is a good idea. They shouldn’t be exposed to the weather, diseases, wild or stray animals, the list goes on. There are too many dangers, it doesn’t matter how sturdy her hutch is, it won’t keep her safe. Rabbits need to be housed indoors, it is healthier for them and you get to have a much closer relationship that way (which is crucial if you want to be able to detect sickness, rabbits don’t cry and whine when they are sick).

I know many people keep their rabbits outdoors and think that’s fine because they don’t complain (see above), but that opinion stems from ignorance. Just because others do it doesn’t mean it’s right.

The people on this board are as rabbit savvy as you’ll find, so please believe us when we tell you that she HAS to come inside.

[Stitchntwinks]

Well said hazel, we love our buns too much to keep them outside they are close parts of our family’s and will stay that way for as long as they live!!

[tanlover14]

Well said, Hazel.

[CharlotteBun]

Think of how boring it would be for her to live inside, same things every day. She is very happy outside, we have dinner outside a lot and she has her own special seat. She gets playtime and cuddles every day and she binkies all the time. It is so nice to see her hopping around the yard having fun. She loves being outdoors.

[Hazel]

What is it that makes her hutch so entertaining? Running free in the yard isn’t any more exciting than running free in the house, same yard everyday, just as it would be the same house everyday. Inside she would get far more interaction with you since I doubt you spend more time outside with her than in your house.

 

Your reasoning reminds me of my neighbors who let their dog run loose in the streets. “Locking him up inside would be cruel, he has so much fun running around out there all day long!” Yes, and he will also end up getting run over by a car, most likely. Lots of things might be “fun” for a pet, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. The risks far outweigh anything else.

 

I know you mean well, but so do I, so please excuse my b*tching.

[LoveChaCha]

I must say, I have a 2 1/2 year old single girl that has always lived indoors. She is terrified of the great outdoors and I did not force it upon her. I wanted her to be inside for many reasons. Very recently, I heard her tooth grinding and it really upset me. I had to take her to the vet and she is now fine. I only heard the tooth grinding because she is very quiet and she was in my room at the time and it was quiet. Rabbits are good at hiding their illnesses.

By a rabbit hiding their illnesses, you can also monitor how much they are eating and if they finish everything. A lot of the members have free range, semi-free range, or rabbits in x-pens. Life is not boring for their rabbits. Their slaves tend to mix things up so that bunny has fun. Indoor rabbits tend to to be more social with their slaves and that is something I find true. They get in tune with our schedules, they do hilarious things such as binkies and following/chasing us around the house.

[britt and yeti]

Posted By Hazel on 08/14/2012 08:07 AM

Don’t take this as a personal attack, but noone on this board is going to tell you that housing your rabbit outdoors is a good idea. They shouldn’t be exposed to the weather, diseases, wild or stray animals, the list goes on. There are too many dangers, it doesn’t matter how sturdy her hutch is, it won’t keep her safe. Rabbits need to be housed indoors, it is healthier for them and you get to have a much closer relationship that way (which is crucial if you want to be able to detect sickness, rabbits don’t cry and whine when they are sick).

I know many people keep their rabbits outdoors and think that’s fine because they don’t complain (see above), but that opinion stems from ignorance. Just because others do it doesn’t mean it’s right.

The people on this board are as rabbit savvy as you’ll find, so please believe us when we tell you that she HAS to come inside.

great reply.. i love my bun Yeti very much and i do take him outside! but only while im with him.. we go for walks… go to your local pet store and but him a harness and a leash watching your bun hop and enjoy the wind and grass is a wonderful thing.. just please keep your bun inside.. who knows what bird can swoop down and grab them.. cats can come along..  plus the cold can be too cold.. please bring your bun inside.. they’re such joys to have bouncin around on your couch and lovin you up every chance they get.

it ultimately is your decision, just please take everything into consideration being not only cold weather, hot hot weather and predators! 

[Mimzy]

I think everyone here has said it pretty well and we really don’t mean to be rude at all. There are lots of dangers outside for your bunny. If she enjoys it outside, I would just keep her as an indoor bunny but take her outside every day while you’re supervising. You can either take her out on a bunny harness or make a large bunny safe play area out there. Unless you’re just taking her in your backyard and it’s already fenced off. But bunnies can easily die of heatstroke as well. They should be kept around 74 degrees or lower. Bunnies are prey to a number of animals as well. And they do like to dig. A while back, I knew nothing about bunnies. I had a friend who’s bunny was kept in the backyard. It was fine for about a month out there and then it dug it’s way out and ran away.

Again, it is ultimately your decision, if you’re worried about it being boring inside for your bunny, it’s very easy to make it interesting. My bunny personally gets lots of attention indoors, the dogs visit her sometimes, she has lots of toys that I switch around for her. She does binkies all day long, she’s so happy, plus she gets to stay cool and I can monitor her well-being a lot easier than I would be able to if she was outside.

On another note…I’m sure a little pond with fish would be great, put in some frogs like others said. A tortoise would be perfectly fine outdoors as long as it has a den to retreat to. Usually people build the dens for their tortoise just underground a little. I would love to have a tortoise, and they don’t require a whole lot of maintenance as far as I’m concerned. I’ve even seen plenty of videos of dogs actually playing with them and even those cute videos of dogs riding on the back of one Other than that, I can’t think of any other pets that can be kept outdoors, except for like bunnyfriend mentioned, farm animals.

I like longhairmike’s suggestion on the flamingos hehe

[CharlotteBun]

Just so you know, I can’t take my bunny inside, my mom is allergic. And she is happy outside. If it gets to cold then she will go in our sun room which has heat from the house but is not heated, that way she dosnt get used to the heat. If it gets to hot I give her frozen water bottles to lay against.  If I could bring her in I would but at least she is happy, isnt that all that matters, she has a good life outside and there are other animals that can too. She was raised as an outdoor rabbit since she was born. 

PS:  the winner is a tortoise! I will not get him for awhile though

[CocoaB]

Did you look into chickens? Many HOAs are allowing small chicken coops now. Hens do not make much noise and you do NOT need a rooster to have eggs. I have 7 acres, but only 4 chickens in a 4×4 ft coop inside a 12×7 dog run. All 4 are laying now and it’s more eggs than my family of 3 can eat!

[FrankieBunny]

I agree with Peachy. Rabbits can have great lives outdoors! it’s better to keep them iindoors, but, they are land animals , they love to graze on grass, and run outdoors. as long as you have them checked by a vet every once in awhile, feed them the right food, have a big, safe homem for them and give them attention I think it’s great for them to live outdoors.

[BinkyBunny]

  I don’t see a problem with safe outdoor runs and play, but our site and forum is based on rabbits living indoors.   The biggest concern is if you choose to house your bunny outdoors then we are not the best resource –  here we don’t have to worry about frozen water bottles, outdoor predators, weather dangers.  There are indoor dangers and challenges too and that’s what our forum and site is set up to address.  That means we will not be able to necessarily provide you with solutions to challenges that outdoor bunnies face.  There can always be debate about indoor vs outdoor. So for those that are open and are able to possibly change their circumstances then we can actually be of help.  But otherwise please see  https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab…fault.aspx

[BinkyBunny]

Also note — some people who thought they were allergic to rabbits found out that they were actually allergic to hay. And other types of hays can be easier on allergies.

[Mimzy]

Didn’t know she was allergic, that’s too bad I suppose it should be fine as long as she has a few water bottles to cool off, lots of attention, and a cool place to retreat to. (I’m guessing this would be her hutch). Ice cubes in her water work pretty well too

It’s not too hot out where you are is it? I know where I am, it’s always humid and summers are usually around 100 degrees. Even in winter we have a very cold day and then the next, it’s blazing hot again. My bun would not be happy =/
Good luck on the tortoise I always felt the most difficult decision for a tortoise was if I wanted a baby one or an adult, since they’re so cute as babies but they grow incredibly slow lol.

[tanlover14]

BB could definitely have a point about her being allergic to the hay. My boyfriend found out he was horrifyingly allergic to the timothy hay but has no problem with alfalfa, oat, or orchard grass. Maybe a switch in hay could allow your bunny the necessary indoor transition!

[Milove]

Tortoises are good, and relatively easy, pets to have for outdoors. I have 9 Californian desert tortoises. You just need to make sure they have a hole so that they can retreat from predators at night – especially if it is a smaller tortoise. We dug ditches that went at an angle down into the ground and laid down large piping and then covered it with dirt. Its an easy way to make a house for them where they can go to at night and if the days get too warm. Seriously though, make sure they have somewhere to go to that predators can’t reach them (the pipe should be at least 2-3 feet long) because we have racoons where I live and they try to grab the tortoises out of their holes if they are within reach. We had one dig up and grab a baby tortoise that was under a mesh wire enclosure and our neighbor found it in his pool (racoons wash their food). Also you need to make sure that they have a dry and cool place to hibernate. We put our 9 tortoises in our basement from about Halloween until Easter (yup, they sleep like half of the year!) in boxes filled with shredded newspaper. The newspaper works good as bedding to keep them warm and absorbs any moisture – tortoises can get colds easily and they are much more serious than when humans get them.

[LoveChaCha]

A lot of people are allergic to timothy hay and do not know it. Most believe that it is the rabbit (and that is surely possible as well), but most of the time it is the hay that is causing the problem. I am allergic to dusty hay and thought I was allergic to my Chacha bun as well, but I found some good quality hay that doesn’t make me sneeze and hay and I co-exist peacefully

[Mimzy]

Wow, Milove! Great info
I also agree with the hay. I don’t really know how you would test this theory out though. I’m guessing maybe just put a little inside the house maybe in the living room. If your mom has a reaction, take it out and try a different hay.

My mom was very allergic to cats at one point, it used to be to where she couldn’t really pet them. I had an outdoor cat but during the winter, she felt bad for him and let him come inside only at night. We’ve now had a cat for a good 10+ years straight, my cat lays in my mom’s lap & rubs against her face everyday. I guess she grew an immunity to it a while back?

[Sarita]

Tortoises don’t exactly sound like outside easy pets and it seems you do need to put them inside when it’s cold and they hibernate so perhaps that is not the pet for you.

Also you mention you already have a dog and a rabbit and a small yard so I don’t see how you are going to be able to keep all 3 animals comfortably in a small yard outside.

[Monkeybun]

i have to agree with Sarita. Tortoises do require different care than a rabbit or a dog, they can be dependant on external temperature control, and need specific vet care as well. With sharing a yard with a rabbit and a dog, I can see one of the 3 animals contracting soem sort of parasite or disease from one of the others.

I would re-think the need for a 3rd, outdoor-only pet for now.

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