House rabbits

[sonjadog]

Someone mentioned their house rabbit on a thread that is now pulled. I couldn't care less about the content of that thread, but house rabbits... now that is a topic I want to hear more about. Tell me more about your house rabbit, please? Photos welcome too!

She kept pissing on the right hand side of the sofa (sons seat 🤣) pissed in the Virgin Media box before chewing through the cables. Started trying to burrow through a wall (?) after ripping the wallpaper off and generally was quite antisocial.

She was much happier in her 2 story hutch with 2m square run, and so was I.

I miss her.

Rabbits are not supposed to be indoors. We have two garden rabbits and I find even confining them to their very large runs, an emotional challenge.

We have a bonus bunny who lives with us when his owner is away. He has free range of our dining room, bathroom and upstairs/downstairs hallway. He eats more green veg than the rest of the household put together. Our house is badly in need of decorating so we don't object to the nibbling of wallpaper, and skirting boards. We learnt very quickly to keep precious clothing away from him! He brings us a lot of joy but we are equally glad when he goes home.

Back before mobile phones I would be on the phone to dm. Then the line would go dead...

Couple of hours later post trip to Argos for a new phone dm would ring back.
That drabbit cost her a fortune!

You lot aren't really selling house rabbits to me... 😂

I have seen both sides. A friend has 2 indoor bunnies. Every toy and gimmick available.. And blankets (wtf!?)
They look miserable as hell.
My 2 outdoor rabbits had a huge hutch and 30 foot run. Watching them bounding and digging in the snow was amazing.. Their coats thickened to deal with the UK weather! They had a great life.

I had a house rabbit as a teen. Her base was the (car-free) garage, which she had the run of 24/7, with a hutch to sleep, eat and pee/poo in. My mum at first was determined she needed to go out each day but she would be difficult to catch and the vet said she was fine inside, so she ended up 100% house rabbit. She had access to the majority of the house as long as we were in and loved nothing better than sitting on the sofa with us.

I had another who would come into the house during the winter. She slept under my bed, and had a litter tray in the lounge. She was a rescue and had issues, but seemed to enjoy being in the house, especially when we were on paw to demand treats from!

Four.
Ruined my home.
Can hide latrines in the most unexpected places.
Become territorial about the unreachable depths of the understair cupboard or highly risky back of cooker.
Will bite through any cable with one nip. They particularly disliked landline cables. 'Don't speak to anyone, bunnymummy, look at us!'
Scratched, dug, bit and soaked in urine anything that was of any value. Loved to soak soft furnishings - 'This is mine! I weed on it!'
Spray poo everywhere. Ownership, you know. Expect big piles at the back and front door. Don't want any other rabbits thinking they can visit.
They scratch and bite. Really nasty bites. And hang on, and on, and on.

There were loveable things about them, but I would never do it again, and never encourage anyone else to have houserabbits. If you must, don't do it while you have children at home. They're good pets for old women. Not for teenage girls because the buggers live forever so she'll move out or get a partner and want children long before they've gone.
Also, vets see them as cash cows. They're 'exotic' pets so everything costs more and there's no end to the treatments they can have.

Ok, just for balance as I am not recognising this behaviour at all. Mine were mini lop house rabbits. Litter-trained themselves (rabbits generally prefer the same spots, so keep them in the cage for a few weeks to establish this) were always very happy, binkying, running around, exploring the house, didn't destroy any furniture, didn't even bite or scratch anything, never bit or scratched us either, only a lick and light love-nip (they do this to show affection, it does not hurt) & were not expensive to look after or treat ailments from vet (which they only started getting in last year or two of life). Very cheap pets actually, so I'm especially confused by that comment.

It's the only pet I'd have, personally. Quiet, curious, intelligent and interactive enough, not needy or demanding like many dogs or aloof like a typical cat. They are happy to spend time with each other and play around you, but if you join in, all the better.

Get some!!

Ours are Sky cable, lamp cable, all the cushions and parts of the sofa.

It was cute when they lay down in front of the fire though.

ATE

I'd love one if it was like @4829s but that's not how my luck runs!!

id be annoyed by all the chewing, but what puts me off totally is that I'd spend their lives terrified they milk themselves chewing a cable or something else they shouldn't!!

also I'm a doors/windows open type of person, so would be worried about them getting out the front & squished!!

Disappointing lack of photos so far!

Why would anyone want a rabbit loose in their house pissing and shitting everywhere? 😳

I have two, was three. Would never keep rabbits outside as I would never see them!

Mine are very happy, get to go in the garden every day (maybe only 20 mins in winter, depends how long I can bear the door open).

Not much trouble, have lovely characters and quirks. Like being stroked, hate being picked up. Previous bunny would sit on sofa with me. Crepuscular, ie, active at dawn and dusk so work well with 9 to 5 hours. Not suitable if you're house-proud (the hay... the moulting...). Easy to litter train and generally stick to it.

Need as much space as they would outside. Important to give them their own area to retreat to. Bunnyproofing is very important especially wires. In my experience the first year is hardest in terms of damage then they chill. My sofa needs recovering again.

If it's still available Living With A House Rabbit by Linda Dykes and Helen Flack is very good altho old.

Must keep in pairs, must neuter (80% of females get womb cancer within 5 years if not), annual triple vaccination required. Hay hay hay and more hay. Rabbit not eating requires urgent vet appointment.

They ruin carpets.

Why would anyone want a rabbit loose in their house pissing and shitting everywhere?

I've had six (not all at once...). All litter trained, literally by putting a litter tray out.

I have 3 indoor guinea pigs who are just fabulous. I do prefer them to rabbits for many reasons. Would you consider those, OP?

We have a house hen. But she goes outside most of the day, and then walks through the kitchen and puts herself to bed in the evenings. She doesn't chew through wires, that would drive me mad.

We have a 2 year old Netherland Dwarf. I was foolish in thinking that rabbits were cute cuddly lap animals due to a friends being very very tame. How wrong was i!
She is a house rabbit and is free every evening to roam but that does come with of course chewing/scratching. We had to bunny proof our living room and toys MUST be picked up from the floor or else they will no longer have faces (as a few of our sons paw patrol now are faceless!) .
but she is nicely litter trained, and can survive for one evening without roaming if we are exceptionally busy one day.

lots of experiences here are very different from mine.

mine was fantastic. They are very easy to litter train as they naturally prefer one spot to toilet in. We used a normal litter tray with newspaper and some pellets (you have to use wood or paper based ones from memory).

mine was really social and snuggly. Very fond of humans and happy to chill on the couch or floor next to you or demand head scratches . She was sassy and hilarious too. I was surprised at how much personality bunnies have - almost like a playful puppy personality but not as high maintenance as a puppy.

yes they chew so need lots of enrichment and chew toys. That’s the main downside and we had some nobles wires and corners of walls .

we kept ours in a huge cage when we weren’t home and she had the run of the house when we were. If I had another, I’d set up a safe abs spacious indoor run for times we weren’t home.

people often make the mistake of assuming they are low-touch pets (just leave them in a cage and feed them) but this is far from true and very damaging to them.

a neutered boy-girl pair is most recommended and that’s what I’d do if I were to have another (we had ours 20 years ago and I’ve learned a lot since then).

i adore dogs but bunnies have a special place in my heart - they have a very soothing and gentle energy to
me and make wonderful pets. That said, like any pet, do your research and be prepared to make a commitment in order for them to be healthy and happy.

Mine are free range. They live outside in the garden - fully enclosed garden so totally safe, with a hutch they sleep in.

And hop in and out of the house.

I don't recognise much of what is being said in here.

They're litter trained. Only poop outside or in a litter tray in the back room.
They do chew cables, so you know...don't leave trailing cables out.
Never ever bit or nipped. Once licked my shoulder so much it kinda grazed....

Rabbits are amazing pets. So smart, inquisitive, funny and loving.

Any rabbit kept alone will be destructive.

But they don't.
They're less likely than dogs or cats to do that. They're incredibly clean, routine driven animals. If they're "pissing and shitting" everywhere, they're in distress and that needs to be sorted. They litter train themselves.

Mine are free range. They live outside in the garden - fully enclosed garden so totally safe, with a hutch they sleep in
And hop in and out of the house

We had a male rabbit like that... the only real issues were that the dog was scared ot it - and wouldn't go into the garden or be in same room as the rabbit. And he lived foooreeeveeer!!

I didn't know that lol I just imagined all those little rabbit droppings all over the floor. That's cool though I underestimated the little fluffers 😆

I would recommend YouTube channels like Lenon the Bunny and Cinnabun

Absolutely love my vegan dog-cat. She is crepuscular so is most awake when the kids are in bed which is great for her. Kids are very good with her for their ages though and she is very patient with them. Will spend the days flopping near my feet and snoozing or perching behind my head on the sofa while I WFH. Very food motivated though, not averse to jumping onto you if you have a plate of food within reach.

Things to be mindful of (good and bad):
Zoomies and binkies - she has mad hours at dusk tearing through the house! Very cute but surprisingly noisy.
They're not cheap - good hay is expensive, they need spaying or neutering, vaccinating yearly. Most people have 2 or more so x costs by 2 or more
They are naturally litter trainable as long as you have the right set up but as fibrevores they are not 100% aware of their poops so there will be some (dry, scentless) poop sweeping involved
Like dogs or cats they can chew shit up. They are smart enough to be trained not to if you are persistent, they will always need something to chew. Cables need to be tied out of reach
Don't underestimate their intelligence, look at The Bunnies Brigade Youtube who explains how they can be clicker trained like dogs, not just party tricks.
They love strokes, they like being stroked on the front of face between nose and ears, this is how they communicate in the wild