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Original poster

Rabbits in enclosed back garden

11 replies

Cattenberg · 26/04/2025 23:51

We're thinking of getting rabbits. As a child, I had rabbits (and guinea-pigs) who ran around in an uncovered run in the garden. No cats ever injured them, although when one of our cats was a kitten, he would playfully bat the guinea-pigs around if he got the chance.

We have a fairly small but secure back garden which is mostly lawn, and I was wondering if it would be safe to let the rabbits have the free run of it. They would also have an insulated hutch. Or might this only be safe for the bigger breeds of rabbit? I can't decide whether to get large rabbits and let them roam, or get small rabbits and keep them in a smaller, enclosed space.

OP posts:
WorldMap24 · 26/04/2025 23:58

We let our rabbits roam free in the garden when I was a kid. We put a cat flap in the garage door and taught them to use it, so they could always have shelter. We also, when we first got them, tied kitten collars to them and attached to the collar a lightweight foam ball on a string.....this way if they found any gaps in the fence they didn't get very far as the ball would get stuck! They were very happy rabbits

TeenLifeMum · 27/04/2025 00:00

We have small rabbits who have spaces they can hide and a chicken coop that we shut them in at night. We also have spaniels (trained not to chase rabbits), which puts off cats from entering the garden. I’m concerned about hawks but we don’t see them often and hopefully bunnies would hide.

OppsUpsSide · 27/04/2025 00:03

We did - they are the whole garden and no sense of what was safe for them and what wasn’t so you would need to be very careful about planting. The people who had the house before us had already ‘bunny proofed’ it, I don’t know what that entailed but the rabbits did burrow under the play house.

Jigglypuff33 · 27/04/2025 00:04

Do you not have foxes where you are?

KnickerFolder · 27/04/2025 00:06

It depends on the rabbit. A fence isn’t going to keep in a rabbit if they want to dig… 😂🐰 It also depends on whether you have foxes or cats in the neighbourhood.

Sickofschoolruns · 27/04/2025 00:10

Depending on the breed, I'd be wary of birds of prey too.

Original poster
Cattenberg · 27/04/2025 00:19

I've never seen foxes around here, but couldn't say for sure that there aren't any. Many years ago, I was walking our dwarf rabbit around the garden on a lead (he wasn't keen on the lead, but it wasn't a secure garden), when he suddenly flattened himself to the ground and lay motionless. I was puzzled until I saw a bird of prey flying overhead.

OP posts:
Eggtoastie · 27/04/2025 00:21

That must have been frightening for your childhood pets (the cat batting them). They are prey animals and it isn't a game for them. Pretty sure a cat, fox or seagull would carry one off if we did that!
(thinking of pigs there, though a fox could take a large rabbit too)

Original poster
Cattenberg · 27/04/2025 14:36

Yes, the kitten caught one poor piggy and pretended to bite the back of his neck, before prodding him to make him run again. We did cat-proof the run after that.

To make a decent enclosed run in my current back garden, I might need to cover about 1/3 of the land area and I think there's a rule against this. So it would be great if rabbits could have the free run of the garden. There are plenty of cats in the neighbourhood, but maybe they wouldn't harm them?

OP posts:
OminousFlute · 27/04/2025 14:42

My neighbour had free range rabbits that go from the house to most of the garden. She had a cat noise scarer thing too. Which didn't work on my cat, but the rabbits attacked him on his first trip over and I had to rescue him from under a bush where he was hiding. They were massive, I was slightly dubious. He didn't go back though.

bunnygeek · 06/05/2025 14:29

TBH it's absolutely not recommended to let them free roam unsupervised. Prey animals can turn up at any time of day or night, including foxes, cats, also other humans. I once found a Dachshund in my garden which had chased a cat from 5 doors down, very ambitious, if my rabbits had been loose in the garden they would have gone to bunny heaven. I also know of a Bengal cat which was a local terror and killed several pets in the neighbourhood.

Not seeing foxes, does not mean they're not there, they are very stealthy.

Rabbits are also always on the look out for ways to get themselves stuck or hurt, that can include finding ways to dig under paving slabs and fences, or get themselves stuck under sheds. I heard of one poor bun who sadly didn't survive when they were spooked by an aeroplane flying low over head, probably thought it was a bird of prey, and bolted into straight into a fence.

There's some good tips on keeping outdoor rabbits safe here: https://rabbitresidence.org.uk/2025/03/21/outdoor-rabbits/

Outdoor Rabbits

How to keep your rabbits outdoors. We rehome rabbits to both indoor and outdoor set ups. This is our guide on the modern way of keeping rabbits outdoors and keeping them safe, healthy and happy. We…

https://rabbitresidence.org.uk/2025/03/21/outdoor-rabbits/

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