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Small pets

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Original poster

House rabbit owners - over here pls!!

21 replies

SquidgersMummy · 20/05/2014 23:54

My lovely rabbit died last week We are all so lost and sad. We started off with our bunny outside then after a few months of coming in for a play in the house we ended up with a hutch in our utility room. It was easy to litter train - we just had to be extremely vigilant about cable and wooden skirting boards being nibbled. Our bunny played out free range in the garden (enclosed lawn with no flowers - especially for bunny ) or in the kitchen but then would be put back in the indoor hutch. I need to grieve but am finding a bunnyless home hard! I think after the summer has passed I'd like a pair of bunnies but would go for full house rabbit living - any advice really on training and what works best. We have a 120 two storey hutch for sleeping. I have an image of a bunny chilling out on the sofa or just mooching around free range.

(Can I just say to any curious passersby that rabbits are really bright - not to be left in a tiny outdoor hutch living a miserable existence.)

OP posts:

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FernieB · 21/05/2014 06:12

Sorry to hear about your rabbit. They leave such a hole in your life when they go. I managed 18 months rabbit free but only because I knew we were moving.

If you can litter train then house rabbits are easy. The only downside is the chewing but we provide plenty of cardboard and have used a warm water spray to squirt when inappropriate chewing occurs. They do also love to dig in carpet and at moulting time there is fluff everywhere. Our boy has the run of one room completely (laminate floor with cheap rugs) and is shut in this room at night. During the day he gets the conservatory and kitchen too and sometimes the living room as well (this is only since he's got older and is better behaved about carpet digging/chewing etc). He is sometimes very naughty about going to bed but mainly knows the routine and happily presents himself in his room once he hears his supper being delivered. Stay in a routine so your rabbits can learn it and they know where they are supposed to be. They can be trained to obey voice and hand commands but this is easier when they are a little older.

FernieB · 21/05/2014 10:35

They do need free access to their 'house' so they can hide away whenever they want. If they have a large ranging area you may need more than one litter tray. My boy only has a tray in his house and takes himself off there when he needs to but it's fairly centrally located in the house. The rabbit chooses the location of the litter tray, although once they are used to the tray you can move it a bit.

Sorry for the essays but I love talking house bunny

GotMyGoat · 21/05/2014 10:43

So sad Op :(

I had a lovely snuffles-bun Hazel-Rah who lived indoors, and then out for a little bit - she died the day I went into labour with dd. A yearish after her death, I adopted two lovely half wildies who lived in a huge custom-built walk in shed/avery, unfortunately we had to move house, had a housing safety emergency, ended up homeless and the only housing opportunitiess landlord refused to have pets - even garden hutch bunnies (his hands were tied by insurance). We managed to find a lovely local rescue, with the help of the original rescue home, and we were recently updated to say that they have been happily rehomed in a free range garden :)

I miss my bunnies though, it's especially hard in spring and hot weather when I start to think about putting ice packs for them in the freezer and checking water, and every time I cut off those lovely green leaved carrot tops and then I remember they are not there...

TalkToFrank · 21/05/2014 10:48

I love my house bunnies Agree that what we found was that although they choose to mostly use their litter tray inside their hutch, they also chose a spot in the roaming area, so a litter tray ended up there as well (right in front of the back door just to be annoying!).

Recommendations for litter training often say to train them to use their hutch by giving them a small roaming area initially, around the hutch and you will find they go back into their house to go to the toilet, then gradually increase it, and hopefully they will stay just using their hutch. That didn't quite happen with ours, but they do tend to stick to just their house or the other litter tray, certainly for wees anyway- we do still get the occasional poo but I think that happens with everyone.

I don't have too many problems with chewing; we have lots of boxes and toys for them (they have taken over the house to be honest!), but lemon juice is supposed to be good to spray on areas you don't want them to chew, as they don't like the taste/smell.

I could talk bunnies all day, I just love sitting in huge living room and seeing two little faces peer round the door and hop in, then jump up onto the sofa onto my lap!

Pointeshoes · 21/05/2014 14:54

Aww house bunnies are the best. We have had two mini lops who we've had since November last year, can't imagine a house without them now. They live in the kitchen / dining area. They have a clear plastic lidded box I got from homebase as their litter tray, I think it's a 42 ltr one, the biggest one they do anyway. I cut a square whole in one side so they can hop in it easily. It has sawdust/bedding in with lots and lots of hay. They have a storage box to sit on and a few toys ( which they're not fussed on) and a water bowl and fleece blanket which I usually put on the floor by their hay box. And that's all they need really, they're really good and have never weed anywhere other than the hay box. They love to sit on the dining chairs so we have to make sure they are pushed in at all times unless we are sitting on them or they get on the table!! The are good though and doze most of the day, don't chew anything as they have plenty of hay ( from timothyhay.co.uk).
During nicer weather they get to go out in their very own Wendy house with a run attached so they can have some grass. Very spoilt they are.
Do get two though it is so cute to see them kiss and cuddle each other. Ours are from the same litter so we did have to separate them for awhile when they got neutered - something to consider.
When we first got them we used a large dog cage and thoughs c and c grids. I think this helped with litter training. We then brought the boy bunny into the kitchen after his neuter with the dog cage as his base to get used to it and to make sure he wasn't going to eat the kitchen! So it was a bit in stages to having them free in the kitchen. I think as long as they have enough attention and hay they should be ok. We have a stair gate on the kitchen / lounge door so they can't go in the lounge without us their. They come through some evenings to a 5 min run around then they just go back and eat hay!

Had to add some pictures of them!

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 21/05/2014 15:19

Pointe I love the housie-tunnel-run arrangement - there's a brilliant website (who's name escapes me) that has the tunnels and cubes to make runs.
(I would do similar for my guineas but they'd just sit in the tunnel and refuse to move until I poked them with a stick - only kidding boys )

GotMyGoat · 21/05/2014 15:58

BUNNY!

Lovely set up pointe, i had runaround stuff too :)

Original poster

SquidgersMummy · 21/05/2014 21:59

Thanks house bunnyers - this has really cheered me up. Now my lovely old bunny was a tinker for cables...two phone wires and the Hoover lead (thankfully not plugged in) all munched in a flash. Of course this is really dangerous and hard to manage as I was hoping a new bunny or two could be based in our kitchen/utility/playroom as this is where we mostly are. Do your bunnies go after the cables or are you all wireless? We ended up putting the wire rabbit pen panels around the TV....DH was not terribly impressed by this arrangement.

I keep thinking I've heard a little noise and thinking my girl is pootling around her hutch

Goat that's so sad. Bunny hugs for you.

Pointe am on my phone but will have to check your photos.

70 if you can recall the name of that website.....

Really helpful hearing about diff routines and set ups Fernie.

Quick question, my girl was from a breeder so I had her youngish and had an idea of her temperament. I prefer the idea of rescue bunnies but it feels like more of a risk trying to house train. Any thoughts re age or breed? I've only had one rabbit so guess my experience of whether all rabbits can make good house buddies is a bit limited. I was thinking one rabbit would be easier and quicker to train but then now I have a toddler I think it's nicer to have a pair so they have company?? Any thoughts?? My DH loved our girl but he's not from a pet family if you follow me so I feel a little pressure to try and prevent any more munching of skirting boards etc if possible.

Thanks all. Really helpful. XX

OP posts:

Midori1999 · 21/05/2014 23:26

Our first two bunnies were house bunnies until one chewed two big holes in the carpet.... one had been an indoor bun all his life! then when we got him, aged 3, we got him a wife from a local rescue. She was 3 and had always lived outside. She was very easy to litter train, although we did get the odd stray poop, no weed though. She also was not the chewer!

I've now got outdoor bunnies, but they are rescues. Don't be put off rescues, they have all sorts of bunnies in, some will have been house bunnies and some will have been very well cared for. They also have baby bunnies infrequently, so a rescue doesn't have to mean an adult bunny. There are around 70,000 rabbits in UK rescues at any one time, so if you took two, that'd be two less. pairs are also harder to home, so you'd be doubly saintly.

FernieB · 22/05/2014 07:08

Don't be put off by adult buns - it's generally easier to train adults as babies are just too silly. As for cables - we have no cables in the rooms our bun is normally in and in the living room they are behind furniture and he can't get to them. Previous Bun once 'turned off' the Christmas tree lights minutes after we'd finished decorating the tree - but she was a total Grinch.

Original poster

SquidgersMummy · 22/05/2014 18:30

Thanks - see I has assumed if you didn't manage to train a behaviour as a baby you were stuck....babies are silly and chew everything - learning a lot here

OP posts:

FernieB · 22/05/2014 18:48

Both my house buns became better behaved with age. Previous Bun was great after 18 months and learnt several commands and hand signals. She was, however, quite aggressive towards non family and very protective of me. Current Bun came to us aged 7 months and had litter trained himself. Again, by 18 months he was going to bed on command (but that's it - he's not overly blessed with brains). He's now 3 and had just started being naughty about bedtime - apparently we need to play 'chase' for 10 minutes first . He has just learnt to touch noses with people for biscuits. Now If anyone sits on the floor he's after their noses just in case a biscuit appears.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 22/05/2014 23:16

He has just learnt to touch noses with people for biscuits

Meanwhile , the Superior Fur Babies just glare at the Magical Cold Food Supplier and LO - fresh veg appears, in exchange for a wheek and a purr.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 22/05/2014 23:21

Squiders it's "Runaround" the website for the tunnels and junctions.(very ££ but some really good ideas)

And the the page "PetCare" there's a photo of a rabbit running free range- you can see its ears, it's tail, it's two back legs and it's little rump.....squeee so sweet

FernieB · 23/05/2014 07:23

A rabbit with a 'little rump' - not seen one of those recently. They are lovely animals and a lot cheaper to feed than a GP.

The runaround stuff looks great. If my boy wasn't allergic to outdoors I may be tempted.

HSMMaCM · 23/05/2014 07:39

I tried to convert my bunnies to the house, but one of them is a terrible soft furnishings nibbler, so they just come in occasionally. They do run free range in the garden. They are an oddly matched pair. A little English rabbit with pointed ears and a lop from the rescue who looks like a giant teddy bear.

Please do go to the rescue centre, because they find it really hard to rehome pairs.

HSMMaCM · 23/05/2014 07:41

Oh. And they have a massive dog run, not a tiny hutch.

GotMyGoat · 23/05/2014 08:01

squidgers You mentioned rescue buns - a lot of rescues actually have little baby bunnies - just like rescues being filled with kittens, people dump them in boxes etc. so don't disregard them.

Midori1999 · 23/05/2014 12:53

Yes to baby bunnies in rescue. Obviously I meant they are in frequently, not infrequently...

I've got a 24ft runaround pipe connecting my bunnies' kennel to their aviary. They zoom though it, it's great.

GotMyGoat · 23/05/2014 20:09

That's a fantastic set up midori! I'm very envious. think mine had the same sort of set up but only a 4ft tunnel!

I think house buns and aviary/shed buns are quite similar in behaviour, as you get to climb into their enclosures with them and play a bit more.

PootlePoseysMa · 23/05/2014 20:40

Oh WOW - I love reading these messages and seeing your photos. You can definately get rescue small furries - I got our 2 rescue guinea pigs (Rosie and Tulip) from here 5 years ago. www.animal-lifeline.co.uk/index.html

Tulip is still doing really well but poor Rosie died of old age about 2 weeks ago :-(
Anyhow, last October, a lady was giving away her 2 fully house trained, male, 6 month old lop eared house rabbits on Freecycle. I am a complete animal lover and couldn't risk them going to a bad home so I begged for them and she gave them to me. Mr Cuddles (black lop) and Mr Snuggles (beige/blond lop) are now happily eating grass in the rabbit run with Tulip as I type. However, I never really wanted rabbits and I intended on re-homing them to a nice, kind family but so far that hasn't happened. Animal Life-line are jammed packed with rescue rabbits so I kept them. If anybody on this thread wanted to adopt these lovely 2 bunnies then I would be so pleased for them (They are not neutered because they have never been aggressive so cannot go with females). I would love to think of them running around in the runs in your photos. We love in Carshalton Beeches, Surrey so probably miles away from all of you but I just thought I'd ask, x

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