How often do you get your rabbit out?

[Mymothersdaughter]

We've got a house bunny who lives indoors in a relatively large cage. We let her out twice a day, often for a few hours in the evening until she gets restless and starts reeking havoc.

How often should we be getting her out? It can be quite disruptive having her running around while we are trying to do things but wouldn't want to leave her couped up all the time. What do other people do?

Ours run around most evenings but in reality the jump out of cage and hop to the middle of the room and have a nap. They had a massive cage but hardly moved as they are the laziest buns ever. We've downsized the cage but let them free for about 4 hours a day and more at weekends. Just wish they'd stop eating the skirting boards!

I am feeling really lucky - my outside bunny is very tidy with his toilet habits. He has the run of the garden all day and just spends the night in his hutch, but only goes to the loo on one particular spot on one particular flower bed during the day. Can't get him to use his litter tray in his hutch though .

When he comes into the house, he never goes to the loo anywhere except the cats' litter tray! We close the doors of rooms we don't want him in, and keep cables out of his reach, but he just bounces around and explores quite contentedly.

Agatha I'm in Derby.....

Ours come out once a day for a couple of hours, more at the weekend. They have a two tiered hutch outside which we have just spent hours wrapping in bubble wrap to keep them warm!
Sometimes they are in the run (we bought two and put them together to make it bigger) and sometimes in the house.

OP do you mind if I ask a question on your thread? How do you all keep them warm in the winter in outdoor hutches? Ours have the aforementioned bubble wrap round the hutch and a plastic covering at the front and thin material round the rest of the hutch but I am still worried they will be cold!

I'm just about to get 2 bunnies, we have assembled a double decker hutch and it will have a run attached to the front. Current thinking is to let them have an hour before we leave for work and an hour or so in the evening when we get home (5.30 ish so already dark). In the lighter months they will have more time in the run in the evenings. At the weekend or when I'm working at home they can have the run for as long as we are at home.... And if it is pouring with rain/snowing then they can come into the kitchen for a bit for a run, and we dp can steam clean after. Does that sound reasonable?

Passthecake - just out of interest, why will they not have access to the run all day if it is attached to the front of the hutch?

Thanks boopsy.

theonly - we are getting rabbits later this week, the current plan is just while we are about but this might change. I'm worried about foxes I guess, though I would love them to have as much freedom as possible.

I used to worry about ours getting cold as they have a run attached to their (large) cage. That was until they chose to sit out in the run when it was minus 8.

We are down to 2 elderly buns (they will be 10 in the spring!) They used be house rabbits and had free run I just had an under bed storage box for their food, water, litter tray. They were hard work indoors and I probably wouldn't do it again. They used to jump on our sofas once we went to bed and the hair they left behind was a nightmare! Plus one started wetting on them.

Since we moved they live outside. Our garden is secure, so they come out at breakfast time and go away when it gets dark. I love seeing them hop about the garden.

Mine have always been out in winter no probs, but as they are so old now we've set up a temporary pen in this lean to thing we have at night time.There's no heating there, but it's warmer than outside without being too warm to worry about temperature fluctuations for them.

Buns need a huge amount of exercise and they're nocturnal so need more space at night which sadly is when most are put in cages. Mine aren't caged and have a large pen area and the kitchen when we're not home and still run out binkying when we let them out.
We rent too and due to the carpet, we laid lino on top of the carpet to protect it. Cardboard is a good distraction, long boxes that make tunnels will give them hours of play. Kids stacking cups are brilliant too, they throw them in the air especially if you hide treats in between them.