New rescue/adopted rabbits ...

[Whattodo1610]

We bought 2 rabbits yesterday from Pets at Home under their adoption scheme. They’re both boys, 3 years old, 1 has been neutered. We were told the original owner could no longer look after them due to ill health. First adopted owners took them back after 3 days as their daughter was allergic to them.

We bought an indoor hutch as we were told not to put them outside yet due to the cold weather and the rabbits not having developed their winter coats. Fair enough.

Got up this morning and I’ve seen what I believe is the reason they were taken back by adopted owners ... they have sprayed their wee all over my floor, walls and wood furniture.

I firmly believe staff knew this problem as comments they made now make sense. I’m annoyed we weren’t told fully.

So, I’m thinking the rabbits will be fine outside in a hutch, kept dry, rain cover on hutch. At nights we’d put in a pet hot water bottle and cover the whole hutch with a duvet cover after the rain cover. We’ve done this with all our rabbits and guinea pigs in the past .... this would be ok, right?

We’ll also get the other 1 neutered ASAP.

I wouldn't put bunnies outside in this weather. I think it's far too cold.

Neutering will probably stop the spraying. Chat to a vet.

I’m hoping the neutering stops the spraying - advice is it usually does but also say if they’ve sprayed before neutering they’re likely to still spray afterwards. I really hope it stops them.

Rabbits are fine outside ... in the correct hutch conditions. I’d have no qualms if it was a month ago. I’m thinking now they’d be fine but am still a bit concerned.

3 of ours used to absolutely LOVE playing in the snow! I’ve never seen anything like it! I’m not sure many would love the snow though

Get that one neutered and hopefully it will lessen the spraying. Being in a new environment will have triggered this behaviour. They'll need a full vet check from a good exotics vet in any case as PAH are known to not disclose everything!

If they were indoors previously they won't have their winter coat and won't be able to go out an until spring. Once they've been out from next spring, barring any health issues, they should be good to stay out the following winter provided they have good weather proofing and lots of room to exercise (a hutch on its own isn't enough).

I don’t think the problem is them being outside, it’s more that they won’t have had time to adapt and their winter coats won’t have grown in. My bunnies are outside. I put their carrier inside the hutch and filled with hay so they can snuggle in that if they’re cold and also bought a hutch cover and then covered that with tarpaulin. But I honestly wouldn’t chance it if they’ve been inside until now.
Is there a shed or garage (not used for car due to exhaust) they could go in for now?

I'd put them outside. Rabbits shouldn't be kept indoors.

Ensure they have access to warm areas, can get off the ground, and are sheltered from wind/rain. Your set up sounds the same as ours.

bunny ... they sprayed before - lots of things make sense now from things that were said at the shop.

They’ve had vet checks and vaccinations today. Both healthy and BOTH NOT neutered! 1 was very evidently not neutered, the other was more difficult to see but also not neutered. It’s the ‘evident’ one who sprays I think as he also sprays on the other 1.

They’re both booked in for neutering on Tuesday. Will have further vaccinations once fully recovered from that.

They’ll be kept indoors til spring then outdoors after that. Our previous rabbits have all had big double hutch with very large home made run attached. These will have the same, so oodles of space.

While inside, I’ve put a sheet over the back of the hutch to prevent wee on my walls and thus running into and lying on my skirting boards. I’m going to cover my unit with a sheet to protect that, and another sheet in front of their hutch to protect my floor.

I just hope neutering stops the spraying.

They are lovely boys apart from this.

@LochJessMonster rabbits can be excellent indoor pets. Saying they "shouldn't be" indoor pets is daft.

My old pair had to be indoors as they were too frail in their last few years to cope with outdoors. My current pair are a bit too exuberant and my house too small for them to be happy indoors, doesn't stop my girl coming for a potter around the kitchen when they're let out their shed though. I would have them indoors in an instant if I had room to properly bunny proof for them and not have them next to my bedroom where they were before (as they love a 3am thumpathon!)

@Whattodo1610 I did wonder if the line that one had been neutered was a bit of a porkypie!

That's good they're both booked in. Make sure any plastic sheets aren't able to be pulled through bars and chewed, because they will be ;)

Off cuts of non-slip lino can be excellent to create tougher wipe-clean surfaces.

rabbits can be excellent indoor pets. Rabbits are outdoor animals. Keeping them inside is unnatural. By all means keep older/ill ones inside when they start to become frail but rabbits belong outside on a lawn with grass to eat.

@LochJessMonster there was a time someone would have said the same about cats and dogs, but that's obviously not true.

Mine live outdoors but with a shed and aviary and the aviary is paved to stop them digging out and the many foxes in the area digging in. They only get onto the grass a couple of times in the morning and evening when I'm there to keep watch.

It's much easier for rabbits to become neglected and ignored when they're outdoors than indoors. Especially when they're kept in crappy hutches. Hutches in general are an awful impractical design. I know of one poor bun which died of pneumonia after being left in a damp hutch in the late autumn when it was getting cold. When they're outdoors its much easier to be "out of sight, out of mind".

Also, indoor rabbits can have access to grass, you grow it in trays! And in the spring/summer/early autumn they can have supervised outside time.

I have two unneutered males who have always lived outside. The have a large two story hutch an attached run and another run attached to that. When I clean out the hutch I used to wonder why there was spray everywhere as when I've seen them pee and it is just a quick trickle. Anyhoo they do have a hutch cover in winter and get moved around the lawn every couple of weeks for fresh grass and seem perfectly healthy and happy. I'm sure yours will be fine eventually.

Awful sad development ... one died yesterday ... other one was neutered yesterday but is in hospitalisation today as he’s not eaten, drank or wee’d since.

Oh no, that's so sad!

As they came from PAH I recommend getting a full post mortem to find out exactly what happened. The shop has a history :(

Fingers crossed the remaining bun comes through soon!

So sorry about your rabbits, sounds like they have be passed around a lot. Rabbits are delicate little things.
@ LochJessMonster your comments are ignorant, rabbits should absolutely be kept inside if possible.That is the way to ensure a long life. Mine have safety from the elements, predators, contracting illnesses. They are closely monitored for any signs of illness, which could be missed if animals are stuck outside. My eldest rabbit is 14 years old and still going strong. I have close bonds with
My rabbits they are part of the family and not isolated outside.
Plus they still have supervised access to the garden.

@bunnygeek your setup sounds amazing though, incase I offend you. I’m mainly talking about the evil small boxes people put rabbits it, out in the cold and ignored. You know what I mean.

Firstly, sorry for your loss of one of your buns. I'm a little late to offer advice now, but I agree with previous posters. If the rabbits have previously been kept indoors winter is not the best time to put them outdoors at all. And as for spraying, that's what un neutered Male rabbits can do I'm afraid. And lastly when you adopt any pet you can only go by their behaviour in foster care and any info from previous owners. I'm not a fan of Pets at Home, though I wish they just stuck to adoption pets rather than selling babies.

Once housetrained (and in a rabbit proofed environment) rabbits enjoy indoor and outdoor environments. Ours used to roam in and out via the cat flap, and it was adorable to watch them stretched out by the fire in the evening.

I forgot to add I hope the other bun is doing well. If he is going outdoors for good in the spring you may want to think about a companion in the future for him (neutered female). There are some excellent charities that can help bunny bond and find the right match. It took us a while to find the right match for our Honey but it was so worth it for her sake, shes so much happier. Harvey does like to chew the bannister and everything else , the charity told us he had always been indoor and didn't chew but we've just adapted and put up safety gates.