House rabbits cruel?

Hello everybody:wave:

I know alot of you have house abbits so i would like to ask your opinions on having house bunnies.

My dad thinks it's cruel because he says they belong outside what are your opinions?

He also thinks there unhygenic and disgusting, how charming.I told him litter trained buns are no less hgenic than cats who pee i a litter box or dogs who are paper traineddo you agree?

The next thing is he thinks house buns don'tlive as long maybe a couple of years:shock: would you say thy can live longer/shorter lives orequal to outside buns.

I need your opinions as i need some proper and mature answers to y dads statements rather than just saying 'well loads of people keep them adn they can't all be wrong'

my dad doesnt think they are unhygenic but he doesnt like the idea of a bunny living indoors 100%

he said he understands its good because they get more socialiation etc etc, but he doesnt believe rabbit should be indoors 100% of the time. i.ethey should go out in the run when its not cold etc.

he also said 'fora bunyn not to feel rgass under its feet throughout its whole life is cruel'

i dont think hes right, it isnt cruel.However, if i ever had house rabbits (which i do hope to do one day) theyw ill go outside t be in a run as i have neber seen my buns as happy as they are when they are binkying on grass!

My husband thought rabbits lived outside, but he sees how friendly Wispa is because she gets a lot of attention and she loves the amount of space she has!

She runs around our downstairs binkying and unbeleiveably happy. Our garden is only small and only concrete so she would have had less space out there.

My buns arent unhygenic at all, its the owners that are make things unhygenic by not caring for a bun properly. Mine dont smell AT ALL and even though Zola is a messy bun (tips bowls up etc) he manages to keep it all contained in one area.

i dont think its cruel to keep rabbits outside but personally i think its nicer to them to keep them inside!

i dont think either way is cruel. both have their advantages!

I don't have house buns here in the UK, but my house bun Popsel lives with my mother back in Germany. He is 12 years old, and I think house buns on average probably live longer, because they get more attention and don't sit outside in severe weather. They are not safe from flystrike and Myxi, but their chances to get it, are a bit lower.
As for the "unhygienic" bit, I'd say that bunnies are much cleaner than cats and dogs. They don't eat meat, so they are less smelly and even if they drop some poos, they are easy to clean up. Of course, a cat is cleaner, if you let it make its poo in the neighbours' flower bed.
I don't think it is cruel to keep bunnies indoors. They often have more space to run around and get a much closer relationship with their owners than if they just had a hutch and a run outside. The only problem I can see with indoor bunnies is that they can be destructive, but not all of them are.

To a degree I think it depends on the rabbit. I have one rabbit who I used to keep outdoors but he really is a housebun - he likes attention and people, and follows you around the house. I don think it would be outright CRUEL to keep him indoors, but he definately prefers to be indoors. My other three are house rabbits with daytime access to the garden (through a cat flap). One definately prefers it outside (although I think that this is at least partly because my indoor-loving rabbit bullies him a bit). One definately prefers it inside now that it is winter (she prefers it outside in summer). The other is less definate. They like to go out for a nibble, then come in for a snooze.

Mine are all litter trained, and although I probably have more hay on the carpet than most people, I probably also have a lrger pile of washing up. They always wee in their tray, and although poos do sometimes escape them in the wrong places, they are pretty inoffensive poos. A rabbit litter tray is FAR less smelly than a cat litter tray, and I don't have to pick up poo in a plastic bag, the way I would with a dog.

I would guess that rabbits indoors have equal life spans to those outdoors (longer if you don't take into account that on average, an indoor rabbit would get more attention and so problems would be soptted earlier). Mine are fairly young, but the oldest is about 3 now, and still going strong.

I would say the main problem with house rabbits is chewing wires, digging carpets, and stealing your dinner (if you want a sandwich in my house you have to either go upstairs or eat standing up).

I don't think its cruel either way. But i prefer having my rabbits inside. My sister keeps her's outside and can't believe how social mine are. I believe you have a closer bond with them inside, and all future rabbits I have will be indoors.

i think your dads thoughts are the same as many peoples who dont have a great understanding of rabbits. my mum n dad are the same but i have my own house so they don't interfere. I think people see rabbits as wild animals and that being in the house 'coops' them up. I have a Giant Conti who is a free range house bun. She is relatively tidy, wees in the litter tray etc. There are the odd rabbits poops on the floor but its not like dogs or cats, you can just hoover them up i let Lola have a run around the garden on nice weather days and she does like it but she also likes laying in her favourite corner in the living room and begging at the fridge for treats

Well by his reasoning, dogs, cats, and even we should not live indoors

I don't think it's wrong to keep rabbits indoors (but then I wouldn't because my two live in doors), and they get more room than they would outside, and binky around inside, so it's not like they don't get any exercise.

I must admit, they've not been outside for a while, and now my garden isn't rabbit proof (moving sheds and things around), they probably won't be in the near future.

I agree it's the owners that would make it unhygenic. Liqourice doesn't smell at all sometims he flicks a few stray poo's out his cage, lol but it's laminate flooring so take a quick hoover up ad then disinfected for hygiene

He's not free range anyway so there's no worry of a stray poo behind the settee, there in my computer room (wires out the way) and together they'll have a double hutch and permanent play pen daily cleaned.

In the winter buns barley get any grass anyway, it's wet and muddy and makes there feet filthy and he says they belong on grass but our are on slabs anyway:roll:

We have an outdoor run anyway they go in the summer time to play in

When we first got Buttons he didn't like being in the run anyway he would sit in his litterbox for ages until we put him in his hutch:shock: but if we brought him in the house for a few hous to play he would binky arounf, flop out under the sink and be more lively he loved it. He's ok now though as he has Cleo to playwith he enjoys it more outsie tofill his belly:lol:

My opinion is there much better as they get as much attention in summer as winter it's not as easy to go out and play wiht buns outside whn it's pouring down 3 days in row and you ahv to run around getting there food and hay beore hey get to wet three's not that problem with inside buns and there easier to clean out without straw een blown in your face or trying to clean inbetween rain falls

There is the advantage of being able to spend more time with house rabbits. Generally resulting in being able to spot any illnesses easier, which means they'd probably live for longer.

You can also ensure they have exercise whatever the weather. They'll never get cold, wet etc. I think rabbits are very clean. As the majority of their food is hay their poos don't smell. (IMO) Plus they can't traipse in hay etc. They are also in theory safer from predators, diseases, and any persons who may wish them harm.

I hae tried my two indoor buns on grass in the summer and they hated it, sat huddled up together, not moving and not liking the dirt. But the outside ones love the fresh air. Depends on the rabbit as to what is best suited for them.

They also seem to be more relaxed indoors. I see more indoor bunnies flopped and stretched out, whereas outdoor bunnies are often quiet alert and watching other animals in the garden (and just as I am writing this, I can see Snoopy flopping onto his side :lol. Indoors they don't get scared by foxes or fighting cat noise, if they are the nervous type. You don't need to worry about your rain cover being blown away in a storm or some bad people stealing your bunnies.
It is nice for them to be on grass in summer, but right now our lawn is far too soggy.

my dad always used to think the rabbits stunk :? which was quite funny since we had 10 cats in the house as well i think rabbits are much friendlier towards humans when their house rabbits because they get to spend more time with you etc. but the biggest problem ive had with house rabbits is chewing :? i.e carpet wallpaper and wires... the list goes on lol but i agree its all down to the rabbit its self,Crystal was a house rabbit for 2 years and she went outside for teh first time ever last year and i brought her into teh house for a few days a few weeks ago while i fixed her hutch added locks etc. and she seemed really happy being in the house again

That always worries me, when it's so windy and raining i worry all night if the cover is still on but it's to dark to go wandreing outside at 4am though i have a 2am when it low off and was raining:shock:

My mum agrees that if a rabbit is inside and you go to see them before ou go to bed at 12am and notice th signs of illness then you cna get a vet straight away but with outdoor rabbits you might not see till the morning and before that it could be to late

If anything I have read that they can live far longer, being protected form the elements and possible illnesses more.

Bobbin is very clean and it's just up to me to hoover the hay and megazorb off the carpet! :lol:

Like others have said, we have cats and dogs inside and naturally they would live outside, why is it so different for rabbits?! :?

Although I disagree with your dad, I think he should be forgiven because the general belief for years is that rabbits love outside, however there is no real reason why they should.

Ultimately I suppose it comes down to the personality of the rabbit. I suspect there are those who prefer being outside instead of feeling couped up. But many probably prefer to live in our warm homes and have hoomans for company!

yeht hats true. i cover my bunnies up when its darks o 4:50-5ish...see them again at 7am.
alot can happen in that time

Well i don't blame my dad loads of people feel like that but i can give him some general opinions and educate him abit more.

That's what i don't get cats like to go outside but alot of people now keep them in the house 24/7 as a way to prtect them from car accidents etc bu people never seem to mind they keep dogs and cats in atleas buns are smaller and i'm making them a double hutch and pen around rather thn being fee range so there not under hid feet exactly

give me a litter tray full of rabbit poo any day, compared to a cat's mess :roll: rabbits are lovely clean animals - although hay is a bit messy, I think it smells nice I think house rabbits probably live longer as you can spot when they are becoming ill more quickly. They do love going for a run outside though - it's no different to walking a dog - dogs love their walks but you don't put them to live outside just because of that.

See I think both indoor and outdoor buns can be happier but in my experience I feel my bunnies are much happier outdoors. It took Bambi a while to adjust to living outdoors but once she had I had never seen her binky so much as she did outdoors!

I also disagree with the statement saying owners make buns unhygenic if there are smells in the house. I had Bambi as a sinlge bun in the house there was plenty of ventilation and she was cleaned out every single day however each morning especially when I went downstairs I could smell her. So I could do no more than clean her out each day but I could definitely smell bunny

Ive got an indoor bunny Lily and she's always been indoors. We put her out in the garden when its hot in summer but she kinda just sits there and doesnt know what to do as she's used to infdoors.
Every step she takes she cleans herself LOL :lol:
She binkies indoors and has impecable litter habits.
She's unstressed and loves nothing more than binkying round the house followed by a strectch yawn and sleep on my front room carpet

I think it depends on the bun and the indoor environment . Of course it needs to be bunny proofed etc..

Ive got foster buns in hytches a pari love it indoors whilst the other foster bun I had hated it and loved it in the garden.