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Outdoor bunny??????

J

Julia123

Warren Veteran
Hiya :wave: Due to irreconcilable differences, my trio are now split :cry: Daisy and Gabriel are still together but Nushka is now solo. I plan on keeping two pairs and will get Nushka a husbun (which could take a while as she is a mardy moo) I can't keep two pairs in my house as its too small so I'm planning on moving Nushka and her new friend outside when its warmer.

I'm aprehensive about outdoor buns and hoped you guys can help ease my worries.... I've only ever had indoor buns, even rescue & fosters..

I'm worried about the following:-

She will miss home comforts - central heating, carpets etc
She won't like the dark :oops:
She will not like the cold and rain
She will get bored without human company
I won't see her as much and may miss some kind of illness - stasis for e.g.

I can't decide whether to clear my garage and put a pen in there or convert my patio area into a big walk in hutch run ??

Do any of you do outdoor in summer, indoor in winter? They could have the conservatory in winter and that would mean no windy cold clean outs for me??

Soz if I'm being a wuss !! :oops:
 
i'm not much help but i wanted to say i don't think your a wuss:D when Lola was an outside bun (not for very long) i worried about her all the time. But if Nushka has a husbun she will have lots of company and with a nice big shed she will be warm and dry:D
 
I dont think your a wuzz!
You just Care! I would go for the Patio option. That way you could have her out in the summer, and inside for the winter, but still put her in the run outside on the patio!

Jack x
 
The garage isn't a bad idea ... seeing as you never put the car in it anyway! As you've seen, our fosters are always very happy running around in the garage and with a good sized hutch in there it's the half-way house between outdoors and in! :D
 
All my buns have lived outdoors with no probs, even in the winter. As long as the hutch is covered at night to keep out rain/wind and they are given plenty of bedding to snuggle in they'll be fine. If she has a husbun she wont get lonely and I'm sure you'll still fuss over them as much as when they were indoors. :D
 
You may find she is happier outdoors.

Our three live in the conservatory at the moment but they are far at their binkying happiest when they have access to outside.

We have a shed on order and plans for an attached run for next month - the conservatory gets way too hot for them to live there in the warmer months. They cannot move into our house proper as hubby is allergic to HAY :(

I will miss them indoors but know they wiil enjoy the great outdoors more!

Vanessa xx
 
Awww Julia, so sorry about the bonding, it was scary seeing the amount of fur, I must admit! :shock:

It's good to hear you are managing to keep her, I would be a wuss about outside buns too, but so many people do it, and you must admit there's loads on here that are outside buns and look positively glowing with health! :D

But I have no advice for you :rolleyes: :lol:

Good luck with it all and make sure you show us pics of the new setup! ;)

Thea x
 
I think outside is better than garage unless there is lots of natural light. how about upstairs and downstairs buns......i haven't seen how big upstairs is but then you could cuddle one lot when watching tv and one when you go to bed.

ps. if he hasn't been taken by the couple that came to see him last night, can I recomend beamer as a potential husbun (as long as she doesn't try to eat him)
 
you might find she's less mardy outside - all mine have become much happier out than they ever were indoors :) I've fenced off my patio with moveable freestanding panels (nursery fireguards from Argos actually :D), and the hutches open onto that for their run - they could easily come in the back door too if the house was bunnyproofed (not a chance :roll:) - I think it's ideal, although the patio is a huge toilet with 3 seperate groups scent marking it - I just sweep and disinfect it once a day :) I wouldn't leave hutches uncovered at night though - even in summer - it's a security thing for them as well as warmth.
 
Hi Julia!:wave:

If you are really worried about moving her outside another solution could be to give her a different section of your house. Maybe the ground floor for the other two, and the upstairs for her and a new bunny pal? You can separate the sections with a baby gate which is what a lot of us do.

This solution has worked well for me. I have put a bit of chicken wire between the gaps of the babygate to stop them nipping eachother's noses!:rolleyes:
 
Aaawww - you big wuss!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think the little mardy moo will be just fine outside, she'll have loads of space to run and call her own, and it's not like you sit in front of the tv for hours so you can spend time with D n G inside and Nush n TBA in the conservatory :D

Plus when the happy couple are squidged under the bed the others can come inside anyway!! :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the comments people, Elve have you got any pics of your dividey thingys??

Nushka is going to pick her own friend....Speedy is sadly out of the question as she has tried to eat him, I will try Ollie but another female may be hard, so we will be off to Chloe's to work our way through the buns and see if she finds one she is not tempted to kill... :shock: I have no prefernce what so ever, it could be a 1 legged giant with two heads for all i care so long as she plays nicely for once!!

I'm going to clear out my garage and find a way of fencing of the patio with a gate to the lawn. That way I have a couple of options. The likelyhood is that they will come into the conservatory in the winter, and in the garage on summer nights or rainy days.

Anyone any good at woodwork???? I'll provide Wine, pizza and chocolate for help building a bunny something in garage and patio ....!!
 
:wave: Julia, i think nushka will be fine outside, if she's moved into garage in the spring she will have all the year to build up her winter coat as mine have.
As you will remember my set up of buns in shed and build on large pen they sleep in and use other part to look out of during the day while im at work, then they have run of the garden when im home from work.
During the time we had the realy cold nights, i was worried they wouldn't be warm enough, i put extra hay in their bed area, and they was fine.
Sparkle is the first one for food when i open the shed to feed them in the early morning, and her tummy is lovely and warm, so that put my mind at rest. Hope it all works out for you. :)
 
Julia123 said:
Thanks for the comments people, Elve have you got any pics of your dividey thingys??
Click to expand...

as you can see I bought lots of nursery fireguards - they must have thought I'd gone mad (which of course is not true! :p) - there are some going across the lawn, some fencing off the patio, and one against Benny's hutch to keep the door secured - At night I use the ones from the patio to put all around the hutches and on top - they hold the rugs on even in a gale and are the most useful bit of rabbit 'kit' I've ever bought! :D

hutches.jpg
 
elve said:
as you can see I bought lots of nursery fireguards - they must have thought I'd gone mad (which of course is not true! :p) - there are some going across the lawn, some fencing off the patio, and one against Benny's hutch to keep the door secured - At night I use the ones from the patio to put all around the hutches and on top - they hold the rugs on even in a gale and are the most useful bit of rabbit 'kit' I've ever bought! :D

hutches.jpg
Click to expand...


As if anyone would think you are mad... I remember your washing up masterpiece.... a misunderstood genius I think :rolleyes::lol::lol: Thanks for the pics, thats certainly an idea to add to my list :D
 
Julia123 said:
I'm worried about the following:-

She will miss home comforts - central heating, carpets etc
She won't like the dark :oops:
She will not like the cold and rain
She will get bored without human company
I won't see her as much and may miss some kind of illness - stasis for e.g.

I can't decide whether to clear my garage and put a pen in there or convert my patio area into a big walk in hutch run ??
Click to expand...

:wave: All mine are outdoors and they are all healthy and happy and love it. Thinking of 'home comforts' is, to a certain extent, putting human emotions onto a bun - remember the outdoors is a more natural and instinctive environment for a rabbit so although it may be a new experience for her, I would have thought she'd adjust fine.

Same for the dark - do you leave lights on all the time for your buns? Wild rabbits spend most of the day in dark burrows - again I really wouldn't worry about this.

She won't like the cold and rain - on the contrary I've had outdoor rabbits for over 20 years now and every single one, without exception, chooses to sit outdoors in the cold and the rain when they have a lovely warm snuggly hutch or shed to go into!

She will get bored without human company - if she has company of her own kind again I don't think this will be a problem. Mine are in pairs and quite honestly they couldn't care less if I exist or not as long as they are fed, watered and cleaned!

Won't see her as much and miss illnesses - it's a theoretical possibility I guess but as I said, mine are outdoors and I still pick up on subtle changes very quickly and have never had a problem with this.

Personally I would definitely go for the outdoor rather than the garage option - fresh air, sunlight and changing scenery, I'd have thought it'd be pretty boring being inside a garage looking at a wall all the time. Bringing them indoors over winter could be a possibility, but if they're anything like mine, you'll soon discover that they actually like being outdoors!
 
AlisonA said:
:wave: All mine are outdoors and they are all healthy and happy and love it. Thinking of 'home comforts' is, to a certain extent, putting human emotions onto a bun - remember the outdoors is a more natural and instinctive environment for a rabbit so although it may be a new experience for her, I would have thought she'd adjust fine.

Same for the dark - do you leave lights on all the time for your buns? Wild rabbits spend most of the day in dark burrows - again I really wouldn't worry about this.

She won't like the cold and rain - on the contrary I've had outdoor rabbits for over 20 years now and every single one, without exception, chooses to sit outdoors in the cold and the rain when they have a lovely warm snuggly hutch or shed to go into!

She will get bored without human company - if she has company of her own kind again I don't think this will be a problem. Mine are in pairs and quite honestly they couldn't care less if I exist or not as long as they are fed, watered and cleaned!

Won't see her as much and miss illnesses - it's a theoretical possibility I guess but as I said, mine are outdoors and I still pick up on subtle changes very quickly and have never had a problem with this.

Personally I would definitely go for the outdoor rather than the garage option - fresh air, sunlight and changing scenery, I'd have thought it'd be pretty boring being inside a garage looking at a wall all the time. Bringing them indoors over winter could be a possibility, but if they're anything like mine, you'll soon discover that they actually like being outdoors!
Click to expand...

Thank you :D I am a bit silly - yes i do leave lights on for them and worry if I am home too late as they will have been in the dark :oops::oops: You are right, I do need to remember that she is a bunny, and to be honest I put a rug in the kitchen for her and she just dug it up and tipped her readigrass over it :roll: At the end of the day I don't have a choice, the bond with my trio is well and truly broken so i need to find a solution, I know what you are saying about the garage being dull for her and her new friend (whoever that will be) I just want her to be safe and happy. I do actually already have a cat flap in my garage door so was wondering on an indoor outdoor combo??? Do bunnies use cat flaps????
 
janjan said:
:wave: Julia, i think nushka will be fine outside, if she's moved into garage in the spring she will have all the year to build up her winter coat as mine have.
As you will remember my set up of buns in shed and build on large pen they sleep in and use other part to look out of during the day while im at work, then they have run of the garden when im home from work.
During the time we had the realy cold nights, i was worried they wouldn't be warm enough, i put extra hay in their bed area, and they was fine.
Sparkle is the first one for food when i open the shed to feed them in the early morning, and her tummy is lovely and warm, so that put my mind at rest. Hope it all works out for you. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you i think i know i'm being silly really but all the comments help :):D
 
Julia123 said:
Do bunnies use cat flaps????
Click to expand...

Well you saw Ant and Hoops going in and out of the litter boxes with flaps ... same concept :) I'm pretty sure loads of people have cat flaps on their sheds out into a run. Put food on both sides of the flap and they'll soon suss it out :lol:
 
At least she will have a friend so they can both talk to each other about you behind your back!
 
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