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Who has turned house buns into outdoor buns?

lisa82

Mama Doe
Hello :wave:

The buns have their own room at present, about the size of a small shed. When we are in they get the run of the house, although they tend to hang around in their room and on the landing.

I am *considering* popping them outside to a) regain our house b) as it would be a more natural environment for them .

My question is- those of you who have moved house buns outdoors- how did they react - did anyone move them into a happy hutch/run combo or into a shed? I''ve never seen a happy hutch in real life- would they really be big enough for 2 lops (dwarfish)?

Thanks :D
 
I use to have Kovu, Scooby and Zippy has house rabbits, they were very bad with their litter trays and then Kovu hurt his back by climbing up a bookcase, so I decided to put them outside they've been out for three years now and are more suited to it. I do have house rabbits though, but they're suited as house rabbits (although Beatrix pee's on the carpet :lol:)
 
Well mine are good with the litter tray, they are just too naughty - I just caught Elsie on the windowsil eating the pull cord thing for the blind :shock:

Did yours go into a hutch/run combo?- did they seem bothered by less space?
Thanks :D
 
Mine have been indoor rabbits during the coldest parts of winter ( I had to bring them in because of illness and they stayed in till Late Spring last year until the weather got warmer). They don't seem to have been bothered with either change. They are much more active when out doors though. Tim has been indoors since he came to live here but when he returns with his new wife he'll become an outdoor bunster.
 
There hutch is eight, by two by two, with attched run
:D
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Tinkerbell was a house rabbit, free range in the kitchen, and I bonded her with Simba who had lived out all of his life.

I tried keeping them both as house rabbits but Simba just sat permanently in the litter tray and would never venture onto the floor. It was laminate so I tried putting mats everywhere but he still wouldn't move.

So, they both went outside and I can honestly say that Tinkerbell was much more active once they moved outside.

Now Simba is no longer with us Tinkerbell still lives outside. She does, however, spend a great deal more time in the kitchen with us. I let her out in the morning and she follows me up to the kitchen, spends about half an hour in there but then wants to go back outside. This continues for most of the day though she still sleeps outside.
 
Thanks Capel and Lilly for the reassurance! I think OH is going to be presently surprised when he hears about this! :D

There hutch is eight, by two by two, with attched run
:D

So is that for all 3? Do you think my 2 would be ok with just 6x2x2 with run(happy hutch or wherever). Do yours have access to the run all night?
 
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Yeah that would be big enough :D, I lock them in at night so they have access to upstairs and down stairs and let them into the run in the days

I have this trouble with Zippy

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She'd be half way to Telford if I left her over night :lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
Oh dear, I could see mine doing that too, although their carpet digging has reduced, slightly!

So if you had the run on paving slabs, would you give them access to it at night? How do you ensure the mesh is predator/ escape proof and how do you protect against nasty people? - this is my paranoid bunny mummy issue!!
Can you get un-cuttable mesh :roll:- I can get padlocks etc for the hutch. Sorry for the many questions!!
 
Well I'm planning to change my set up, so not sure, I think I would be up the window all night if I left them out :oops::oops:
 
I'm in the process of moving mine outside. They are in a heated shed with an outdoor run at the moment.

Rosie was abandoned and was found living outside in cardboard boxes before I got her. She spends all day in the run and seems to prefer it outside. Sophie has always been an indoor bun and has been used to living in a small cage, so she isn't quite as adventurous. I don't know if she's ever been outside before, her previous owners kept her cage in the toilet:(
 
I'm thinking of moving my 2 outside. Splodge has always been a house bun, and Scrumpie used to live outside before he was rescued. Splodge is just so destructive. We had a conservatory built in October to give us more room, and house the bun buns, but Splodge has managed to destroy it. I have to watch her every second and it means they don't get as much time out as I would like as I have to be sat there with her the whole time, and as you can imagine that just isn't practical.

Do you think a destructive bun like Splodge would be better suited to outdoor life?
 
Im in the process of moving mine outside have a huge hutch/run combo coming and a massive seperate run too. They live in my utility with a low wattage heater at the mo, have taken that away now because they never sit near it anyway, they have good coats and ive bought some heat pads for the colder night. We have a massive shed in the garden so am puting their 6ft hutch/combo in there then they will go out in the 8ftx6ft run in the day too. They will still be allowed inside for playtime too in the day :)
 
I'm thinking of moving my 2 outside. Splodge has always been a house bun, and Scrumpie used to live outside before he was rescued. Splodge is just so destructive. We had a conservatory built in October to give us more room, and house the bun buns, but Splodge has managed to destroy it. I have to watch her every second and it means they don't get as much time out as I would like as I have to be sat there with her the whole time, and as you can imagine that just isn't practical.

Do you think a destructive bun like Splodge would be better suited to outdoor life?

Yes. I don't think all rabbits are suitable as house rabbits. One of mine was incredibly destructive, even after bunny proofing everything so still managed to pull up my carpet and destroy cables that were coming out of the floorboards. She destroyed the walls and managed to squeeze behind my fridge and chewed through the cable there. I moved her into the summerhouse which is heated anyway so it wasn't too much of a change but she is a lot happier because she has access to the garde everyday.

I have two house rabbits at the moment who are perfectly litter trained albeit a little bit destructive but nothing too bad. However we are moving and I can't keep them inside so they will be moving into their own summerhouse and I think they will be a whole lot happier. At the moment they rarely even come out of their room ( a double bedroom) and I hate the fact that they see the same four walls everyday. When they move outside they will have the option to stay in their summerhouse which will be carpeted and have heating for when it is cold or they can go out into the garden. I think they will be a lot more active.
 
i think pearl would be an outside bun quite happily but alvin likes his home comforts way too much.... i let them out yesterday... not more than 5 mins later alvin was back under the sofa :roll::roll:

good luck with the move outside :)
 
my indoor rabbits looked quite bored and miserable compared to how lively they were outside, but I did give them a good running space comparable in size to a room in a house, and big hutches - having seen how Maa was cramped in a double 2x4 due to the ladder, I'd always go bigger than that, especially for 2 bunnies.

when I put them outside, the noises spooked them at first - there was a bit of stamping - you just don't realise how quiet it is indoors compared to outside, but it did upset them for a few days. Rabbits take around a fortnight to get used to major changes, and after 2 weeks they were totally settled and happy out there - but I do cover up the hutches at night with cheap rugs, held down with fencing panels and bricks, just to make them feel safe, even in summer.
 
The group of 5 we have were all indoor buns with Chris (in two pairs and a single). Four of them came to live with me last summer and there was no room for them in the house so they went outside in my parents little patch of garden. They took really well to it. Loved being outside. :D They were bad inside and did a lot of damage anyway.
 
We moved Sienna outside recently as she couldn't get indoor litter training at all and had a go at one of the other indoor buns.

She had a bit of a transition period of living in the garage for a week whilst we found her a new partner.

She's now properly outdoor with her husbun Dudley and lives in a ryedale hutch/combo.

She does seem to enjoy the outdoor life now.
 
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