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house buns

melly

Warren Scout
just wanted to ask advice again lol i better you all gettin sick of me lol
anyway as some no i found out lollipop is a boy and had to take him away from his friend as she is a girl, till i get the money to get him done ( shud be at end of the month) anyway he was gettin bored and lonely in his hutch, he started to chew bars and things, so i have bought him a loud of toys for both the hutch and run and am also bringin him in the house more. he used to come in the house well just my daughters bedroom before but now i think im goin to give him the run of the house, have got him my cats old soft bed and a litter box which i have filled with shaving for him to go to the loo in he will still go out and spend lots of time in the run. but i just wondered how ppl got on with their house buns, i mean it may sound silly but are buns ok donin stairs lol i dont want him to fall at the mo i dont leave him anywhere near the stairs also wot about wires most are hidden but some are not so i have been throwin a towel over them. also one more thing even though he will be done by the winter i will still bring him in but will he be ok goin out in the cold after being in a warm house. :shock: heck there is alot to think bout with house buns lol
 
just wanted to ask advice again lol i better you all gettin sick of me lol
anyway as some no i found out lollipop is a boy and had to take him away from his friend as she is a girl, till i get the money to get him done ( shud be at end of the month) anyway he was gettin bored and lonely in his hutch, he started to chew bars and things, so i have bought him a loud of toys for both the hutch and run and am also bringin him in the house more. he used to come in the house well just my daughters bedroom before but now i think im goin to give him the run of the house, have got him my cats old soft bed and a litter box which i have filled with shaving for him to go to the loo in he will still go out and spend lots of time in the run. but i just wondered how ppl got on with their house buns, i mean it may sound silly but are buns ok donin stairs lol i dont want him to fall at the mo i dont leave him anywhere near the stairs also wot about wires most are hidden but some are not so i have been throwin a towel over them. also one more thing even though he will be done by the winter i will still bring him in but will he be ok goin out in the cold after being in a warm house. :shock: heck there is alot to think bout with house buns lol

Hi, yes having house buns requires a great deal of preparation in order to make the house environment safe. All wires within reach (and be aware that buns can jump 4-5ft onto sofas, coffee tables, shelving etc) must be covered properly with heavy duty 'cable wrap' from a DIY store, or hidden securely behind furniture with no part of the cable exposed. Some people like to turn the wall sockets upside down so cables run up rather than down to the floor.
All house plants must be put out of reach as well or removed as most are toxic to rabbits. I would also keep any bleach/cleaning fluid bottles off the floor, loo lids down and low windows closed if bun is out and about, or screened off with some mesh or a guard etc. Modified baby gates (with something over the bars) can stop buns getting into areas of the house or upstairs if needed. Also all appliances e.g. washing machine etc need to have their gaps blocked off down the side as bun could squeeze down and get stuck or chew cables again.

I would also make a clear decision before winter comes whether the buns are to be permanent indoor or outdoor buns. The reason being that it is the sudden change in temperature that is most detrimental to a rabbit, more so than constant cold or warm termperatures. Burrows in the wild tend to remain a constant 10 deg all year round, and buns can tolerate temps down to zero and below, provided sufficient draught, rain and damp protection is given and plenty of warm bedding to burrow down in. But bringing a bun indoors from being outside in winter can be enough to put bun into thermostatic shock. So whilst it is a great idea at the moment so that Lollipop can have lots of company and exercise, as the temperature drops outside, bringing him in will become more difficult. Their coats need to adjust to whatever climate they are kept in, and so any changes should be made in Autumn or Spring to allow the rabbit to grow its coat accordingly.

Just as an aside, I would be inclined to wash the cat bed before giving it to Lollipop as the smell of a predator in his hutch could make him feel a bit uneasy. I would also try a product such as 'Megazorb' instead of shavings as pine shavings/sawdust release phenols naturally which can have a negative effect on respiratory and liver health.

If it's any consolation, our house has 'lots' of stairs, and the buns negotiate them very well and at great speed sometimes! I would also make sure no-one wears shoes in the house - they really can trip you up sometimes! :)
 
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