converting outside buns to house buns

My OH has gone abroad for a month and a half and I'm wasting no time in making our buns INDOOR buns! He doesn't believe it's possible and has forbidden me to do it, but I'm planning to have it completed by the time he gets back so that I can show him it works.

Some questions: -

How much do indoor cages cost?

What do I buy to put over wires? (My buns have a REAL problem with this... we have had a couple of near-electrocutions and a lot of destroyed cables..)

Do they need the full run of the house or just a couple of rooms? If so, which are the best rooms to keep buns?

Dog crates are about £70 new but you can make a bigger cage for cheaper by using NIC grids or puppy pens.

I have a variety of cable protectors, some are that clear hose used for siphoning water out of fish tanks (they can chew through this though), some are garden hose, and some are some kind of hose of a washing machine - there's a blue and a red one, they're really tough.

There isn't really a rule on how many rooms they must be allowed in. Mine have their cage on my room, and free run of my room when I'm there to supervise, and free run of the whole house when the dog is on holiday The best room to keep them in will depend on your house and lifestyle obviously

Thanks Clutterydrawer! Where do I buy the hose from? Does it come independently or do I have to cut it off a garden hose or dishwasher/washing machine?

I guess it depends on how much time they will be out of their cage.
My two are in a larger indoor cage just over night and spend most of the day outside.
I have a pen that just fits around their cage easily so they can hop in and out easily.

My two love my room, but will venture out to the landing and my parents room. I had to go and get delly the other week, as she went so far in my mums room and got lost somehow :roll: as soon as she saw me she came running over and overtook me to our room :lol:.

Ive just blocked off all the wires now. I learnt the hard way though, not being able to use the tv or my radio anymore. Luckily all the appliances were off ast the time. Norty adolescent Oggie :lol:

Candiflare said:

Thanks Clutterydrawer! Where do I buy the hose from? Does it come independently or do I have to cut it off a garden hose or dishwasher/washing machine?

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I bought the washing machine bits from wilkinsons i think although people use various stuff so do a search for "cable protectors" to see what other people use.

I upgraded mine after one of my buns chewed right through a cable and when i found it it had scorch marks on :shock: so it's not worth taking any chances!

I got a dog crate on ebay for £24.

You can get special wire protectors, I think it's sold as wire tidy... like this:
http://www.iosss.com/shopping/review.asp?prod=1333&org=G&gclid=CIiV7dW_rJ4CFY-X2AodjDX6mw

Or even better:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/metre-White...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259370370&sr=8-1

But what if they chew skirting board, furniture etc?
My buns are in the bedroom and I let them have free run of the house when I'm about. My one problem has been that they've been peeing under the bed and my boyfriend is NOT happy about it. Understandably. I spent yesterday evening cleaning the whole room and scrubbing the carpet... and trying to block off underneath the bed. So far with no luck, so a trip to B&Q for some wooden boards is definitely in order.

If you have a spare room for them that would be best, then is there is pee and poo you can clean any evidence before your other half finds out.

Louie has the run of the whole house when there is someone at home but is confined to the kitchen/conservatory (it's one room) overnight and when we are out.

This has the least amount of wires in it, Louie loves wires. I unplug the ones we don't use ie the TV, lamp and the only one left plugged in is the fridgefreezer and I block the whole lot off with a puppy pen.

Louie doesn't have a cage at all just a hay filled large cardboard box to go into! He rarely goes in it though and just sleeps wherever he flops!

Although he chews everything he hasn't touched the skirting boards though he does sometimes chew the dining table legs :roll:

To be honest, if you have been forbidden to do it, I wouldn't do it while he's away. What happens if he comes back and demands they go back outside? (whether they have caused damage or not).

If that happens, you've then either got a situation where you've got rabbits acclimatised to the warm - so if you put them out that would be most cruel to the rabbits in December, and if you tell your OH that you can't put them out because it's too cold, that's tantamount to blackmail. I think it would be bad for the bunnies and for your relationship all round.

Santa said:

To be honest, if you have been forbidden to do it, I wouldn't do it while he's away. What happens if he comes back and demands they go back outside? (whether they have caused damage or not).

[B[If that happens, you've then either got a situation where you've got rabbits acclimatised to the warm - so if you put them out that would be most cruel to the rabbits in December, [/B]and if you tell your OH that you can't put them out because it's too cold, that's tantamount to blackmail. I think it would be bad for the bunnies and for your relationship all round.

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This is what I was thinking.

However, for my buns, I use NIC grids, and have my room rabbit proofed, and the landing rabbit proofed, and that is the area they get run of. I also bring them into the living room to run too, but have to rabbit proof that every time-or watch like a hawk.

Santa said:

To be honest, if you have been forbidden to do it, I wouldn't do it while he's away. What happens if he comes back and demands they go back outside? (whether they have caused damage or not).

If that happens, you've then either got a situation where you've got rabbits acclimatised to the warm - so if you put them out that would be most cruel to the rabbits in December, and if you tell your OH that you can't put them out because it's too cold, that's tantamount to blackmail. I think it would be bad for the bunnies and for your relationship all round.

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Hi Santa, you definitely have a point and it's something to think about (made me nervous now!) but my OH is the kind of person who would be driven less mad by a fait accomplished than any "attempts" I made to make them indoor buns while he was around. I think he would be put off at my first attempt if he were there watching it and they were escaping/peeing everywhere/nibbling everything. And he's always going to be there watching it as he doesn't go away that often.

I will have a long think about his reaction though.

Candiflare said:

Hi Santa, you definitely have a point and it's something to think about (made me nervous now!) but my OH is the kind of person who would be driven less mad by a fait accomplished than any "attempts" I made to make them indoor buns while he was around. I think he would be put off at my first attempt if he were there watching it and they were escaping/peeing everywhere/nibbling everything. And he's always going to be there watching it as he doesn't go away that often.

I will have a long think about his reaction though.

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Why has he banned you from doing it?

If it's because he thinks it won't work and is too much effort (something my OH would say lol) etc... then setting it all up while he is away may work because he won't have to be there during the transition phase when everything is a bit up in the air and as you said, may actually be surprised and settle with the idea when he gets home.

However, if it's that he simply does not want them in the house then I think it is going to cause problems for you all if you bring them inside while he is away.

Leaving aside whether you should do this, If your bunnies are determined cable chewers like mine you can get hollow metal tubes to feed the cables through. Mine can from and old plastic greenhouse but you can get similar ones in diy shops. Obviously you need to remove the plugs and reattach them afterwards