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House bunnies over outdoor bunnies?

CrazyGal330

Warren Scout
I am hoping to get a housebunny soon but my housemate keeps whining and saying "bunnies are supposed to live outside!" and always having a go saying it will be deprived and should be running wild and free, etc. i've seen lots of pics of fantastic set ups and personally think that its a much richer life for a bunny to be inside and be social with people more than they might do if kept outside. Does anyone have any good arguments for why house bunnies are better than outdoor bunnies?
 
in my personal opinion i found a whole new personality to tilly when i brought him indoors that i hadnt seen in the 2 years id had him. however if you do want a housebunny, dont expect to keep electrical cables/carpets in fact anything intact. and you will find poo in the oddest places.. x
 
House bunnies are definately best! Its so much fun watching them play and you get to spend much more time with them. I love curling up on the sofa in the evening with a bunny at my feet.
 
If an inside rabbit has lots of space or free-ranging time I would think it has as good, if not better quality of life as an outside bunny. It will certainly get more human attention/interaction, simply because it is easier to sit on the carpet and play with your pets than sit in a run with them.

From reading on here, many house rabbits get time in an outdoor run too. The main advantage of an outside hutch is that you can have a setup where the rabbit can go in and out of a run as it pleases. Our run is on tarmac outside the back door, so our two are not exactly living life in the great outdoors anyway. I have a friend whose rabbit stays out in the garden all day, and night sometimes when they can't catch it - I'm a bit jealous of that arrangement, but it wouldn't work for us.

I think the issue is not so much inside v outside as one of space. No good being an outside rabbit in a 2ft by 2ft hutch 24/7. Similarly, on other sites, I have seen people's house rabbit set-up where the animal seems to be locked in a small cage for all but a couple of hours in the evening. The posts often start, "Why does my rabbit hate me...."

You could say that cats and dogs are outside animals - but we think it's cruel if someone chains their dog up in a yard all day and night.

If you have the time and the space for an inside rabbit and can cope with the chewing, pooping, etc. , I don't think it is cruel.
 
I am hoping to get a housebunny soon but my housemate keeps whining and saying "bunnies are supposed to live outside!" and always having a go saying it will be deprived and should be running wild and free, etc. i've seen lots of pics of fantastic set ups and personally think that its a much richer life for a bunny to be inside and be social with people more than they might do if kept outside. Does anyone have any good arguments for why house bunnies are better than outdoor bunnies?

Well, if it is running "wild and free" it could get eaten by a fox, you have to go outside in the rain and snow to care for it, an outdoor bunny would be really lonely unless they had a friend....you could say that they are more prone to catching diseases, but I don't know it that is true or not...Housebunnies smell divine,(I'm a rabbit sniffer:oops:), they provide endless entertainment and are great therapy. I do think that you can form a closer bond with a housebunny just because they are more available to interact with. I spend a lot of time with my four house rabbits, they are one of the few things in life that can make me totally happy:love::love::love:
I can't imagine putting them outside. I would rather send my OH out than my rabbits:lol:
Now, they can be messy with their hay and stray poops but it's worth it. Good luck!
 
My experience of my outdoor bunnies is that they are a lot of work esp in winter - if you want to give them any quality of life!! I spend a couple of hours per day standing around in the cold, watching them and playing with them as I wouldn't see them otherwise. Trouble is they love outside!!! Prob because that's what they're used to, they will come in and play in the house but I have to keep the back door open as an outdoor bunny can't come in, get all toasty warm and then be stuck outside. That's what makes them sick. Assuming they are well sheltered from draughts and damp and kept warm with straw and have a good warm, solid wood (not thin hutch) shed they are happy outdoors. They grow a warm, thick winter coat which is another reason why you can't bring an outdoor bunny inside for any length of time in the winter.

I long for the day when I can bring my two in because I miss them and would love to spend my evenings cuddled up with two bunnies, but I have a dog and I can't trust him with them in the same room. When I do make them house bunnies though (dog very old :cry:) I will give them a room to live in when I'm not here - prob kitchen and not keep them cooped up in a pen while I'm at work. Rabbits need lots of space!!!!! I'll also give them as much outdoor time as I can - rabbits really do like being outdoors. :wave:
 
i love that dexter runs love circles round my feet and headbutts me when i take too long getting his breakfast. and the affectionate way he leaves little poops in my shoes if i go out to tell me that im a bad mummy for leaving him.

he has the whole run of the kitchen and the utility room, and yet when he comes out for the evening he goes a bit mental.... you try to put him back and he sits at the baby gate for 20 mins rattling it and biting it in protest at being but back in bunny jail. :roll:

He was frustrated, bored and aggressive when he lived outside, and i only really got to know him when he came to live indoors with me. he's amazing. :love: and i'll never have another outside bunny because i have been lucky enough to be able to experience all the extra bits you can see when they live inside.

different set ups work for different people though i guess, and as long as bun has a good quality of life thats all that matters.
 
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