Is it cruel...

...to keep a rabbit indoors all the time - with no access outdoors at all? Or is it okay provided they get plenty of exercise inside?

No I don't think so as long as they have loads of room etc

House bunnies often have alot more space than outdoor bunnies because they can free range. A house bunny can be prefectly happy without going out, some bunnies dont like it outside.

My house bunnies get out on nice days but in Winter they are in all the time and I dont think they suffer at all.

i dont think it is

Thank you - my two are never entirely free range but they get as much exercise as I can manage and when they are confined, it's to a room - never to a cage.

Thanks, that makes me feel better!!

CDW said:

Thank you - my two are never entirely free range but they get as much exercise as I can manage and when they are confined, it's to a room - never to a cage.

Thanks, that makes me feel better!!

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just to make you feel even more better.. Alvin had the choice with an open door and he chose under the sofa :lol::lol::lol: (many times) Pearl loved outside but she followed Alvin under the sofa 9many times).. thats about when i decided why force them to do something they dont want to do

I believe there is a risk of vitamin D deficiency if they don't have a decent diet that can compensate for no sunlight or sunlight through windows, bu I personally don't think its cruel.

I have 5 permanent house bunnies, and some of them can't go out (because they are scared of the outside :roll and they are just fine

Charlie doesn't go outside, I've tried to take him out and he just hates it. He lives in my room all the time, with occasional running on the landing/bathroom and cuddles on my mams bed :lol:
His pen in my room is 6x2ft and I'd say he's a bloody happy bunny

Glad someone asked this as I was wondering the same myself! Mr Bubble is terrified of outside so he I stopped taking him out a couple of years ago. I thought the stress might do him more harm.

Charlee doesn't go out either. She has a 6ftx3ft pen in my room and then an additional 6ftx8ft area of my room during the day. Our dogs have access to both indoors and out the back so I couldn't have her out the back. Out the front is ok, but we have this huge tree that loses it's leaves every year and creates a right mess. Plus I was looking at pens the other day, and to get one big enough is going to cost me a bit - I need to save up my pennies! And then I need somewhere to store it :roll: But she is very happy as she is at the mo.

I think it would only be cruel if they lived permanently in a tiny cage with no exercise.

But, the same could be said for an outdoor rabbit kept in a 3ft hutch. It's not where you keep them but how you keep them that is either cruel or not

I suppose ideally pet rabbits would live in a group in a huge outside run. In reality though, I suspect many of them never see the outside of a 3ft hutch.

If your rabbit is well cared for and has plenty of room, I don't think keeping them inside is at all cruel. I have read a few US forums where people seem to have house rabbits in small cages all day, just allowed out for a couple of hours a night. I get the impression on this forum that the house rabbits on here get huge amounts of attention and loads of room.

CDW said:

Thank you - my two are never entirely free range but they get as much exercise as I can manage and when they are confined, it's to a room - never to a cage.

Thanks, that makes me feel better!!

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Mine are free range in a room only, not the whole house. I have Snowdrop in my bedroom and she just has a litter tray in the corner, Strawberry used to have the spare room to himself.

Bungle is caged but only cos I dont have another bunny proofed room. He is out all evening and all day at weekends downstairs but has a habit of weeing under the sofa so is only allowed in the dining room now.

Bracky has free range of the whole house and doesn't go outside. We leave the back door open for him, sometimes I even put him outside for some fresh air, but as soon as I turn by back he goes back inside

He is constantly bolting around the house and sprinting up and down stairs, so I have no worries that he doesnt get enough excersise.

I don't think its cruel if the rabbits really don't like the outdoors, in the same way its ok to have a cat as a house cat if it chooses never to go outside.

As a personal preference I prefer buns to be outside enjoying the seasons and the changes in the day so wouldn't choose to keep a rabbit as a house rabbit, but that's just my preference for a more natural habitat for them.

i take eric and esme out into the garden - neither of them have a cage at all. esme seems to enjoy being outside but not for too long. eric likes it for 5 mins then he hides under a planter for a couple of hours then has another 5 mins exploring before back to the hidey hole:roll:

i felt like they should have time outside so i've ordered 2 more panel pens to properly separate the garden so that they can have an area each but catching eric to put him out there really is a nightmare - and catching him to get him in is worse! oh well, i can always use them to extend the piggy runs more.

i'd agree that some buns don't seem particularly bothered with outside - its lack of confinement that they desire

Tiny seems to like it outside,But Lyric doesnt if i put her out she runs straight back in:lol: Patio door has been open all day for the last two days but she doesnt go out

I like my buns to have outdoor access, but i agree that some indoor buns get a lot more space. I think if your buns are happy, it's fine

My bunny is pure house bunny

I can't take her out because she is a snuffles bunny. Even hopping round the kitchen two much can cause her stress. She has enough room in her cage, and does binkys every time the cats come past. She also makes little cherruping noise, so sweet- get's really excitable! Like asking the cats, play with me. I let her out and they roll around having lots of fun together. This is the two of them playing.

I did let her out at the old house as there was seperate grass, but i don't have that convience here. She gets alot more fresh veg, fruit and i'm constantly aware of her needs with her been an indoor bunny. She also doesn't have any meds any more as she gets even more ill when she is picked upside down to have the sringes put in her mouth with batriyl. I tried this for two years, and it did improve it sometimes and sometimes not. The thing i realised with snuffles is it flairs up and down regardless and now she has some kind of immunity to it.

She is happier without the meds. I do feel that antibiotics long term do more harm than good and the system should be allowed a shot to recover on its' own. She now is medication free sneezes alot less frequently. She used to have alot more fits on the meds. She now sometimes has a coughing fit, but not anything like with the frequency she used too. She has been off meds for two years, happy , alive and her environment is kept very stable so that she doesn't have to endure any undue stress.

I have thought about letting her out on the front grass- but there are cars and she would be frightened. She much prefers being the indoor princess of the house. She loves being a seperate bunny, she is totally anti-other bunnies. However she does love the cats, so it works. My cats are also house cats. They do get let out in the garden as i believe that they need the vitamin d also. I think though, she is in the doorway and has access to light and sun and i leave the back door open sometimes so she can sun herself. There are other solutions to putting bunnys outside if they don't like it. My rabbits' snuffles was brought on by stress, so i think it's important to minimize this if you have a bunny that is particulary frightened and sensitive.

Both of mine live indoors pretty much all of the time :wave:
I can't properly bunsafe the garden so I worry about letting them out.
They're pretty much free range and anyone who has met them says they're far too chilled out :lol: Especially my fat little pud