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how far can a bunny nose smell?

poppymoon

Wise Old Thumper
i've bought some more panel pens so that i can split the garden properly for both buns to be out at the same time.

how much of a gap should i leave between them so that neither bun gets upset that the other bun is near?

eric doesn't mind esme but esme really gets angry if she sees him so i need to put enough distance between where they're playing.
 
Oooh good question. And I don't know, so not really sure why I'm replying. :? :oops:

I imagine sight is a big factor too - can you drape sheets over one of the pens, so they can't see each other?
 
I think Louie's sense of smell is really good but could be to compensate for his lack of sight?

He can certainly smell a carrot crunchy from about a mile away :D
 
Oooh good question. And I don't know, so not really sure why I'm replying. :? :oops:

I imagine sight is a big factor too - can you drape sheets over one of the pens, so they can't see each other?

i tried the sheet thing but neither bun liked not being able to see out - good job they're never in a hutch or cage:roll:
 
I think Louie's sense of smell is really good but could be to compensate for his lack of sight?

He can certainly smell a carrot crunchy from about a mile away :D

:lol: bless him:love:

i believe that other senses can compensate in many species so its probably the same for rabbits. or maybe carrot crunchies are just tooooo yummy? (are they the ones that look like they're fish shaped? oh laughed when i asked why they were fish shaped but i really thought they were:oops:).
 
:lol: bless him:love:

i believe that other senses can compensate in many species so its probably the same for rabbits. or maybe carrot crunchies are just tooooo yummy? (are they the ones that look like they're fish shaped? oh laughed when i asked why they were fish shaped but i really thought they were:oops:).

Fish shaped :shock: No, LOL, they are carrot shaped of course, from Sainsburys :D

I keep them in the garage and as soon as anyone goes in there, Louie is up on his back legs all excited. So consequently, he gets fed them far too often :oops:
 
When we fostered Teshie we found that it was sight that was the problem, and not smell. Bunny sense of smell is incredible - it can go alot further than you think - from one end of the house to the other - so easily across the garden - esp if the wind is blowing the right way.

Our pair were fine out in their run when Tesh was in his about 6ft away, as long as they couldn't see him. We pinned a tarp along the side of our bunny's run that looked out to his - the rest we left open so they can see out on all three other sides. :wave:
 
My boys live in 2 pairs - they used to be a foursome until Blackberry & Dandelion decided not to get on. Each pair now has half the aviary. When we first set it up we had just a wire mesh panel between them, which Blackberry tried to jump over (nearly suceeding!) and Dan tried to demolish with his teeth! We quickly added a sheet of wood, 2 foot high, and peace was immediatley restored:lol:

When they got out in runs we find that a few inches between each run is fine, but if they are directly next to each other Dan & Black kick off - bless 'em!
 
hmmmmm, i'll try and set them up so that i don't have to obscure much view then and that may do the trick. they have been on the same parts of the garden at different times and can obviously smell each other but they get more excited than annoyed. why can't they just be friends:roll:
 
I've put our two pens about a metre apart with nothing in between to stop them seeing each other. I was concerned that would be too close and the lions would chase each other but they didn't and it was fine. In fact as long as they don't see each other and have a gap of about a foot we don't get fighting.
 
:lol::lol::lol:

In that case, you'd better pop Esme in a garden 6 doors down from you then, Wendy. :shock: :lol::lol::lol:

karen, there ain't anything 6 doors down from me:lol: if i counted 6 gardens i'd probably have to travel about 7 miles:? lots of grass but it's all got horses and sheep on so i wouldn't class it as bunny proofed:roll:
 
karen, there ain't anything 6 doors down from me:lol: if i counted 6 gardens i'd probably have to travel about 7 miles:? lots of grass but it's all got horses and sheep on so i wouldn't class it as bunny proofed:roll:

Ooooops. That should be far enough that they can't smell each other then :lol::lol::lol:
 
I reckon they can smell & hear each other in the house, but are sufficiently distant from each other in terms of sound/smell not to be a threat. Sound & smell will be percieved as much nearer in a garden than a house. How about 1out mornings & the other out evenings or alternate days out?
 
I reckon they can smell & hear each other in the house, but are sufficiently distant from each other in terms of sound/smell not to be a threat. Sound & smell will be percieved as much nearer in a garden than a house. How about 1out mornings & the other out evenings or alternate days out?

i'm alternating days at the moment but i feel so guilty when i see just one of them playing outside:oops: mind you, its a nightmare to get eric out there as he really doesn't like being picked up - he must associate it with painful teeth and jabs at the vets.

i'm pretty sure they are aware of each other in the house - i don't wash my hands or anything after fussing one as neither bun has shown any aggression towards me. the only thing is, if i give a treat and a nose rub to one bun, the other bun just has to chin their treat before they eat it:D i love bunny behaviour:love:
 
i'm alternating days at the moment but i feel so guilty when i see just one of them playing outside:oops: mind you, its a nightmare to get eric out there as he really doesn't like being picked up - he must associate it with painful teeth and jabs at the vets.

i'm pretty sure they are aware of each other in the house - i don't wash my hands or anything after fussing one as neither bun has shown any aggression towards me. the only thing is, if i give a treat and a nose rub to one bun, the other bun just has to chin their treat before they eat it:D i love bunny behaviour:love:

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I'm going sound more crackers than usual. I guess you've tried getting all excited before picking up Eric saying, "into the garden Eric into the garden - pick up". Crazy as it sounds I think I get the message across to Thumps better if I visualise what I'm saying when I'm saying it.
 
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I'm going sound more crackers than usual. I guess you've tried getting all excited before picking up Eric saying, "into the garden Eric into the garden - pick up". Crazy as it sounds I think I get the message across to Thumps better if I visualise what I'm saying when I'm saying it.

yup, tried that:lol: proves that either we're both crackers or its everyone else:D

it was much easier at the old house as he could actually see outside so when i did the excited outside dance :)oops:), it was more obvious what it meant and he used to get excited too but all i had to do was open the patio door whereas now i have to catch him and carry him. he's totally fine being held and likes it once he's out there but i can't think of a way to equate the brief pick up to fun in the garden to him:?
 
Can he not run through to the back door? What is your layout inside?
Ours have learnt to come down two flights of stairs and down a corridor to get to the dining room where that patio doors are - took a while but they do it by themselves now... and very often come and find me another flight of stairs up to tell me what time it is! and then follow me down all 3 flights to the garden! :lol: Buns can learn quick... is there any way Eric can begin to do the whole trip by himself? :wave:
 
Can he not run through to the back door? What is your layout inside?
Ours have learnt to come down two flights of stairs and down a corridor to get to the dining room where that patio doors are - took a while but they do it by themselves now... and very often come and find me another flight of stairs up to tell me what time it is! and then follow me down all 3 flights to the garden! :lol: Buns can learn quick... is there any way Eric can begin to do the whole trip by himself? :wave:

thats the problem - esme lives in the kitchen/dining area where the back door is. eric owns the front of the house but i can't use the front garden for him as there are no fences and the village are really into the 'best kept village' thing (plus i forgot to tell the landlord that the rabbits lived inside....).

if they lived together it would be great as they'd both have the run of the whole house and walled garden. this was my plan and one of the reasons why i chose to move here. sadly things don't always turn out as you wish for:(
 
Oh I didn't realise sorry. Nevermind, there is another way around it. We have to pick Poppy up every day and she is very nervous of people still but we have found a way that she feels comfortable with. If you do it at the same time every day from the same spot - not a spot that bunny likes to call their own, then picking up can become very straightforward. We pick Poppy up from the bottom of the stairs after gently herding her down, she used to get a bit panicky when she saw the door closed and try to bolt past but if you remain calm and talk to them gently, get down low and lean your whole body over and cup them to your chest so they feel safe, using repetitive voice commands as Judy says, it can work very well in time as they learn the pattern. Poppy now waits on the bottom step and doesn't even move when we go to pick her up, no struggling etc... she knows she gets picked up, a quick brush and then playtime in the garden... nothing bad happens... they learn this in time - just use the same spot and make it the same time each day if you can. :):wave:
 
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