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Am i doing the right thing putting them in the garden?

paulinejoe

Mama Doe
I posted yesterday about hutches as had decided to put my buns in the garden :cry:

I had got it all straight in my mind that it was the best thing to do, but i'm just about to order the hutch and am having second thoughts, i'm not a decisive person at the best of times :oops: I'm not worried at all about Jess as she's a confident little thing and runs out into the garden as soon as the back door is opened, isn't cuddly and is only 6 months old but Joejoe is nearly 2 and has always been a housebun, we're really close and he loves his noserubs and human contact.

I know they're only going to be a few feet away from the back door and i can always bring them in for a couple of hours on an evening but will he be ok?

Has anyone else put a houserabbit in the garden and what happened? Am i just being soppy and over protective bunny mummy?!
 
okay so i must be areally mean bunny mummy :? well i finally decided to order the 6 foot hutch & run combo from the rabbit hutch shop and it arrives thursday or friday this week. i'm going to gradually acclimatise them to it, and make sure they are happy in it before leaving them out there for a full night. I'm off work next week so will probably just put them in there for daytime to start with and see how they adapt and (hopefully) take to it
 
I dont think you need to beat yourself up over this, a lot of people do put bunnys out during the summer months and i would have thought if they were safe, warm and dry that would be fine.

My buns have always been indoor buns for the simple reason we get foxes around here so i wouldnt chance it, ive been here 11 years and have seen 2 foxes in that time and that was enough for me to think im never leaving my buns out, i dont even leave them unattended for more than 5 mins max and thats to run to the loo, my new bun is ina hutch at the moment (hes not been spayed yet) but the hutch is inside where i know he is safe and warm.

you do what you feel is right, if it dosent work out you could always bring buns back in couldnt you? xxxxxxxx
 
each to their own...it's your decision :D I have 2 buns, always been outdoors, they're fine...managed very well in the winter too...they have each other to snuggle up to :D. Now's a good time to introduce them to outdoors :D
 
Hi, I havent put housebunnies outdoors but I agree with whats been said ^.

I have two outdoor rabbits and two indoor rabbits, and the outdoor rabbits are safe and secure and are perfectly happy with that.

Fay was an outdoor bunny but when she came to live with us she became a housebunny - to be honest I think she would be perfectly happy being an outdoor bunny again if we could give her as much room as she has now.

To be honest, I think I would find it harder than the buns would, I am so used to having them in the house :oops::D The buns will probably love it in this weather to be in the fresh outdoors (as long as they can have shade). Good luck, I am sure you are doing what is right for them and you. :)
 
I always say, "Follow your gut." I hope that means the same when said that way as it does in Canada!
I'm sure your buns would love being out for the summer months, but if you are having second thoughts there is probably a reason for it. Maybe you feel it is too risky, or maybe you feel like your snugglebun will be distraught somehow.
I'm sorry I'm not much help, but I have always though the best advice is to go with what feels right to you.
 
Sounds like you have a good plan doing it gradually. I reckon they'll be absolutely fine.

We've just moved lucky to the outhouse. It means he never has to be shut in his hutch but he does come into the house when we are about. I'm sure it's better for him but I soooo wish he could talk.
 
I have just moved my two outside as they wwere getting fat and were just lying on the rug in the front room all day:roll:.I felt as guilty as you but they are so happy and binky round the garden which they didnt do much in the house:D.I am sure they will be fine x
 
i'm going to gradually acclimatise them to it, and make sure they are happy in it before leaving them out there for a full night. I'm off work next week so will probably just put them in there for daytime to start with and see how they adapt and (hopefully) take to it

I think this sounds like a really good plan. :)

I currently have two house-bunnies but am planning to move them outside when I can afford the set-up I want for them. I constantly have doubts - I did this morning when I was sat with them in my dressing gown giving them nose-rubs! But they will have more space outside and can have messier toys like a digging box etc and they were fine when they were boarding in a hutch recently while we were away.

I do think my two will spend Winter indoors though as the thought of having them outside when there is so little daylight to spend with them worries me for my sake as I think I'd miss them too much!

You're not a mean mummy and at their ages I'm sure they'll adapt. You'll have to post pics of the set-up etc when it arrives! I love to see other people's set-ups..... :p
 
All my rabbits live outside, the babies have been born outside and all are fine.

If you think about zoos etc, there has been a big move in the last 10 years or so to try to create as natural environments as possible for the animals as that is how they thrive best. So therefore if you use that logic, rabbits will be happy outdoors with sights and sounds similar to if they were in the wild, as long as they have space.

Not knocking the house bunny owners by the way though, can understand people keeping them in too!
 
Aww thanks everybody I feel better now about it :wave: when no-one replied yesterday i thought ooh everyone must think i'm being really horrible putting them outside :lol:

I'm terrible at making my mind up about stuff, even trips round morrisons take ages i'm such a ditherer lol but there's two reasons i first thought of putting them out which are

1) when i let them out in the garden for the first time ever a couple of weeks ago (we didn't have one before) they loved it, i mean seriously they looked so so happy and it was lovely to see them like that :love:

2) where we lived originally, Joe had his own room and he used to come in the lounge on a night but he was very good toilet wise so only the odd currant :lol: Then we had to get a short-term let for 6 months in a really small place and he lived in the front room and it was a disaster, he chewed massive holes in the carpet, wee'd everywhere, including the sofa which had to get binned and then we got Jess and being a babybun she also chewed, wee'd and pood absolutely all over - so when we got our new house which is really nice my OH insisted they be restricted to the kitchen :( and tbh i actually agreed with him as bunny lover as i am even i don't like living in wee and poo :lol: ) They seem happy enough and do lots of happy flops etc but after seeing them outside i just thought, they're rabbits, they're designed to be outside and it's me being selfish wanting them indoors for unlimited cuddles, right now i'm sitting here knowing i've made the right choice but it's times like bedtime when they're begging for their yoggy drop and standing on my feet (i love warm bunnies on my bare feet :D) that I have a wobble :?

Their new pad is due to arrive tomorrow or friday so once it's up i shall defo post some piccies :)

It's only a small garden and i'm putting their hutch facing the kitchen window so i can see them
 
You arent being a terrible bunny mummy you wouldnt care about whether you were doing the right thing if you were!

Hope it all goes well, wish there wasnt so many foxes here because id love mine to come and go, i have to watch my bunns 24/7 just incase. xxxxx
 
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