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Training an outdoor bunny to live indoors - advice please

Lindy

Young Bun
Our female bun is almost ten and has always lived outdoors. She has had three partners, and has bonded with them well and we've never had a problem. Recently her partner died and we got a three year old male to replace him. We tried slowly bonding, but it just isn't working. They are both very gentle rabbits, but just won't bond.

The female has had a bite on her neck, the male is now at the vet's receiving treatment for a scratched eyelid which is swollen and infected. He's been there all week. We tried all the usual things, two weeks sniffing between the mesh, swapping them around in the hutch, introducing in neutral territory, and all goes well for a few minutes of licking, then they start.

We are thinking of moving the female indoors, as in her old age she loves to sit and watch TV with me :) She has never been tidy with her poops, and poops all over the place in her hutch and run, fortunately when she's indoors (never more than an hour or two) she never poops.

If anyone can help with advice on moving an old bunny indoors and training her, I'd really appreciate it. Also, if you have links of indoor hutches I'd appreciate that. I've seen photos of some which are basically like little fences with no top, which seem quite good, but don't know where to find one.

It's so sad to have two very friendly bunnies who just don't seem to get on. It's the old female who seems the problem, and it's so out of character.
 
Hi,

Sorry to hear that the bonding just didn't work. Hopefully, someone more experienced than me will come along with some bonding advice soon.

With regards to moving her indoors, summer is probably to best time to start because the extremes of temperature are not so great. If she is a bit dodgey with poos, I find that collecting some fresh ones and putting them with some soiled bedding in a litter tray (topped with hay), usually helps to train them in where to go. Otherwise, disposable travel changing mats for babies are brill to catch accidents!

When I bring my lot indoors for any reason, I put them in a dog crate. It is huge and I got it on EBay really cheaply, so it is worth looking around.

Good luck,

FC x
 
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