Theft of rabbit accomadation?

I had one of my runs- a small metal one, which was 6 sided stolen from my garden after leaving it out for about four months day and night. I suppose it's my fault for doing that, but now leaving my bunnies out with attached metal runs has made me feel very uneasy.

Is there less risk with a wooden run of theft, because people wanting scrap metal are not interested etc. I do not live in the best area and will be moving soon hopefully, but until then i want to make sure i have the best security for my rabbits, by not putting out items that people would wish to steal in the garden.

The metal runs seem like a target and i have taken them down and put them in at night, which is a pain and means my rabbits can't be out throughout the night. I also have to put them up every morning and then take them down again about 10pm.

I'm trying to get a setup that is safe and where i don't have to worry so much. Would i be better with wooden runs to decrease the prospect of theives finding my garden attractive. I can't see there is that much chance of someone coming into the garden and dismanteling one of my wooden runs.

The metal run i had out was unoccupied as it is was just for my snuffle bun, a small patch so she could get some grass now and again.

Perhaps it's because my back-garden, you can see in from the bottom of the alleyway behind us. I need to put up a wooden plank over one small section that allows you to see what is in some of my garden. I'm not sure that this would help the problem though if someone was adamant about stealing. Does anyone else worry about this??

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks,
Ambience x

Buy your hutch with an attatched run, that way everything is sold and joined together and not easily transportable.

If you get the happy hutch 6 x 2 footer which is above a 6 x 4 run you have great space. If your rabbits dont like the ramp remove it and give them some boxes to jump down onto .

If you're leaving them out day and night anyway would you be able to secure them to a piece of concrete set in the ground, make them harder, and therefore less attractive, to steal?

I think do what you've suggested and fill any gaps/holes which currently allow people to nosey in plus:

Ensure any gates etc are locked & fix wind chimes or bells to them so that if they ARE opened or climbed over it won't go unnoticed.

Attach trellies to the tops of fences. It's hard to climb over & often breaks (makes a lot of noise) if so.

Fit a security light on a motion sensor at the back.

Padlock the run to something heavy which doesn't move. Hopefully it just won't be worth the hassle then.

Put a sign on the alleyway side of the fence or gate which says "Warning - dogs loose" (even if they're aren't )

Any of the above are good burgular deterants, do as many as you can afford

We have those metal runs. Our lawn has a hedge at the bottom, a garage on the one side and two large bushes on the other so the only side you can see them is from the house itself. Our neighbour can probably see it from his window but that is all.

Is there a way to stop people seeing into your garden?

Schuette said:

We have those metal runs. Our lawn has a hedge at the bottom, a garage on the one side and two large bushes on the other so the only side you can see them is from the house itself. Our neighbour can probably see it from his window but that is all.

Is there a way to stop people seeing into your garden?

Click to expand...

I vote for chopping their heads off as they gawp or poking their eyes out with sharp sticks :lol:

sorry - really not sure where that outburst came from :roll:

:lol:

We have an alleyway behind that hedge I mentioned. Noisy kids from the neighbourhood go up and down but the hedge is high enough for them not to see over. Doesn't stop them scaring the life out of Smudge though. Some huge lump of a man once shouted down the alley and road at his dog (cos obviously no-one is out enjoying their garden or anything :roll while I was trying to get Smudge indoors. Needless to say my trouble getting him in increased tenfold after that.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think i will start with boarding up the place where you can peak over. My neighbours on both sides can see in, but the back wall is very high. My back gate needs to be made more secure. I think i will start out with this and put some bells there too as suggested. I have a windchime in the shed, buti guess if i moved it to behind the garden gate, it would definatley create a racket if the gate moved an inch.

Schuette, yes i know what you mean about the alleyway, great pain, feels very insecure having it at the back here. We will be moving to a safer neighbourhood in the near future, but i think it's still a little way off yet.

lol Fluffers, that's how i felt when my run got stolen, very annoyed indeed. I had all sorts of ideas go through my head, electric fencing and all sorts lol. Thanks for all the ideas the security light is something i need to sort out. We have a street lamp that lights up the garden, so i didn't bother, but i think it would be a detterant, that's if the stray cats don't turn it on 24 /7 coming in and out of the garden.

Bun-Mum-Tammy i'm not sure what i could secure, that's the only problem and i'm not great with diy. I know what you mean though. Make it a pain for them to take off with anything.

Thanks janice-arc the boxes idea is great. Didn't think of that at all. The bunnies are out in the run at the moment. I'm getting the happy hutch kind from animal magic now, so i may invest in the wooden runs. As you say the wooden kind are going to be attached and with bunnys in, much less attractive to thieves.

Thanks for all the advice. Will try putting some of it into action tommorow. Ambience x

:shock: What a cheek, cheeky people.

We have a scrap bloke who just drives around looking in peoples gardens for "scrap metal" - I caught him looking over my fence at some steel mesh I had - told him to booger off!

You cant have nothing anymore can you!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think i will start with boarding up the place where you can peak over. My neighbours on both sides can see in, but the back wall is very high. My back gate needs to be made more secure. I think i will start out with this and put some bells there too as suggested. I have a windchime in the shed, buti guess if i moved it to behind the garden gate, it would definatley create a racket if the gate moved an inch.

Schuette, yes i know what you mean about the alleyway, great pain, feels very insecure having it at the back here. We will be moving to a safer neighbourhood in the near future, but i think it's still a little way off yet.

lol Fluffers, that's how i felt when my run got stolen, very annoyed indeed. I had all sorts of ideas go through my head, electric fencing and all sorts lol. Thanks for all the ideas the security light is something i need to sort out. We have a street lamp that lights up the garden, so i didn't bother, but i think it would be a detterant, that's if the stray cats don't turn it on 24 /7 coming in and out of the garden.

Bun-Mum-Tammy i'm not sure what i could secure, that's the only problem and i'm not great with diy. I know what you mean though. Make it a pain for them to take off with anything.

Thanks janice-arc the boxes idea is great. Didn't think of that at all. The bunnies are out in the run at the moment. I'm getting the happy hutch kind from animal magic now, so i may invest in the wooden runs. As you say the wooden kind are going to be attached and with bunnys in, much less attractive to thieves.

Thanks for all the advice. Will try putting some of it into action tommorow. Ambience x