How to Bunny Proof.
Bunny Proofing is really important. It means making everything in the area the rabbits go in safe for the rabbits, and it also means protecting anything within reach of the rabbits, that the rabbits shouldn’t reach.
Inside the house
If a rabbit lives or comes inside the house there is a lot that needs to be checked to make sure it is safe if a rabbit is around. Each house is different so this is only a guide of what needs to be checked and sorted. You will need to go round and check each area the rabbit goes in and look at not just what is mentioned here, but anything the rabbit can reach.
~All wires need to be moved out of reach of the rabbits. If that is not possible then they need to be blocked off, or covered. Split wire loom can work quite well for covering them in a safe way.
~All standing water (such a toilet) needs to be covered if the rabbits have access to that area.
~If rabbits ingest materials, such as carpet, it can cause a blockage that often requires surgery. This means that any loose ends of carpet need to be covered/fixed. Also, when the rabbits are running around, make sure they are supervised so that they do not eat any carpet or any material from anywhere else.
~When opening windows make sure the rabbits can not jump up to them (either directly or via something else).
~Make sure all plants in the area that the rabbits can get into are not poisonous to them.
~Make sure any food belonging to any other animals (such as cats or dogs) is not reachable by the rabbits.
~All areas that the rabbits might be able to access but shouldn’t (such as under a bed, or settee, or in certain rooms/areas, gaps in banisters on the landing or upstairs) need to be blocked off. Remember that rabbits can jump high when they want to, so a small barrier will not be effective.
~Make sure that anything that a rabbit might eat (medications, cleaning products, toiletries, etc) are out of reach of the rabbits.
~Rabbits are chewers, so anything that is treated wood or that should not be chewed (either from your point of view, or from that of the rabbit) needs to be blocked off or moved out of reach.
Every time the rabbits are allowed to run around inside, the area needs to be checked for any little bits, such as chocolate or chocolate wrappers (because chocolate is highly poisonous for rabbits), or anything that has been moved and could potentially be harmful to a rabbit.
Outside (such as in the garden)
Letting rabbits run outside can be as hazardous as inside, so wherever the rabbits are allowed to go needs to be rabbit-proofed and checked to ensure safety.
~The area the rabbits go in needs to be free of plants that are poisonous to rabbits.
~No type of chemical should be used on any area where the rabbit will go (such as fertiliser or weed killers). If the area has had anything chemical on it then the rabbit should not have access to it for a long time.
~No dogs or cats or any other predator should be able to get into the area that the rabbits run in.
~The rabbits should not be able to get out of the area that they are in. Rabbits are jumpers so any run needs a lid/roof and if the rabbit is free roaming in the garden then the fences need to be high and secure.
~Rabbits are diggers so the run needs to either be on concrete, moved very regularly to prevent holes being dug and the rabbits escaping, or have some form of wire mesh several inches under the floor, with grass/soil on top so that if they do dig they can’t dig out.
~The run needs to have no sharp edges or anything that the rabbits can catch themselves on.
~The mesh on the run needs to be securely attached so that no predator can get in and the rabbit can not tear its way out. The mesh also needs to be small enough so that nothing can get in the run with the rabbit (such as mice, or a cats paw).
~If there are foxes around it is also worthwhile putting fox deterrents around the garden because very few accommodations will keep out a fox if the fox wants in.
Another part of bunny proofing any area is to make sure that there are safe toys and stimuli around for the rabbits because that will help to capture their attention.
Whenever your rabbits go in an area it is important to check the area each time and to look at all possibilities for things that might harm the rabbits. It would be tragic if something happened to any rabbit due to slack bunny proofing, so the more vigilant you are, the less likely that is to happen to your rabbits.