• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

night time runs

hot cross bun

Alpha Buck
do you lock your buns in sheds/hutches at night or leave them in runs? at the mo mine are locked in the shed at night but i know they are more lively at night time,there runs are safe but i am still warey of foxes and cats
 
Our guys have access to the run 24/7. It is well padlocked onto the hutch and on slabs so there's no digging in by foxes or out by them. When we first got Scarlet (and her first husbun Boo) we locked them in at night but they hated it. Scarlet and Orinoco are always up before us (and some days I'm up at 05:30) and Ori is always up when I go to bed (about 10 to 11 ish). It's their time of day. I do worry sometimes, there is a fox around here, but I am almost certain they are safe and I think it enhances their quality of life to have the 24/7 access.
 
No mine have access to their run 24/7 :) I often look out at 4/5am and they are tearing around having a great time! :thumb: I have rain covers on the hutch and run so they can be out there in all weather :)
 
Our guys have access to the run 24/7. It is well padlocked onto the hutch and on slabs so there's no digging in by foxes or out by them. When we first got Scarlet (and her first husbun Boo) we locked them in at night but they hated it. Scarlet and Orinoco are always up before us (and some days I'm up at 05:30) and Ori is always up when I go to bed (about 10 to 11 ish). It's their time of day. I do worry sometimes, there is a fox around here, but I am almost certain they are safe and I think it enhances their quality of life to have the 24/7 access.

i know its better for them just abit worried they could die of shock or fright:?
 
Mine have their run permanently, and I would say spend 80% of their time in there.
Even in the pouring rain, they seem to prefer it outside:roll::D
They can get under cover and out of the wind and rain and choose to get wet and windy, but they love it. Nutters:love:
 
I'd like Oscar to have permenant access to his run as he currently gets locked in the 6x4 shed at night. I think once iv put some kind of weather proof roof on and a new padlock as well as the current lock il let him have 24/7 access. We have foxes near by but his run secure and he has plenty of places to hide in.
 
Mine go in their hutch at night, I'm just too worried! Their run is secure but there are so many cats about and who knows what else. I may be being silly/unfair but it gives me peace of mind. They have access to the run between 6am and 9pm ish, and are usually still in bed when I get up. I think if the run was on slabs I would be more comfotable with them staying out, they have meshed grass at the mo.
 
well i left them in their runs all night for the 1st time last night all where fine except me who couldnt sleep keep thinking about them was up at 3 then 5 lol
 
I'm glad you posted this, I was about to ask the same thing! :D Glad they were fine last night, even if you weren't - the downside of being an attentive bunny parent! :roll:

I currently shut my buns in their shed overnight, because I only have a metal run with large bar spacing (and until the clocks changed I could let them out for dawn and dusk). However, I'm about to upgrade to a larger wooden run (connected by a short length of runaround), with the aim of letting them have 24/7 access, but couldn't decide if I'm brave enough!

ETA: Run area is on paving
 
Last edited:
When I have enough money I plan to build/buy a big heavy run to secure to the front of their hutch on the concrete and weather proof it so it is perfect for 24 hour use rain or shine. At the moment they are shut in at nights and rainy days and I always feel so guilty :(
 
Mine have 24/7 access. One pair is in an aviary on concrete, the other pair is a wendy house/run on under-meshed soil (it was grass, once upon a time :lol:) My view is that if a run isn't safe enough for night time, it's not safe enough for daytime either. Foxes and cats are just as active during the day so there's no particular additional risk between day and night. If anything, I'd say any risk of fright is in some ways greater during the day due to the fact that buns will be able to see any approaching predator sniffing around.
 
Those that have attached runs or are in aviaries have 24 hour access unless there is really severe weather which could lead to the accommodation getting damaged such as high winds. The majority are on slabs and a couple are part slabbed and part meshed:)
 
Mine have 24/7 access. One pair is in an aviary on concrete, the other pair is a wendy house/run on under-meshed soil (it was grass, once upon a time :lol:) My view is that if a run isn't safe enough for night time, it's not safe enough for daytime either. Foxes and cats are just as active during the day so there's no particular additional risk between day and night. If anything, I'd say any risk of fright is in some ways greater during the day due to the fact that buns will be able to see any approaching predator sniffing around.

This!

Also the rabbit welfare now say that 24/7 access is better as bunnies are more likely to be at risk of fright if they feel that they are stuck in a confined space and cannot escape (their thinking that at least in a run there will be several places for them to run and hide if they are frightened).
 
I shut mines at night because houdini is always an escape risk when I can make it completely bunny proof I'll continue to do this. But j am hoping to leave them out 24/7
 
mine are in a avairy which has been dug out and 10" of concrete put round the edges and double meshed sides and run around system for them to get back into hutches inside a shed
 
Back
Top