Keeping bunnies indoors

I'm just wondering how easy it is to rabbit proof a house? Misty and her future husbun will be outside buns probably, but I'd love to have them indoors.

Also, how destructive are rabbits generally? We rent so we wouldn't want rebbit related damage.

I'm pretty sure keeping them in the house wouldn't be an option but I just wanted some opinions :wave:

It does depend on the rabbit, but two of my three could never be free-range. They live in dog crates with access to a good-sized hallway and a large fenced off area of the living room, but both me and OH have to be able to see them at all times. They like to bite wallpaper, furniture and carpet, so it's a full time job keeping the (rented) house safe, haha. So far they have only managed to ruin a small corner of the living room carpet and two small areas of wallpaper. Easy enough to hide/cover up, luckily. The third bun would probably be alright, but she's not a great toileter, so just a different set of issues. I personally much prefer them being in a smaller area that I can take good care of than the entire house where I'd always be finding newly ruined things. I wouldn't know how to fully bunny-proof a whole house, but for me I think it would be costly and ugly, so like I said, I prefer to keep them confined to one area (it's still more than big enough for them though :wave.

I loved having my two indoors and relatively speaking they were very good. But they still did nibble, dig and claw at the carpets and at furniture too. They lived in a rabbit-proofed pet room which was laminate that they couldn't damage - but they didn't really like walking on it so had to have non-slip vet-bed rugs which they loved. Then there's the hay! Hay seems to walk all round the house by itself lol! :lol:

Because they had to be watched constantly when they were out I didn't feel they were getting the free range they needed and the room they were in always got stuffy in the summer. They are now outside and have been for a couple of years and they love it. They have more space and more freedom and nothing matters if they do gnaw at it or whatever. So I feel more relaxed too. No regrets! xx

They can be very destructive if they get bored. Chewing is natural and most rabbits do it. Our old bunny once chewed through a Bang and Olufsen lead...completely broke the phones! :shock: My husband has gone off the idea of inside bunnies now :lol:

Completely depends on the rabbits

Some will chew everything and anything and enjoy destruction, some wont touch much but go nuts for certain things, some will just nom wires and thats it, and a very small minority wont damage anything.

How easy bunny proofing is depends on how destructive the rabbits are and how much you are prepared to build the room(s) around them. Some rabbits will ruin any house, and need every single wall and piece of furniture to be protected by a mesh barrier - some will just need wires tucking out of sight. You sort of have to design the room around the bunnies rather than the other way round.

Generally, with my buns, I remove all expensive and non-essential electrics from the room (they only had access to one when unsupervised) and accept that those that remain will need the wires replacing every now and again. I bunny-proof these wires by moving furniture around to put the wires behind, and bunnyproofing with mesh NIC panels. I make sure there are no loose or frayed bits of carpet or wallpaper. I try to remove any real wood furniture and accept that those bits that remain may be nibbled. I move furniture to make sure that there are no dark corners or ways for rabbits to get underneath furniture - I find that these are the places that they get most destructive, perhaps because it is out of sight but I do wonder whether these shadowy areas that are used as 'hidey holes' trigger the instinct for nesting and digging a burrow. I accept any fabrics within reach may get holes in, or occasionally weed on, so keep those to a minimum. That's about it My two are really quite good with not being destructive, they just need it keeping on top of, if they show interest in destroying a certain area of carpet or furniture then it is blocked off, hopefully before it becomes an obsession.

eta- someone mentioned hay - yes! it gets EVERYWHERE! My buns are outside now, and one of the main benefits is that my clothes and bed are hay-free now. I would still rather that they were indoors though, its much easier to spend more time with them, and I had a better relationship with them when they were indoors.

house bunnies owner

Hi :wave:
Ours live permanently indoors and its fine, however we no longer have carpet on the stairs as fonzy burried through it and he also nibbled through a phone wire (and I phoned BT and got an engineer out, complaining about their bad service) hahah!
But now its fine - all our wires run along the top coving and we have a very robust rug which he cant burry through and luckily, the rest is stone floor as its a cottage! The only thing I find is hay gets everywhere lol - I hoover evryday! But I wouldnt have it any other way they are part of the family and love jumping up on the sofas with us!
Good luck :wave:

I agree with everyone else, really depends on the bun.

I have pens for my buns when I cannot be there to supervise as I just don't trust them. I thought that the lounge was safe before only for Matilda to eat buttons from the remote control!

Maybe you could use pens if you did have the buns indoors for when you cannot supervise just for piece of mind? I have combined two which gives the buns 8ft x 8ft when I am not there to need the space then the plan is to let them use the lounge when I can watch.

The only things that Louie ever chewed were wires, my own fault for thinking he wouldn't bother with them

The only bunny proofing I have done is putting puppy panels around the computer and the television now to protect the wires. Louie has never chewed doors, skirting boards etc.

each to their own but I prefer rabbits outside - and having mine in kitchen for bonding as only confirmed my view! Its lovely seeing them indoors and I'm not wildly houseproud but boy did they make a mess. rabbit pee does have a rather lingering aroma too- which is ok if its your own house but landlords may take a dim view of it.

Doughnut is an indoor rabbit. She has an enclosure outside to go on the grass when I'm home.

She isn't really a digger but is a chewer. I've put plastic edging on the corner of my walls so she can't chew the lining paper and covered the wiring in plastic, apart from that she's fine. She's in a hutch and play pen when I'm out and when I'm home the range of downstairs.

I have wooden flooring but also a rug which she binkies on.

She always used to wee in her litter tray in the hutch and poop in there but since she's got back from the bunnery when I went on holiday, she's pooping everywhere and weeing a few places too which is really annoying. Got to train her up again but I personally love having her indoors as one of the family. I feel I get to see her more and interact more since she's with me all the time. But it's all down to preference, especially since she is on her own. I would get two if she was outside.

nessar said:

Completely depends on the rabbits

Some will chew everything and anything and enjoy destruction, some wont touch much but go nuts for certain things, some will just nom wires and thats it, and a very small minority wont damage anything.

How easy bunny proofing is depends on how destructive the rabbits are and how much you are prepared to build the room(s) around them. Some rabbits will ruin any house, and need every single wall and piece of furniture to be protected by a mesh barrier - some will just need wires tucking out of sight. You sort of have to design the room around the bunnies rather than the other way round.

Generally, with my buns, I remove all expensive and non-essential electrics from the room (they only had access to one when unsupervised) and accept that those that remain will need the wires replacing every now and again. I bunny-proof these wires by moving furniture around to put the wires behind, and bunnyproofing with mesh NIC panels. I make sure there are no loose or frayed bits of carpet or wallpaper. I try to remove any real wood furniture and accept that those bits that remain may be nibbled. I move furniture to make sure that there are no dark corners or ways for rabbits to get underneath furniture - I find that these are the places that they get most destructive, perhaps because it is out of sight but I do wonder whether these shadowy areas that are used as 'hidey holes' trigger the instinct for nesting and digging a burrow. I accept any fabrics within reach may get holes in, or occasionally weed on, so keep those to a minimum. That's about it My two are really quite good with not being destructive, they just need it keeping on top of, if they show interest in destroying a certain area of carpet or furniture then it is blocked off, hopefully before it becomes an obsession.

eta- someone mentioned hay - yes! it gets EVERYWHERE! My buns are outside now, and one of the main benefits is that my clothes and bed are hay-free now. I would still rather that they were indoors though, its much easier to spend more time with them, and I had a better relationship with them when they were indoors.

Click to expand...

Really? I've never found hay on me, lol. I put a good chunk of hay in their litter boxes which stay in the crate while they're out and about, they never drag it out. The only time it gets on the floor is when I'm taking it from the bag into the box, which is obviously only one room.

Both my buns are free range. The have an indoor type hutch for their litter tray and hay rack but I'm even looking to getting rid of that and get a free standing hay rack. They dont sleep in it or use it other to eat hay and toilet.

Both buns would chew wires and Roxy even my leather sofa and ugg boots! grrr.I got them out of this habbit with a "No" or if they persued (they often did) I naughty stepped them by locking them in the pet carrier for a minute. They soon realised and often I only have to tell off Roxy very seldomly now and then for biting the sofa or Alvin for chewing peeling wallpaper (If it was perfect he wouldn't pick at it - I dont think?!)

I leave them in the kitchen which has no wires etc - Its a kitchen/Dinning room so a big space - when I'm out and evening but I work from home.

Alvin has never attempted more than two stairs but Roxy will go up in the morning for a mad half hour run around on the carpet. Roxy can jump on and off the sofa but Alvin is too scared.

Down stairs is wood and Karndean so easy to clean etc.

I dont find them smelly, I occasionally notice the hay smell but not them or the litter tray.

HTH