If I wanted to bring my bunny indoors, how do I go about it?

I know it seems like a simple question, but would like to get other views.
I have a 1 year old mini lop rabbit who Ive only had for 3 weeks, we are still getting used to eachother, shes very shy but will let me pick her up and give her a cuddle, even if it does take a lot of chasing about!
Now im in a dilemma- shes litter trained and house trained, at her previous owners, she had the freedom to go where she wanted, when she wanted (the lady owned a bunnery) and only used her hutch as a pitstop- i would love to do this but I can only do it where she is either outside OR inside. Not both.
We have patio doors and i cant install a cat flap or have the door open all day! She is currently in a hutch with attached large run, but just sits in the corner all day? Do you think she is happy?
Umm, i think ive strayed from the question lol! But any views or advice would be brilliant. I just want the best for my bunnies!
kayla xx

well charlie was a house bunny through last winter-he didnt go outside at all and loved the attention. it made him very confident. if you have a room in the house that can be bunny proofed-as in no accessible wires etc...she could live there with a cosy area to hide away when she wants, then the litter area. some people get a dog crate as the cosy area which works nicely.:wave:

lucy24 said:

well charlie was a house bunny through last winter-he didnt go outside at all and loved the attention. it made him very confident. if you have a room in the house that can be bunny proofed-as in no accessible wires etc...she could live there with a cosy area to hide away when she wants, then the litter area. some people get a dog crate as the cosy area which works nicely.:wave:

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just thought it could be outside shes lonely-so if you dont bring her in you could always get a male bun form a rescue to be bonded with her?

lucy24 said:

well charlie was a house bunny through last winter-he didnt go outside at all and loved the attention. it made him very confident. if you have a room in the house that can be bunny proofed-as in no accessible wires etc...she could live there with a cosy area to hide away when she wants, then the litter area. some people get a dog crate as the cosy area which works nicely.:wave:

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Thankyou so much for your reply! I think that may be the option this winter for her. I do have another bunny who is 10 weeks old and ive positioned the hutches so that their runs are together and they can see eachother through the wire. Can i just ask, did you lock bunny away at nighttime or take her up with you? I think I will bond her with a male in the spring, I am going to be bonding my younger bunny with a male in the next couple of weeks. Do you think that even though she has been on her own for so long that it would be okay to try and bond her with another? Shes currently not too friendly and abit grumpy!
Kayla xx

well i had charlie in my room BUT he was very noisy jumping all over the place so i wouldnt recommend it lol i had a large dog pen that i shut him in a night so something like that or just shut in a room would be fine. my Girl Honey was a moody little thing but she calmed down alot when she was bonded to charlie. i think he reassures her. Ive found having them inside for awhile has helped with my bond with them though. they always come up to me to see what im doing!

by the way is she spayed? because i wouldnt bond her otherwise as before honey was spayed she bit a chunk out of charlie

I'd recommend you spay her before bringing her if she isn't already. You'd have to have her in in a restricted area for a couple of days after the op. Then after a couple of weeks she'll be less likely to go round marking everything, she'll probably still mark a bit as it'll be a new area to her but it should be better.

Mine have bunny rooms, I have one pair in a small bedroom which is bunnyproofed and the third bunny stays in my room. I'm hoping to bond them into a trio so they have both bedrooms and the landing. I've found that's the best option. I've had indoors cages and panel enclosures and dog crates and pens and so on! And the best I've found it to take a room and look at it from a bunny perspective and proof things they might chew. I sweep up once a day for any stray poops and hay but they are pretty good at keeping things clean most of the time. In my signature there is a link to a thread with lots of examples.

I'd also get her a friend, even indoors there are big chunks of the day when they aren't around people and even if they are us humans aren't a substitute for a bunny friend.

No, she isnt spayed yet, but definately something I will be getting done soon- I wasnt happy that she hadnt been spayed already or had any jabs even though she come from a bunny breeder and was already 1 years old.
Is the operation going to be more stressful for her being 1 years old? Going to try and get her booked in the next few weeks

Providing she's healthy her age shouldn't matter. I had Nutmeg done aged two and she's quite small which makes the op a bit harder but she bounced back fine.

Both Poppy and Pebbles came to me at an estimated 2 years old. Poppy had been passed from pillar to post and was supposedly spayed, but vet could see no evidence of it, so we had her spayed without any problem ( I asked for super glue instead of external stitches). Pebs was abandoned, so he was estimated 1-2 years ...maybe older. Went in for a neuter, had a tumor op and a week later a hernia and neuter...he was fine too, and still with me 2 years on.

Bugsy and Chloe were already bonded (both neutered) so I bonded Pebs and Poppy. My house is open plan bungalow, only doors are on bedrooms and bathroom lol so I had to seperate my house up with puppy panels. Poppy and pebs can jump puppy panels, so I ended up partitioning sections of house with 3ft high board (which Poppy could still jump) so I have a 4ft high panel as well. Rest of house is as bunny-proof as possible ( except boys bedroom...who keep leaving doors open and wonder why playstation controller cables etc get snipped in seconds!)

Oh...and my newish leather settee got a bit chomped...but hey, I'm not materialistic ...settees can be replaced (eventually)

I did try them in a shed for two weeks...but much prefer them inside. Chloe is so much tamer being indoors with us, I found they went a bit "wild" outside as they didn't have us constantly around them.

hunnybunny88 said:

Thankyou so much for your reply! I think that may be the option this winter for her. I do have another bunny who is 10 weeks old and ive positioned the hutches so that their runs are together and they can see eachother through the wire. Can i just ask, did you lock bunny away at nighttime or take her up with you? I think I will bond her with a male in the spring, I am going to be bonding my younger bunny with a male in the next couple of weeks. Do you think that even though she has been on her own for so long that it would be okay to try and bond her with another? Shes currently not too friendly and abit grumpy!
Kayla xx

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Are you planning on breeding them? If not I wouldn't bother bonding yet as it'll all be undone when they get spayed and you'll have to start over again, lol.

bethepoet said:

Are you planning on breeding them? If not I wouldn't bother bonding yet as it'll all be undone when they get spayed and you'll have to start over again, lol.

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I am not sure if that is always the case, we had Tinky first un-spayed, then rescued Bruce from a couple that got a dog as he was boring. He was then in a cage for a week whilst he was neutered and recovering, then they were bonded. About 6 months later Tinky was done, when she came back from the vets they were put together and were fine.

It could be just luck, but I dont think much changes after being done.

ReeceT said:

I am not sure if that is always the case, we had Tinky first un-spayed, then rescued Bruce from a couple that got a dog as he was boring. He was then in a cage for a week whilst he was neutered and recovering, then they were bonded. About 6 months later Tinky was done, when she came back from the vets they were put together and were fine.

It could be just luck, but I dont think much changes after being done.

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Thing is, if they have a bad fight due to their hormones they may remember that and never bond or be harder to bond. It's not a 'sure thing' but it is a possibility.