indoors or out (hopefully made clearer post 7)

some of you may be aware that i'm doing a rabbit nursing course and one of the questions is about the advantages compared to disadvantages of keeping rabbits indoors now i've answered the question with the usual suspects better interaction with owner, earlier detection of illness, deeper bond with Owner, better placed to see bunnies personality develop, etc disadvantages mess, furniture damage (if inappropriate bunnyproofing)
However i'd like to expand on my answer a little and thought i'd do a little comparisson poll so question is indoor or out and if indoor why? if outdoor why and i will see if the literature actually matches up with "real" rabbit owners.
I have been shocked and saddened by how poor the literature is for some of the basic husbandry needs, unless you research well,know what your looking for etc some of the books are pretty sketchy.

I don't think one is 'right' and one is 'wrong' it just depends on people's circumstances. Both have pros and cons. For me inside works better as I can interact with them and not have to worry about going outside in the cold weather.

I haven't answered the poll because I'm not too sure what you are asking. Are you trying to find out what we have currently or which we think is best?

I agree with the above. I actually nearly put my bun outside but the costs of setting up the shed ect wouldn't have been worth it, as well as the fact that I couldn't cope to be without her!

The only clear benefit to me is that if they're indoor it's easier to give them a taste of the opposite. So in the summer my bun can go out for fresh air whereas its more difficult if you wish to bring them inside, from what I've read anyway.

Do you want to know what we think is best or whether we keep our rabbits indoors or outdoors and why?

I've voted both!

Think its much more natural for a rabbit to live outside, not in a hutch but free range.
However saying that I have 2 house bunnies!! I find it much easier, I get to build a great relationship with them, and also I think its better to pick up any medical issues. When Alice had her gut issues I was able to get her to the vets before I'd realised anything was wrong if she was outside.

I've had indoor and outdoor buns and I dont really think it matters to much as long as they have enough room and hay and everything else they could possibly need!

I'm a bit confused too.
My outdoor rabbits are outdoor because they didn't like being indoors. They have a shed and run set up and a puppy pen attached to the run and shed for supervised access as they can't be trusted to free range in the garden. It's too dangerous for them. I spend time with them everyday but they much prefer each others company rather than my own.

My indoor rabbits are indoor because they needed to be. Poppy will always be an indoor bun now, she loves it so much and it's easier to keep and eye on her and her eating etc. Leo is indoors after his stroke but when we move out I want to get him and a new wifey bun in a shed/run set up. Poppy loves human company which her being indoors makes easier but she craves a husbun..

I think it depends on what the owner wants and how the rabbit/s react to their environments. Poppy was happy outdoors but when she got poorly and we brought her in she turned into a different rabbit, so to keep her happy I will keep her indoors. Leo isn't bothered but Donny and Lola will stay outdoors as they hated it when they were inside.

sorry if it wasn't all to clear i'm a bit frazled with research basically the idea of the poll is to get a picture from actual rabbit owners on what they think the main advantages/disadvantages of owning a house rabbit. So i can have a bit of a clearer idea in real time so to speak (no right or wrong answer) just how many indoor rabbits compared to outdoors as all the research seems to point to indoor rabbits being a far more recognisable occurrence and I was trying to see if i could figure out why.

Indoors is better for me!

No walking outside and getting cold
Constant companionship for me and Ludo

Disadvantages are the damage to the carpet and furniture and my handbag... however all of this can be handled and prepared for.

I prefer mine indoors...

pros: I don't like going outside in the cold/wet/wind/snow etc
My buns are mach more tamer since being indoors..Chloe would never let me near her, and was almost impossible to catch her for vet visits ( I had a 20x8 walk in run with 8x6 shed attached) now she''l sit and let me stoke her and pick her up.
quicker to spot health issues
I spend much more time with my buns, especially pebbles who I trust to free range the whole house..he follows me (trips me up) everywhere!
I feel they are safer from predators inside..I won't leave my front door or back patio doors open, but I couldn't be 100% certain that someone couldn't get in the garden and open up the run/shed doors (especially as we have a lot of out-door-building break-ins in our road) even if I put padlocks on.
Much drier indoors for buns. My shed was very damp with constant rain.

cons: fluff and hay (though I have a filtrete air purifier)
A lot of damage to start with due to inadequate bunny-proofing :roll: settee, bags, boots, playstation controller cables, lap top cables, wall-paper etc. etc
Having to find ways of bunny-proofing things like wall-paper & settee...having to educate kids (and remind them over and over again :roll NOT to leave wires on the floor!
worrying about whether the house smells (cos I can't smell anything)
ALWAYS having to justify my keeping my buns & piggies indoors to my mum (even though I'm gone 40!)

I prefer indoor but with access everyday to outdoor too

I voted both. So long as you've got a really secure outdoor set-up, and you have more than one rabbit, so they can keep each other company, then outdoor is as good as indoor. If you live somewhere where there are a lot of predators and extremes of temperature (e.g. many places in the US or Australia), then outdoors is probably a bad idea.

It's easier to have them indoors since you don't get cold cleaning them out, and they'll probably become more socialised. But being super socialised is really for our benefit not for the bunnies (beyond a certain level).

I think it's more important to focus on how much space they have, enrichment, security, company, etc. than whether they're indoor or outdoor. I see plenty of people (on US forums) who think keeping rabbits outdoors is evil, but then they keep their rabbit in a tiny enclosure indoors with only a few hours of free roaming time. Most of us aren't perfect rabbit owners and I know I could do some things better (i wish they had more space - they have around 66 square feet for three rabbits, and I should definitely clean them out more often), but I don't think it's helpful to just focus on indoor v outdoor.

Mine are outdoor rabbits and they also get a lot of free ranging time in the garden. I tried to bring them in for a few months last winter, but they weren't very happy. Merry refused to leave their room even though the door was left open for days - he didn't like the wooden floors and hated the stairs. I think they like having fresh air outside and being able to watch the birds, and it's easier to let them out of the hutch into the garden than go through the trauma of trying to get Merry down the stairs and over the kitchen tiles. They love being out in the garden grazing the lawn or nibbling the brambles or whatever else I've planted. It's so much more interesting for them than being inside where there's nothing to nibble. They might be part wildie, and I've often wondered if this is why they're much happier outdoors.

Edit: sorry just read the update. Should have voted outdoor. Oops.

I would much rather have Poppy indoors but I'm allergic to her fur and the hay so that would be an issue for me. She is also not very tame or confident as she was a stray for some time before someone caught her so I think she would find our home too busy.

I said both because, I think it depends on your circumstances, the rabbit's temperament, & where you live.
It's a matter of dovetailing bunny's needs to feel as well as be secure. & be a rabbit (what he is) & our own needs.

I have mine outside, because they have more space outside than I can offer inside, and there's less risk of dogs eating them!

I don't think either is right or wrong as long as they have the right space and company.

Mine are outdoors - I'd prefer them indoors, but that's purely for my own selfish desire to have them around all the time and to not have to go outside in the cold :lol:

I don't agree that you necessarily get better detection of illnesses in indoor bunnies. Sure, you're possibly there with them more often (but that depends whether they share their living space with you or whether they are off shut in their own room) so you might pick up very acute onset things slightly sooner, but for those things which come on over a period of hours or even days I think it could be easier to spot in outdoor bunnies. Gradual things tend to 'creep up' and if you see them all the time, you're less likely to notice anything different, whereas if you're going back to an outdoor bunny more sporadically, you're more likely to notice it as it would become a more 'sudden' change between visits. I don't think my rabbits health or safety has been in any way compromised by being outdoors.

I do agree that it's entirely to do with the individual bunnies...some love it indoors and can't cope/hate it outdoors, and some respiratory infections for instance might do better indoors. For others, the great outdoors is what they love and the fresh air is better for some respiratory problems too. So (in the UK at least where there aren't usually huge extremes of temperature or very vicious predators) I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.