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Indoor housing

vicky_26

vicky_26

Warren Scout
Up to now I've had my rabbit in a cage (with plenty of free ranging in the garden for exercise)

However, reading on here I am looking at options to see if I can set up more of an open non caged area in my house (I'm aware a lot of people on here are of the thinking that cages aren't good for rabbits).

I live in a modest two bedrooms house and So I don't have stacks of room. It would be lovely to have them completely free range in the downstairs of my house but until I have them neutered (in next couple months) I think they would be too messy(they do use litter trays but not exclusively!)

Anyway I thought this might be a good way of transitioning from caged life to more free living.

I have an under the stairs cupboard which opens into my living room, I have just measured and is about 5ft wide, 2.5 ft depth and 6ft High. I thought I could take the door off and put on a child's stair gate.

When I am home I could then let them wander out and also go out in the garden as they wished.

I do have a large spare bedroom which I also considered but I thought it would be better to keep them downstairs where there is easy access to the garden.

Would this work or is it not a great idea?

Would appreciate any thoughts. x
 
vicky_26 said:
Up to now I've had my rabbit in a cage (with plenty of free ranging in the garden for exercise)

However, reading on here I am looking at options to see if I can set up more of an open non caged area in my house (I'm aware a lot of people on here are of the thinking that cages aren't good for rabbits).

I live in a modest two bedrooms house and So I don't have stacks of room. It would be lovely to have them completely free range in the downstairs of my house but until I have them neutered (in next couple months) I think they would be too messy(they do use litter trays but not exclusively!)

Anyway I thought this might be a good way of transitioning from caged life to more free living.

I have an under the stairs cupboard which opens into my living room, I have just measured and is about 5ft wide, 2.5 ft depth and 6ft High. I thought I could take the door off and put on a child's stair gate.

When I am home I could then let them wander out and also go out in the garden as they wished.

I do have a large spare bedroom which I also considered but I thought it would be better to keep them downstairs where there is easy access to the garden.

Would this work or is it not a great idea?

Would appreciate any thoughts. x
Click to expand...

Sounds like a great idea - it's a nice big space! I'd still want to make sure they have at least sort of 8 hours of free ranging a day though. You could always extend the area with puppy pen panels or something similar, to give them a bigger base area.

I'd be a bit concerned about letting them out into the garden. Right now the weather is just about right in that it won't affect their health to go inside and out, but when it gets colder and rainier it can bring on snuffles if they keep transitioning between inside and out. If you do let them have access, they definitely can't be shut out there - they need constant access back inside to ensure they don't get poorly. Personally I don't know if I'd risk it if they have plenty of space inside to play. Also, they'll need to be supervised while free ranging outside as they could easily be snatched by a fox, cat, bird of prey etc.

I personally would be tempted to use the spare room. For me then it's not the end of the world if I go out for a meal and can only let them out for a few hours, as they have a good size base anyway. I guess it depends how easy you'll find it to let them free range :D

Either idea is a good one though, just personal preference :D
 
Thank you for your reply!

The more I think about it the more keen I am in the understairs cupboard idea.... And I think my eventual aim is to have them completely free to roam around the house so they would have plenty of room!

The puppy pen panels is a good idea in the interim for when I am not home to supervise I think making an area as part of my living room would mean I could socialise with her a lot more than if they were in the spare room also.

In the colder months I always bring them in for the winter so shouldn't be affected by the temperature change but thanks for mentioning that as I didn't know! I think I always thought that rabbits belonged outside and it was better for them to be outside but I am guessing that is a bit of a mis-conception.....it's more abut space and company!

I've just brought the cutest wooden house thing from p@h to go in there and a hay holder so I am starting to plan for her 'new' home.....

I love the idea of her roaming around and laying on my rug watching tv with me (once she's neutered!) so hopefully we will get to that stage in the end!
 
I think it sounds like a good idea :) I wouldn't get a baby gate, I would get a puppy pen and put it round the door like you a run with a hutch :) so when you go out she has the puppy pen and the cupboard and when you come home you can't pack away the pen as they fold up, so she can free range :D
 
vicky_26 said:
Thank you for your reply!

The more I think about it the more keen I am in the understairs cupboard idea.... And I think my eventual aim is to have them completely free to roam around the house so they would have plenty of room!

The puppy pen panels is a good idea in the interim for when I am not home to supervise I think making an area as part of my living room would mean I could socialise with her a lot more than if they were in the spare room also.

In the colder months I always bring them in for the winter so shouldn't be affected by the temperature change but thanks for mentioning that as I didn't know! I think I always thought that rabbits belonged outside and it was better for them to be outside but I am guessing that is a bit of a mis-conception.....it's more abut space and company!

I've just brought the cutest wooden house thing from p@h to go in there and a hay holder so I am starting to plan for her 'new' home.....

I love the idea of her roaming around and laying on my rug watching tv with me (once she's neutered!) so hopefully we will get to that stage in the end!
Click to expand...

The understairs cupboard does sound really good to be honest - it's often such a wasted space! A bunny house is a great use of it :D

You're right, inside or outside doesn't often matter - it's more about the space and company. Some bunnies prefer inside or outside but most will be happy anywhere as long as there's plenty of room to run about and a friend to snuggle up to!

I love planning accommodation :love: It's so fun! You'll have to keep us all updated - there's been someone before who used an understairs area for a bunny enclosure but I think only the one or two people! It'll be really great to see yours whilst you're doing it and when it's all up :D
 
That sounds great. My house bunny lives in the kitchen cupboard! We don't ever close the door (we can't because of the carpet we put down for him) but he doesn't come out into the kitchen as he doesn't like the lino floor! When we are at home we put his tunnel out for him to get from his cupboard into the lounge and then he free ranges between the two.

Here is where he stays during the day;



We pull his blanket further onto the kitchen floor during the day time to give him a bit more play space when we are not home.
 
Oh that's great..... A good few ideas there! i will be sure to take pics and keep you updated (if I can work out how to add pics....!). I've started clearing it out and I'll need to get my brother over to take the door off for me but hopefully in the next few weeks I can sort it all out..... I'm quite excited!

Whilst clearing out the cupboard I found a few wooden baskets and a big plastic container so may be able to utilise them as well.

And I am definitely loving the dog pen idea over the stair gate! Will def be looking at that

Thank you all..... Greatly appreciated xx
 
That is brilliant thank you..... It's mentioned about foam interlocking mats which I think is a fab idea so may look into that as a flooring option
 
vicky_26 said:
That is brilliant thank you..... It's mentioned about foam interlocking mats which I think is a fab idea so may look into that as a flooring option
Click to expand...

It depends how destructive your bunnies are. We came home from work one day and Strawberry had eaten a whole tile! We were on vet standby all night incase he got a blockage!
 
Yep, it sounds like it could be really good. That way they can hang about in an area where they'll get a lot of attention but you can safely confine them whilst they learn the ropes. Even once they are house trained it's handy to have somewhere to close them in on odd occasions eg if you're having lots of people around or are moving furniture.

I like the pen idea too, that way you can give them a bit of extra space but not access to anything edible. If they aren't house trained you could get a piece on lino you can unroll under the pen when you've got it set out.
 
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