bunnies free range in gardens?

mokwa32 · Mar 31, 2014

Hello, soon Binx and Bluebelle will be going into the garden for the spring summer. They will have a 7 by 3 really big hutch and a plastic pipe around 4 foot to their run which I hope will be 8 by 4 and tall. But im still feeling a bit bad as the usually have the whole livingroom, by choice, they wont go into the kitchen. So I thought when im about the house and garden I could just let them free range the garden. Its quite secture, I have a huge fence all around, I always keep the main gate locked and I have another little fence and gate too. I do have loads of plants and flowers though, likely not allowed to be eaten by bunnies, this is my main concern. Im not willing to alter my plants, but im happy to plant a bunny buffet so they can leave the other stuff alone I hope. Does anyone let their bunnies run around all over? Anything I should consider? Does anyone have experience with bunnies being good and leaving bad plants alone? Thankyou

sparkyblue87 · Mar 31, 2014

mokwa32 said:
Hello, soon Binx and Bluebelle will be going into the garden for the spring summer. They will have a 7 by 3 really big hutch and a plastic pipe around 4 foot to their run which I hope will be 8 by 4 and tall. But im still feeling a bit bad as the usually have the whole livingroom, by choice, they wont go into the kitchen. So I thought when im about the house and garden I could just let them free range the garden. Its quite secture, I have a huge fence all around, I always keep the main gate locked and I have another little fence and gate too. I do have loads of plants and flowers though, likely not allowed to be eaten by bunnies, this is my main concern. Im not willing to alter my plants, but im happy to plant a bunny buffet so they can leave the other stuff alone I hope. Does anyone let their bunnies run around all over? Anything I should consider? Does anyone have experience with bunnies being good and leaving bad plants alone? Thankyou

We let ours free range in the garden. They love it!! Our main concern is making sure all little nooks and crannies are blocked so they cannot escape. They are obviously more prone to predators so you will need to keep on eye on them. This is great though as it gives you a chance to watch your buns enjoy themselves!!

yaretzi · Mar 31, 2014

Do you mean leaving them to run around all the time, without supervision? Bunnies should never be allowed to free range unsupervised, as the risk from predators is too high. Foxes are around at all times of the day and it wouldn't take long for him to grab one. Cats are also frequent visitors and although they may not be able/willing to kill a bunny (depending on the size of the bunny and the personality of the cat) they could seriously injure it. Even a scratch from a cat can be fatal. There's been plenty of people on the forum who've had free ranging bunnies taken by foxes, and quite a few who've had fatal cat scratches to their bunnies. Definitely not recommended at all.

Supervised free range time is fantastic though! My bunnies love it

mokwa32 · Mar 31, 2014

sparkyblue87 said:
We let ours free range in the garden. They love it!! Our main concern is making sure all little nooks and crannies are blocked so they cannot escape. They are obviously more prone to predators so you will need to keep on eye on them. This is great though as it gives you a chance to watch your buns enjoy themselves!!

Cool... so do you put them in their hutch thing at night? Don't you worry at all about plants? The nooks proofing is a great idea, I need to do this too. Thankyou

mokwa32 · Mar 31, 2014

yaretzi said:
Do you mean leaving them to run around all the time, without supervision? Bunnies should never be allowed to free range unsupervised, as the risk from predators is too high. Foxes are around at all times of the day and it wouldn't take long for him to grab one. Cats are also frequent visitors and although they may not be able/willing to kill a bunny (depending on the size of the bunny and the personality of the cat) they could seriously injure it. Even a scratch from a cat can be fatal. There's been plenty of people on the forum who've had free ranging bunnies taken by foxes, and quite a few who've had fatal cat scratches to their bunnies. Definitely not recommended at all.

Supervised free range time is fantastic though! My bunnies love it

No im sure I said when I am around letting them out of their run and hutch system

I thought I said that. We dont have foxes and we dont get cats as my dogs would get them. My garden is safe and enclosed in a six foot fence on concrete all arround so no possibility of digging out anywhere. Plus I have a locked main gate and a second gate to the grassy garden

yaretzi · Mar 31, 2014

mokwa32 said:
No im sure I said when I am around letting them out of their run and hutch system I thought I said that. We dont have foxes and we dont get cats as my dogs would get them. My garden is safe and enclosed in a six foot fence on concrete all arround so no possibility of digging out anywhere. Plus I have a locked main gate and a second gate to the grassy garden

Ah yes, so you did. I missed that! I would definitely still not let them out for free range time unless I was able to supervise all the time. I sometimes let N&T out for a run around and then wash up a few bits while watching out the kitchen window, but I'd definitely want to still be going in and out of the garden a lot or in the garden a lot of the time to deter foxes/cats. They can be very sneaky and get in very fast. And foxes can scale 6ft fences too

Foxes are everywhere unfortunately, so you can't count on the fact that you don't think you have them. My stepdad has lived in this house nearly 40 years and had never seen one until a few months ago.

mokwa32 · Mar 31, 2014

yaretzi said:
Ah yes, so you did. I missed that! I would definitely still not let them out for free range time unless I was able to supervise all the time. I sometimes let N&T out for a run around and then wash up a few bits while watching out the kitchen window, but I'd definitely want to still be going in and out of the garden a lot or in the garden a lot of the time to deter foxes/cats. They can be very sneaky and get in very fast. And foxes can scale 6ft fences too

Foxes are everywhere unfortunately, so you can't count on the fact that you don't think you have them. My stepdad has lived in this house nearly 40 years and had never seen one until a few months ago.

Yes I guess they are everywhere really. My senario would be during the day when me and the kids and dogs are lounging or working in the garden, and im maybe pottering in the kitchen. Im at home most of the time as I dont work, my hubby does, im lucky to raise my wee ones full time and don't need to work. If I was to say nip to the shop, all the pets would be secured back in the run or house. I envisaged family days chilling in the summer with the bunnies having some extra space to play for a few hours. Im always on permanent watch of everything.

bunnies free range in gardens?

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