feel like I'm not doing a good enough job

Tonight when I was in with the buns Cinna threw herself at the side of the run in an effort to get out, this has made me really worried that I'm not doing a good enough job as a bunny mum

Bunnies have a 6x2 hutch with an attached 8x6 run on our patio so they can see goings on and are safe from foxes and close to the house so I can check them easily.

I'm planning a multi-level bunny shed with slightly larger and more sheltered run and am contemplating a grass run for supervised exercise as I can't bunny proof my garden as its 180ft.

The bunnies have three litter trays which they can also dig in, three beds, five tunnels, two houses and at least three chew toys as well as a hay rack and ball, I change the toy configuration daily and swap toys in and out a couple of times a week. I also try to introduce new chew toys such as hay tunnels once a week.

They have two or three types of hay a day, two types of dried herbs, different types of grass, dandelions, clover, plantain and sometimes chick weed or hog weed in the ball and racks which are topped up three times a day as is the hay. They get two or three types of fruit and veg, these change a couple of times a week too for variety and I usually stuff these in loo rolls and at least two types of tree/twigs to chew on.

I spend a minimum of 45 minutes to two hours with them daily and interact with them as much or as little as they want. I'm generally used as a climbing frame.

They are feed three times a day during the week and five times at weekends. They get two egg cups of excel pellets between the three of them.

Is there anything else I could do to make my bunnies happier?

They sound like very lucky bunnies to me!

I really don't feel like am a very good bunny mum at allas Cinna is clearly miserable being confined. I know bunnies who dig out if they can but that's because tehy naturally like to dig though isn't it?

What makes you think that she's miserable? When you say she threw herself at the side of the run, what exactly do you mean and in what context did it happen? Does it happen regularly or was this a one-off? What's her eyesight like? Sorry for answering your post with more questions but hopefully it will help to work out what is going on, and hopefully that will help you to design the new enclosure with what the bunnies want in mind (it sounds like you already are!) what do they normally do when you go and sit in with them?

You sound like you work very hard for them and they have life very good. Maybe you just have a naughty diva bun

Her eyesight is great. It's only happened once, she was racing round at the time, then just sort of threw herself at the side of the run as I had the whole roof off which I don't normally do.
It was just after she'd been fed.
When I sit with them they get vegis, nose rubs, strokes, brushing and they get to sit and climb on me. If they hop away I don't persue contact, I let them come to me.

Cinna is the most inquisitive but likes human contact least, she is happy to investigate you and have nose rubs and be hand fed but not keen on extended stroking or brushing.

Santa said:

What makes you think that she's miserable? When you say she threw herself at the side of the run, what exactly do you mean and in what context did it happen? Does it happen regularly or was this a one-off? What's her eyesight like? Sorry for answering your post with more questions but hopefully it will help to work out what is going on, and hopefully that will help you to design the new enclosure with what the bunnies want in mind (it sounds like you already are!) what do they normally do when you go and sit in with them?

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tabithakat64 - i think I've seen lots of your bunnies here, on Facebook and on another forum and every time I'm blown away by how your love and enthusiasm for them shines through in your posts

There is no way you're not doing a good enough job, you're looking after them brilliantly, and they look so adorable and healthy and well care for in every photo

But I love that you're trying to continue find better and better ways to keep them happy and healthy and entertained so keep doing that

If it's any help, mine are currently loving playing with treat balls and also hay stuffed willow balls dangling from the top of their run

Also bunnies can be little monkeys at times - if it was just a one off, she may have just been being inquisitive or excited. Could there have been an external factor? Mine go crazy and run anywhere when they hear a loud noise from next door - or the one time i wore waterproof trousers to try not getting mud on my work clothes! Keep spending lots of time with them and try and see if anything else triggers the same response in her and it might help you figure out her behaviour

Good luck

She sounds like my Will. Mine have a similar set up just outside the kitchen window, however they also have a huge run on the lawn which they get transported to most days. This doesnt have a roof and Will is always trying to get out (and has twice). I dont think he's unhappy though, mine dont seem to "play" with their toys as such, but I see plenty of binkies and happy flops, especially when on the grass.

Your set up and the way you care for your rabbits sounds great, so maybe she was just wondering if "the grass is greener on the other side".