Going from penned to freedom!

I have two house bunnies, 1 male and 1 female, both are just over 2yrs old. They are fully bonded and are spayed/neutered.

At the moment they live in a big run which is in the living room. Ideally I'd like to give them the run of the whole place.

I live in a rented maisonette so they would have access to the stairs etc.

My questions are:

Would they be safe on the stairs or would they try to kamikaze off the gaps in the banisters?

How do I minimise any damage they might cause?
I mean carpet chewing, door frames, skirting boards etc. I'm happy enough with knowing how to cover wires but it's the rest of it that concerns me

Also, how would I go about changing from penned to free range? Do I just let them have the run of the place immediately or should I do it gradually?

They are litter trained but sometimes they'll move their trays and pee underneath on the carpet. How do I stop this?

Sorry, big post, lots of questions but I want to make sure I get it right, lol

Answers in bold!

Talael said:

I have two house bunnies, 1 male and 1 female, both are just over 2yrs old. They are fully bonded and are spayed/neutered.

At the moment they live in a big run which is in the living room. Ideally I'd like to give them the run of the whole place.

I live in a rented maisonette so they would have access to the stairs etc.

My questions are:

Would they be safe on the stairs or would they try to kamikaze off the gaps in the banisters? Should be, but if you are concerned, mesh the gaps

How do I minimise any damage they might cause?
I mean carpet chewing, door frames, skirting boards etc. I'm happy enough with knowing how to cover wires but it's the rest of it that concerns me You could try and use NIC cubes to protect skirting boards, but remember, rabbits are determined little *******...

Also, how would I go about changing from penned to free range? Do I just let them have the run of the place immediately or should I do it gradually?

They are litter trained but sometimes they'll move their trays and pee underneath on the carpet. How do I stop this? You don't. They are rabbits, they like to dig and move stuff around

Sorry, big post, lots of questions but I want to make sure I get it right, lol

Click to expand...

Thank u for responding

Any advice on whether I should manage the change slowly or just let them run wild around the whole flat?

Anyone have any other advice please?

I had a great deal of success letting mine out slowly. We would do supervised visits out into their room first. Anything they tried to destroy got a firm no and gentle encouragement to get them away (with tasty treats or toys). If they kept going back to the same thing I didn't want them to do it got taken away or covered or protected. I could not get Meg to stop scratching the carpet in one corner for example so it got covered with a scratch matt. Then when they got to the point where we were just sitting gooffing off and not mummy keeping an eye, they got let on their own for the evening. Then the day while I wasn't here. Then we moved on to the next space.

I don't know what you're 'supposed' to do but that worked for us

As far as them peeing under the litter tray, carpet squares are useful. They're still carpet, so my buns don't understand that they're a different thing and don't try to get under them so much, but when they move the tray they mostly just end up peeing on a square I can remove/wash/replace and not ruining the carpet or the floorboards.

Yes, I'd start slow, partly for their benefit and partly because it gives you the chance to find the spots that you haven't bunny proofed Start with letting them out for a a little bit of time each day - half an hour might be a good start. If you time if for before dinner, you can encourage them to go back in at food time rather than attempting to catch them

Stairs are fine, but they do like some grip eg carpet.