• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

A thought... not meant to be provocative but maybe it is....

Hesperus

Warren Veteran
I've just been reading a different rabbit thread on a different website, someone said if you saw two rabbits grooming you'd never keep a single rabbit. (Not the topic this thread is about though pleae- there have been plenty of those).

That got me thinking about my own position on rabbit keeping and I've realised I personally believe that if you saw a free-range rabbit environment you'd never keep a rabbit in a hutch/run or shed. I know that these often well exceed the minimums recommended by the RSCPA etc but when I see Ludo pelting around our house, which is very large, up and down the stairs, round and round the hall, doing binkies all the way, I start to wonder if it's unkind to keep rabbits in any enclosed space.

Now, I don't mean this to be controversial at all, because I also believe that there is no single model of what's best, you have to adapt situations for individual buns and environments, (like how I am sure Ludo's health is only now controlled because he is single). But the fact that what I believe (rabbits should run free for at least most of the time) is clearly contrasting with expert advice, and it got me thinking.

But I was wondering what other people think? I'd like to hear from you all, whether you have a hutch/run or a freerange environment.:wave:
 
Sometimes I think this, and actually bought it up with the OH yesterday.

OH said that Neo could have been subject to abuse or had a life 100x less amazing that he does now...

Of course they're not in their 'natural' habitat, but then no animal kept as a pet actually is!

Even ants are living between concrete rather than just grass as they would have hundreds of years ago... everything changes I guess and to be honest with you, our buns on here are soooo lucky!!!

Oh, ETA, Neo has 4ftx4ft 24/7 space which he zooms around in, up and down his tube.

When we're in, he's either in his 15ft x 6ft space and if we're in the front room he has the whole run of this which is over 20ft long by 15ft wide.

He did used to have the whole house, but he'd eat the carpet and go behind the oven etc... :lol:
 
Having a free-range pair I can definitely see what you mean. To be fair, our two are currently confined to the spare room and landing (and our bedroom but they choose not to come in here! :lol:), I actually can't wait to have our own place so they can have pretty much the whole house if they wanted :love: I just couldn't ever imagine keeping them confined to a pen/hutch, and the thought of keeping them outside horrifies me! :shock:

I obviously know that sometimes it can't be avoided and if we were ever in the situation where they had to be confined, I'd be trying to fix as many puppy pens together as possible! :lol:
 
Mine were free range but were constantly ill when they were. I hate it, but they're penned with free range time now.
They're both stasis prone anyway, but they were constantly eating the floor/walls. I couldn't have made the room any safer than it was.
 
My permanent free range trio are the laziest rabbits we have got. They do nothing but sleep. But those kept in enclosures and then let out for free range time run about like crazy!
 
You are always thinking the same as I am about Doughnut. Should she have a companion. I spoke to my specialist and he said no as she is friendly and since being ill he thinks she may well be dominated. I also read in a book which was in Pets At Home about rabbits that they need a companion but if they have been on their own for a while, it may be better to leave them on their own, which was interesting.

Anyway regarding free ranging I said to my specialist I believed that Doughnut had been well for the longest period (9 months) partly because I now let her free range all the time instead of putting her in her hutch/run at night. He agreed as she can run around at night when she's active and strengthen her stomach muscles and help the digestion. There isn't anything that she can have to make her ill so I feel every bunny should free range wherever possible. I'm sure most people give as much space to their rabbits as possible on this forum as we know how important it is.
 
I think you are right, Hesperus. My rabbits have to be space-limited now, and that isn't great. Actually, I don't think rabbits should be bred for, or kept in, captivity or a domestic environment.
 
My permanent free range trio are the laziest rabbits we have got. They do nothing but sleep. But those kept in enclosures and then let out for free range time run about like crazy!

Ha! same here. We have two pairs of total free range indoors - and one pair hardly move out of their hay tray!
 
Alfrid is penned (dog crate and puppy pen) with free range time. To be honest, he is so lazy I don't think him being free range would make much difference! I have tried before leaving his pen door open during the day but he literally just snoozes until around 10pm and then he goes a bit crazy, but he free ranges that time anyway. I can't accommodate him as a free range bunny because we have cats, however he seems perfectly happy. He's never chewing at the bars or wanting to be let out - well, only when it's his mad time but I let him out for a couple of hours then anyway. So in answer, Alfrid himself seems really happy as he is (both single and penned) and I don't think free ranging would make that much difference!
 
Bunnies should run free.. at all times. What to do. We keep them safe, the same way we keep ourselves and our children safe x
I'd live outside with my buns if I could..i don't like houses x
 
It is difficult as not everyone's situation is the same. However, having had free range rabbits - ranging from a couple of rooms to a whole house I would never use a hutch now. I would rather not have than put them in a hutch. That said, mine have been found perfectly happy squeezed in the smallest of spaces - I guess its knowing that at any point they have had the opportunity to move around freely. Also like Miss Sherwood said - the thought of Blossom being kept outside petrifies me - I would never settle. :roll: :)
 
out door buns

I have two outside totally free range bunny brothers big boys 5.5 Kgs. They have a garage and most of my garden 24/7. They don't have a hutch but a huge pile of straw and hay in the garage to sleep on, but they prefer to spend the night outside sitting on a wooden garden chair. They don't seem to feel the cold but we are in Cornwall so it's milder than other parts. I was worried about foxes but I also have 4 dogs and it would be a very foolish fox to enter the garden! The buns are very happy and my vet says very healthy and fit due to all the exercise. They walk into the house or conservatory when the doors are open looking for the biscuit tin!! I think that this is the best way to keep rabbits and more natural than being indoors all the time
 
I agree. I look at it the same as with cats and dogs. You might confine them but not for extended periods of time. My buns are caged but get a lot of free range time throughout most of the house and they even go back to their cages by themselves to sleep or hang out. So as much as I'd like them to be completely free range, this works well for us and I don't think they'd actually be happier if they were never confined. I do think you have to do what works for you and your individual buns, not all situations are the same.

I've had hutch/run buns before but if I have outdoor buns again in the nearish future I reckon they'll be in an aviary. A hutch/run would be used as a last resort, I'm just not a fan of them, mainly because I like being able to walk in and hang out with the bunnies.
 
Threads like these just makes me feel depressed and guilty- because I do plan on having Amy a full time free range bun and a husbun someday, but only when I have my own place- it would be simply impossible to have her free range when I still live with my parents (partly because of the huge cost of bunny proofing, and that we run a B&B so there are the guests to consider), and I don't have enough space for another rabbit. Then I think I was probably being really selfish when I got her, knowing that I should do better by her. She's a crated inside rabbit with supervised play time in my room during the day, coming through to the living room for cuddles in the evening.

But I will say that she is incredibly lazy despite not having full range; she spent all last night loafing next to me, and most of tonight. It was adorable.
 
I will admit that our buns have less space in our new home. There is not much I can do about that other then re homing some of them. .and that is not an option.
They do however have loads of time out....I have arranged so I work from home alot more now etc.
I don't thing my buns suffer from a smaller space..They can still hop around freely and there are loads of toys etc to play with. And considering the conditions some of them came from..anything is better.
Also I have noticed that during free range, they go back to there enclosures on their own accord and I never have to chase them back (anything part from Prudhoe but he just binkies around a bit laughing at me before flying back into his and Bugs pen).
In an ideal world they would have much more space but we give them everything we can and I think they have a good life.
 
i agree partially! my bunnies have a shed and aviary totalling 8x12 and i think thats ok for them, for now. i'd like to give them more space in the future but they run around and binky and i think they're happy. i personally don't agree with hutches though, i think even a 6 foot hutch is too small and seems like a cage to me. minimum standards have to start somewhere and i think thats what that is - an absolute bare minimum that really isn't enough. i'm totally 100% against any hutch without a run attached for sure!
 
I think for me, the idea of keeping Milo and Finn in their big enclosure, which is prety darn spacious anyway, is a safety thing! We have too many gadgets and wires and things that wouldn't be made safe by cable protectors, theres just too many, as well as the gaps there are my two could get in in the living room!

They are much safer where they are, they seem to love it in there anyway, I often leave the kitchen door wide open when I am at home and they won't come past it! As you say I think its a matter of the rabbit/s in questions way of being...

Although I would always personally try and get them a partner, for me its about having another rabbit there who understands their actions, body language and communication in exactly the same way as they do. But again its a matter of personal opinion.
 
We have large set ups with rotated free range times, with everyone getting between 4 and 10 hours free range per day. They all have very set routines that don't change when free range times are swapped round eg when we're out in the afternoon so the naughty bunnies go out in the morning instead. When that happens they occasionally sleep outside but generally go back to their favourite bed and either way the behavior doesn't change. If let out at morning bunny 500 time they might extend it to outside, but actually seem to prefer zooming and round the bottom floor tray and up and down the shelves. So I actually think the guidelines have got it right calling for space to stand up, stretch out and run round - and that there are as many ways to achieve that as there are good homes. I also think that a good owner can tell (or learn to tell) when a bunny isn't happy and play with their layout until they are.

This topic also got me thinking about wild rabbits and what is natural anyway. I've been lucky enough to watch wild rabbits closely and in the same location over several years and they don't utilise space in the way that I've read wolves or big cats do. They stay close to home (unless forced out by social pressure or limited resources) and stick to strict routines. I used to meet a particular distinctive rabbit (they had a white patch on their forehead) at the same time in the same place every day as I was coming home from school and they were crossing the path. When it was time for playing they would chase and binky but always staying close to their holes. So I think having a routine of sleeping inside and bombing round at a predictable time is pretty natural really... if we're assuming that domesticated animals are very close to their wild routes which is a whole other debate and I think varies animal to animal and species to species.
 
Last edited:
For me, it's free range vs safety from predators etc. Dandy and Beano have the biggest space I can manage to enclose to make it predator proof economically. They have 6ftx4ft shed and a 17ftx10ft aviary style run. They seem very happy in that, if I let them free range I don't think I would get them back :lol: (they are very lively, manic bunnies, very rabbity rabbits and not interested in humans unless you have food :lol:)

Boots is indoor, he is free range in his own room including stairs and landing, that is the biggest space I could give him that is rabbit proofed. He does free range when ever we are around, but we have to leave his door open as he often wants to 'go home'. He is a much calmer rabbit, loves human company and home comforts. He loves cushions and blankets, they are for sleeping or flopping on as far as he is concerned, whereas to Dandy and Beano they are something that needs to be weed and pooed on as much as possible :shock: he is very human orientated and always has been since we adopted him. He was planned to be an outdoor bunny with a friend once one came into the rescue that was suitable, but in the first few days it became apparent that he loved being indoors, and we decided it would be best for him to be an indoor bunny. He is very happy and gets lots of attention. His eyesight and hearing is not too good, he seems to be possessive, (everything has to be chinned if he's not been in the room for a while, and if the cat has chinned it he has to re chin it :lol:) so therefore we kind of came to the conclusion that he was fine on his own, as one of us. If I ever thought he was lonely or unhappy then I would look for a rabbit friend for him though.
 
We would love to have our two free range but goodness does Gary cause trouble when he's loose unsupervised. He got out of his enclosure once, panicked, then chewed through carpet, cables, wallpaper, trying to get back in. So now we have a large area with room to run around all day. Plus they have run time around our open plan lounge/dining room when they can really get some speed. Of course in the summer they also get lots of garden time, which they love.

For our two it's the best of both worlds. The buns are safe without being cramped when they are enclosed, but they also get the freedom of being let loose on the house every night.

This is our setup for the buns. They seem to be very happy in it. They have plenty of room to run and binky, which they do :)
You can see in the picture but there's also a window there so lots of natural light. One day we'd like to give them more space, but at the moment this is our best bet since they are house rabbits, we need a bigger house! :lol:

after-3.jpg

(p.s. there are more toys + hay in there, this pic was taken literally 5 minutes after it was set up)
 
Back
Top