• 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.

Rabbit boredom?

ImoT

Mama Doe
Hiya everyone. I haven't posted on here about Winston and Edith for a while, but I could do with some advice. I think they are getting bored. They have the run of the kitchen and in there they've got a large hooded litter tray, 2 hay feeders, a tunnel and upturned hide from Manor Pet Housing that is full of carefresh for digging, and they've got a little cardboard tube for chucking around and some plastic stacking pots that they like to chuck as well.

On Tuesday I came home from work to this mess;

7nrrz1zl.jpg


They have done a similar thing each day this week. It's been the first time they've been left on their own during the day for over a month. I was signed off work for a couple of weeks so was around all day, then we were in Australia for a couple of weeks and had house sitters in who were around most of the time.

So I feel like they might be bored?!

What toys and things do people have for their rabbits? I used to have a jingly ball for them but they never played with it. I have a treat dispenser which they can roll around to get treats from but it's not really safe for use when no one is supervising. I'm tempted to replace their Manor Pet Housing tunnel and hide with a digging box, as Edith especially seems to like digging, but i'm worried they might start using it as a litter tray and then they wouldn't have a tunnel which they do quite like sitting in.
 
Haha I love that phrase ''rabbit adapted habitat''. They never used to adapt it quite so much, which is why i'm concerned they are bored.
 
Boots makes at least that amount of mess every day :lol: the hay on the floor is not edible, until I start sweeping it up, at which point it becomes edible :roll:
 
the hay on the floor is not edible, until I start sweeping it up, at which point it becomes edible :roll:

Haha yes! My bunnies also know this trick!

If you're concerned that they're bored maybe try taking some things out and swapping them around. Mine lose interest in things they used to love if they stay in the same place for weeks on end.
 
Boots makes at least that amount of mess every day :lol: the hay on the floor is not edible, until I start sweeping it up, at which point it becomes edible :roll:

Haha yes!! I thought it was only mine that were like that.

KatyS, the thing is it's quite hard to configure the kitchen differently. All their stuff kind of fits where it is. I could potentially buy them a digging box, swap the hide out but still keep the hide and swap them occasionally.

Does anyone have any toys that your rabbits love? Like mine love chucking their plastic pots around, I would love more stuff like that.
 
Boots likes his treat ball, a ball with a bell inside it, willow toys to chew. He loves to jump up and down on different things in his room. He hates it if I move things around but his eyesight isn't brilliant so that's probably why.
 
I would keep the hide - rabbits need somewhere to run to if startled. I would look at rotating toys instead, a treatball would be good for dry food instead of a bowl and then a different puzzle or thing to investigate each day. A small box stuffed with hay and a treat (if they are going to make a mess might as well have fun), paper scrunched up into balls (a few with a treat inside), a flower pot or plastic beaker to nudge/roll/toss. Maybe something hanging e.g. thread some veggies on a string. Just rotate so they have to work something out every day.
 
I swap cardboard boxes all the time. I also put in every empty loo roll tube as they love trashing them. The much thicker cling film tube has them confused - it can't be so easily destroyed! This is tidy compared to my two - their room is like some sort of bunny apocalypse every morning
 
Mine are outside buns, but that mess looks pretty normal to me :)

They love treat balls, cardboard tubes filled with hay / veg, tunnels, also a table / stool for rabbits that they like to sit on.

Recently I made a treat toy for them out of an old cardboard box, I filled it with hay and made holes around the sides to push some greens through x
 
The hide is currently upturned because otherwise they dig the floor underneath it. They do have their tunnel to run and hide in though :)

I could hang some veggies on a string and tie the string to the foot rests of the chairs in the kitchen, I might also get some of the woodlands hanging chew toys to attach to there too. I like the scrunched up paper idea too but a bit worried they might eat the actual paper?!

I have tried filling boxes with hay and hiding treats in there but they lose interest very quickly if they can't figure it out! I'll have to make it easier!
 
You could try finding a storage box the right size to fit under the hide and then turn it into a dig box with a hide on top (helps contain the mess too ;) ).
 
Hi Imo,

Similar to you, I am constantly trying to bring in new toys too. As I currently just have Bailey. A few things we have is;

- Cardboard castle - he absolutely loves this
- large willow ball from the hay experts - honestly this brings hours of fun for him. He loves chewing it & taking every layer of willow off and although he shreds it, doesn't make too much mess
- plastic skittles, luckily by all my bunnies I have had, these have never been chewed but absolutly love knocking them over and digging at them to move them across the floor.
- pack of trio sea grass and other little balls - again Bailey doesn't really chew them but loves Digging at them and making them fly across the other side of the room
- he has two tubes, one larger to run through and another smaller one which he pushes round the floor

And the one he loves the most which takes me ages... Similar to the veg on a string, I actually pick long blades of grass & tie them together adding in dandelion flowers. Or have them hanging off things & can honestly say, he will spend ages running round & sniffing it out before seeing it! Lol! :lol:

Xxxx
 
Sticks, especially really long ones: they're the BEST thing to chew, pick up and throw, poke the other rabbit with, run around like a dog with, fall over, stab bunself with...! At least as far as mine are concerned! And yes, we still get mess like this except when they're out on the grass all day :D
 
Well I'm going to try and find a thick piece of cardboard to put under the hide. Then they can have it the right way up and dig at the cardboard.

I filled an old weetabix box with hay, some pellets and forage and they loved that yesterday. I've done that for today and also filled a kitchen roll tube with some broccoli and kale.

I've emailed the lady who sells apple and pear sticks for honey bunnies rescue so I will hopefully have some sticks for them soon :)

I think I should try and get more willow and sea grass balls. They don't like the shop bought willow sticks, but the balls are easier to chew and I think they would like them! I know Winston does at least.
 
Back
Top