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House Bunny Advice

jredk04

Warren Scout
Hi everyone, as you may be aware from 'introductions' I haven't got a bunny... yet. (Have a hubby to convince first!) But in the meantime, i hope you don't mind me asking for some advice.

I'm currently researching what it takes to provide a good home for a house bun. One thing i can't really establish so far is how long do house rabbits spend in their 'cage' and how much time do they spend roaming free? Do you constantly supervise their activity or do they get the same freedom that you give a cat.

I'm wanting a resuce bunny and I've read that litter training is best done with a rabbit over 12 months. So i know what age i'm looking for but can anyone advise what else i should be considering, breed? sex? temperament? :?:

many thanks
juliex
 
Hi Julie,


I think that it's a personal choice as to where and how long your bunny has free range of the house, and what suits you best.
Peter lives in my kitchen he has a large cage with a couple of different levels and has free range of my kitchen at all times(bedtime I normally shut him in for the night). I only let him out in the lounge when I am in as he would wreck my furniture if I let him. Every rabbit is different.
I don't really know alot about the different breeds (Peter is a dwarf lop) and my first rabbit so sorry I can't advise on that.

Tracey
 
Hi Julie, there's some info on my website about your first houserabbit and a link to the RWA site too, have a look. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have as a result. :D
 
Hi Julie,

As Tracey has said, I think a lot depends on the bunny. Our first house rabbit (a lop) had free roam of the entire house, and was never any problem.

Our next one was a chewer, and subsequently destroyed the skirting board, the back of the sofa, many many wires (which are now bunny proofed), and also enjoyed ripping the wallpaper off!! :shock:

However, before I put you off totally, I suspect a lot of this was down to boredom, as he has not done any of this since we got him some friends. Unfortunately the new ones are rather more messy in their litter habits so they are now all confined to the kitchen and garden. Before the new ones, our house rabbits had no cage at all, and just slept on a blanket or in a cardboard box (covered in another thread somewhere in this section).

So I think it is down to the bun's personality, and how much mess you are prepared to put up with. Giving them free roam is great in some ways as they would often keep us company on the sofa, or even on the bed at night (although being woken up at 3am by a rabbit trying to dig through your back does not help with bonding, so we used to eject them from the bedroom once we were going to sleep).

Hope I haven't put you off! :D
 
:wave: Hi there and welcome

Hide all cords!! They seem to love chewing them, be it your phone, computer or power cords!!

Shadow and Bugzee have their house in the lounge. They have free run when I`m here. Night time is in their house time along when I`m out.

They have babies rattles to play with along with a foodball which I can change the size of the whole pending on what I have in it. This fun to watch as they roll it around the room:) I have a box with a grass mat in for them to dig in along with another box with paper in it.

Buns are all different. I got a baby bun and she toilet trained herself within a few weeks!!

bronie
 
Hi again,


I felt I needed to post again as I feel really guilty that I didn't mention Ebony who was peters girlfriend she was my second rabbit and definately started any of the chewing games of my furniture (the curtains were her favourite). I also have an outdoor run and hutch that my husband made, that Peter goes out during the day.
I must say Peter is alot better behaved when in he lounge with me at the moment. I say at the moment because he's still quiet after Ebony's passing away.

Saying all of that I certainly wouldn't change the holes in my curtains for anything when you see two rabbits snuggled up together it's all worth while.
 
Hi Julie, I don't think we mind you asking at all. Its better you know before you get bunny and then think oh no this really isn't what I expected thats what happened to me but hey I perservered and here I am 6 almost 7 years on :lol:
To answer your questions, it mostly depends on you and your bunny. What kind of bunny etc again depends on you. I know thats not helpful :) but each bunny is different, no 2 of the same breed are alike. Some bunnies are laid back, some are highly strungly and have to be forever active and some adore attention. Best thing to do is find a good rescue near you, by good I mean one who will listen to you about what your lifestyle and you are like and then match which bunny is best for you and your lifestyle. Having a highly active bunny on its own when you work 10 hours a day and have to keep it caged for those 10 hours isn't going to be good. As for keeping bunny caged, well yes its always best to be safe, knowing bunny is securely shut away in its cage where it can't dig up carpet and eat it (possible tummy blockage) or perhaps finding a stray cable (risk of being electrocuted) or ripping off your wallpaper (risk of being one very unloved bunny :lol: ) its always better to be safe than sorry. Give bunny lots of toys and it won't get bored, if you have to regularly leave bunny on its own day after day for 8 hours a day then 2 bunnies will be alot happier than 1.
Bunnies are very different from cats, bunnies are very mischeivous and will get into all sorts of trouble. If you leave a box with a few bits of paper from work on the floor with a cat, chances are worst case cat will sleep on it, bunny.... well it will shred the paper and then the box :lol: unless you have one of those myth bunnies who are perfectly well behaved :lol:
Any other questions, please ask away!
Angela
 
cheers all

Hi there

Thanks for so many replies.

re: roaming round the house.... Yes, i think you are right, it'll be a personal choice at the end of the day. I'm hoping he/she can be out lots and have lots of fun with us.

I'm torn at the moment where the best place for his house to be... i've a room upstairs which is a nice size. it is currently a 'toy room' so is quite spacious and would house a nice 'cage' - but as you'd expect we are not always upstairs so i'd like the bun to accompany us downstairs and enjoy the freedom of the livingroom and kitchen. Now, does anyone else have a similar situation? what i mean is... having the bunny's bed if you like upstairs and another 'cage' downstairs where he/she can go if they want to 'poo'/hide/some quiet time.

Putting his main home in the living room is not up for debate at the moment as i can't see hubby being that keen.

I appreciate anyone's comments/experience on this one.

Thanks Lynda for your website address. i've visited before but will go through it again and post any questions i may have which will probably be a bit more specific to my situation. cheers. (PS I've a huge heart for your buns up for adoption.. but may need to settle with a bun closer to home (huddersfield!).

Mess? well, we have quite a tidy house - well, considering i've a 14month old boy we have. i'm used to toys and food splattered about but i'm quite good at keeping on top of it. So overall i'm not fazed. I've even kept back some great rattles/toys for my new bun to keep him/her busy!

Cords? I've spoken with the bunny sactuary and she's got some great metal covers that fit over the wires, different thicknesses. so fingers crossed i can get that sorted easily.

Bonie - i'm impressed that you toilet trained a baby. excellent! has anyone else had this experience as i thought i may be restricting myself with opting for an older bunny.

Poor peter, sorry to hear about Ebony. Looks like he's enjoying the cuddles though.

Thumps - thanks. I'm really wanting to know as much as possible before getting a bun. i want this to be the right decision and am trying to imagine what it is like to have one in my house - which is of course v difficult and i imagine v different from what it will actually be like. All i can do for now is gather info, ask questions and not rush into anything.....
Thanks for the tip on the rescue front. i spoke with a rescue lady a week or so ago and she described a lovely bunny to me, her personality etc. as she's had the bun for a while and she thinks she'll be a good match.... may need to give her another ring! I'm just hesitating at the moment as i've to get blokey to fall for her as well! Oh i'm in catch 22 at the moment.

well, thanks all for your advice. will let you know how things go on.

juliex
 
On the toilet training its more about being neutered than just age (I think). A baby rabbit will often be litter trainned and then the hormones kick in and and that goes out the window because of territorial marking. After neutering the training usually comes back again.

If you want a pre-litter trainned one then look for a neutered rabbit that is using one corner of its hutch/run as a toilet and hasn't scattered poop randomly. Some rescues will provide their buns with litter trays anyway and they may even have a bunny that has previously lived as a house rabbit. Bare in mind that rabbits are new in or near other rabbits may scatter poop when they wouldn't once settled into their own home.

Tam
 
right
i'm getting the picture now. so i'm looking for a rescue bunny, neutered/spayed, 12months+ and a bit of history from his carer.
and to expect a bit of poop!
cheers
juliex
 
Hi,
we got roo last october as a baby and although the OH wasn't keen i managed to persuade him that the large cage in the living room was fine.
must admit i do have a 27ft living room so there is plenty of room. Roo he has the run of downstairs and has cage for nighttime and when we go out, but the rest of the time he has free run. Litter tray training was fun he has one littler tray in his cage which he just wee's in and one just of the kitchen that he uses to poop and wee in, we put the litter tray down in the corner when he first came home and he use it straight away to wee in, pooping was something else until we could get him neutered i followed him around with the dustpan and brush. Since he was neutered no problem uses the litter tray all the time, though sometimes i do find the occasional current or should i say the dog does :D Must admit he is a chewer, wallpaper, skirting boards and living room curtains now have a rabbit tooth design. but he is so much fun and a great boy who we all love dearly.
 
LOL sounds about right.

Branwen has free roam of downstairs, but she is too lazy to move around much. She sometimes visits upstairs too.
We always supervise her, after a fashion. She can be trusted not to destroy anything.

We found litter training her quite easy, she was about 8 months old then (and not spayed at the time). Might just have been lucky though.

Good luck :)
 
Hi Julie

i'm getting the picture now. so i'm looking for a rescue bunny, neutered/spayed, 12months+ and a bit of history from his carer.
and to expect a bit of poop

I reckon that would be an excellent choice. When I first got Rob I decided he would be in the house all the time we weren't working. Until he was neutered he was a cheeky, leg humping, chewing, grunting holy terror, who thought the litter tray was a plastic toy :? . Now he is very well house trained. :)

Rob isn't ever caged in the house - no need - he does have his own bedroom upstairs, which is entirely bunny proofed, and we close this room door at night to keep him in there (Rob is rather large, and it is rather scary when he lands on top of you at 3 in the morning :lol: ). He usually chooses to sit in his room most of the time - I put his food there, his toys, hay etc. However, he can run freely around the house, and does so a lot. He is very good at using the litter trays in his room (we have 5 - the more the better :wink: ) - there's always the small accident, but hey that's buns for you. When we sit with Rob in other rooms, we just take a litter tray with us.

It's a general misconception I get often when people hear you have a house rabbit - they think your house is filthy and covered with rabbit poo. I am freaky about cleaning :oops: , always have been, and people are so surprised I have a house bun. I love the shocked look on people's faces when they come to the door and are greeted with The Robster coming flying down the stairs :wink:

I think I have some photos of Rob's room if you want to see any :)
 
So how do you get wee out of the carpet (if it happens?) is it as bad as cat wee? (of which theere seems to be stinkyer wee type and not too bad type of course he only does stinker types when its out of the litter tray)
 
When Rob does have an accident, it is usually quite a small wee - almost like the little tyke knows he shouldn't be doing it there :lol: I have tried loads of different 'pet stain' removers, but found they never work - the best thing I have found to take it out is Vinegar, diluted in a little water - seems to remove the urine colour, and then I use an odour remover, for any smell. Works on my carpets if you get it quickly - now I don't want others trying it, and coming back to say it removed the colour from their carpets :roll: :wink:.

Thankfully he has never had an accident in the living room, only upstairs, and usually in specific areas (the marks of which are now covered as much as poss by items of furniture / plants etc) :wink:
 
your lucky he does small amounts, I am not sure where mine gets all the liquid from he hardly drinks a thing.

PAs you said, putting things where they like to wee works quite well.
 
I think biological washing powder mixed with hot water will also remove the odour. Alot of people have used that to remove the odour of dog wee while toilet training a little monster puppy. It has worked on floor boards for me.
Lynn I want to see piccies of Robs room, please?
Julie you could always let the bunster have the toy room for when you are out and he/she needs kept out of trouble. Then when you are home let him/her run about and have a dog crate for a bed/toilet area? Theres someone on Ebay who does doggie crates for cheap. You can even modift dog crates so they have ledges/shelves to jump about on. Yup think your on the right track with what your looking for :lol: Youngsters can be trained from 8 weeks quite easily but at about 5-6 months they have a tendancy to forget what they tray is for, I have one major little monster who thinks its for digging in :shock: nope not quite what I had in mind for it! Neutering will help, so I am told, yet to see it for myself :lol:
Angela
 
Thumps said:
Lynn I want to see piccies of Robs room, please?

Hi Angela

Ok, heres the Robsters room. They're not that exciting as Robbie did not partake in these photos - he was outside enjoying the sun !! :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v387/ljmrb/Rob Garden/Robroom004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v387/ljmrb/Rob Garden/Robroom001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v387/ljmrb/Rob Garden/Robroom005.jpg

He has a big tube, which attaches to one of the tents, but it goes outside with him during the day as he just luurrrrves it :wink:
 
Rob sounds fantastic! Your efforts have really paid off. No cage! wow. I'm impressed with the no of litter trays you use as i was worried that it may be confusing to a bun to have more than one. and i can't believe that the boy has his own bedroom - how lucky! Photos are fantastic – the tunnels & tents are a great idea – I can see a new trend starting.
Thanks for the reassurance as well - my house is fairly clean, tidy and minimalist (well, sort of :wink: ) and i know hubby is v keen to keep it this way; hence the resistance.

Cat wee! yeuk. i've two cats and plenty of experience - in the end, we decide to get rid of the carpet and opt for laminate. so much easier to clean and all their fur just gets brush up. hope the laminate will make it easier to manage the odd mislaid poo! However, i do have carpet upstairs so i'm wondering is the vinegar the white variety and where to you purchase it? top tip using the washing powder.

My thoughts exactly on the toy room - he could have his own room eventually - just like rob! ha, i can't even imagine that far ahead. I'm thinking at the moment that this will be his room although i'll have one of those dog crates for his bed/toilet area to get started. Thanks for the tip on ebay, i've had a look and they are way cheaper than the typical pet shop.
 
jredk04 said:
However, i do have carpet upstairs so i'm wondering is the vinegar the white variety and where to you purchase it? top tip using the washing powder.

Yup, just the standard white vinegar - I just pick up a big bottle in Tescos / Asdas.

It's really good you are finding out so much in advance - I learnt the 'trial and error' approach. When I first got Rob I still lived with my parents, so Rob was toilet trained in my bedroom - needless to say the carpet got rather stained (he wasn't neutered and quite young). By the time our house was built, Rob was neutered and fully toilet trained - never did reimburse mum and dad for that carpet :oops: :roll: :wink:
 
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