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Indoor or outdoor - peoples preference?

Indoor or outdoor?

  • Indoor

    Votes: 5 41.7%
  • Outdoor

    Votes: 7 58.3%

  • Total voters
    12

Liz47

Wise Old Thumper
I think this may well depend on the rabbit, I know Beano was happier outdoors. She would rarely binky indoors and loved her visits outdoors and would hide when I tried to get her back in. Jake sits in the carrier when offered time outdoors, but then again he's always been an indoor rabbit since a baby.

I am looking at moving, with a secure, large garden. Maybe thinking of a shed/aviary set up, I like the idea of the rabbits being more 'natural', and having the opportunity to dig safely and have natural sunlight etc. If they were housed indoors they'd be in the second bedroom as they are now, I know it's nice to have the chance to spend more time with them but to be honest we usually go in to feed and spend time with them morning and evening when busy. Every time we walk past they're generally laid down, and I wonder if they're bored.

What's peoples preferences on indoor/outdoor?
 
I know what you mean about it being about the rabbit. I recently got two more rabbits cos I wanted indoor ones and my quad (especially one of the does) love being outside.

Having a room full of guinea pigs I experience the amazing ease of care and the bonding between me and tham (as long as I dont try to pick them up). The rabbits in their shed/aviary set up get less human interaction esp in the colder months (although their shed is heated).

I find my indoor animals are more fun for me and feel that it is nicer for the outdoor rabbits cos they get garden time and sunshine. All my animals seem to be laying down when I walk past unless it is food time!
 
I think it defo can depend on the bunny, I literally had one that destroyed everything when inside, I ended up with a dented washing machine and freezer when he knocked the pen down whilst I was at work! but I also think there's pros and cons to both.

It's nice seeming them in the morning and then when your passing throughout the day (mine was in the kitchen) rather than taking a 'special' trip outside. I think your more aware of their mess/ smell when they're inside too, I used to clean each of his wees up straight away and go on a poo run too haha. You don't have to clean them out etc in the wind and rain outside and can control the extreme hot/cold weather when them inside

I like them outside personally although I do miss Ralph since he went outside :( I just feel like I have my kitchen back now and I don't get any wafts of odour from the hutch due to good airflow and the kids we have come over can't get near them to try to pick up either which is good for them

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I don't have a preference, and I do have both. I can see the pros and the cons with both now too.

Some of my rabbits are definitely better suited to being outside, some don't have a preference either way, and some are definite indoors types.


Elphie lived outdoors for the first 6 years of her life. I don't think she'd still be here 2.5 years later had she not been brought in permanently. At 8.5 she's pretty frail now, but loves the extra love and attention. However? Her group are nicknamed the "Furry Assassins" for a reason!
 
It definitely depends on the personality of the rabbit/s I’ve always had outdoor bunnies until I had Boots, who preferred being indoors, and I loved the close relationship that I was able to have with him. When we lost him, I decided to look for another bunny or bunnies that would like to be a house rabbit. I wouldn’t want to have rabbits outdoors again tbh, because of how fragile they are and how closely an indoor bunny can be monitored.
 
Well I like indoor because I'm in Florida and it's not ideal for European rabbits here. Climate wise, lots of predators, stress of bringing them in when conditions are bad (very cold, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfire smoke), etc.

But I do like having both indoor rabbits and outdoor rabbits. I kept outdoor rabbits growing up and would like to again, but probably only in an aviary+shed setup. I prefer being able to hang out with them in the aviary/shed and I like the look of it too. And it would help with keeping them safe too- being able to put them in the shed when it's not safe for them to be out.
 
Thank you all. I would shut them in the shed at night as would feel that's safer for them.

It's hard to tell if Jake and Jasmine would be happier outside or in, Jasmine has been outdoors and indoors and when we put her out on the grass she enjoys digging and rummaging around. Whereas Jake sits in the carrier, but I think he'd feel better in a proper set up. My partner won't be happy if they go outside, but the houses I'm looking at have new carpets and Jasmine has chewed a patch bare in our current carpet, so the landlords won't be happy and it's covered in thick fur. But of course I don't mind if they're happier indoors.
 
I think they are healthier outside with the, hopefully, fresh air, the birds chirping, maybe a ray or two of sunshine. They are safer indoors if there are lots of foxes around. It really depends on a person's garden I think and how safe you can make it.
 
Right now mine are inside and their base is up against patio doors which lead out in to a secure garden. They like the garden and can zoom around and binky more but they're sometimes reluctant to go outside (especially Princess, once the boys go out I think she's like yesss peace and quiet :lol: so i have to bribe her out). if I leave the door open they would spend more time inside than out, but I don't know if that's because they prefer being inside or if they prefer the safety of their home/base. Princess was really fed up of the garden yesterday and started digging at the glass door really loud to get our attention so we'd let her back in :lol:

I think if I break it down
Pro's: You get to see much more of them, learn their funny little personalities more and also pick up if anything is 'off' with them, you don't have to worry about them (or go outside yourself) in extreme weather, and I love when I'm watching a film or doing some work and they're binkying around the room and jumping on the sofa to see what I'm doing
Cons: They're always going to smell a little, even if you've just cleaned them out you will smell their bedding and fresh hay, I don't notice because I'm used to it but sometimes my family will point it out. They can get messy, even the most perfectly litter trained rabbit will sometimes stick their bum a little too far out and wee over the edge of their tray, or flick hay/poo out when they jump in and out of their tray. Mine are pretty well litter trained, although we have had quite a few accidents where they've weed on the sofa and that's a right faff to clean up. Hay will get everywhere, you're bound to drop bits when you feed them, and the dust from the hay will settle around the room, not ideal when you have allergies (or black glass furniture) :roll: Finally there is a good chance they could really tear up your house, chew your rugs/carpets, pull off your wallpaper, eat your skirting boards and sofa.

I'm wondering what to do when I move next year, as we're hoping to buy a new build house and get all new furniture. I don't think I'd have them in the living room due to the mess/damage they can cause. Kitchen/diner could be an option and most new builds seem to have a door in the kitchen that opens out into a secure garden so it would be easy to let them in and out, but im not sure how much room they'd have (plus do I really want animals weeing and pooing in the area that I prepare food?). I would absolutely be willing to give them their own bedroom upstairs but they're very reluctant to go into their carrier, and once in they're too heavy for me to carry upstairs/downstairs so it would be really tough to get them into the garden, and after seeing how much they love running around a garden I don't know how I'd feel about keeping them confined to one room (even if it's big).

My other option (and the one I'm really leaning towards) would be get them a really nice shed and secure run set up in the garden with electrics so I can put my cctv camera in there, some sort of heater and a fan. I'd put a four-way cat flap in the shed and another into the kitchen, then open both when someone is home then they can play free-range in the garden and come inside to see us.
 
Some very good points there :)

I don't worry too much about foxes in the area I'll be in, but I'll take all precautions and also to protect against poor weather. I spend a lot of time in the garden so I can still spend plenty of time with them, even in winter I still made regular visits to the shed to sit them them when I had my original rabbits outdoors. It would be nice to have them somewhere in the house with more activity to enjoy spending more time with them but we have a dog so they can't be downstairs, and our own bedroom has too much wires/stuff to be chewed. I can always see how they seem outdoors and move them in if I find they're not enjoying it. I look forward to being able to give them stuff like a dig box, suitable trees, areas to forage in more.
 
With regards to the carpet issue you could maybe put carpet tiles over the landlords carpets or lay a really cheap/ hardwearing carpet over the top if you do decide to give them a room and are worried about the carpet being torn up

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With regards to the carpet issue you could maybe put carpet tiles over the landlords carpets or lay a really cheap/ hardwearing carpet over the top if you do decide to give them a room and are worried about the carpet being torn up

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Thank you :) We did have this but got our current landlords permission to take it up as it needed replacing once my previous rabbit passed away (she was disabled so wee'd everywhere on it) as the carpet needs replacing before the next tenants anyway. But looking at the new houses the bedrooms are very large so would be harder to cover the carpet fully, and we currently have pen panels round the room to protect the skirting boards/wallpaper whereas we would need to buy at least another couple of pens to cover all the walls.
 
I have outdoor buns: Dennis/Bella and Trevor/Alys in two hutch/walk in run combos which are changing to shed/ walk in run combos, (started building this week) plus my new quad of Arthur, Ruby, Ivy and Dot who live in my big old shed with an added mesh door and Runaround tunnel to their run. I’m also planning an aviary on the back/side of the big shed to give the four more space.

I’m absolutely loving the shed set up - they have plenty of space and it’s part insulated so a bit easier to keep cool and I have a chair in there so I can sit with them. I’m not a fan of hutches really after this winter just gone and will be glad to get the others into their sheds too - I’m also starting to find bending awkwardly to clean the hutches harder it’s so much easier in the shed.

I also like the look of the hutch/run/aviary set ups as William said - to me, painted in lovely Cuprinol pastel colours they enhance the look of a garden and the garden is where I spend most of my time. I did have Dennis and Bella indoors for awhile when they were newly bonded but Bells used to break for the back door every time I opened it so I think she prefers outside too. It was nice having them near but I did struggle with the hay absolutely everywhere. And the chewed stuff. And the hay smell - some of which (Timothy) I’m allergic to.
 
I have indoor buns.

In terms of relationship I prefer having the rabbits indoors.
In terms of cleaning and mental stimulation I prefer outdoors.

There are pros and cons to each but I think personally I'd stick to indoor buns.

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I have indoor buns because I feel I can keep an eye on them and know if something is wrong immediately. It's lovely to see my bunnies included in whatever we are doing for example we will watch a film and let the bunnies loose and make them activities to do around the house. I like that they are safe from extreme elements. I would say a negative for me is that they don't get as much fresh air and sunlight aa outdoor bunnies so you you need both outdoor time as well as indoor

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I think it depends on people’s circumstances. We chose to bring ours in as there are a lot of foxes here and no spare room for decent sized accommodation. We have a big garden but it’s ‘bitty’, with no large open areas.

And I love having them inside. When my health was worse and I had to spend a lot of time in bed they kept me sane I think :lol:
 
When I first kept rabbits I had them outdoors. Then I moved them indoors during the winter for both our benefits and eventually had them indoors full time. I do think they enjoyed the outdoors especially as I had single rabbits as there was much more stimulation outside. Now we try to give our indoor bunnies at least 30 minutes outdoor time during the summer. They appear to love it and are straight out the door as soon as we open it.
I have to admit I do sometimes resent feeling like I live in a stable with hay just everywhere and slightly tatty rugs/furniture/curtains but that's the consequence of sharing your house with bunnies!

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Personally I would say outdoor. All three of my rabbits love to forage, nibble grass and smell the fresh air. They've all become moody and melancholy when they've had to come inside because of crazy weather or medical issues.

I guess it's different for everyone, but in my opinion it is the most natural thing for them. Their daily routines are based on where the sun is in the sky (most active dawn and dusk) - but then I can really see the advantage of getting to see more of them in winter when they're inside and the days are much shorter.
 
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