• 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.

All change for Hillian...U/D

Craig 1965

Warren Veteran
This is a strange weekend for all of us here. Tomorrow marks a very sad and painful anniversary for us - me in particular, and I'll be making a relevant tribute post accordingly.
But today - today was a day of change for Hillian - and before my rabbit friends here get anxious, there's no need to be worried. We'd been planning on trying to introduce Hillian into the outdoor hutch some time back. It has lain empty - a gentle reminder of the days when Ben and Georgina were resident in it. Sadly Lillian appeared to have a miscarriage in the hutch a few weeks after we got her from the rescue centre a year ago. Poor Lillian - she must have been so afraid, all the change, new environment and then a miscarriage. So Lillian had, since that point, avoided the hutch with a fierce passion. Henry never showed much interest in it so the hutch remained outside.
Hillian were made very comfortable indoors. They had the whole back extension (kitchen/diner) to themselves with quick access to the rest of the house. Their little 'den' had soft blankets and a small soft mat (which was Georginas due to her arthritis). It was a snug warm little bun cave with hollow boxes to run through and a large area that was safe for them to go to the toilet. A handful of soft toys completed the area and as it was indoors, it kept them safe and warmer than they would have been outside - especially last winter. I also know rabbits hate change. They like and feel safe with routine. They had their areas and they felt safe.
Well, today, being a nice autumn day, we decided to try changing things round. The old 'den' was removed and replaced, rather drastically, with the outdoor hutch - which is now an indoor hutch!
It's off the ground so will be insulated from the cold tiled floor, and we've kept a small run space behind the hutch so they can go behind it - it reminds them of the run area they had with the den. The boxes have stayed, along with the soft toys and soft blankets and soft mat.
And then we waited. Henry was out in the garden - well, actually loafing about in the garage as usual so oblivious to the changes. Lillian tho, was chilling in the living room. And was watching all that was going on. She eventually decided to come into the kitcen/diner after about an hour - and needed a number 2. ANd we watched as she stood and looked at the new abode. She was clearly puzzled and also quite anxious. Her body language was quite the giveaway. Ears profoundly arched forward and head also forward, gentle nervous steps round. She didn't really go in the hutch for about half an hour of wandering round. Quite quite understandible.
But she eventually went in (the door was taken off so easy in and out). And she quickly did her business and left. But not for long. She came back and nervously took the ramp upstairs and that is where I observed quite clear behaviour. She was visibly shaking- her paws were shaking and she sort of froze. Then clattered back down the ramp and out.
I didn't expect it to go smoothly but I also didn't expect Lillian to go upstairs quite so readily. I won't force them to do anything they don't wish to do, especially Lillian who must take her own time with things in her own way. Her mental scars run so deep.
I've casually scattered and hidden some cranberries which both buns are extremely adept at finding even in the hay and cabbage. Lillian is an expert at finding cranberries so I am hoping these will keep her entertained in the hutch.
Both buns came in from outside (Lillian had decided to go and spend an hour or so with Henry in the garage - and she wanted some grooming, and when they both came in (with a little coaxing from me) Lillian was keen to show Henry the new 'pad'. Henry was suitably not impresed and spent time running round but not in.
Should they decide not to spend the night in the hutch, they will be warm and cosy on the soft mats and blankets but I'm hoping they will naturally explore and settle in the hutch. That's the plan. Long term, the plan would be to get them used to the hutch over winter and early spring, and then when it warms up, put the hutch outside and see if they willingly settle in the hutch. If they don't, then I've got house bunnies and I'll put the old den back and take it from there.
Pictures to follow in a few days. And if they don't settle with the hutch inside, I'll revert the area back to how it was with the den. Fingers crossed......
 
Last edited:
Sounds like you have had a very busy bunny day! Can't think of anything better personally. I wonder what they will choose for sleeping in?
 
Update...
Well, that was an epic fail! I came down stairs this morning and both bunns were scrabling to get into the living room - something they have never done at any point in the morning. They both like to come into the living room but not in the haste that they did this morning. It was clear from body language and general observation that neither Henry or Lillian had spent any time in the hutch and probbaly spent a much more uncomfortable night lying where they could - which wasn't in the hutch. Not a huge amount of food had been eaten - which is never a good sign because both are pretty good eaters - Lillian particularly. So when I opened the lounge door this morning I was bundled over by the two furry hooligans who couldn't wait to get under the table and breath a sigh of releif.
So, I've just spent the last hour and a half lugging the hutch back outside, cleaning down and setting up the old 'den' again. I've moved a few boxes around slightly, just to see if they react to a different set up, but in essence the area is as it used to be. Just have to work out now how to further insulate the indoor cage (toilet area) and their floor from the cold. We've put foam tiles down and carpet over the top - so there's some degree of insulation. A duvet gies over the top of the den area along with a thermal blanket but O/H is concerned they would feel cold from the floor. So, I may end up trying to source some thermal material under the carpet and try to put the indoor cage on a brick or two to raise it above the floor, creating an air pocket which would at least insulate the indoor hutch.
No one said it would be easy keeping rabbits, but I am always trying to do what is best for them and their wellbeing - so at least I tried to see if they would consider the hutch. Probably my fault for not putting them in the hutch sooner. So for the time being, they are back to the old den and much more settled and content. House bunnies it is then.
 
Oh dear! Bunnies will be bunnies. I wanted to give 2 of mine a big shed but they did not like it! Wanted to be in their hutch :roll:
 
Back
Top