Climbing Rabbit!

does anyone else have a rabbit that climbs?

Since the new rabbit shed was finished they all have their hutches open all the time as they each have a large free area. they love it especially Daisy who has always been the liveliest of my mob!
Unfortunate thistle has decided to try her hand at mountaineering! :shock: she has no fear and I'm afraid she is going to injure herself. If I hadn't sen her do it I wouldn't have believed it! she pushes her door so there's a gap of about 5 inches between it and the wall then climbs up using the wall and the door for foothold!!!! when she gets to the top of the double storey hutch she hangs there a while then drops down! sometimes she falls on the door I've tried pegging the door back but this doesn't stop her.
A new and dangerous form of BUN-gy jumping! :shock:
Seriously anyone's bunnies do similar and how do I stop her?

honeybunny said:

A new and dangerous form of BUN-gy jumping! :shock:

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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: that did make me laugh Jill :lol: :lol:

I am sure there are loads of buns that enjoy mountaineering :lol: :lol: Cant think of anything that would stop her really except maybe put a ramp there so it easier and safer for her to reach the top :wink: and safer, especially on her decents :shock: :lol:

Denny I dont want to put a ramp up as that would enable her to jump into Rufus and Daisy's area and then the fur would really fly!
If I put higher fences between them it would cut out too much light.
she has loads of toys which I change regularly..boxes, tubes, pots and rattles ..so dont think it's boredom..Did try to bond her recently you may have seen other thread..so perhaps if i find a suitable male for her she'll not try to explore so much!

Darcy loves climing and jumping as well...he is free range in my flat tho so no real tips for you sorry. I've started leaving large pillows on the floor near my window sill and chest so that he has a soft landing :roll: :lol:

Ive never heard of one climbing up a wall before, you'll have to get pics of that!! My Poppy used to leap up to the top of her 2 tier hutch and flop on the roof (this is 4foot high!! :shock: ) and I was always worried that she injured herself jumping back down, so I have blocked the top off now, so that when she sits on her back legs & looks up to assess the situation to prepare for take-off, she knows its a waste of time as she cant get up there anymore!! :lol:

I have had trouble with this from several of mine. It isn't the climbing that is the trouble, it is the falling down :?

Strawberry kept getting on top of the stack of ferplast cages in the shed when I first had him. I actually thought he was jumping uo there as he is so big, so I took to piling boxes and the carriers up there to make it higher. He still got up there. I finally realised that he was climbing up in the corner where the cages met the wall, by sheer willpower I think. He would launch himself and his bulk would force the cages out a bit so he could scrabble and get a foot hold. Very alarming as with his bulk he falls very heavily. He is also blind in one eye so he can't judge things well. It was also rather intimidating for whoever was in the cages. I had to take to putting him in the bottom two cages at night so he wouldn't hurt himself and only letting him out straight into the garden during the day rather than leaving him loose in the shed. It was a big part of the reason I tried to bond he and Clover to Isadora so he could come in the house. That didn't work, but he and Clover ended up with the kitchen anyway :? I expected problems at first with him climbing on the table, but he hasn't even when there was a cage on the table with another rabbit in it while they were unwell. I think part of the reason rabbits climb when in a shed is to get a look out the window, or to have a good look at other rabbits in there. In the kitchen the window goes down to the floor so Stawberry and Clover don't feel the need to climb, although Clover didn't do it in quite the dangerous way Strawberry did.



Could you move the hutch so it is not against the wall, or so the door opens a different way? Or could you give her a safe shelf to climb up to instead? Perhaps you need to change which rabbits are in which accomodation so someone who hasn't learned that dangerous trick can live in her hutch.

hi,
yes some of mine climb, some think there spiderman climbing up the 4 tier hutches, i have some the climb up me too :lol:
becky

My half wild rabbit Angel climbs - literally! She will climb up the cage, or jump up in the cage corner and hang there like a monkey. But she always jumps off properly and lands on all four feet! I have heard that wild bunnies literally climb without problems.
Angel also gets into all sorts of places when she is out in their room where none of my other bunnies ever even think about going...

Vera

doorkeeper said:

.

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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

theres your answer Jill :wink: Louise's buns are climbing to get a better view :wink: :lol: :lol: perhaps this is what you girlie is doing :wink: making sure she keeps an eye on everyone :wink:

She was hanging off the top of the hutch again when I went out to feed them this evening! I can't move the hutches as they're sort of built-in! The middle section, where Daisy and Rufus are, also has a door she could climb on , and the other end section, Fern and Crosby's, has a lower divider which I'm sure Thistle could jump....so I'm stuck as to what to do! If i take the door off the front of hutch it means I can never shut her in which is sometimes useful when they cant go outside and I need to clean whole area of shed..trying to sweep between bunnies is not easy! Especially as 4 out of 6 attack the broom. it's hard to sweep with a bun hanging on the end! :shock:
trying to persuade hubby to make a smooth thin wooden cover to hang over door..will work as she wont be able to grip....will try and post pics of her climbing on Monday ( off to crufts tomorrow) and also general pics of bunsters as promised Louise some a while ago!

Kerri C said:

Ive never heard of one climbing up a wall before, you'll have to get pics of that!! My Poppy used to leap up to the top of her 2 tier hutch and flop on the roof (this is 4foot high!! :shock: ) and I was always worried that she injured herself jumping back down, so I have blocked the top off now, so that when she sits on her back legs & looks up to assess the situation to prepare for take-off, she knows its a waste of time as she cant get up there anymore!! :lol:

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How did you block off the top part of the hutch?? My rabbit just started jumping up there today and now it seems to be her favorite spot. I put a couple of things up there but she manages to get around them. Help!! lol

dancrpjm said:

How did you block off the top part of the hutch?? My rabbit just started jumping up there today and now it seems to be her favorite spot. I put a couple of things up there but she manages to get around them. Help!! lol

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This thread is 17 years old, most contributors to it are no longer active on RU so I have asked for your question to be made into a new thread. More people are likely to respond then