Letting Rabbits Outside

I am after help regarding letting my bunnies have free run of my (very small and totally enclosed) garden.

What is the best way to do this? I don't want to let them out and then find I can't get them back in :shock:

I have had them for a couple of weeks now ... one of them is VERY tame and I am sure I will have no problems getting her back in. However the other bun is quite nervous, and I am not sure she would be easy to catch.

Is there an easy way to do this .... should I buy them a run maybe, rather than let them totally loose?

Chinakit

I think a run would probably be the best way to let them run on the grass, or you could get them a lead/harness but obviously you would have to be with them and some rabbits arent keen on them. You could let your bunny have free run of the garden however there is always the danger that they will escape, dig deep holes to hide in, or a predator could come and take them(foxes, dogs, cats, birds!), also there is the danger of poisonous plants that you may have in your garden. I think most people on here would advise a run for them to be on the safe side.

hi

They tend to only want to run about morning and evening, so I would wait a couple more months till they have a firm idea of where the food comes from - then use meal times to get them back in as they will get to expect it and recognise the sound of pellets in a bowl - At the moment they have no reason to trust or follow you - but all that will change in time :wink:

Re: hi

elve said:

They tend to only want to run about morning and evening, so I would wait a couple more months till they have a firm idea of where the food comes from - then use meal times to get them back in as they will get to expect it and recognise the sound of pellets in a bowl - At the moment they have no reason to trust or follow you - but all that will change in time :wink:

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Thanks, I will do that ... in the meantime for exercise I will let them run around the house (will watch them of course).

Jane

My buns run around the garden. To start with I confined them to the patio, then let them go onto the rest of the garden. I've never had any problems, 2 have had the run of the garden since they were babies and the other is just so greedy she will do anything for food!!

To be honest I can't remember exactly how I did it as I just let them out, but food plays a major part and as your garden is small you should have no problems! Mine is 120ft and they are all fine

Nicola

nicolar said:

but food plays a major part and as your garden is small you should have no problems! Mine is 120ft and they are all fine

Nicola

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Yes, my garden is really small, the only problem being that they might get behind the shed and refuse to come out .... suppose I could block that off so they can't get in there though.

I might get some mesh fencing, so I can keep them on my small patio (its almost always in the shade), to begin with.

Mine run round the garden, but the little nethy likes to hide in the undergrowth which is a pain when trying to get them in. Evo made us have a chase the other day too, which he really enjoyed

TJ runs around the garden, but we are always out when he is there.
He loves being out there and goes nuts, running like a formula one driver at great speed up and down, which he would not be able to do in a run. He binkies all the time. My garden is very barren at the moment as most of the plants I had there were toxic so I had to dig them out. A lot of the lists on the internet advising about poisonous plants to pets are not complete. Oxford Botannical Gardens in Oxford have let me into their library and I am starting to put safe plants back into the garden. I too have a shed and when I first let him out I blocked this off with plant pots and he jumped over them and went behind the shed. I was nervous that he would go there and I wouldn't get him out, but he didn't and came out. Now he just spends a few seconds behind the shed and pops out. My garden is 55 feet and I am confident he is fine being let out, but as long as he has someone in the garden with him at all times, I wouldn't for example leave him and go into the house. When he has had enough, usually after about an hour, he goes back into the house to have a drink and something to eat. Should have said, he started off in a run, but he head butts this to say I want to get out of this!! I just love the freedom he has in the garden being about to sniff everything and move about as he wants in a larger area than a run would permit.