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Do you leave your rabbits out in the run all day?

**Bonnie**

Mama Doe
Hi everyone,

I have just started to leave Alfie out in the run all day while i am at work, i hate the thought of his spending 8 hours a day in a hutch even though its quite big.

I have in his run a bunny tent, a box with a hole in, food water and a litter tray filled with hay. some toys, he also has a wooden bit over the run for shelter as well as a waterproof sheet covering the whole of the run (its supposed to rain today). It is also heavily weighted down by bricks.

Now im worrying whether he'll be okay!!! i know he will but i get very paranoid over him (i worry far too much sometimes)

Does anyone else leave their bunny's in the run all day - i feel that he will be much happier in that then is hutch!!

Thanks & sprry to sound over-paranoid here!
 
I leave mine out all day unless severe weather is forcast but that is only because my waterproofing wouldn't stand up to a total torrent (hubby and I need to build new runs).

Caz
 
not when i am not there i don't, only because they dig and we have cats and foxes around and i don't want other animals to get them, Etc.
 
I do, but my run is attatched to the hutch and they are very good and hop into the hutch if its raining or stay under shelter if its sunny - your bun will be fine!! much hapier than in the hutch :wink:
 
Thanks all!

I was concerned about foxes but what can you do? i have never seen foxes around here during the day. I live on a busy road and buy a busy high street.

At the end of the day a hutch is just as safe as a run, if not safer as i have loads of bricks weighing it down! if a fox is going to get Alfie he will whether he is in his hutch or the run.

he has much more room on the run on the lovely grass!
 
Thanks all!

I was concerned about foxes but what can you do? i have never seen foxes around here during the day. I live on a busy road and buy a busy high street.

At the end of the day a hutch is just as safe as a run, if not safer as i have loads of bricks weighing it down! if a fox is going to get Alfie he will whether he is in his hutch or the run.

he has much more room on the run on the lovely grass!
 
You're not being paranoid!! If you are, I must be too :D . I think he'll be fine in the fun all day, if it's secured, and it sounds like it is. Mine have a permanent run which is very secure, but the one onto the grass has no roof, so they're only allowed in that when supervised. Their permanent run only has a shelter over half of it, and they often opt to sit in the rain.
 
Thanks HS!

Was sitting here worrying about the little fella but feel better now knowing you all leave your buns in the run!

My brother is going to extend my existing hutch. I have an old hutch that i had when i first got him which i thought was too small and he is going to put that on top of the existing one and put a slope for him so he has an upstairs and downstairs..it will be massive when its done i can't wait :)
 
mine are out all day but they have a run atached to thre hutches also the whole thing is pato so they cant dig out
 
My buns are out in the daytime, one group in the run,which is covered, one half is a solid roof, and they have a small hutch to sleep in if they want. I weigh the edge of the roof down as Bunny can push it up!!! I also use the old shed for the other group, I use wire panels to block of the doorway, that way all of them can be outside without me having to worry.
 
My bunnies have a hutch/run combo as their perminant home. The hutch sits on top with a ramp down. They tend to take themselves to bed in the hutch about 9/10am and get up again mid afternoon. The rest of the time they play in the run.

Is there away you can attach the run to the hutch? If you're worried about foxes at night have a lockable door between. To be honest though as long as you run is secure (roof,floor and strong mesh) they're just as safe in that as in a hutch.

Tam
 
Mine stay out all the time...... they have a permenent run on the patio that is covered so they are protected in bad weather and I pull down the covers at night on the sides....this run also has a hutch inside....then they have a cat flap out into another run but this one is not covered from the weather so I lock the catflap at night so they are in the covered run all protected.
 
Hi Tamsin,

My hutch at the mo is on legs so when my brother puts the other hutch on top he is going to maybe put a run at the bottom. I have a bunny house in the run and a carboard box but he always sits in his litter tray - i doubt that if he had a hutch in there he would use it.

When i get home he has the free run of the house and garden.

It is a proper mesh run (not at the bottom though) and half of it has some heavy wood over it as shelter as well as bricks, its really heavy and weighted down.

Am going to Pets at Home to get some accessories to build his new hutch, ie a ramp, apparently they have stuff like that there!
 
My rabbits are out all day, their hutch is attached to their run so they usually go in when it rains although I watched Rosie sit in defiance at the rain yesterday lol. Their run is secure (Rosie hasn't escaped since the last improvement ;) ) so I leave them in there, its almost always just on the patio so they don't dig. We only put it on the grass if we're going to be in all day, in case it gets too hot or rains too much and they need to get into the hutch. We detatch the run from the hutch when its put on the grass as the hutch it big and heavy lol. They don't dig, Rosie's only dug one hole and I've had her for about three and a half years and Honey has never dug a hole, I think shes too fat and lazy! They go to bed and are shut in the hutch at night which I don't think they're bothered about because every night they hear me come out and just get inside without a fuss :D I've got them trained! :lol:
 
I don't leave Bindi, or my piggies out without me being at home. Although, our garden is fenced off, you can never tell with some people. Plus i try not to put Bindi in a run, i prefer to let her just Bindi around the garden.


It does however depend on the run you have. Most pet shop runs aren't sturdy enough, as i found out, when a family member perched on the corner and it snapped. (Luckily no piggies or Bindi were in it!!)

Gracie and animals x
 
My buns live in a 14 by 12 foot run - they have a hutch, another run inside for shelter, a chimnea pot to sit in a various tunnels and igloos.

They come into a double decker hutch in the garage on a night time because we have foxes and cats around, and in the winter they come in the house on a night.

As long as they can get out of the wind and the rain I think that they are much happier in a run rather than being cooped up in a hutch!!

I think what you have for your buns sounds great :)
 
My rabbits' hutch is open from 7am until dusk everyday & I leave them out whether im in or out BUT im lucky as the foxes that are around my area are well fed by a few doors down & my dog(who's bigger than a fox!) has the back door open for him to go as he pleases too(he loves the buns like they are his puppies, but they hardly even notice they are there!) & I have 3 cats(theres also lots of neighbours cats in the vicinity & foxes tend to steer clear of houses with lots of cats!Whenever I have lived where foxes are rife I still left them in their runs when I went out, so long as its secure it should be fine & to be honest im of the mindset that i'd rather have my bunnies happy & free but with a risk of being killed by a fox than a bun who never/rarely gets any freedom & has a depressed life because of it....
 
My rabbits' hutch is open from 7am until dusk everyday & I leave them out whether im in or out BUT im lucky as the foxes that are around my area are well fed by a few doors down & my dog(who's bigger than a fox!) has the back door open for him to go as he pleases too(he loves the buns like they are his puppies, but they hardly even notice they are there!) & I have 3 cats(theres also lots of neighbours cats in the vicinity & foxes tend to steer clear of houses with lots of cats!Whenever I have lived where foxes are rife I still left them in their runs when I went out, so long as its secure it should be fine & to be honest im of the mindset that i'd rather have my bunnies happy & free but with a risk of being killed by a fox than a bun who never/rarely gets any freedom & has a depressed life because of it....
 
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