Indoor/outdoor buns

Has anyone moved an indoor bun outside permanently and if so how well did bunny cope?

um yep but into a shed they are fine and seem more happy out side

Yup, Bobby started off as an indoor bunny, but he's really not a people bunny, so he's now outside and much, much happier.

hi

I did on Saturday - he was a bit confused for a couple of days, then he decided he really liked his cosy bed in the hutch - He seemed very bored in the house whereas he'll sit for hours on the patio with the wind blowing him to bits - seems to relish the great outdoors

He does miss me though, and tries to get in the back door when I open it - I went out today and he put his paws up on my leg and looked at me in a begging kind of way - then when that didn't get a result he climbed on a stool and gazed up at me - so I picked him up for a cuddle and he was happy after that - He never wanted a cuddle when he was a house bunny, so I was a bit slow on the uptake :wink:

Aww I wish mine would come for a cuddle Hobbes and Phoebe were indoors but as they grew I couldn't find a big enough cage for the two of them. They used to go outside in the day and come in at night but it got harder to catch them as Phoebe didn't want to come in so they moved outside permanently and have been happy ever since

Just be careful moving them outside, outdoor rabbits will have already started on their winter coats so this time of year isn't the best for moving indoor ones outside. I'd say wait untill the summer.

Ideally the best time to do it would be spring just as the weather is picking up, it gets colder now and like bunny burrows says they indoor bunny wont have developed that lovely winter coat yet

I moved Treacle and Fudge outside in the summer, I think Fudge really misses the attention, he is a very lively demanding bunny, but he wasn't safe with children and visitors :twisted: so i decided the garden was the best place for him!

I moved Daisy outside, it started in Summer when we went away and she was boraded. I though it was now or never (as she would begin to get her winter coat if I left her any longer!)

I think she misses the attention, but she is paired up with Pippin now and in a large run, which is better for her as I had to hutch her in the house, which I felt guilty about considering Lucy and Pickle are free roaming house buns.

hi

I've been wondering about this 'winter coat' thing - how would I know if Benny had a winter coat? - and since it was mild enough to just wear a teeshirt last week, and now it's suddenly, without warning, become freezing overnight - how will rabbits have grown a warmer coat when they didn't need one last week? Is it something to do with daylight hours rather than temperature?

I think it's the daylight thing as thats how it works for horses so it's probably the same with rabbits.

I'm only thinking about moving Rooby outside at this stage and yes I'd wait until late spring, early summer if I go ahead. Unfortunately he has chewed some skirting and door frames after getting a 'taste' for them which has angered my husband somewhat - so he is watched even more like a hawk now.

My big concern is that Rooby had a touch of the snuffles on and off for three months not long after he arrived here in May and he seems fit as a fiddle now. Another worry is that we have alot of wild rabbits in the garden and foxes which live next door. Also my sister lost her two buns to myxi last month (Roobs has been vaccinated).

I do have an area of garden that has recently been fenced off and we are due to get that turfed before the spring so the wild rabbits are unlikely to get in there. We also have a shed that could be vacated but I'm unsure whether it has a window. Roobs does love to look out the patio windows. He has been out for walkies on the lead during the summer months however he reacts to everything out there and shoots off! :roll:

Another consideration would be getting Rooby a companion. So much to think about.

Elve, is he outside by himself or does he have a companion? If he is by himself and has been a house rabbit, won't he be lonely? I am in a dilemna about the change of temperature with my house rabbits. They sit by the backdoor to go out.

hi

rabbits are kind of a fun way to complicate life

I guess rabbits are individual...but...(and I know this isnt what you were asking!) I moved my 2 outdoor bunnies (with snuffles) indoors. They lasted about 2 and half weeks. Twiggy was as bored as hell and became a recluse. After putting them back outside they were back to their normal selves.

I would think of getting a companion though It's nice to know they have someone to snuggle up to at night (altho twiggy jumps on top of the hutch to get away from eeyore humping her!)

raine said:

Elve, is he outside by himself or does he have a companion? If he is by himself and has been a house rabbit, won't he be lonely? I am in a dilemna about the change of temperature with my house rabbits. They sit by the backdoor to go out.

Click to expand...

He probably is lonely - but he was lonely in the house since I rescued 21 guinea pigs - I am working flat out just to keep up with them all (don't forget the 5 girls in the shed!) - so I had no time to supervise him indoors any more....Soooooo I got him an adorable companion


She's a supermodel for Barnsley animal rescue - but was he interested?? Well yes - he bit a piece of her face off before they were even introduced, because she tried to say hello through the bars of the dog crates they were in! - So now she's terrified of him - And I had to somehow get him out of his crate in the living room (kitchen's full of guinea pigs) onto the patio, without him escaping and diving at her again - it was a nightmare!!

The plan was to get them bonded and put them outside together in a playhouse, but that all had to be shelved and I decided that adjacent runs/hutches was the best way to get him used to her company, whilst protecting her - she's such an adorable little dear!

Meanwhile she's as good as gold in the house, so she might never get out there with him anyway - But that leaves him on his own! Oh dilemma! There's no way I'm getting any more animals - I can barely keep up with the 28 I already have...I got the 5 girls in the shed for Benny when his brother died - no he hated them, so I brought him indoors, then got Tia for him - no he hates her - Maybe he only likes male rabbits? :?

I realise his situation's not perfect at the moment - but I have tried

God, Elve, I need to spend more time reading everyone's previous postings. I thought you only had one house rabbit and you were
putting him out!! I didn't realize you had all the others. My nightmare
is introducing as I am convinced that they will attack each other, I am
so wimpy. I am fostering two French lops at the moment, which only gives me three rabbits, but its like a full time job.