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Play time in the garden....

Charliesangel

Warren Veteran
I have a quick question that I hope you all can help me with :D
I know that some of you have a whole 'bunny proof' garden so you can let you buns have a large space to run in, supervised of course.

I was just wondering....when playtime is over, how do you get them back inside? I know there was a thread about this a looooooong time ago but I just dont have the time to find it, so could you guys help me out?

Thanks for the imput!

xxx
 
Well my two only have to hear their food go into the bowl and they are back in the shed like a shot :lol:
 
my bunny lets me pick her up..or she puts herself to bed..dont u hav a hutch outside you can shut them in?
 
my bunnies know as soon as they go back in the hutch its dinner time, so i just leave the door open and they dont take much persuading
 
MandyM said:
Well my two only have to hear their food go into the bowl and they are back in the shed like a shot :lol:

Snap :lol: All my friends laugh when it's bunny bedtime at our house, it's like the pied piper of hamlyn with me being followed to the shed by two excited bunnies - if they haven't beaten me there, that is :lol:

Seriously though, it's a bit like clicker training, I have a little plastic tub I decant some food into and I shake it whenever it's dinner time. Now they associate that noise with being fed so just head back to the shed whenever they hear the food being shaken! You could use the same principle with a hutch or even a pet carrier if you put the food into the back of it. Failing that, I would use the "sheepdog" approach of making up some kind of artificial corner that you could herd her into to be picked up, rather than trying to chase and grab her, which would be very scary for a bunny as its prey instinct would think it was about to be eaten.
 
Oh no, mine live inside but I was just thinking that it would be nice for them to get the whole garden space for playtime outside :D But then I started thinking how would I ever catch them to bring them inside :shock:
I have two runs but they just dont seem like enough space for full binkies and playtime.

xxx
 
In which case, is it possible for you to open up one end of the run, ideally on a hinge, so you really can literally sheepdog herd them in there to be picked up and brought back in. You could accompany this with teaching them to associate running into the pen with getting food, whether it be through shaking the tub and getting them to come running, or by putting it in there near the end of playtime and sneaking up and shutting them in while they are tucking in.
 
No that would not be possable. My runs are on the front side of my house (in a corner) facing my garden, but not connected. There is a fence inbetween. Should I just stick to the harness and my runs and keep it easy?

xxx
 
When flip flop was outside I would always feed her when it was 'bedtime'. I too would also shake a tub of food and crouch at the door so she could see me putting food into her dish and call her saying "dinnertime". She also knew that she would have a small piece of apple when she was in. She couldn't resist that.
Also most of the times I went inside her house she would come and see what I was doing in there.

Justine
 
well I'm wondering this myself, as my garden is unused by the bunnies, which seems a shame (although there's ragwort and docks everywhere :? ) They seem to only run around for half an hour, so I guess if you only let them out, using a harness to take them there, before you've fed them, then they will most likely come up to you if they see you stood there with a food bowl - You could then slip the harness back on them while they have their head in the trough? Or is it something you need to pick them up for? Never used a harness so I don't know :)
 
My bunnies all come indoors for food. Don't let them out if you know you have to be somewhere at a certain time, as this will make you panic. When I first got them, I let them out and I needed to collect my son from school and they would not come in. Now they know its food time if I am in the kitchen so they follow me in for a green bean or pellets. Its lovely for them to be out of a run and unsupervised because they run so fast up and down the garden which they can't do even in the largest of runs, so I am all for bunny proofing the garden and removing all plants that are toxic (there are many) and let them out when you are in the garden. Do not,
however, leave them for a moment and go indoors. Foxes can come into
gardens during the day and they are fearless.
 
My two are different if they are running round the garden and I want them back in the house. Robbie doesn't like being lifted, so we just open the back door and usher him towards - if he starts plastering, I go as if to lift him, and he quickly runs in the back door :lol: He gets a grape as soon as he does this, so most of the time he is very helpful and actually goes and sits outside the fridge :lol:

Molly doesn't mind being lifted at all, so we can just pick her up from the garden and bring her in. However, she also looks for her grape as soon as she gets in and gets very restless if you go to leave the kitchen without her getting it :lol:
 
ooh looks like I was worrying about nothing - my girls are trained! :D

I just took them some more hay, to get them in off the patio, but Zinniea stayed out there so I called her - didn't realise this was my 'call to food'! They all jumped to attention when I sang 'Come on then!' (I sing it kind of) They leapt out of the hay boxes and ran to my feet expectantly - and Zinniea shot inside too :lol:

They were a bit disappointed though :oops:
 
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