House bunny owners - please help!

Hello everyone!
Last time I posted was december & my bun was having behavioural problems - since castration he has been great!! I now need to make a decision which will affect his life forever! His hutch is indoors at the mo, & I don't know whether to move him into the garden when the warmer weather comes or train him as a house bun. (that was my intention when i first got him - hence why his hutch is indoors but his bad temper put me off) i would love some advice on how to train him - he is only 8 months old. I can't keep his hutch indoors forever - it uses too much space & smells the playroom out - even though I clean it twice a week. Where would he sleep if he was a house Bun? What would I need to keep him happy? If he was a house bun he would still be a ble to have free run of the garden -as he does already. Any tips / advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks alot Ray x x

my indoor bunny is in a hutch but she has a litter tray in there which she is very good about using - you could start by putting a big tray (I use underbed storage boxes as they like to back up and cat litter trays are a bit small) in his hutch with some dirty litter in, and leave the rest of the hutch bare - I covered mine in fablon sticky-backed plastic.

Once he's using a tray then give him another couple of trays outside the hutch, and see if he uses them, or he may hold it and go back to his hutch for the loo like my girl does.

Once he's litter trained then buy a dog crate for his 'base' and to lock him safely in at night if you need to, and you have a house bunny!

Hiya,

I have 2 house bunnies and to be honest, would never have it any other way!
(Saying that, they are both golden & very good!)

They are living seperatly at the minute during the bonding stage! But Sophie was my first house bun and she lives in a dog crate in the living room. The advantages of this are.... they are extremely easy to clean, if you use woodbased litter, there is no smell whatsoever, they are open, therefore your bun can see all around, and they look a bit nicer in the house too! Sophie was in a hutch when I first got her and I found this smelt too even with cleaning daily!

You need to make sure you bunny proof the house (ie covering up wires etc) There is an article on this in the care section!

You will also need to provide your house bun with some stimulation (ie toys) You can use tunnels... carboard boxes and lots more, there is an article about this in the care section too! :wink:

If your garden is secure, there is no reason why your bun can't spend time out there too... some people have even found their bun will use a cat flap!

A lot of things also depend on whether you want your bun to be free range or whether they will be in a cage when you are out/only have supervised play. For example, if they are free range, they may only need a small cage (if at all) to use as a base - where they are fed & where their litter is! However, if they are only allowed out when you are there, the cage will need to be bigger as they will be spending more time in there! My bun sophie only has supervised play and is allowed out while I am at home as she digs and chews... even with toys (she demands a lot of attention).

You must be prepared though that a house bun may chew and dig... this is only natural to them and you may not be able to stop it... you kinda have to work around them cus they won't change! I combat sophies chewing by buying lots of things such as straw mats that she can dig and chew to her hearts content!!!!

Good luck!

/

Hi Ray where abouts in Leicester are you? You may be near to me! I could then perhaps visit and give you some advice on your bun!

My two girls are together in a cage in the house at the moment and they come out for about 3 -4 hours a day altho i may be setting them up with a permanant playpen soon - trying to talk OH into giving them the spare room - they are still learning to use their tray properly but they are getting there

Hi Ray!

Our rabbits are house buns and they have been inside with us since we got them in October. As they are both neutered they were quite good about only going to the toilet in their 'messy corner' whilst in their hutch. We put a litter tray (with hay and cat litter in) on top of their messy corner and then didn't put any hay on the hutch floor so the toilet area is very recognisable and also they have the incentive of hay to persuade them to frequent that area!!!!

Once they were using their litter trays in their hutch we gradually increased the area of the house that they were allowed access to. They are pretty good about using their litter trays around the house however they do not get free range unless supervised (our staircase is open and would be very dangerous if a bun attempted it!). When we are not around they are in their hutch, which does take up space but it is also useful to store things on etc. Lots of people get dog crates for their house rabbits, which I believe are a bit more practical.

As for the smell, if you can litter train then you can use cat litter which does seem to hide any bad smells. We use Bio Catolet with ours which is not the cheapest option but I can thoroughly recommend it. My best friend came to visit last week for the first time since we got the rabbits. She has a very sensitive nose and said that she truly couldn't smell anything!!!

Hope this helps with your decision making!

Melanie

Smudge has a dog crate with a litter tray in it. He is hardly ever in the cage tho as it is always and he just prefers to be out of it. At the moment he isn't using his litter tray too much although he knows how to as he did for ages when we first got him. He is booked in to be neutered on Thursday tho so hopefully he will go back to using it then.
When my garden is finished tho, Smudge and a new lady friend are going outside with a palacial house :lol: and run and free range in the garden when we are home.

I was very lucky with Truffy as she almost litter trained herself. She had an indoor cage when we first got her and she would be let out when we were home. After a few weeks we took the top off the cage and she still uses the base as her litter tray. One word of advise, choose the position of the tray carefully. I tried to move Truffy's litter tray from it's original position and she did not appreciate it! (i.e went back to the original position so i had to put it back) As for sleeping, Truffy sleeps under my bed upstairs, she is the best alarm clock a girl could have :lol: We did have a problem with Truffy stripping wallpaper but since we have re-decorated she hasn't touched it (maybe she just didn't like our taste in decor :roll: ) She has plenty of toys, a cardboard house and I hide food for her to find during the day to keep her occupied. To be honest though I have a sneeky suspicion all she does is snooze all day.... oh to be a bunny

We have been very llucky with our two, it took a while to litter train them but like loopylop we wouldn't have it any other way!

I don't know what litter you are using but changing to something like wood pellets might help. We use beauticat and you never smell them at all, all you smell is the hay!

They are very lucky to have a whole room to themselves but this was never planned! they just sort of took over and they have a sofa and some blankets and boxes to hide in, we are in the process of getting rid of the hutch cos all they do is pee in it! :shock:

We have had to trian them not to chew the furniture but if you have plenty of toys to distract them it is no problem.

Nothing can beat lying on the sofa and having a bun come up and give you a couple of licks before settling down for a snooze with you I would be lost if they weren't there to follow me around and trip me up and hassle me when I go to the fridge. :lol:

Fern has even now taken to following me to the bathroom and waiting for me to come out! She even managed to sneak in once, I got a hell of a fright when I turned round! :lol: :lol: :lol:

And you get the best help and advice on here!!

Lanny said:

I would be lost if they weren't there to follow me around and trip me up and hassle me when I go to the fridge. :lol:

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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Sophie does that as well! No doubt it won't be that long until she teaches Rudy that the yummies are in mommy's fridge! :lol:

I know!! I am so worried that I am going to squish one of them one day they seem to be scheming to trip me up, they obviously think that if I fall over the food will come quicker! :lol: :lol: :lol:

my pair have the best of both worlds . They can go outside when its nice for a while but I always bring them indoors when its dark , horrible weather etc and when i,m not there to supervise them . We are lucky tho as we have a spare bedroom which has been converted into a bunny den . They are both littertrained but I tend to clean out their indoor hutches and littertrays every day and so far its working well . we also installed a baby gate to stop them running rampage and eating stuff they shouldn,t when we are not in .

my babies had the entire kitchen with a litter tray...well to start with several strategic ones befor they got the hang of it :wink:
since the floor was lino any accidents were easily cleaned. if you empty the litter tray once a day there was very little smell (and that was with three buns using it! )

Chomper is an indoor only bun. She does have a cage that's about 3.5'x2.5', but she rarely ever uses it since she has free run of a 10'x12' bedroom. Eventually, I'd like to allow her to have free run of the house, but right now our dog is just a bit too interested for that to be a safe option. About 3/4 of the room is covered with an area rug, and thankfully we haven't had any issues with Chomper digging at and/or chewing on the carpeting. She is litter trained now, but there are a few stains on the carpet from before she really got the hang of the litter box.

In her bedroom, Chomper has her cage (layered with a bit of Carefresh bedding so it's cozy) where she has a nesting box. She also has several cardboard boxes to play with and nest in. I've cut some holes in the boxes for doors, and she loves to zoom in and out of them. She also enjoys shredding the cardboard and generally making a mess all over the room for mom to clean up. Hehe. I've added some extra layers of cardboard to the bottom of the boxes so she can enjoy digging.

She's also got a variety of toys to keep her entertained when I'm not in there playing with her. She loves cardboard tubes (from toilet paper and paper towel), and she has a small ball with a bell inside that she'll push around.

Right now, we've got over two feet of snow outside so having Chomper play or live outside isn't an option for the time being. In the springtime, my husband and I are planning on building an outdoor run for her so she can enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. We're planning on planting a small garden inside the run so she can also enjoy some really fresh veggies.

For us, housing Chomper outdoors isn't an option. The weather conditions are too extreme from season to season, and we have raccoons and coyotes that roam around, in addition to your typical roaming housecats. I understand, though, that in other parts of the world buns can be very happily housed outdoors. I think indoor vs. outdoor housing is really a matter of personal choice, assuming of course the outdoor conditions are acceptable.

Best of luck!

Our two are house buns and i seriously wouldn't want it any other way! Whispy was bought with the intention of being an outdoor bun but he was so small n cute ended up staying in for the night, then the next and the next.... :roll:

Lilly wasn't planned (she was abandoned in Whispy's old outdoor hutch, and if the other half hadn't decided to take to pieces the day he found her i dread to think :shock: ) but is now speyed as well as Whispy neutered and they have recently moved into their very own 48" x 29" dog crate!

the OH made the shelf (as detailed on the refernece section) and they love it! they play out every night and are so well litter trained that they hold everything in until it's time to go to bed (unless they are desperate then jump into dog crate to use their litter trays).

i think that if Whispy, and then Lil ,had have lived outdoors he wouldn't be the litter character he is (well not that we'd see anyway!) xxxxx

that should say Little character he is
*silly fingers*