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Benefits of Free-range bunnies

Justine said:
There is no way I would say that hutch/run bunnies have a poor quality of life. I would say they have more freedom, experiences and real rabbit living.
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I'm not saying that hutch & run bunnies have a poor quality of life - it's not that black and white (which is what I think Alison meant by binary?).
 
Mine have a 6x8 attached run to their shed. However at least 5 days a week i let them free in the garden. They never binky in the run but loce running round in big circles n binkying in the garden. They also nom tge grass and dig. The doie to the shed us open so they can always go back in. Sometimes they do to sit ob thr flags n chill.
To me free range they always seem happier
 
Poppy only really comes alive when she is free ranging in the garden. She tears around at breakneck speed, she could never do this in a standard enclosure/run.
 
For me its weighing up how much the risk is, I have a very enclosed garden with dogs either side and plenty of cover for the bunnies, they are supervised at all times free ranging. I've never seen a fox or bird of prey in this area, not saying they arent around but they certainly dont make themselves known, theres a huge retired community here and lots of people walking their dogs several times a day, we leave rubbish bags out with bins overnight and they are never touched by the morning, i think if we had alot of foxes in this area they would be. I am close to the forest and farmland so i presume thats where they prefer to be and dont really venture this far down.

There is nothing like seeing Dreamer really open up and sprint down the garden, he just couldnt do that in a run, there just isnt one big enough. Theres a real sense of freedom, they all lay out together under the apple tree and look so content.

There is always a risk, but I think its minimal here and as long as I am aware and with them in the garden I'd rather they had their freedom. They don't get to go out everyday, but they have a big secure 8x8 avairy screwed into concrete to run round 24/7 thats attached to a 8x6 shed so I'm pretty happy with the setup I have.

I think it should be about giving your buns the best you can with the space you have depending on where you live. Theres no right or wrong answer. My parents place is far too open and back onto farmland with birds of prey and foxes everywhere, so their bunnies dont free range but they have a big secure run and stables to play in. :)
 
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Justine said:
Actually, you saying that, with a run, is the recommended 2ft high, high enough to do binkies and have proper bunny fun in?
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My old 2.5ft high run with the roof off.... ;)
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*lily* said:
Ok then! I love the fact that Louie can decide to do what he wants when HE wants to, he doesn't have to wait for me to let him out of a cage :D

He eats when he chooses, runs round, sleeps, chews! whatever he wants to do he can do it :D

I love that he can come and sit with me if he chooses or he can go and have some alone time if that's what he wants. He is so much a part of the household, as much as our cat and I would never shut the cat away in a cage ;)

It's also so easy to clean him out, change the littertray and that's it.

He also gets supervised free range time everyday in the garden, probably around 4 hours or so, in bite sized chunks :D He adores tearing round the garden and leaping around, grazing and annoying the cat!

I would never now keep a rabbit in any type of cage or hutch.
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This.

Plus they can come up to me. I came in the other day laid on the bed to have a quick rest before getting changed and M&M both immediately got on the bed to see me and have a cuddle :love:

I can't free-range mine in the garden though. No gate to the driveway, too many dangerous bits and bobs, too many bulb type plants, too easy for them to slip under the hedge and off into the woods, etc. I have a large 3 foot high run without a lid that's about 14 by 10 ft. My lops love it in there, Smudge likes it, Nutmeg hates it. It's the only place my lops run around and binky (when they aren't eating grass).
 
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im hoping when i move both my guys can be free range full time (house buns) :wave:
they are out all the time we are home but during he week that means just in the morning and evening as we both work full time. our new place has a massive hall way which im gonna bun proof and they will have that all day to play in.
that said i dont think they aren't suffering in any way at the moment. they both have attached home made runs to extend the amount of space they have when we're not there. bella is very muscly and slender and jasper is like a rubber band when he's out 'ping ping ping'!! :lol:
 
nursecroft said:
I've never seen a fox or bird of prey in this area
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Which is exactly what I said until mine were got by a fox! There's no telling when that day will be when one fox does appear in the area. I lived in the middle of a housing estate and had bunnies free ranging for 7 years and said the same thing. The problem is, the first time you know there's a fox around could well be the last time you see your bunnies alive; it was for me.

When we moved here to a village surrounded by fields I also thought that the foxes would be more interested in the easier pickings of the wildlife instead of coming towards the houses, until one day at 11.30 in the morning, a fox appeared on top of H&H's wendy house. You just don't know.

I find it interesting that for you, on balance you let your bunnies free range but don't let your cats out, whereas for me I view the risk as higher to my bunnies and I don't let them free range whereas I do let my cats out. I'm not having a pop at all, I just think it's interesting how we interpret situations differently according to our own experiences :)

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing bunnies free range and that binky pic is just awesome, but it's just for me the risk is too great so I try and give them a good amount of permanent, secure space instead.
 
I think my bunnies quite lucky really because I dont let them free range round the entire garden as its simply too big and I would never catch them! However, we have "The Bunny Garden" as we call it, which used to have the boarding hutches in and while i would never leave them in their unsupervised, its a nice little safe section for them to play it.

They love it in there. I have a shed and a run, which is 6 x 4 and the run is 10 x 5, however...we never see a single binky! When they go in the bunny garden they binky, flop, dig, they love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4K1qspF-P0
Here they are enjoying free range time, all this footage was taken at one free range play time!
 
I would also say the risks are higher if the buns arent supervised . I have also had buns dig out into next doors garden, this can take a matter of minutes
 
my buns aren't free range 24/7 but they do get some time out of their enclosure every day. Tbh I don't think they appreciate the size as much as they do the change of environment. If I put them in an 8x8 pen on the other side of the garden they go nuts, run around and binky, but it's no larger than their permanent run.
The exercise free ranging is obviously something they can't get in most enclosures so there are benefits in that respect but for me the main factor is the mental stimulation they get.

I personally wouldn't say rabbits are free ranging if they just have one room, unless it's an absolutely massive room.
I've seen people on another forum say their rabbits are free range but my outside accommodation is bigger than their room and I definitely wouldn't say mine are free range.

I may be bringing mine inside when I have my spare room sorted, but I still wouldn't let them be free range 24/7. It's just too risky (for my flat and the buns!).
 
When mine go in the garden its only ever free range. No point buying a run when the gardens secure and concrete so they can't dig out :lol: And the only cats that come in our garden when I'm out there with the buns are my cats who are used to the bunnys :D

I wouldn't leave my bunnys unsupervised though. I know nothing would happen but what if one of them hurt themselves? I'd feel guilty.
 
Santa said:
Which is exactly what I said until mine were got by a fox! There's no telling when that day will be when one fox does appear in the area. I lived in the middle of a housing estate and had bunnies free ranging for 7 years and said the same thing. The problem is, the first time you know there's a fox around could well be the last time you see your bunnies alive; it was for me.

When we moved here to a village surrounded by fields I also thought that the foxes would be more interested in the easier pickings of the wildlife instead of coming towards the houses, until one day at 11.30 in the morning, a fox appeared on top of H&H's wendy house. You just don't know.

I find it interesting that for you, on balance you let your bunnies free range but don't let your cats out, whereas for me I view the risk as higher to my bunnies and I don't let them free range whereas I do let my cats out. I'm not having a pop at all, I just think it's interesting how we interpret situations differently according to our own experiences :)

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing bunnies free range and that binky pic is just awesome, but it's just for me the risk is too great so I try and give them a good amount of permanent, secure space instead.
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I have said that i dont under estimate the risk they may be around. I am with them all the time in the garden. I do let Crystal my tiffanie cat out when im in the garden because she stays with me so is also supervised, i would let any animal out unsupervised to roam where ever.

My garden is completely closed off by the bungalow and garage from the front with an enclosed area in between the two. My fences are 6-7ft high and i have retired couples on all sides including at the back that have their dogs out all day.

To me i think the risk is minimal that a fox will appear in daylight, in my garden with me there and dogs on all sides and at most houses in the housing area i live in. Mine have a huge permentant safe space too, i just like to give them time when im out to stretch their legs because i am lucky enough to have the place for them to do that.

Like I said my parents house backs onto fields i would never free range them there.

The risk is never 0 but you have to weigh it up depending on the area you live in, i think my bunnies free ranging here for a couple of hours vs letting my cats out unsupervised to run across roads, into other peoples gardens with the possibility of poison or dogs plus the countless other risks doesnt really compare.
 
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I would never let rabbits free range unsupervised, however if you are lucky enough to have a secure garden and you can supervise their free ranging, then great. The benefits are fantastic.

However, we used to free range our rabbits, supervised and unsupervised, and a fox got my rabbit, she escaped but died of shock that night. I would never free range bunnies unsupervised because of my past experience.
 
nursecroft said:
My fences are 6-7ft high and i have retired couples on all sides including at the back that have their dogs out all day.

To me i think the risk is minimal that a fox will appear in daylight, in my garden with me there and dogs on all sides
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Yep, just like the fox that I saw at 11.30 in the morning, which jumped a 6ft fence into my garden while I was in the garden, from next door where the neighbour was also in his garden with his spaniel, when the fox appeared in his garden from the walled garden to the house the other side of him, where they also have 2 dogs...

I just know that my personal experience has taught me that I can never make those assumptions about where foxes are, where they will and won't go, and whether they will go there with people/dogs present, because I have been proved wrong twice and sadly on one of those occasions it was to my rabbits' detriment. If a fox does appear, it doesn't matter if you're standing in the garden with them; if they're unpenned, you simply can't round multiple rabbits up safely in one swift move, IMO.
 
Santa said:
Yep, just like the fox that I saw at 11.30 in the morning, which jumped a 6ft fence into my garden while I was in the garden, from next door where the neighbour was also in his garden with his spaniel, when the fox appeared in his garden from the walled garden to the house the other side of him, where they also have 2 dogs...

I just know that my personal experience has taught me that I can never make those assumptions about where foxes are, where they will and won't go, and whether they will go there with people/dogs present, because I have been proved wrong twice and sadly on one of those occasions it was to my rabbits' detriment. If a fox does appear, it doesn't matter if you're standing in the garden with them; if they're unpenned, you simply can't round multiple rabbits up safely in one swift move, IMO.
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I know, like I said there is never 0 risk. I'm not making assumptions, im weighing up the risk to my rabbits. I would never un-estimate foxes, however its highly unlikely that they would in daylight with dogs on all sides come into my garden im not saying its impossible. To me its a very minimal risk given the area i live in. Letting your cats roam is a far far bigger risk in my opinion.
 
I think it really is AREA DEPENDENT and the situation of your house/garden.

I am 99.9% confident that there is virtually no risk in my garden from foxes or birds of prey for several reasons unique to the area I live and the way our garden is laid out.

I live in the city centre of a city that has very few foxes, and I have seen none in the centre itself in all the 10 years I have lived here. There is no waste land (a popular spot for the urban fox) as everything is developed into flats/houses where I am. We live in a circle of town houses that used to be a complex of various things... ice rink, speedway etc. and the perimeter 15ft brick wall is still there today and completely encloses the whole of the ring of houses except for where the one road comes in and out. This is not suburbia but a truly urban location literally 5-10 mins walk from the city centre itself.
The houses are built in a ring all separated by 6ft6 fences and so there is no way in or out for a fox. The gardens are too small for birds of prey to land safely without wing damage, and the only bird of prey that would is a sparrow hawk and I have only ever seen one - plus a sparrow hawk would neither be interested in or capable of taking an adult bunny.
No body has dogs, there are a few cats around but we have cat spikes on our fences so they can't come in the garden anymore.
Saying this we still supervise free range time and would never leave a bun out unsupervised unless in a secure run.

It really does depend on your living situation.

When I am at my parents in very rural Somerset again the foxes there are terrified of people and keep a very big distance and are never out during the day, despite the fact it is farmland and backs on to fields. If the buns are with us we supervise closely in the safe garden none the less just incase.

When I was a child we lost all 10 of our bunnies to a fox from insecure runs that got broken into overnight, so I DO know the risks and the result :cry:

ETA oh and the soil is sandy top soil on top of builder's rubble - I can barely dig a hole big enough to plant a daffodil bulb.... there is no chance of digging a hole big enough under the fence or a run unless the fox/dog has a JCB ;)
 
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