Free ranging

[fizabella]

The other day, I took Maia into the garden because it was a really nice, sunny day. It started off well, until she realised she really liked the garden. She went from a few tentative hops to running up and down to full on binkies! :lol:
Then it went downhill, she crawled under a fallen fence in the back of my garden and sat there eating the grass. At first I didn't mind because she'd come out when I called her - then I think she realised I couldn't get under there and wouldnt come out (naughty girl :lol After about an hour, she came out from under the fence and I went to get her and bring her back in, and she ran into the neighbour's garden! I did manage to get her and bring her back indoors safely, she clearly enjoyed herself a lot because she flopped out and looked like she'd fallen asleep as soon as she got in.

Later on, her poops were small, black and a lot more wet-looking than her normal golden poops

So I have two questions here:

1) were her poops like this because of the grass she'd eaten? I thought rabbits really liked grass, and I know some people here give their rabbits grass and dandelions etc as healthy treats for their rabbits, does this happen to your rabbits as well?

2) How do you let your rabbits free range?

Did you let them settle in for a long time before allowing them into the garden so they wouldn't run off? Maia is settled in, in the sense that she seems happy indoors, but I don't think she's settled in enough to actually stick around if she was given the chance to run freely.
Are your gardens completely rabbit-proofed? If so, what did you do to rabbit-proof them?
Or do you keep a close eye on your rabbit? I hear some people have their rabbits on a harness and a long lead in the garden, but I'm not sure if this is a nice thing to do.

Thanks

PS I've learnt my lesson, Maia won't be going outside again until I know how to properly keep her safe out there

 

[KarenM]

1) It's normal for poops to be a little smaller and darker when bunnies have been eating grass (my bunnies sometimes have poops that are a little moister looking too as a result - they're still firm and crumbly but the outside has a sort of 'shine' to them, rather than them being sloppy though - I'm not sure if that's the sort of thing you meant) & grass is just as good for them as hay. If Maia isn't used to eating grass though, it could be that she overdid it a little bit (it can be quite rich when they're not used to it) so you might want to build up her time out gradually.

2) I only let Alfie and Lola out when I'm there to watch them (because of predators and so they don't get themselves into a pickle) and I make sure they have access to an area that's as escape-proof as I can make it. I've had Alfie for 4 years, but I still wouldn't trust him not to try to escape if he spied an opportunity. :roll::lol: I use puppy pen panels to block off the bottom end of the garden as it's a tip - depending on the layout of your garden you could do something similar maybe.

To get them back in, I trained them both to respond to the shaking of their food bowl (by making the noise at mealtimes when they were already in the hutch initially) and so now they run back into their house at the sound as they know they'll be fed.

 

[xoxShooterxox]

Rabbits seem to act crazy when outside
You should see shooter! Looks like he just ate a bag of fruit loops!! (No I don't feed him fruit loops. Fruit loops are really high on sugar!)

 

[xoxShooterxox]

1) It's normal for poops to be a little smaller and darker when bunnies have been eating grass (my bunnies sometimes have poops that are a little moister looking too as a result - they're still firm and crumbly but the outside has a sort of 'shine' to them, rather than them being sloppy though - I'm not sure if that's the sort of thing you meant) & grass is just as good for them as hay. If Maia isn't used to eating grass though, it could be that she overdid it a little bit (it can be quite rich when they're not used to it) so you might want to build up her time out gradually.

2) I only let Alfie and Lola out when I'm there to watch them (because of predators and so they don't get themselves into a pickle) and I make sure they have access to an area that's as escape-proof as I can make it. I've had Alfie for 4 years, but I still wouldn't trust him not to try to escape if he spied an opportunity. :roll::lol: I use puppy pen panels to block off the bottom end of the garden as it's a tip - depending on the layout of your garden you could do something similar maybe.

To get them back in, I trained them both to respond to the shaking of their food bowl (by making the noise at mealtimes when they were already in the hutch initially) and so now they run back into their house at the sound as they know they'll be fed.

I always watch shooter with every move(cause I'm creepy & obsessed with him)
He dosnt leave the lawn! Only on a few occasions he will have a sneak at the neighbors garden, but j grab him before he has a chance to even reach their driveway! He has never touch the sidewalk! He's so good.. Sometimes

 

[fizabella]

Thank you for the advice but Maia has gone to the bridge