Housing and Play Advice.

Hey Guys, new here, as i really needed some advice. here goes......

So a few months back my sister gave me a baby rabbit(German Lop). At the moment he is 4-5 years old. Healthy and playful. But i got him on the brink of the weather change(UK).
At the moment he has a 2-teir large hutch. I've kept it in my outhouse, but it's more of a passage. I have the kitchen then out the kitchen door is connected to the outhouse, but not immediately attached, it has a sheltered passage with doors etc. I've kept him in here, because until the summer/good weather comes back around and i can buy/set up a nice big hutch and attached run outside(already planned).
On some days where the sun is out, and the wind is down, i let hm out in his run, which he loves. But most days it's rainy, windy and too damn cold. So i let him run around my living room(3ish hours). He's potty trained so ain't gotta worry about poo and pee on the carpet. He gets more exercise here than he does outside.
My question is, is this an alright system until the summer comes back around??

Thanks for reading.
Matthew

Hi Matthew,

Most (well, all) hutches on the market, unless you have one custom made, are really too small for a large breed bunny like a german lop. Also, he should really have a permanently attached run so he can excercise whenever he wants to. I realise you are planning to build something next year, which is great :thumb: for now, to give him a bit more space, could you perhaps just have him free range indoors all the time? (if it's possible, without seeing the space it's hard to assess )

Also (and bear with me as I might be getting confused here) - I read it that his hutch is in an unheated outbuilding, and he comes indoors to play? If that is the case, it's really not advised as bringing them inside and out and changing the temperatures can cause all sorts of issues, especially in a baby. If he has been inside with the heating on for any length of time he is going to need to stay inside now, until the spring.

Did you mean he was 4-5 months old not years? As if he is 4-5 he's certainly not a baby! :lol:

It's also a good idea to look into getting him a spayed female friend, they are much happier in pairs :thumb:

haha yeah sorry 4-5 months. I am aware about this temperature change thing. When i bring him indoors, i keep the heating off, so his body doesn't have to much of a shock. So would you advise i keep him a indoor rabbit until i have his set-up for him next summer. Or do you think it's safe for a 4-5 month year old to be outdoors(all set up properly).

And this set-up i have now is not advised??

Matthew

MitsuXII said:

haha yeah sorry 4-5 months. I am aware about this temperature change thing. When i bring him indoors, i keep the heating off, so his body doesn't have to much of a shock. So would you advise i keep him a indoor rabbit until i have his set-up for him next summer. Or do you think it's safe for a 4-5 month year old to be outdoors(all set up properly).

And this set-up i have now is not advised??

Matthew

Click to expand...

It's not so much that a young rabbit wouldn't cope outside, it's more than he has been in, then out etc. I don't have my heating on in my house at the moment but it's still at least 15-20 degrees inside but has been as low as 1degree outside, so that's quite a temperature change. The risk is that he has/will shed his winter coat due to the periods where he has been kept warm, and then he will be very cold outside without a full winter coat.

It's hard to tell whether your current set up is ok - could you describe/add photos etc? I just know my two giant breeds (french lop and french lop x continental giant) would not be happy in the vast majority of hutches on the market. They have a dog kennel and run set up which gives them just over 60 sq ft of space and then get free range time on the grass (area of 12ft by 15ft) at least twice a week. They love their space!!! Saying that I do have a 9ft hutch which I use for boarding, but that was custom made

Well, from what you've said, i think he's gonna be a house bunny. There are more pro's to inside than outside. I have a large front room with a space in the corner. I already have the set-up and all i have to do is customize the run, to sort of corner it off (he'll have a huge space), because i have a daughter, but i can open the flap when she goes to bed and he can run round the front room. Thanks for you advice, didn't know temp changed could effect him that much.

Matthew, again thanks