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New rabbits housing??

Sp-h

New Kit
I've been planning on getting my bun Percy a friend, he's about 2 now and when we first got him he was fine without one but now he seems really bored when he's alone even when I give him loads of toys and sitimulation !! I've wanted to get a friend for him that's a similar age to him but the only shelter that has rabbits in it is about an hour away and they don't seem to have females at any point.

However I recently went to a garden centre and they have two young females (I think they said 6 months) that I put in reserve over the weekend this morning I was just thinking if I could get a 2 year old rabbit to bond with both of them?

As well as this if I did get the rabbits I'd love for them to live indoors as I have a few friends with indoor rabbits that really enjoy their company however Percy lives outside at the moment so if I got the two rabbits and Percy bonded with both of them would I be able to bring all three indoors providing I have enough room for them. Does anyone have any ideas for housing for indoor rabbits, should I get a hutch that I could leave open for them to come in and out as they please? Or would it be best to keep Percy outdoors because he's lived outside ever since we adopted him.

Thanks x
 
Outdoor bunnies can convert to indoor, that's not a problem.

Do lots of reading on bonding though. He needs to be neutered, and the female needs to be spayed. Do you plan on bonding him with a single lady or as a trio with both girls? The latter is a lot harder than the former!
 
I've been planning on getting my bun Percy a friend, he's about 2 now and when we first got him he was fine without one but now he seems really bored when he's alone even when I give him loads of toys and sitimulation !! I've wanted to get a friend for him that's a similar age to him but the only shelter that has rabbits in it is about an hour away and they don't seem to have females at any point.

However I recently went to a garden centre and they have two young females (I think they said 6 months) that I put in reserve over the weekend this morning I was just thinking if I could get a 2 year old rabbit to bond with both of them?

As well as this if I did get the rabbits I'd love for them to live indoors as I have a few friends with indoor rabbits that really enjoy their company however Percy lives outside at the moment so if I got the two rabbits and Percy bonded with both of them would I be able to bring all three indoors providing I have enough room for them. Does anyone have any ideas for housing for indoor rabbits, should I get a hutch that I could leave open for them to come in and out as they please? Or would it be best to keep Percy outdoors because he's lived outside ever since we adopted him.

Thanks x

Moving your outdoor male indoors is no problem - it's just a case of slowly transitioning him to the temperature indoors. It's best to put him in some sort of outhouse or conservatory with the heating off for a week or two, and then move him into the main house into another room with the heating off for another week or so and then it'd be fine to start increasing the temperature.

Trios tend to be quite tricky. A male and female bond would be a lot easier in most cases. Do bear in mind that your boy needs to be neutered and the girls need to be spayed at least 8 weeks prior to them having ANY contact at all.

Whereabouts are you? There's a good list of rescues here: http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/centres.asp

Housing for indoor rabbits is a very broad topic so there's some pics here: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?304613-Indoor-Housing-Tips-amp-Examples. You can either give them a very small base for their food, water and tray etc but you can never shut them in (except for flicking the hoover round the house or something) or you can go for bigger housing and only let them out when supervised. Personally if I had indoor rabbits I'd get one of these and get it as large as possible: http://www.boylespethousing.co.uk/rabbit-housing/indoor-rabbit-cage.html. These pens come as standard at 6.5ft x 3.2ft which is a good size area but it depends what you want to do with it. If they're going to be let out for only 6 or so hours a day then it needs to be 8 x 4ft according to the RWAF but if they won't be shut in at all or only for 6 hours or so then the standard pen size would be perfect.

You can also get puppy pens but there has been several incidents of rabbits getting their heads stuck and hanging themselves, so I'd avoid anything with large spaced bars.
 
Thanks for all the information !! I've looked at the pens and they super, would I be able to get one with a lid on or fashion a lid for it. I have two cats and they're normally fine with my rabbit but I don't know how they'll react to him being in the house (again they should be fine but just in case) I plan on letting him out whenever I'm home so he might only be shut in when I'm not home and when I go to bed etc etc :D
 
Thanks for all the information !! I've looked at the pens and they super, would I be able to get one with a lid on or fashion a lid for it. I have two cats and they're normally fine with my rabbit but I don't know how they'll react to him being in the house (again they should be fine but just in case) I plan on letting him out whenever I'm home so he might only be shut in when I'm not home and when I go to bed etc etc :D

I'm sure Boyles would be happy to do a lid for you for an extra cost, and I would recommend it if you have cats. He's actually active on this forum - his username is Daniel so he may pop up! Cats are generally fine with rabbits but it's not advised to leave them unsupervised at any point, so a lid would be a good idea. Cat scratches can be fatal even if the cat doesn't mean to hurt the bunny.

It sounds great that the bunnies should have a good amount of free range time. Bunnies are crepuscular which means they're most active at dawn and dusk, so since they're likely to be shut in during the night it's important to get a really big pen. RWAF recommends 8 x 4ft now so I'd definitely want to get that size or the same square footage. :D
 
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