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Indoor bun or outdoor bun

Sp-h

New Kit
I've asked about a billion questions on this forum so sorry !! I'm just trying to explore my options before committing to something I'm not sure about:

I think my parents are going to let me get another rabbit friend for percy as he's been alone since we bought him from a pet store, we weren't told that rabbits live together, and I just don't think it's fair to make him live alone outside although I do give him as much attention as I possibly can !! and I'm not going to be moving out for university at all because my campus is a 20 minute train ride from me so I don't see the point, and afterwards I'm not going to be moving out because I want to save for a house when I'm ready to move as I don't want to rent but that's another story.

So I've found a rescue center and a rabbit that'd love to get and I'm so excited because she sounds like her personality matches my current rabbits and its great !! One of my problems is I kinda want them to live in my bedroom with me because I'd be able to give them alot of attention and love but I'm worried about my room getting smelly because of them (I have two guinea pigs in my room currently as well but I'm sure if they will be able to stay with us as one has started to bully the other but i'm talking to a vet about that to see if neutering will help) as well as this I'm concerned about space, my room is fairly big but it's an awkward shape so things like my wardobe fill it up alot but I'd still be able to fit a 4x3 foot pen (I've spoken to the rescue and they're happy with the pen size) in there and they'd still have a lot of room to run around but i'm paranoid that it's not going to be enough I'm worried they won't like living in a bedroom as well and that they won't like me for it. I plan to having them free roaming whenever I'm home, letting them go into other rooms where I can watch them and attaching a run to their pen when I'm not home.

That's option 1, option 2 is having them outdoors. If I do this i'm having my hutch built, as I am with my pen, and I've squared the size of it with the rescue and they're happy with it as well as the run but with this im worried that the rabbits will fight over night or something and hurt each other whereas if they're in my room I can keep an eye on them and currently there is little to no grass in my garden and the ground is quite soggy because of a lot of rain and cold weather so would that affect a rabbit? I think I'm just being paranoid and I just wanna get a second, third, forth, fifth+ opinion on the situdation.

Thanks xx
 
It's a very personal decision, and it's a hard one definitely!

If you neuter and spay the rabbits they will smell less, and are easier to litter train. Sorry, can't remember if your boy is already done and if the girl will be done before coming home! If you use underbed storage boxes instead of commercially available litter trays that'll help too, as they're deeper and wider so it's a lot easier to contain the mess! With them living inside you'd want to clean their trays out at least once every 2 days to keep the smell down. Something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catit-Jumbo-Hooded-Litter-Tray/dp/B0057XF6U4 (which I have for outside) would be great for containing the hay more as well. I find megazorb a good substrate for the litter tray as I find it helps keep smells down, and others on here may have some great suggestions too regarding which litter contains the smells as I'm not too fussed because my two are outside!

I know I posted about the boyles pet housing enclosure on your other thread but I'd definitely recommend that to help contain the mess too, and if you lay lino down underneath it'll be a breeze to sweep up. If you go for another enclosure I'd definitely still want to lay lino down too, and even go as far as to create a wooden lip around the outside to contain the hay etc.

For me the main thing would be the size of the outdoor accommodation that you'd be allowed. If the shed/run size would be say 14ft or something amazing I'd be tempted to have them outside, but if they aren't gaining the most amount of space outdoors then I think the social component with you living in the same room would make me say indoors. I would definitely go with the biggest space you can for an indoor enclosure just in case your girl bun is destructive and you end up needing to keep them caged apart from supervised free range. Also bear in mind that bunnies are crepuscular so are most active at dawn and dusk, so this is the times where it's most vital that they're let out for a run around.

When properly bonded the chance of them fighting outside is no more than when inside. It is slightly harder to spot illness if they're outside, but most of us on this forum manage to spot illness within a good time frame still. Grass is not a neccessity but if the ground is absolutely soggy I would recommend putting down some slabs for inside their run as soggy bunnies are not fun!

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer in your case, so either way I think it'd be a good decision for your bun(nies!) :)
 
I'm by no means an expert, I've only had my rabbit (Mr Higgins) since March. He's been indoors for the last few months and i have to say I'm really surprised that he doesn't smell at all. It was definitely a concern to me but my worries were for nothing. I think as long as you clean his litter tray out daily he'll be absolutely fine. I have Mr H in a 4ft X 4ft run in the spare room (not ideal but the best I can do for now) and he's downstairs with me during the day, usually from about 9 in the morning until 6 in the evening. I know everyone says rabbits should be kept in pairs and I don't doubt that for a second but my bunny seems very happy on his own although I know it's probably because I spend a lot of time with him. I will consider getting him a friend when spring comes round again. Hope that's a help to you but I'm still learning myself. I'm sure someone else will be able to offer you some great advice.
 
The other thing to keep in mind is rabbits can be noisy - throwing toys around etc. so if you are a light sleeper that could be an issue having them in your room.
 
Thanks for all the replies !! Its helped put my mind at ease lmao, I'm not too concerned about the noise really apparently im a really heavy sleeper so that's not an issue !! I'm thinking of trialling my current rabbit in my room and see how that goes :)
 
You get so much more out of having rabbits if you have them inside with you, I had mine outside then bought my own home and they live in the utility room which is open to the kitchen.

I tried having them in my room, when i was at home with parents, but they are too noisy!
 
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