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Questions about keeping a pair of rabbits

houndour

Warren Scout
Hi,

I've never had a rabbit before, but I've been reading up on them for years. I will soon be in the position to own a rabbit as hopefully I'll be moving house before christmas.

My boyfriend and I want to re-home a pair of rabbits (i've got my eye on some already :))

My questions:
1. What is a good size hut and run for 2 rabbits? I think we'll be getting medium sized rabbits (def not large).
2. We both work, but I guess a lot of people do. Do you leave the rabbits in the hutch all day and let them out whenever your home? Is this enough?
3. My plan is to let them in the living room with us in the evenings and hopefully house train them a bit. My question is do rabbits make a room smell bad? We're actually going to renting, but its renting from relatives and they know we're getting rabbits, but I'm not 100% sure they'd let them go in the house. I was wondering if I could get away with it?

Thanks,

Sam
 
Hi

Hi,

Good luck on finding the bunnies for you - you will be able to get a pair of already neutered buns from most rescues.

Re. your questions:

1. What is a good size hut and run for 2 rabbits? I think we'll be getting medium sized rabbits (def not large).
I would say for two, at least 5 foot, preferably with either an attached run or an enclosed garden. Although many on this forum keep house rabbits and there are several recent threads on housing that may be worth looking into.

2. We both work, but I guess a lot of people do. Do you leave the rabbits in the hutch all day and let them out whenever your home? Is this enough?
I think if the hutch is large enough with a run attached then this should be fine - I have recently bought a shed for mine to have the run of when we are out.

3. My plan is to let them in the living room with us in the evenings and hopefully house train them a bit. My question is do rabbits make a room smell bad?
If they don't live in there and they are litter trained there should be virtually no smell. Unneutered males tend to whiff a bit. However, the smell would be the least of your worries if you are in rented accommodation. Rabbits chew (sofas, doorframes, skirting boards, carpets, etc.) and you would have to bunny proof the house.

Have fun with your new buns.
 
I'd think a minimum cage size for two medium rabbits (I'm thinking mini-lop size?) would be 4'x2'x2' or so - bigger is better.

Leaving them in their cage for the day should be ok; rabbits are crepuscular and are most active in the morning and early evening. They'll need to be let out every day for a good run around though. When we let ours out during the day (at weekends and so on) they usually either just stay in their cages or hide and sleep behind the sofa - they seem to prefer having somewhere a bit secluded and quiet during the day.

They shouldn't smell as long as they're not ill and you clean the cage regularly.

Of course, I now see that someone else has beaten me to it! Doh...
 
Thanks for your help.

I guess whether we'll get away with having the rabbits inside depends on if they chew a lot then! All the furniture will be ours, so its just the carpet, skirting and door to worry about! I'll also need to rabbit proof the TV wires.

The garden is not enclosed enough, so it'll have to be a run. My boyfriend is going to build the run. I've seen some runs that have wire on the bottom, to stop rabbits that dig from getting out. Is this a good idea?

While we're at work, should the rabbits be kept in the hutch, or is it ok to leave the door open with access to the run? I worry about foxes...I could imagine they could get into a run if they wanted to.

Sam
 
houndour said:
I guess whether we'll get away with having the rabbits inside depends on if they chew a lot then! All the furniture will be ours, so its just the carpet, skirting and door to worry about! I'll also need to rabbit proof the TV wires.

If they're only coming in for visits they'll have less time to chew, plus you'll be there to keep an eye on them. Definitely cover all your cables as they can chew through them very quickly, and keep an eye on them if they venture near. Most of the damage in our house is done when we're not looking. Our bunnies live in the house permanently and you can't watch them 24/7 and of course the little bleeders know that and time their actions accordingly.

You'll need to watch out for wee. Even after they've been littered trained, a bunny confronted with a whole new territory is likely to want to leave its mark somewhere.

It sounds horrible, letting these little chew monsters in to your house, but the rewards are worth it. You get to know your bunnies so much better when you have them in your home with you.
 
FIDDLE STICKS FIDDLE STICKS!!!

You can buy them in Pets @ Home and they are an ESSENTIAL item(s) to stop bunny chewing! Before I purchased them Billy would go around chewing around the door frames of my house (grrrrrrrrrr!! I had just painted them a beautiful white gloss :evil: )

I have 3 in their room and whenever they feel a chew coming on they tend to go for them now or strategically place them around corners, like the door frame, where they will nibble (they are bendy!!)

I am getting some more as they make fun ramps and bridges and jumps, etc :D

Have fun! :D
 
Hi There,

Just a quick note on the renting issue: I also rent with my boyfriend and you will be happy to know that rabbits do not smell. Just be careful not to give them out of date greens, I don’t know about all rabbits but it doesn’t do Toby to good if the greens are out of date as I experienced once. Good luck with your new bunnies :)
 
lol OK I'll avoid the out of date greens!! We now have a home for our rabbits. Hopefully we are picking it up Monday. Our home however is nowhere near finished :( I just hope we will be allowed to put the playhouse in the garden!!

We might be going to a rabbit center tomorrow to take a look and to get some advice from some experts :) I'm really excited, but its a pain not being able to give any rabbits a new home just yet.
 
Carpet tiles or off cuts are good for covering corners if bunny likes to dig there.

And as Bertie says The damage is done when your not looking!!
 
boy, they can really burrow into the carpet! in the corner Jack has taken to destroy i've put a small table, which holds down the carpet, and then i've stacked up some small kids toys to distract him. it's v early days but so far it's working...........





but for how long????
 
Hi Sam,

:rabbit2: :rabbit2: I also have two indoor rabbits and live in rented accomodation. They were quite easy to housetrain. It helped by putting some hay around their litter tray so they could munch away whilst on the toilet. I use Carefresh bedding to avoid smells and it works very well. They have a 5x2x2 foot run that they are in whilst we are out and I incorporated the bottom of an old cupboard into it for something for them to explore and hide in.

I learn't the hard way with my buns. They can be monsters :twisted: at times and have been quite destructive in the past, although they are alot better now. They've had a go at the carpet, telephone wire and furniture. I put it down to boredom or attention seeking, so I put loads of things around for them to play with. The local pound shop is my saviour! There is a good section on RR about free toys to make for rabbits. I've made tunnels, hidey places, balls, houses from cardboard boxes. Wicker, willow and seagrass things are very chewable, and of course, lots of hay! Also, their run is on some hard wearing rug mats I bought from Poundstretcher for £3 to protect the carpet. All wires are barricaded out of reach.

Even though I'm probably going to have to replace the carpet :( , I wouldn't change them for the world! They are the most gorgeous and funny bunsters and you get to know them so well when they are inside. :love: You'll enjoy them immensly. They're more fun to watch than the TV!
 
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