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Doubting whether to move them or not

Alicia

Mama Doe
My rabbits have always been outside, Izzy is an old rabbit and her legs are a bit weak and she sleeps most of the time, Beans is 8 months old and is healthy. I've recently moved to a flat and I've bought a pen for the rabbits to live in, but I'm now undecided because they've always lived outside and have never moved house so if I bring them here will they wonder why they're not at home? Or am I thinking too much into it? I don't want them to be unhappy, but I'm also struggling to settle in here and I'd love to have them with me. Their pen is downstairs, and all our rooms are upstairs but we're in and out quite a lot so they'd still have human interaction and once they're litter trained they'll be able to run round the flat when we're home. I just don't want them to be unhappy
 
Is there no way you could bring their pen upstairs? Also, you can buy extension panels for the pen you have and change the shape around to fit where you want it to go. It does seem a shame that they aren't upstairs with you - it would help you all settle in to your new home.
 
There's not really space up here :( I plan on spending a lot of time down there with them and once they're settled they can run around up here and just use the pen as a base. I'm was thinking of bringing everything from their hutch so it smells like them
 
I would take them with you. I worried about this with Beano and Gordon, as they had always lived outside (bar when Beano was a baby) and we 6 years old. I took them with me into my flat, and I do think Beano actually preferred living outdoors. But doesn't mean she wasn't happy and her care/attention was much better with me than it would've been left at home. And it ended up being better for her as developed health issues which needed a lot of care and couldn't live outdoors. After 2 years I moved to a house and she loved having time in the garden again.
 
Lopsy is a somewhat different rabbit indoors: I don't think he's necessarily happier one way or the other, but he does behave differently. Well, he was on his own then but he was much more human-centric indoors than out, even as a singlebun.
 
I think I might do it, I know it's quite selfish but I'm struggling to settle without them and they'll get more attention here. I'll keep the hutch and run at my parents house and if they're not happy they can go back in the spring. I think it would do Izzy some good, she's quite a fragile old lady and I'm not sure she'd manage well this winter
 
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