• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Is it 'Wrong' to Keep House Rabbits ?

dear Susie bun,--indoor bun has more fun!-rr,-because they are eager chewers-cover all electrical-,computer wires,--I used plastic tubing-slit down the middle-for ease of application...the bunz are better protected from predators and easier to diagnois for medical problems-[because they hide their discomfort]--sincerely james waller from across the great pond-usa

My first rabbit, Spenser Milton, 'wrote' a little book called 'A Housebunny's Guide to Life'!
 
dear Susie bun,--I knew it --there had to be a novelist in the family...language of the lagamorph,-must have been underwritten by rabbits,--rr-rrr. sincerely james waller from across the great pond-usa
 
Due to my health, i could only have a house rabbit, and since i got her at 4 months old, she is now 5 and a half months and a very happy bunny, she is out for at least 6-8 hours a day having the run of living room and kitchen, gets on great with my dogs, she will flop down beside them, she follows me and will honk and charge up on me for cuddles and groom me, she has a soil dig box that she loves, so still has that 'wild instinct' fulfilled.
She mostly comes when called too, an unhappy bunny would not be so chilled,and affectionate, and even though i REALLY hate the word 'binky' she goes nuts lol often using the dogs to jump over, or on!
 
All my bunnies have spent time indoors and outdoors, I reckon I’ve had two that preferred outside, two that preferred inside, and one that didn’t care where she was :lol:

The one thing that I like about indoor setups as opposed to outdoor setups is that I’ve always been in a position to give them their own room and keep most of my home bunny proof so they can play without supervision outside of their living space. My bunnies without a doubt had more freedom and room to run around inside everywhere we lived. I was in a part of Britain that was quite safe for bunnies as there was no foxes etc, all I had to worry about was neighbours cats being chased away by one of my rabbits, and I still didn’t feel confident just leaving them to it. It really limited their playtime outside of their runs, especially in winter when you can’t easily bring them into the house for a play due to the temperature change.

It doesn’t feel great having no choice in the matter now, but I think when that’s the case it’s usually for good reason. I’m meeting my new bunny today and they will be a house rabbit. The rescue wouldn’t rehome to me I wanted to keep them outside. We have coyotes, bears and eagles around here, and the temperature gets to -30 degrees in winter. I am going to try and bunny proof the balcony though so he can at least get some fresh air!
 
Last edited:
Interesting topic, we rehome to both outdoor and indoor homes both with and without supervised garden access.

I think enrichment and free range time if 24/7 indoors is vitally important and that rabbits are homed carefully to ensure they will be happy in a solely indoor environment and that they can still exhibit the full range of natural behaviours such as digging etc and have access to enough hay at all times.

In almost all indoor only adoption applications we have to correct these things as the rabbits, particularly when they don't have their own room are often provided with minimal hay and few suitable enrichment items so as not to impact the humans environment. This is ultimately why humans 'items' get damaged and rabbits show unwanted behaviours which many people refuse to take responsibility for.

If supervised garden time isn't an option we ask that they have supervised free range time inside the home.
 
Last edited:
I would think that enrichment, free range time, ability to exhibit natural behaviours and 24 hour access to hay would be as important outside as it is in.

I was pondering on this indoor outdoor thing last night (new bun in the house, makes you question all your choices!) and the major downside of free range house bunnies I would say is keeping them (and your belongings) safe.
Outside it's so easy to keep them where you want them and things that could harm them out of the way. Indoors does require being extra careful. Any foods and cleaning products need to be kept well out of their way, nooks and crannies need to be blocked up, you need to check carpets and throws regularly to make sure they aren't eating any dangerous fibres. The house is basically full of hazards. None of mine have ever really shown any interest in anything dangerous which is lucky but I've lost a couple of bras, one handbag strap, two decorative storage boxes and a tonne of braided USB cables to naughty chomping; no biggie for their welfare (lets call it enrichment :lol:) but a definite downside for me!
Of course, when I kept them in their own room it was very comparable to when they had their shed/run, and outdoor free range would have it's own risks.
 
I would think that enrichment, free range time, ability to exhibit natural behaviours and 24 hour access to hay would be as important outside as it is in.

I presume what tabithakat64 meant was that these natural behaviours are very incompatible with human furnishings, which could come as a shock to some people and some may even decide to rehome the bunnies. Most people are less worried about the destruction and mess if the bunnies are outdoors.
 
I loved it when Frosty and Snowflake were babies and lived indoors. Once they were bonded to Tessie and Daisy they were all outdoors. Tessie especially is a real outdoor rabbit. The others mainly stay in the shed.

They all adore free range garden time.

My two lovely house rabbits, Loganberry and Moondust have a room indoors and seem very contented.

All six love a good old lounge.

Having them indoors is sooooo much more relaxing but I so think some outdoor time is of great benefit to them.
 
I originally bought a rabbit for my family six years ago. Initially, he was to be a free house rabbit, with no cage, his bed, food and water was kept in the kitchen, and he had open access to my private, secure garden. This all worked fine until he started chewing any cables he could find within the house. Eventually, we had to close off the rest of the house to him and a safe place where he could do not cause any damage was in the kitchen (which is large) but with access at all times to the outside garden. His name is Toddy and he thrives under these circumstances, he spends most of his time in the outside garden, which is a mature garden where there are many places for him to explore and enjoy. He used to spend most of his time chasing the birds off the lawn, but now they take no notice of him and stay where they are and he just sits as close as 10 inches away from them studying them. He has a regular cat that pops in to see him and they seen to get on well. He seems to enjoy the garden in all winds and weathers and very rarely comes in to shelter, I have all sorts of nooks and crannies in the garden where he shelters. At the end of the evening, I call him in, he has his treat and he settles down for the evening in the kitchen. First thing in the morning, he waits for his treat and then he's off back outside again. In the summer months the family are in the garden all the time and he mixes amongst us. I'm unsure whether we are doing the right thing for him, as I would have preferred him to be a house rabbit, but this is a matter of circumstance and I cannot change anything now, or can I? or should I? Your thoughts or comments would be appreciated.
 
I originally bought a rabbit for my family six years ago. Initially, he was to be a free house rabbit, with no cage, his bed, food and water was kept in the kitchen, and he had open access to my private, secure garden. This all worked fine until he started chewing any cables he could find within the house. Eventually, we had to close off the rest of the house to him and a safe place where he could do not cause any damage was in the kitchen (which is large) but with access at all times to the outside garden. His name is Toddy and he thrives under these circumstances, he spends most of his time in the outside garden, which is a mature garden where there are many places for him to explore and enjoy. He used to spend most of his time chasing the birds off the lawn, but now they take no notice of him and stay where they are and he just sits as close as 10 inches away from them studying them. He has a regular cat that pops in to see him and they seen to get on well. He seems to enjoy the garden in all winds and weathers and very rarely comes in to shelter, I have all sorts of nooks and crannies in the garden where he shelters. At the end of the evening, I call him in, he has his treat and he settles down for the evening in the kitchen. First thing in the morning, he waits for his treat and then he's off back outside again. In the summer months the family are in the garden all the time and he mixes amongst us. I'm unsure whether we are doing the right thing for him, as I would have preferred him to be a house rabbit, but this is a matter of circumstance and I cannot change anything now, or can I? or should I? Your thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

My only advice is that when he is outdoors there is always someone about to make sure no predators are about. I would include Cats as predators, but then again I know of many House Rabbits who live in harmony with 'House Cats'. There is a misconception that Foxes only pose a danger at night and/or that if Foxes are never seen in a specific area then they are not there. Sadly I learned the hard way that this is simply not true. Sometimes the first time a Rabbit care giver sees a Fox is the last time they see their Rabbit alive :cry:

IMO (which is no more valid than that of anyone else's), as long as the Rabbit(s) have access to lots of space to binky about, lots of hidey holes and lots of environmental enrichment to enable them to exhibit their natural behaviours then they will be as happy as possible. Mostly Rabbits do benefit from the companionship of another Rabbit/Rabbit(s). But I completely understand that in some cases it is not possible for the care giver to have more than one Rabbit. My only 100% 'no no' is to keep a single Rabbit outdoors 24/7 with no social interaction at all with the care giver other than the basics of feeding/cleaning out etc. But again I emphasise, my opinions are certainly not necessarily right and I think most, if not all, members of this Forum want to do our best for the Rabbit(s) in our care. But I defy anyone to claim to be 100% perfect in that respect.
 
First thing first, I'm not so well-knowledge about this topic. Just want to chit-chat here. I think it depends on the environment as well. The type of your house and maybe the climate situation in your country.

I wonder is that breed play an important role? Maybe a bunny with a woolly coat is not suitable to live in a hot climate country and need to be indoor all the time. The last thing, the majority of users here, what kind of breed do you usually own? There are so many of them as I found here on the internet.

Can anyone suggest a breed for a newbie pet owner? Yep, I think I can just go to the pet shop to ask this question, but sometimes too many breeds make me want to choose the most fluffy ones.
 
First thing first, I'm not so well-knowledge about this topic. Just want to chit-chat here. I think it depends on the environment as well. The type of your house and maybe the climate situation in your country.

I wonder is that breed play an important role? Maybe a bunny with a woolly coat is not suitable to live in a hot climate country and need to be indoor all the time. The last thing, the majority of users here, what kind of breed do you usually own? There are so many of them as I found here on the internet.

Can anyone suggest a breed for a newbie pet owner? Yep, I think I can just go to the pet shop to ask this question, but sometimes too many breeds make me want to choose the most fluffy ones.

I don't think its more breed but personality, hence why I'd always advise you head to a rescue :) the rabbits will come knowing their personality, already fixed (important), bonded and vaccinated. it cuts a HUGE chunk of money off. two babies from a breeder won't probably come vaccinated, they won't be spayed/neutered, and you'll really have no idea about their personality. and, you're going to have the fun time of rebonding them as most end up falling out before they can be altered.

I don't think theres a breed which is best for newbies, perhaps some are harder but overall each rabbit has a personality. there are breed stereotypes but just like other animals, they don't always live up to that.
 
Back
Top