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Daily bunny routine / lots of questions

Ranj77

Young Bun
How much time do you spend with your indoor bunny and how do you play with them? Our 10.5 week bunny seems content lying around, being in his house/area eating hay, drinking water and eating pellets. We have tried lots of toys: toilet roll tubes filled with pellets, willow sticks, hay ball, plastic tube (he decided to eat it). He loves the willow sticks, but hasn’t shown much interest with anything else. In the evening he comes out of his area (oven though the door has been open all day) into the free roam area to run around but for the majority of the day he’s happy on his own, in his own area, is this normal? How can we get him to interact with us more during the day? I don’t want him to be bored. Don’t get me wrong he’s happy, chilled and we see binkies etc, but I just wonder if we can do more with him in the day time.

Also he’s not keen on being picked up and will kick initially but settle and snuggle up very quickly . Should we continue to pick him up or just leave him to come up to us when he’s ready?

At what age can we let him out onto the grass (just for a play). The house next door has a dog that barks really loud, should we refrain from letting the bunny into the garden because of the dog/barking?
We are worried the barking will scare him.

For info, our bunny is in a pen type cage overnight and his door is open all day for him to free roam in our utility room.

Sorry about all of the questions 😳 I’m really grateful for all of the guidance provided, as experienced bunny owners you have been immensely helpful. Thank you.
 
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Bunnies are crepuscular, so they are most active at dawn and dusk. My house bunnies spend most of the day sleeping with the odd waking to eat. It sounds similar to yours in that mine will come and have a play in the lounge in the evenings.
When your boy is old enough, perhaps get him neutered (boys tend to start spraying smelly wee when they sexually mature and it is frustrating for them not to be able to um, follow their natural instincts , so they are happier neutered). You could then get him a companion (rescues are a great way to do this, they will know the character of the bunny and will have spayed the girl. Many rescues will introduce the bunnies and bond them for you). Having a companion to snuggle up to will ensure that bunny is happy even during those less active times.

Being prey creatures rabbits don’t like being picked up and having their feet off the floor, it’s the equivalent of being scooped up by a bird of prey. That said many bunnies, mine included will settle down for a snuggle happily when picked up. It’s definitely worth spending time on the floor with your bunny though, letting them sniff around and approach you. Treats are often helpful for this!

My buns aren’t spooked by the neighbourhood dogs barking, I think they were on alert for a while when they first heard them, but quickly realised they were no threat to them and relaxed. If you’ve got a secure pen to put bun in, I’d let him outdoors now. If it’s on grass, I might limit the time initially to make sure he doesn’t eat too much grass if he’s not used to it and remember bunnies like to tunnel out!

It sounds like bun is going to have a wonderful life with you, we’d love to see some photos of the little cutie!
 
Thanks for responding, your advice is really helpful and reassuring. We are going to book in for neutering when Reese is a little older as he can get quite hyper in the evenings. He runs around at a crazy speed in the evening, starts chewing on skirting and mats (even though he has his own chew toys), he also throws himself from one end of his litter tray to the other ��.

We plan to keep him without a companion as we want to give him our full love, care and attention, space etc. We have brought him a toy bunny which he absolutely loves, he frequently grooms the toy bunny, which looks like a real rabbit. We (a family of 5, youngest being 15) also spend a lot of time with him, so he’s not lonely, hence wanting him to be more playful in the day rather than napping ��

When he ventures into the garden we were going to use the pen we have, just in case he tries to escape or nibble on something he shouldn’t be eating. Your going to think we are crazy but we had planned to cover the grass with a large blanket �� so he doesn’t eat too much grass etc. We are super careful and overprotective ��

I have just ordered a cat tree (he loves jumping onto platforms) and a willow tunnel (to replace the plastic tunnel he started to nibble on. These are the last of my purchases other than a first aid kit, I need to cut back on my spending ��

Pics will be shared soon...once I figure out how to do it!
 
Thanks for responding, your advice is really helpful and reassuring. We are going to book in for neutering when Reese is a little older as he can get quite hyper in the evenings. He runs around at a crazy speed in the evening, starts chewing on skirting and mats (even though he has his own chew toys), he also throws himself from one end of his litter tray to the other ��.

We plan to keep him without a companion as we want to give him our full love, care and attention, space etc.
We have brought him a toy bunny which he absolutely loves, he frequently grooms the toy bunny, which looks like a real rabbit. We (a family of 5, youngest being 15) also spend a lot of time with him, so he’s not lonely, hence wanting him to be more playful in the day rather than napping ��

When he ventures into the garden we were going to use the pen we have, just in case he tries to escape or nibble on something he shouldn’t be eating. Your going to think we are crazy but we had planned to cover the grass with a large blanket �� so he doesn’t eat too much grass etc. We are super careful and overprotective ��

I have just ordered a cat tree (he loves jumping onto platforms) and a willow tunnel (to replace the plastic tunnel he started to nibble on. These are the last of my purchases other than a first aid kit, I need to cut back on my spending ��

Pics will be shared soon...once I figure out how to do it!

Generally speaking Bunnies do need a companion of their own kind. If having another Bunny is possible I would certainly consider this. Human company can never equate to that of another Bunny really.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/behaviour/rabbit-companionship/


You could approach a local Rescue to see if they have any suitable Does in need of a new home. The Rescue Bunny would almost certainly be already spayed and fully vaccinated :)

With regards to barking Dogs, you will need to gradually expose Reese to the noise. Stay with him at all times at first, even if he is in a safe run. If he gets frightened he could go into a panic and hurt himself. If the run he has is open topped you'd need to be watching him constantly anyway. Open topped runs are not predator proof and predators do not confine their activities to the hours of darkness.

Re sharing photos, not sure if this info is of any help

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?475766-Tutorial-How-to-Post-Photos
 
I agree completely with Jane and Gingle. Jane is absolutely right with suggesting a companion. Rabbits are herd animals and benefit enormously from socialising with their own kind. They can share a connection with another rabbit that is beyond the connection and love they can get from us and we, them. That's not to suggest that we cannot give them our endless love - we do. But companionship for rabbits is hugely important for their mental wellbeing and also phyiscal wellbeing. It is a long term commitment but the outcome is far happier bunny(s) who will also share that love with us.
 
As your bunny is so young I assume you haven’t had him very long. I would definitely give him more time to settle in, a new home and a new family is a big change. Especially if he has recently been taken away from his mum and siblings.

Rather than trying to get him to be more playful during the day, I would focus on trying to interact with him when he is already active and playing. If he wants to spend the day napping then let him, this is usual behaviour for a bunny :D You could always spend some time sitting with him in his area or closer to him during the day while he sleeps if you want to get him used to your presence.

My bunny has an active couple of hours first thing in the morning, so we make sure one of us is up to play with him then. I would usually play with him by seeing what he is interested in from his box of toys, he is usually excited for interaction when we first get up. To play with him I will hold up his various wooden chew toys for him to take off me or chew, his rope toy for him to pull on, I roll his ball or pine cones towards him or I hold up his baby blanket for him to run through or dig on. Sometimes we go through everything in the box, other times he fixates on one toy. He will then have a proper run around the apartment and eat his breakfast, and when I notice him starting to get tired we will have cuddles and I give him a brush before he settles down for a nap. He then spends most of the day sleeping in different areas of the apartment.

In the evening we encourage more running around and active play like digging and jumping, just so he burns off energy before he is shut in his area overnight. Again we end that with lots of cuddles, nose rubs and attention.

The fact that you are seeing binkys is a good sign and it sounds like you have tried a good selection of toys. Different bunnies will have different preferences over what they will play with, it’s a matter of trial and error to see what yours likes. If he is showing an interest in willow sticks maybe see if you can try other types of branches and twigs for him to chew. All my bunnies have loved apple sticks. There are lots of ideas on here for cheap and free bunny toys if you do a search.

My bunny loves empty cereal boxes and ripping the pages out of books we get him from the thrift store, those are probably his favourite things to play with.

Skirting boards, wooden furniture and carpets/mats can be especially attractive to rabbits as they don’t move when they are chewed, which makes it easy for the bunny to get in there and take chunks out :lol: A neuter is unlikely to stop him from chewing things in your home, for that I would look at rabbit proofing measures. That said, there is a bunch of other positives to having him neutered and I would definitely make that a priority as soon as he is ready for the procedure.

I agree with what others have said about a bunny friend, assuming you have the space and finances for another rabbit. In my experience you give the same amount of love, care and attention to two bonded rabbits as you would give to one anyways.

Regarding picking up bunnies, I think it’s important to be able to do for emergencies and vet visits, I always make sure I can lift a bunny when they first come home and take note of any particular resistance that individual rabbit might have. One of my previous bunnies would really only tolerate being lifted when wrapped in a blanket, so we always had a blanket in her carrier and a spare one hanging in her bedroom. But once I’m comfortable that I know a bunny well enough I don’t continue to pick them up just to cuddle them. They are prey animals and being lifted is frightening to them. If my rabbit wants a cuddle he will jump into my lap or snuggle up next to me. My vet doesn’t even check rabbits on the examination table because lifting and being exposed high up in an unfamiliar place is so stressful to them, everything is done on a mat on the floor.
 
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