running loose in the garden

my 2 bunnies have always been confined to the run on the grass, but i`m wanting them to have the run of the garden when i`m at home.

Have been bunny proofing the garden, but i`m still nervious about letting them run wild in the garden!!!!!!

Any mind settling suggestions please.

Perhaps try them on a rabbit harness first? That way you can see if there's any bits you've missed that they try to squeeze into, or anything they try to nibble on that they shouldn't, and they're safely on the end of a harness so you can stop them and bunny-proof it?

bunny proofing is a nightmare!!!! I has previously let Bunny wander free (under supervision) he has always been shy and didn't bother to try and escape/explore. Since we had Flossie he has come out of his shell and has several times made a break for next door (they have dogs... eek).

Well 2 rolls of wire mesh later, my skin was ripped to shreds, the wire was under the hedges (we have hedges on both sides its a pain), well, I tried it out, and you guessed it, he found the one little bit where I'd run out of wire!!!

your idea sounds great Karly, wished I'd thought of it!!

Check for poisonous plants - you may have to fence some off like we did and of course these have to be high enough for 'jumpers' and PLEASE ensure you bring buns in at night - foxes soon get the smell of rabbits on the loose!
You'll also need to keep an eye out for digging, our Mrs Bunny managed to get a warren of tunnels started one afternoon when our back was turned and it was quite hard reaching down to get her out!!!!!
But there is nothing better than seeing a rabbit having it's freedom in garden.

2 of my a rabbits run loose in the garden all day but they are brought in the house at night where they sleep. I watched them very closely at first to see if they had spotted something I have missed. I made a raised garden with plants in they like to eat and they can dig safely and only reach down to flags.

The best thing is seeing your buns running wild in the garden. Just to make you all jealous, our garden is 95% grass (I'm not a gardener by any stretch of the imagination!) and is surrounded on all sides by 6ft fences. My two groups get free runs and help keep the lawn mowed! Plus they get to dig anywhere they like (although not right next to the the fences!). They're only in the hutch when it's night time or we're out of the house.

Like freckles says, watch for poisonous plants. Every so often I go round and pull up the new buttercups that have come through, although they seem intelligent enough not to eat them anyway. I suppose they do know what they're doing sometimes!

One thing I forgot to mention. As well as making your garden impossible for the bunnies to get out of, try to make it as hard as possible for other animals to get in to. I've heard a few stories of foxes jumping over high fences or hawks swooping down and making off with bunnies

Karly said:

One thing I forgot to mention. As well as making your garden impossible for the bunnies to get out of, try to make it as hard as possible for other animals to get in to. I've heard a few stories of foxes jumping over high fences or hawks swooping down and making off with bunnies

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hawks???? :shock: not in Surrey I hope.... you're only up the road from me

Also watch for cats, although it depends on the individual rabbits. We often get cats sitting on the fences watching them, and sometimes they use our fence to walk along to get to another garden.

We've even had a cat recently sit in the garden and watch all 5 of ours running around. Dottie, my biggest bun, is roughly cat size though, so she does a good job of scaring them away.

Also you need to make sure they have hidey holes to go in incase they do get scared. If your garden is fairly large or long and the hutch is at one end they might like somewhere they can hide if they get spooked. I have a little shelter I made out of plywood offcuts that they like to run to. It's quite easy for them to be scared by planes/helicopters that look to them like birds of prey. Also watch for boisterous neighbours throwing balls/frisbees over that will also spook them.

Your buns should be fine running round the garden if it is all bunny proofed, and you have checked the plants. I always check the bunny proofing in mine often to check there are no new holes. Mine come out in the morning before work and in the evening when I get back....but I always keep watch just in case any cats come into the garden. When I lived in London I had a fox come into the garden in the middle of the day when the buns were out luckily i managed to chase it off.....but you do have to keep a close watch on them while they are out.

Luckily I don't have too much of a problem putting my 2 away most of the time they run back in when they are told HOME which is quite lucky. But you might find they give you the run around a bit when you first put them out....as they probarbly won't want to come back in....

Karly wrote:
One thing I forgot to mention. As well as making your garden impossible for the bunnies to get out of, try to make it as hard as possible for other animals to get in to. I've heard a few stories of foxes jumping over high fences or hawks swooping down and making off with bunnies

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hawks???? not in Surrey I hope.... you're only up the road from me

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I'm sure there are just as many Hawks in Surrey as there are in Hampshire!!! :wink: I had a hawk swoop down on one of my buns once in the middle of the day with my son and parents also in the garden! Luckily she managed to dive under the hutch in time!!! I was really shocked she wasn't a small bunny either! :shock:

I see lots hovering over the fields as I'm driving too!

I still let my bunnies loose in the garden but make sure there are lots of hiding places!

Alice said:

Luckily I don't have too much of a problem putting my 2 away most of the time they run back in when they are told HOME which is quite lucky. But you might find they give you the run around a bit when you first put them out....as they probarbly won't want to come back in....

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Now that is clever, mine don't respond on the whole to voice commands. I clap my hands or click my fingers, they know what that means and go running back to the hutch. At first they did it because they were scared of the sound and naturally ran to the hutch/shed, now they realise that it means bedtime and happily trot off home. It's very cute to watch them all heading back in a line.

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Thanks everyone for all the info, one thing though where do i find out about plants as there is a lot off shrubs in my garden some that i don`t know what they are!!!!!!!!

I think I would need pictures to look at.

cheers

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well i did it last night, and it went really well. they spent over an hour exploring the garden and having a ball running around.

Every once in a while they would get back in their hutch and then get out, the best bit was seeing them lazing in the evening sun on the grass.

I covered up plants that i`m not to sure about with duvet covers and they even went up and watch my son playing!!!

I`ll try and post some pics, especially the one on them 2 and my 13 yr old springer spaniel laying all together.