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Is my rabbit having enough exercise?

B

**Bonnie**

Mama Doe
Hi everyone,

I got a gorgeous ten week old Dwarf Lop, Alfie, a few weeks ago.

He is a happy & very affectionate rabbit. This is my first rabbit so want to make sure I am doing the right thing!

This is my daily routine for him.

In the morning before work he is let out around the garden and the lounge for 1 1/2 hours. he is then put in his hutch with toys etc (no run attached) which is big enough for him to walk around and stretch up.

I get in from work 8 hours later and he is let out from 6-10.00 a mixure of running around the garden, in his run and sitting with me watching TV being stroked.

At the weekends he is more or less let out all fay.

Is this enough?

I am thinking of letting him in his run all day while I am at work but am worried about fox's. My garden backs onto a very busy road, although the front of the house is quite quite, so i doubt any fox's will come into the garden....do you think this will be okay??? I can't put the hutch into the run as its too big and its on legs but i have got a rabbit house which i can put hay into and also box's etc in the run??

Thanks everyone!
 
Have you thought about making him a house rabbit? The exercise he is getting just now is fine but at 10 weeks he will be small and will get bigger, the hutch he has just now may be too small once he is big.

If you have a spare room you could convert it into a bunny playroom for him Xx
 
Hi, there is no way he could live indoors, there are no spare rooms. he does have the free run of the house for about 2-3 hours a day, so basically he gets 5 hours time of running around a day.

I was wondering really if he would be okay in the run all day if i sheltered one end and put bricks on it? thanks alot!
 
You could attatched a run to the Hutch and make it really secure leaving the bun like this will be ok, but if you have foxes in your area they can brake into runs and hutches, i don't mean to scare you but they can open hutch doors. If you buy a run which has very strong meshing on it and make sure it is secure to the hutch and well weighted down the bun would be fine XX
 
Could he have free run of the house while you were at work, but still live in his hutch outdoors? Obv would need to bunny proof the house!!
 
If you are going to put him in the run all day make sure there is no way he could dig underneath the run (if it is on grass), As long as you are happy with your bunny proofing and he has a shelter from the rain and toys to play with and enough food and water then there should be no roblem.
 
hi

Sounds wonderful to me - they sleep all day anyway as they have 2 mini-days to our one - I'm at home all day and I shut the kitchen door and draw the curtains while my bunny has his siesta :lol:

My shed rabbits come out for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening - they don't run around all that time though - usually go and sit in the shed after an hour...My kitchen bunny jumps back in his cage after 30mins and gets cross if I take him out again - But he runs around like mad for that 30mins...

The danger of leaving them outside in a run all day is that the flies will get them when they're having their snooze, and they may be frightened by cats, dogs, foxes, children etc - So long as he has a routine of going out twice a day I'm sure he's perfectly content :D
 
Thanks all

I couldn't let him have the run of the house all day. I think i will put my bunny house in the run...its quite big, with lots of hay inside, under a sheltered area with bricks on top and put loads of box's of hay in there etc and keep him on the patio (good for his claws!)

i am pretty sure fox's in my area don't come out during the day, the trains are constantly going (whch i hope will scare them) and the road is very busy!!!

does anyone else do this? thanks
 
thanks elve.

I know he is a very happy bunny, does loads of bunny hops and follows me around.

When he has been out all day he goes mental for an hour and then sleeps the rest of the time!

- haven't stopped worrying about Alfie since i've got him - i just want the little man to be happy :D
 
Awwww well done you! - sounds like your bunny is getting loads of love and affection and stimulation of different environments too - there's many a bunny out there that would just looooooooove a home like yours and great too that your thinking of additional living accommodation for your bunny bundle as he grows - sounds like your going to have a wonderful time together :) :) :)
 
It sounds like he's getting a reasonable amount of exercise - 4 hours out of the hutch is what's recommended I think. Some rabbits (like some people :lol: ) are just lazy - when mine have free run of the house they generally sit on their mat and sleep the whole time :roll: . So long as your rabbit has at least 4 hours when he can run around if he wants then that should be fine :) .

It's good that you want him to have more time out, but like people have said you need to make sure that he can't escape from his run by digging - and that he has a safe place to hide in his run if he wants.

It sounds like you're really trying to give him the best life possible, if only more bunny owners were like you :)
 
Thanks Nix!

I worry about him so much! like tonight, i am going to the theatre straight after work & boyfriend is putting him in his run for a couple of hours while he is at football & im worrying that he'll miss me as boyfriend won't have time to cuddle & stroke him :eek:(

This is a one off though usually always home at 6 to play with him!

I think I can keep him on the patio with some hay and a bunny house with newspaper in. i will keep that half covered up. Hopefully that will be nicer for him during the day then in the hutch!

thanks
 
how will you feel about leaving him when you go on holiday?!! :shock: I spend most of my holidays worrying how they are and holidays are supposed to be relaxing!!! :lol:
 
My little boy has about an hour in the morning wrecking my front room and kitchen, (this seems to involve throwing all the cushions off the sofa's :roll: chasing the cats, and throwing the cats food bowls around!) I than put him in a run in the garden for the 8 hours I'm at work, this run is resonably heavy and has a shelter attatched, he has toys in here to erm, throw about! When I get home from work he come in the house again and has the run of downstairs, where again the cushions do not seem to be allowed ON the chairs, oh and he has commondeered the cats' radiator bed also!!! He seems happy enough, although I havn't seen him "doing a binky" since he was castrated last week :oops: maybe he's a bit sore?? I must say though, when I'm at home all day and he's got the run of the house all day, he sleeps most of it!! It's a good life, I'm coming back as a bunny!!!

xx
 
Well my mum's having him when i go on holiday and she loves him as well as my brother who lives with her so i hopefully won't be too worried!

Buttonmoon, your rabbit sounds hilarious!

I've seen quite a run with a shelter which also folds up for £75 is that alot?? can anyone recommend a website that has good rabbit runs to leave him for the whole day? ...I couldn't make one myself either..

Thanks
 
hi

I paid nearly £100 for a 6x3' fold up run with no shelter from Happy Hutch - I've never used it either :roll:
 
hi

Hmm - I was ripped off! :roll:

I think he'd be happier and safer spending the middle of the day in his hutch, so that's probably why I've never used my run either :lol:
 
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