Free Range Buns

[clarebear]

Good to hear everybody's thoughts on this. I do really only let Bramble out in the garden when we can be out there with him. I think I would worry about cats and foxes if he was out there on his own, and we do have quite a few cats around here. He loves his time in the garden though, and sprints and binkies about all over the place

 

[Lspacehopper]

I wont let anyone make me feel guilty that my buns are house buns - they have about three hours a day in the garden usually when I am in kitchen or garden but I would not let them be unsupervised.

They hate going out! :lol: They sit at back door huddled up!

Has someone tried to make you feel guilty Cat? My two are housebuns and as I live in an apartment they never get outside. They free range 24/7 and seem as happy as anything.

 

[Jaysmonkey]

When I was about 9, we had a bunny who had free run of the garden all day, nice and secure on nights though..He had a thing erm fancying cats. My own cats were absolutely fine with him and knew to stay clear, but the neighbourhood cats welll!.. one day when I was at school, I came home and he had a broken off cat claw stuck in his eye. He had to have his eye removed
I don't know if I would let my bunny free range in the garden again. We have a very very secure garden and all my bunnies before Lola were outside.
It's not something I can honestly say I've given much thought to.

My rabbits now have free range of my house and runs when the lawn is dry. Not all my buns can be in the same room at the same time..obviously lenny,brian + jemimah =babies... but they have free range of the house in turns throughout the whole day .

 

[Santa]

Just to say that the fox I saw here recently jumped into our garden from our neighbour's garden...who owns a large spaniel that spends a lot of time in the garden. There is also a large collie at the house directly opposite, a retriever 2 doors up and plenty of cats in the vicinity, including 2 here. It didn't seem to stop the fox that suddenly appeared at 11am! While I appreciate that its' all a balance of risk and quality of life, I do think it's dangerous to take the judgement on the basis of these assumptions, because they're not necessarily true :?

 

[happypreso]

a good thread this and one that not everyone is going to agree on!

Just to add though that if a fox can get rabbits through a locked hutch then surely rabbits that are enclosed are just as much at risk as those rabbits that are free range?

 

[biscandmatt1]

i let my two free range in the garden but i stay with them every second they are out. i would never leave them unsupervised, to me it isn't worth the risk. knowing if something happened, how frightened they would be, knowing they were going to be killed and then being ripped apart. that would destroy me and i would never beable to live with that.

i do worry all the time they are out though, even though i am with them because i don't know if i could actually stop a fox if it did get in.

 

[nursecroft]

a good thread this and one that not everyone is going to agree on!

Just to add though that if a fox can get rabbits through a locked hutch then surely rabbits that are enclosed are just as much at risk as those rabbits that are free range?

They are less likely to get to them through a hutch, it takes alot longer and more effort than just jumping over a fence in the garden. Like others have said theres also cats (many will have a go at killing buns) and birds of prey.

By leaving buns unsupervised you are putting them at increased risk, we all have to keep them as safe as we can.... im nerotic hense mine have the whole garage and my car lives outside! :lol:

But everyone has to make their own choice and live with it as someone else has already said.

 

[clarebear]

I feel bad if I don't let Bramble out at least once a day for a hop around the garden, even though he has access to his run 24/7. I don't think I'd want to leave him unsupervised though - goodness knows what he'd get up too! :lol:

Bramble's Hutch and Run:

The Garden - pretty much bunny proof!

 

[prettylupin]

Personally I would never leave a Rabbit to free range in the garden unless supervised

IMO its just not worth the risk. No garden can ever be 100% predator proof and I would never forgive myself if a Fox or a Cat killed my Rabbit

These are my feelings too. Small enclosed gardens will put a bird of prey off but large open gardens will not. Then there are ferrets, weasels, stoats etc as well as cats, dogs, foxes, loud noises, poisonous plants, sudden weather changes etc. It's simply not worth the risk IMO.

 

[Jack-Bun]

Mine only have free range when I'm supervising them

 

[prettylupin]

Mine only have free range when I'm supervising them

Likewise. But I am fortunate to be at home most days and can sit outside for hours with them We often eat late because we have them out at dusk for a good munch and hop around, and don't get anything else done of an evening until the buns are brushed, exercised and safely tucked up back in bed inside. They are free range in our house though, unless we are out for more than a few hours. Our whole house has been bunny proofed for safety. They have a large hutch indoors for night time.
There are no foxes here at all and few cats, we are in the centre of a city and have 7ft fences and a 15ft wall around our garden. I still panic if I nip inside to get something and am not watching them outside every second. I'd be devastated if I lost my buns when I could have prevented it.

 

[FriskyClover]

I can't let mine out to free-range even if I am out there with them. We have a big garden with lots of places that either of my two could get into/out of. Smokey is a champion digger and Inky is a one rabbit version of the Great Escape:roll:.

They have a big run when someone is in the house that they can go into and a 6x3 run attached to the playhouse, so they have plenty of room.

I have a friend who lets her rabbits free-range even when she is out of the house. She has started to do it when she is on holiday too. I usually feed them for her when she is away but next time I am going to refuse, I just don't want to be a part of it if something happens.

 

[Mackers]

Having read through all these posts, I don't honestly think anyone is right or wrong. We must all do what we believe is best for our own rabbits and our own situation. It's not wrong to let your rabbits free-range unsupervised and it's not wrong to keep them in a secure run. As long as you're happy with your decision. Don't worry about what anyone else says - it's your rabbit!

 

[clarebear]

Having read through all these posts, I don't honestly think anyone is right or wrong. We must all do what we believe is best for our own rabbits and our own situation. It's not wrong to let your rabbits free-range unsupervised and it's not wrong to keep them in a secure run. As long as you're happy with your decision. Don't worry about what anyone else says - it's your rabbit!

Totally agree, and I guess every bunny is different too.

 

[sillyrabbit]

Nope because I always supervise, if I don't have time to stand in the garden after work and watch them then they just have to play in the house instead If a cat comes into the garden either one of our cats will usually scare it off or I do, if it looks like its hanging about anyways I call the rabbits straight into the house

no one can possibly know for certain that they don't have foxes, and even if you don't, what's to stop one moving to the area?

I know for certain there are no foxes here and there won't be any moving here, and I still won't risk my bunnies being unsupervised outside. Definitely not worth the risk if you live somewhere there are foxes x

 

[lunar6769]

Our garden is open fencing to a large woods - we frequently get foxes in the garden. Even before it was open fencing and totally enclosed a fox got in and killed Nibbles who was a free-range bun.

We now have the rabbits in an enclosure but they are only allowed free-range in there if the children/me are outside. Otherwise they are locked in the run and hutch inside the bolted 8ft fenced enclosure.

I am reviewing the situation (cue singing :lol: ) at the moment to give them more running about time.