I know outdoor rabbits shouldn't be bought in a warm house during the winter to live, unless done before the cold weather and their warm coat has come, and indoor rabbits shouldn't be put out to live in the cold winter as they won't have a proper winter coat. My question is, what if rabbits have free access to indoor and outdoors day and night, so they can choose where to go, will it affect their health if they go in and out all day? I think that wild rabbits would do this, go from burrow and outside and back into the burrow?
Rabbits have free access to house and garden
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Moonstone
Warren Scout
I've been puzzling over this. I think in UK summers that would be fine but when it's very cold, it might be that outside is too cold for them whilst indoors with the heating on is too hot? But if you can maintain spaces of a variety of heats, I imagine they'd just go where they were comfortable as long as they feel safe and secure enough to sleep there (it would all need to be predator proof). Maybe experiment and see what happens? I'm curious about how you're enabling them to go from inside to out, is it a cat flap?
I adapted a large hutch to take an omlet tunnel into their run.
Then a month or so ago, I persuaded my other half to core drill a hole in the wall, so now their is a T junction with a new tunnel into the house!
They have litter trays and hay in both the hutch and house now. They are using the house more and more, and are always in the house when I wake up in the morning and come back from work.
They also have the run of the (tiny) garden when I'm home.
They are a bit spoilt
Then a month or so ago, I persuaded my other half to core drill a hole in the wall, so now their is a T junction with a new tunnel into the house!
They have litter trays and hay in both the hutch and house now. They are using the house more and more, and are always in the house when I wake up in the morning and come back from work.
They also have the run of the (tiny) garden when I'm home.
They are a bit spoilt
Moonstone
Warren Scout
That sounds fabulous, I remember dreaming about a set up like that in our old house when I first had rabbits. It must be wonderful for them to have the choice of being inside with the humans or outside in the fresh air and sunshine. I suppose you'd have to make sure the set up is really rodent proof, I think I'd be scared of something with a long tail coming down the tunnel. If they are choosing to be in the house a lot, they may just spend the winter inside and you could decide to block the tunnel when it's freezing outside to stop cold air coming in the house. Having said that, mine used to block their back door (a tunnel going into their shed and straight into their internal hutch/bedroom) with hay when it was cold.
Yours bunnies are clever to block out the cold!
I hope the set up it is rodent proof, I have thought of that, it is a bit of a worry, but I guess anyone with a cat flap would have that problem? At least the long tailed one would have to access the run or hutch first, which is meant to be rodent proof, but I'm not so sure. Eek, I'll just have to see what happens.
I am hoping to put a cat flap in, to block the cold, I just wanted to get them used to the new set up first.
I hope the set up it is rodent proof, I have thought of that, it is a bit of a worry, but I guess anyone with a cat flap would have that problem? At least the long tailed one would have to access the run or hutch first, which is meant to be rodent proof, but I'm not so sure. Eek, I'll just have to see what happens.
I am hoping to put a cat flap in, to block the cold, I just wanted to get them used to the new set up first.
Moonstone
Warren Scout
If the run and hutch are rodent proof you shouldn't have a problem. I think people with cats have less of a problem with rodents in general, who more likely to be carried through a cat flap than find their own way. Adding one to keep out the cold seems like a good idea anyway, adding a cat flap I mean.
a reader of books
Warren Veteran
That sounds like such a perfect living situation for them, being both able to enjoy the outdoors and being able to come in where it's nice and cosy whenever they choose to. I think if they have the choice of where they want to go, and you have, like Moonstone said, spaces of various temperatures so it's not only either a heated house or a freezing outdoors, I wouldn't worry too much. Bunnies are clever enough to tell what's comfortable for them. And people have heated sheds with runs attached, too, which is very similar. I think it's only a problem when we decide for them where they have to be, whether they're safe or comfortable there with or without a winter coat or not, and they have no option of a different space to go to.
Does anyone know of anything that I could try to stop rabbits from chewing their cat flap? We have attached a mini porch to the inside of our house, so when they come in through the tube they now have a cat flap to stop the wind coming in, as we were getting cold! They used it immediately, I was surprised how quickly they learnt to do it. The only problem is, and it's driving me insane, they keep nibbling the cat flap and it's plastic which worries me - I've tried everything to try to stop them. I think they are doing it because they want the hole back and don't want a stupid porch and cat flap!!
Just in case anyone is following this thread, the set up is working really well. Bunnies have access to the outside (large run and hutch) and the house 24/7. When I'm home, I let them out so they also have access to the garden and grass.
They usually stay in the house during the evening after their dinner, I think they go out in the dead of night and are back inside for their breakfast
I didn't find a solution with the cat flap chewing (above post), I might have to buy a metal cat framed dog flap, but they come with soft silicone type door and I think they'll just chew that instead.
They usually stay in the house during the evening after their dinner, I think they go out in the dead of night and are back inside for their breakfast
I didn't find a solution with the cat flap chewing (above post), I might have to buy a metal cat framed dog flap, but they come with soft silicone type door and I think they'll just chew that instead.
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
Yay, I'm glad its working so well for everybun. I like to think of them outside for midnight adventures. Its great they make use of all spaces, they must have a lovely life. I saw your post on chewing but couldn't think of anything useful to say...bunnies chewing access points to their own specifications feels so inevitable. i think you might need to commission a custom pet flap 
We were going to make a special one with wood, and a double hinge, but I worried that one of the bunnies would go in, when the other went out and somehow the smaller one would get trapped and squashed so I binned that idea. So they won the battle of the cat flap - they literally took to the cat flap immediately, but they were FURIOUS with it and nibbled it ferociously and constantly, I had to keep shooing them off, so in the end I took it off and made one out of cardboard and made a hinge with paper masking tape! They looked at it, accepted it and moved on to nibbling other things. They do have a nibble occasionally but it's so easy to replace, it'll do for now.
Just to add regarding bunnies chewing cat-flaps, my two accepted a cat-flap very quickly. But then it took a long time, maybe even over a year, for one of them to nibble the plastic. We considered whether we should replace it, but then after a while it all stopped and no nibbling has happened for a very long time.
I don't think it was because of any antagonism with it, it was just nibbled for reasons that only they know. I even use the swinging of the flap sometimes to create a noise to encourage one of my bunnies to come into the shed for some food
I don't think it was because of any antagonism with it, it was just nibbled for reasons that only they know. I even use the swinging of the flap sometimes to create a noise to encourage one of my bunnies to come into the shed for some food
Hi Omi, that's cool they know the cat flap noise means food! Mine come running in for food when I call them, I have to use the same silly voice though and they come steaming in
They were miffed I think as they had just a hole and a tunnel for a while which they loved, as it's burrow like. The porch and cat flap covered it up so they couldn't sit by it and look through, it was like they were trying to get rid of it. We had to add the cat flap to keep the heat in the house.
They were miffed I think as they had just a hole and a tunnel for a while which they loved, as it's burrow like. The porch and cat flap covered it up so they couldn't sit by it and look through, it was like they were trying to get rid of it. We had to add the cat flap to keep the heat in the house.
Haha, it's actually only one bunny who needs to recognise it as food. We've trained them to recognise 'sup sup' as meaning food, wherever the food is. One bunny is smart enough to hear and respond to this and also smart enough to determine where the source of food is. The other bunny, maybe cannot hear every time or it just doesn't register, so he relies on the cat-flap noise, which I make if he doesn't appear. That tells him that his smarter friend has run into the shed for food.Hi Omi, that's cool they know the cat flap noise means food! Mine come running in for food when I call them, I have to use the same silly voice though and they come steaming in
They were miffed I think as they had just a hole and a tunnel for a while which they loved, as it's burrow like. The porch and cat flap covered it up so they couldn't sit by it and look through, it was like they were trying to get rid of it. We had to add the cat flap to keep the heat in the house.