Persuading the parents: Rabbits should be indoors

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BouncingBunniez

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Hi there! My name is George Washington :bunny24 and I have recently lost my girlfriend. We have been bonded since we were babies. My human is a little worried for my happiness and wants to keep me inside for the rest of my days. But persuading her parents in another thing all together...

BouncingBunniez here. I have been wanting to house the bunnies indoors since they were babies but now that George is alone I even more worried. So recently I have tried to fight for George to become apart of the family indoors.

It's just my parents are not budging. I've only got as far as them letting me get George some C & C grids.

Their main excuse is "He doesn't like inside he was made for the outdoors."

I have done my research on why living indoors is better. Here is some examples of their replies to my facts are:

They live longer indoors: "Because they are caged indoors their whole live, he won't like indoors all day long." or "They have been outside there entire life he won't like inside."

I can bond more with George: "You can do that outside as well."

Rabbits hide illnesses well if I'm with him all the time I can spot them easily: "Spend more time with him outside."

Along with this there are comments such as:

"His fur gets everywhere."
"No he loves outside"
"We don't have room for rabbits."

When I do express my feelings towards the wellbeing of George they have...

Let him come indoors at night!

But I'd really like him to be housed indoors. Then I think about George how would I acclimate him to going from free range outdoors all day to being inside the house all day. Is that possible???

And if you were wondering I live in New Zealand where we have near to none predators and snow.

If you guys do have any tips, tricks and helpful info in general please comment below.

P.S I'm not trying to come off as a brat....

-BouncingBunniez and George Washington :rabbithop
 
Be careful when bringing your rabbit inside and outside all the time. The drastic temperature change between outside and inside could be to much for your bunny.
Have you tried showing them some articles on why keeping them indoors is better, instead of you just telling them? (don't get me wrong, you telling them is great, but an article wouldn't hurt)
also, Rabbits have been domesticated over the years, so them saying "He doesn't like inside he was made for the outdoors." is not all that true. Yes if he was a wild cottontail then yes, outside. but he is a domestic rabbit, which means he can live happily inside (or outside, doesn't matter)
Rabbits are social animals, meaning, they are much happier when people (or other rabbits) are around.
fur doesn't get everywhere, when they are shedding it does (they only shed twice a year) but for the most part, the fur doesn't go everywhere.
i personally think rabbits should be housed indoors, like you said, you can monitor them to tell whether they are sick or not, being housed indoors protects them from bad weather and predators, (but i see that you live in new Zealand, so that shouldn't be a problem though ;) ) they get a lot more attention indoors as well. Not saying housed outdoors is bad, i find it be a little harder, you must make sure their place is predator proof, and that their getting enough attention and so on.
Rabbits can be litter trained (if you did not know this) you can keep your rabbit in your room (any room that your rabbit is staying in must be bunny-proofed)
or in your basement, like i do. Andy has a dog-crate that i lock him up at night, then i let him out to free range during the day (under my supervision)
also, just wondering, what breed is he?
Good luck trying to convince your parents :)
don't worry, it might take awhile for them to come around.
 
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Thank you for the help! I really do appreciate seeing how others look at housing as well. With repetition and patient I hope my parents come round. Thanks for also helping me understand I need to put George's safety and wellbeing before anything.

-BouncingBunniez and George Washington :rabbithop
 
Parents can be so unreasonable! Rabbits are very social and George would much rather be with you than locked in a cage. Rabbits were made to be outside?! Weren't people also made to be outside? Doesn't mean we prefer it. Rabbits are way cleaner than dogs or cats. Dogs smell and cats carry parasites. Google it!!
Best of luck in your battle against the parents. I hope they see sense soon.
 
Now that I look back on my question/ statement thing I see A LOT of spelling mistakes... sorry guys. I'll be posting some cute picks of George when he arrives inside tonight.
 
And I have done some digging around on the net and have found:

Kids introduce a 'trial period' to their parents in which they house the rabbit inside for a week or two and during that time show why a rabbit loves being indoors, why it's better and so on.

People have also found doing a small presentation or sitting down and talking with their parents helps as well. So I have created a small presentation using a website called powtoon showing how much I want George to be inside.
 
And I have done some digging around on the net and have found:

Kids introduce a 'trial period' to their parents in which they house the rabbit inside for a week or two and during that time show why a rabbit loves being indoors, why it's better and so on.

DON'T put your rabbit indoor for a week or two before putting him back outside in the middle of winter. You are going to make him sick. As someone said, you can't alternate hot and cold - your rabbit won't be able to adapt.

I hope you convince your parents. I'm against keeping rabbits outside. I also heard the 'it's natural for them to live outside so they like it' argument before (I feel for you: I got my rabbits years ago, when I was still living with my parents too ^^). Yeah, we also lived in caves, dying from the cold and getting hungry. We didn't live very old. In their 'natural' environment, rabbits live up to a grand 18 months. My rabbits like to lay on cushions close to the heater. They have NO desire to encounter mice, insects or windy cold damp weathers. Also, of course, inside rabbits live longer. They are more protected from insects and rodents, who bring a lot of illnesses with them, and from extreme temperatures (the cold can kill, but hot summers actually make a lot more casualties - I heard of several rabbits who died from the heat or from fly strikes a few months ago).
Rabbits don't smell (mine smell a bit of celery or parsley sometimes ^^). The fur isn't all that much of a problem either. Still, not gonna lie: if you don't obsessively clean, the hay will go EVERYWHERE. Still, I've got a nordic dog (who doesn't smell, doesn't have parasites and is the most perfect creature alive) and hay's got nothing on the hair he sheds XD.
 
Your rabbit is so cute!! Is this setup in your room? Is he free range or will he be in that crate at night?
 
Is George even neutered?

You may end up having some issues with him inside if he is not. Especially since he has been outside.

Yes George is neutered but... the main issues for me is will George enjoy being inside? He has been outside the majority of his life. So I guess the question is:

How can you acclimate a outdoor bunny without getting them to stressed out?

I was considering small steps like when I bring him indoors at night and slowly acclimate him through that but in reality like everyone else has written I can cause A LOT of stress on him if I do that or the trial period.

Maybe a longer trial period? I have seen a week to a month done?

Sorry for my rambling on...

If you guys can help that would be great.

-BouncingBunniez and George Washington :hbunnysmell:
 
Your rabbit is so cute!! Is this setup in your room? Is he free range or will he be in that crate at night?

Hi katiecrna,
Thank you! The set up is in my room and a little into the hallway... He is free to roam around house but isn't really familiar with the other parts. I'm planning to get him a crate and some NIC grids for the future just because my setup for him is growing bigger and bigger and I'd like to keep it more compact otherwise it's a handful to clean...

At night he is free ranged still.
 
Be careful about letting him just freely roam. Better to keep him confined to the sections shown in your photos. That makes things easier for him (smaller area to get used to) and will prevent any accidents. If he gets loose and chews furniture or cords, your parents aren't likely to appreciate that. It can take time to bunny proof an area. and often that is from trial and error. As he gets more comfortable with his new set up, he may become more bold and test his boundaries.

He sure looks relaxed in the photo of him inside. I agree that he should remain inside for awhile. Taking him inside and out is not helpful and doesn't help him transition -- it just makes it more confusing and difficult for him since his environment would keep changing. Better to just let it be one change and then he can adapt sooner/quicker.
 
Be careful about letting him just freely roam. Better to keep him confined to the sections shown in your photos. That makes things easier for him (smaller area to get used to) and will prevent any accidents. If he gets loose and chews furniture or cords, your parents aren't likely to appreciate that. It can take time to bunny proof an area. and often that is from trial and error. As he gets more comfortable with his new set up, he may become more bold and test his boundaries.

He sure looks relaxed in the photo of him inside. I agree that he should remain inside for awhile. Taking him inside and out is not helpful and doesn't help him transition -- it just makes it more confusing and difficult for him since his environment would keep changing. Better to just let it be one change and then he can adapt sooner/quicker.

Thank you for the info! I'll make some improvements and talk about the stress with my parents.
 
I can totally understand how unreasonable parents are. My mom after my angora died from a seizure, refused to let me get another, citing the 'lack of space inside' that somehow wasn't an issue with the previous 5 rabbits we had. Some people have very primitive views on animal care. I never understood the point of having a pet if they were segregated to outside and you barely got to interact with them. Why have a rabbit if it's outside, just enjoy the wild ones. It might just get down to the point where you have to deal with your parents decision, even if it's stupid and wrong. All you can do really is make your pet comfortable outside, and visit him often. Perhaps bunny proofing the house and asking him to come in and visit for short periods of time is a good starter.
You might want to phrase it as a financial problem as many people that think animals should stay outside often don't bring them instead unless they think the pet might cost them money if he's at risk, like 'if he's outside he might get killed by a cat?' or 'he'll live longer if he spends some time indoors' or 'he could pick up a parasite if he remains outside' (course that can be a double edged sword so be careful). I totally empathize, but you might not be able to have a rabbit in your home until you move into your own place. I know that's where I'm at now.
 
Thank you Alek!
It has been a while since I have posted and I am glad to stay George does get to stay indoors at night. I am still working on the indoor living situation... but I don't think my parents will budge.

One thing I always have trouble persuading is if George wants to live inside or not. My parents point out that he has lived outdoors free-range his whole life and loves being outside. And that it isn't right to keep him inside for my own 'amusement'. But when you think about it because he has been outdoors his entire life he will naturally feel at home outside not indoors.

I was thinking of doing a petition and asking how many signatures my parents wanted in order for George to be let inside but when I repeated that through my mind I actually sounded quite 'bratty'

If you have any thoughts I'll be glad to hear :)
 
My personal opinion (no intention to hurt anyone)
- keeping rabbits indoors 100% of time sucks big time (from rabbit's perspective, I think). My rabbits spend a night inside (in garage) and a whole day they are outside. Once I had to keep one of them inside for several days due to illness, and she became clearly depressed from seeing no sun. The vet told me to let her out even though her condition called for staying indoors. He said her moral health is even more important. I let her out and she got well soon.
- at night, I think it's better for them to be indoors. Just for safety and weather reasons. Not sure about big changes in temperature. Never had a problem with it, but I keep it cool in garage for them.
Of course, when the weather is extreme all this doesn't apply. I bring them in when too hot, too cold, tornado, bad thunderstorm, etc.
- Its easier to bond with a human when they spend some time in the house, especially if you have only 1 bun. But I would still take him out every day. We all need sunshine to thrive.

PS I pretty much agree with your parents.
Have you thought about getting him a bunny friend? (sorry I haven;t read thru the whole thread)
 
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