Nibbling - Help!!!

[toplizzy]

My Bunny is four months old and she is a lovely little thing that the whole family enjoys having around! BUT she is slowly destroying out home! All of the skirting boards have been nibble as well as furniture.
Does anyone have any hints or tips before is is confined to an outdoor pen? 😟😟😟

 

[katiecrna]

Bunnys chew on everything. That's why we usually bunny proof the area they chew on or block off certain areas with pens. You can't really stop a bunny from chewing. Why not get a exercise pen and keep the bunny in the house?

 

[stevesmum]

Give her some untreated apple tree and willow branches. Lots of toys and things to do. Consider getting her a boyfriend if she is spayed. Rabbits in relationships tend to get in less trouble.

 

[stevesmum]

Ah I see she is quite young. Lots of energy to burn. Try old towels to dig rearrange and bite (not eat) or a cardboard maze. Give her something new every few days to keep her busy and on her toes.

 

[Blue eyes]

Your rabbit is right at the age when hormones kick in. Hormones can cause excessive destructive chewing. The best solution to that is getting her spayed. The huge plus to spaying is that it prevents reproductive cancer that is extremely high among intact females (by age 5).

As others have mentioned, bunny proofing is a necessity when living with a house rabbit. I can't imagine letting a bunny loose without it. I have some bunny proofing tips here, but in the meantime, an exercise pen can also be used to prevent bunny's access to anything you don't want chewed.

Cardboard, toys and other diversions may be helpful but won't completely stop a rabbit from chewing other things as well - especially anything they've gotten in the habit of chewing. Blocking off access is the only way to stop that.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Unfortunately part of being a bunny is nibbling and it's unavoidable plus your bunnies hormones are kicking in so she/he is gonna be extra nibbley your best bet is to block off the stuff you don't want your bunny to nibble on.

 

[Aki]

Yes... all of the above ^^.
She's a hormonal teenager, she will calm down after her spay (you will have to get her spayed anyway for health reasons) and more as she ages. Nevertheless, you can't just release a rabbit into a house and expect no damage. It doesn't mean your rabbit has to go outside, you can perfectly well bunny-proof a room (your room, for example) and keep the rabbit there outside of supervized outings in the rest of the house. If you can't do that in a room, you can set up a pen inside of the house too - there are tons of photos of members' set-up on the forum.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We used a large play pen in the family room til I got everything blocked and boxed in--I did consider the furniture to be "sacrificial". Rabbits have to chew or their teeth become horrid. Some substitutes help but nothing short of blockading will truly work.

 

[toplizzy]

Ok this all sounds positive! Ideas for protecting skirting boards,(rented house),😳thanks all x