At what age letting bunny out of his cage

[QueenMab]

Hello,
my bunny is 7 weeks now, I think the breeder told me to wait another few weeks before letting him out of his cage but I might have misunderstood, lot of information when I went to pick him up.
I would let him out only supervised in my apartment, what do you think?

 

[ZRabbits]

Go for it. But just make them short playtimes outside. I do this with my 9 week old.

He has time out like the others but completely supervised. Babies do have accidents. And they truly need to be supervised. Neville is learning just like the rest. How to be a gentleman outside the crate.

Wishing you luck. Start now. And as they mature, it only gets better.

K

eta: Regarding the breeders' instructions, they may have just said several weeks for the bunny to settle in. That takes time too. And if you allow them to settle, makes everything else go easier.

 

[LakeCondo]

Is he going to be a free-range rabbit when he's able?

If so, you'll want to begin the rabbit-proofing. If not, & you are going to use an x-pen or NIC setup, you could set that up & try it now. I like the x-pen because then I can go in & visit Honey, sitting on the floor. The NICs allow building up.

 

[QueenMab]

I'll try tonight to let Emilio out Supervised. I live in a rented flat so he won't be out unless supervised. I will buy the Xpen because we have a huge rooftop terrace and he will have fun up there!
Also, last night started jumping like crazy and spinning in his cage, I read it's normal and it's excitement, is that right?

 

[Kipcha]

I'm bad, I let mine out as soon as I got them. I got Babbitty at 6 weeks and let the little guy run around all he wanted and he's fine now and he's going on 5. Willow was probably even younger (He was a pet store bun who was extremely small when we got him) and he's going on 7, so I guess I must be doing something right.

I never even thought that bunnies should be a certain age before playing, but Chinchillas need to be 6 months before they get playtime so I guess it makes sense...

And yeah, pocorning (Most people call it binkying, but we had guinea pigs before rabbits and it was called popcorning with them so I still call it popcorning) is completely normal, something they do when happy or excited.

 

[LakeCondo]

Yes, he's happy.

I assume you'll have screening over the pen so no mosquitoes etc can get in.

 

[QueenMab]

Hi LakeCondo, are mosquitoes a worry because they could carry myxomatosis? We don't have many here in Sydney (I live in the city)but I might bring him to the vet to get a vaccination.

 

[Ruki]

I'd say go for it and let him out right away! Just keep an eye on him!

 

[LakeCondo]

QueenMab wrote:

Hi LakeCondo, are mosquitoes a worry because they could carry myxomatosis? We don't have many here in Sydney (I live in the city)but I might bring him to the vet to get a vaccination.

We don't have myxomatosis in the US, but I know Australia does & someone just recently mentioned that that was her rabbit's diagnosis, even though it hadn't been found there for years. I also thought that the vaccination wasn't available in Australia. but perhaps it varies by area.

 

[toyabrooke]

What if they ONLY live inside? Are mosquitoes still a worry then? I don't want my Napoleon to get sick!!

And congratulations on the new bunny. I wish I got Poe that small! Hopefully one day I will have a teeny tiny one to raise from a baby

T

 

[QueenMab]

toyabrooke wrote:

What if they ONLY live inside? Are mosquitoes still a worry then? I don't want my Napoleon to get sick!!

And congratulations on the new bunny. I wish I got Poe that small! Hopefully one day I will have a teeny tiny one to raise from a baby

T

I think it depends where you live. My plan was to keep him on the balcony, I live near the city in Sydney and the breeder said it should be ok. I will go to the vet and ask next week, i'll keep you posted!

 

[LakeCondo]

The person reporting the myxo was from Latrobe Valley. You should be able to find the posts in the infirmary section. The posts were from Feb 24-26.

 

[toyabrooke]

Yeah let me know what they say. He won't be going outside at all and we don't usually ever have mozzies inside because the windows and balcony doors all have fly screens on them.

I looked up a bit about the virus but can't find anything about the specifics of where it is still found in Australia. I can't believe they would just release a virus on an animal and watch it die off. I know they were foreign and over-populated, but there has to be a more humane way to do things rather than just watch them die slowly! God we Australians can be cruel

T

 

[toyabrooke]

Oh and just found this - The vaccine in banned in Australia

http://kb.rspca.org.au/Why-cant-I-vaccinate-my-rabbit-against-Myxomatosis_260.html

 

[tamsin]

Straight away, bunnies are like puppies, the more they are socialised the more well adjusted they will be as adults. By introducing new experiences (like exploring your home) at a young age he'll be more confident and out going as an adult.

It's important the experiences are positive, so I would start by opening the cage door and letting him explore in his own time with access to go back to his cage when he wants and places to hide eg cardboard boxes if he gets worried. If you have a slippy floor a rug in front of the cage will help too

 

[ZRabbits]

I have allowed Neville (9 weeks) time on the floor after brushing. Click on the pic to watch the video.




K

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We let ours out to run as soon as they became "ours". We think Beth was about six weeks, and Nikki was 10 weeks.