Bunny scared off noises - We moved to a new place

[annabelle00]

So we recently moved to a new place and Dusky has the run of the entire fenced in yard here but not the house as we rent and can't keep him in If I do he starts to spray, pee and poo everywhere. Hoping that a neuter will take care of that. I had to postpone his neuter twice already first due to a digest upset where he ate something strange and his poops shrunk quite a lot and again due to the stress of moving.

The problem is the highway/motorway is pretty much opposite to where we are ( a few metres down the road) and Dusky freaks out whenever anything goes past. He starts sprinting either to the nearest possible safe place, i.e, his hutch, tunnel or a look out point like the corner of the fence.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152331550174314&l=8239724688790967829
This is his first run out when we moved in on the first day. I've since added a run and some other things as we were too tired to setup all our stuff.

Would I adding a few more hiding spots to the yard to help him feel safe? Any thing I can do help him be more comfy with his new outdoor set up?

He's pretty chill with hanging out on my desk top but I do see him enjoying himself hopping about the yard.

Thanks

 

[annabelle00]

This is the run attached to his cage http://www.rabbithutch.org.uk/outdo...run-guinea-pig-garden-play-pen-exercise-area/
There's a cat tunnel on one side of the fence and a carrier cage near our backdoor. I've also got a pretty good view of the backyard from my room and the dining and kitchen are also overlooking the yard.

 

[PaGal]

Hi. I myself would not allow a bun to have free run of that yard. It is nice and spacious but the fence looks way too easy to escape from whether by squeezing through the gaps between fence posts or squeezing under the fence. Buns can fit through some very small spaces when they want to. Also, I would be concerned about any predators.

Any bun moving to a new home will want to mark it's territory with both poops and urine. Hopefully neutering will help with this but you would also want to first limit his space inside your home and litter train him. It is usually best to start a bun out with a small space until litter trained and then slowly allow them more space as long as they continue to use a litter box.

Does the run attached to his hutch have a wire bottom? I couldn't tell from the pics and didn't read so in the add. If it doesn't you may want to add a wire bottom so your bun does not dig his way out.

As far as adding hiding spots to make him more comfortable and less afraid, that should help. Buns in the wild do have several tunnels they can disappear into.

 

[annabelle00]

Thanks for the info! He does use his litter box for doing his business but marks otherwise, but entire room smelled off bunny pee even after cleaning the carpet. It was on rent so just glad the landlord was a pretty relaxed guy.
Once neutered I'll definitely try limiting his space at first and then see how it goes.

Sorry forgot to add I supervise him when he's out in the yard as we do have a cat around here, have blocked off the gaps under the fence too. The gaps in-between the posts are too small for him, narrower than the NIC cube grid spaces which are 3.5cm wide.

No wire bottom as he doesn't dig in soil (unless he's gonna flop) but he's been indoors all this time so I will have to watch for that.

He's always preferred being indoors with me and the family over being outdoors so I want to make it as cozy as possible for him. I want to try building one of the bunny playgrounds later too, we didn't have much space at the previous place and there was no fenced in yard.

I might get some tarpaulin and fence of a space in my room so he can hang around with us inside.

 

[Azerane]

My main concern with the non-wired bottom to the run, is not only for him escaping, but for foxes / cats digging in to get to him. I think you could either mesh the bottom or alternatively, a row of bricks places against the outside of the run should prevent predators digging in as the bricks will fall into the hole as they dig it (in theory).

And in answer to your actual question... I agree with adding more bolt holes in the form of cardboard boxes and tunnels for him to escape to for "safety" from the noises. Once he gets a bit more used to them he'll probably settled down and won't have a problem with the sounds of passing trucks etc.

 

[annabelle00]

Didn't think cats would dig to get in :s
We don't get foxes here luckily or predator birds in Auckland thankfully but I will see if I can get some stones to go around the outside.
Oh! we've got a paved path at the back entrance which is right in front of his cage I could move the cage there as there's enough paved area for the cage to fit. (just thought of that)
I wanted him to have a nice grazing area as he enjoys that and I could see his cage clearly from my room which is where I took the photo from...if I move it there his cage will be outside the dining room which is outside my room so should be ok. Will see how it goes.

 

[Azerane]

My mistake, thought there were foxes. There are wild stoats in NZ though, not sure how they fair as far as distribution, but I would be wary simply because of cats in any case.

 

[bellaterra214]

Here's a website I have been looking at for outdoor hutches. Some of the hutches are way cool and a bunnies dream. We are moving soon also, but I believe we are going to get a separate room for the bunnies. Free roam when we are home, but when we are both at work they have a whole room to play in since they have always been indoor bunnies.

http://www.saveafluff.co.uk/housing-photos

We are moving from a 2 to a 3 bedroom condo? townhouse? Not sure yet, but looking around. We are currently saving for our 30% deposit for a house and then I am definitely going to make a crazy outdoor hutch. Combining things I saw and I liked from the website above. There is nothing wrong with him being outside, but just make sure your bunny will be safe when you're gone.