bunny visits outside?

[MiniLopHop]

I was thinking of trying to harness train my rabbit over the winter so she could go outside occasionally to visit. I am hesitating because my rabbit book talks about fleas, ticks, mosquitoes etc that carry horrible things. Is the enrichment worth the risk? :confused2:

 

[Amy27]

I don't take my rabbits outside. Not really because of the risk of fleas or ticks, but because I know if they ever got out of the harness, the harness broke, I dropped the leash, they would be gone and there would be no way I could catch them or that they would come to me.

I do know people on the boards who do it though. Their rabbits seem calm and not afraid on the harness. Mine would freak out, that is why I know they would run if they could.

Have you ever tried to put a harness on your rabbit in the house to see how she reacts?

 

[MiniLopHop]

Amy, I have not tried a harness on her yet. I would hate to have her get loose, but I would only walk her in a fenced area so if something did happen I think I could get her back. She is also microchipped, but I don't ever want to rely on that. She will lay calm in my arms but she really likes to explore as well. It might be nice to have her harness trained for vet trips as well, so I might try it. Still not positive the enrichment of outside is worth the risk. It's good to know that you have happy buns that don't go out.

 

[maxysmummy]

we let our hoppers out whenever we can.

they seem to love it.

i wouldn't be too worried about tics and mozzies etc, just give them a check over when you get inside

 

[elrohwen]

I'm against harnesses, personally. It's very easy for a rabbit to be seriously injured or killed if they panic while in the harness. Even a very calm rabbit might panic if faced with a barking dog or even just a strong gust of wind that blows things around. If you want to take her outside, I'd recommend setting up an xpen and then bringing her out.

 

[maxysmummy]

to be honest i don't know if an x pen is necessary.

the first week we had our rabbit buster (RIP my angel :'( )

we took him to a massive park, and he'd just hop around, go for alittle walk to check out other people, then hop back to us.

max and wolfgang on the weekend were quite good, maxxy just hopped around the front porch of my mothers house, wolfgang was a wild thing running around the bushes and under the house but it didn't take more than 5 mins to catch wolfie when we needed to put them back inside (and he is the most skittish bun you've ever met)

 

[MiniLopHop]

wow, there is no way I would let her go outside without a pen and/or harness. I'm just too afraid of the "what ifs". Our neighbor has a dog that would probably eat her, or if she got loose a fox. The more I read the more I am glad she is safe in the house. She can enjoy fresh air and sun shine through open windows.

 

[maxysmummy]

i am not a bad mother, i simply don't feel the need to wrap my animals in cotton wool. an hour of supervised outside play outdoors makes my rabbits very happy.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Maxysmummy- I appologize, I did not mean to insinuate you were a bad mom! I'm sure you take everything into consideration when making choices. I am just thinking in my particular case there is a neighbor dog that has been known to kill cats, I'm sure he would love to get a rabbit. We also have a lot of fox in the area and we have seen them run down the drive and through the back yard. From what I understand there are a lot fewer large predetors in AU, so it is not the same consideration where you live. I think you have very lucky buns that they can experience that freedom safely. Unfortunately that just is not the case here.

 

[Amy27]

MiniLopHop wrote:

Amy, I have not tried a harness on her yet. I would hate to have her get loose, but I would only walk her in a fenced area so if something did happen I think I could get her back. She is also microchipped, but I don't ever want to rely on that. She will lay calm in my arms but she really likes to explore as well. It might be nice to have her harness trained for vet trips as well, so I might try it. Still not positive the enrichment of outside is worth the risk. It's good to know that you have happy buns that don't go out.

I think if I had a fenced in yard and I tried a harness with my buns and they did good, I would consider taking them outside. As long as the yard was completely fenced in so if they did get out of the harness, I know I could get them.

But my rabbits are indoor only and they are happy. I think they would really freak out going outside. They are 7 & 8 years old now and have never been outside. I think it would really scare them. They freak out when the neighbor makes a noise or I trip and fall lol.

 

[Katmais_mommy]

I think I'd have very depressed rabbits if mine werent allowed to play outside. One of mine is fully leash/harness trained. He is also desensitized to all sounds. I plan on training the rest of mine to be calm in leash/harness and I plan on desensitizing them to all sounds.

Basically, I have 4 rabbits. One of mine is 100% fearless

 

[Byfuzzerabbit]

My rabbit doesn't have a fence or leash when I let her out. My house backs up to the woods so I keep my eyes open. Coffee is good about staying by the house and I have never had a problem with her hopping over to the wooded area. She knows were the bread is buttered.

 

[ribbits]

If your rabbit is good about letting you pick her up it would be no problem having her out unleashed. If she's the type that don't follow you back in the house or refuses to let you catch her you would need to start with a leash. Loose rabbits usually find their way back home specially to the outdoor pellet bowl.

There are rabbit safe flea and tick treatments on the market though a bit pricy.