Do you let your rabbit have the run of the house?

[Sox]

Ok, just interested to know how many of you let your rabbits out to run around in the house? Mine is only allowed to run around in a caged area. The few times I've let her out of the play pen she jumped on the couch and peed!! Also although Sox is toilet trained for the litter box, she also drops a hell lot of pebbles all over the place including the cecals which she has a tendency of stepping and sitting on squashing them all over the place. Help, is this normal? I know she does do her stuff in the litter box though.

I hear about marking the territory but do girls do that too? I mean Sox seems to leave a lot of trail pebbles which can be annoying if I give her freedom of the house. I did a test run and if I don't feed her during the time she is let into the play pen, then she doesn't leave as much trails about.

Interested to hear what others do and general comments and advise.

 

[bee_wrangler]

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I let mine out, they like sitting on the couch but if I let them run around on the floor they don't go too far, the little one has a bathroom issue I am trying to fix though. He goes when ever and where ever lol so he gets only a short time on the couch for now

 

[tamsin]

It's normal for even litter trained rabbits to mark when they move to new territory. If you provide a litter tray and scoop up the spare poops you should find the marking naturally decreases as that area becomes hers.

 

[AriaDragonfly]

I usually let mine out for a few hours every day so they can stretch their legs, once we get a bigger place I'm hoping to build them an inside running area so if they have accidents it's not on a carpet!

 

[elrohwen]

Is she spayed? Unspayed females will absolutely mark territory. Even spayed buns will, but it's usually less.

My bun sort of has the run of the house. However, we have a lot of hardwood and he's not a fan of it at all. He mostly stays in his cage area or in the living room on the rug. If we had wall-to-wall carpet, he would have more useable room to run.

 

[bee_wrangler]

Funny you mention the hardwood floor elrohwen, I find mine are the same. They do not like it at all.

 

[BunnyLove06]

My Sammy gets full run of the house (minus the bedrooms). He loves running laps around the couch.
He is potty trained- but on occasion will do his business on the couch, I suppose to mark it as his own.
Daisy Marie doen't get full run yet as she is not potty trained. We let her out in part of a bedroom that Sammy doesn't have access to.
(We learned after having her out in the living room that Sammy usually will end up marking it again as his.

 

[Bex&Bun]

My boy Willoughby gets let inside whenever we are inside so he gets a good run I makes me feel happy to see him zooming round the house like crazy! He jumps on all the lounges and walks along the window sills. He very very rarely poops inside and he's not really toilet trained. He scratches on the door when he wants to go out (he thinks he's a dog..)
He has chewed a bit of the lounge and scratches on the wall so we've had to rope off a few areas.

Here he is:

"mmm... should I dive bomb daddy?"

 

[juliew19673]

Yup my lil guy gets full run 24/7; took about 1.5 years to get him to this point. Would let him into a new area and then figure out what he could get into that he should not; bunny proof that area and then move on. He's actually been less destructive with free roam than before.He still has his pen (doors just always open now) to sleep inand it has his bathroom.

Oh and this is only as he is fixed - if he was not I think he'd mark everything. So fixing them would be a huge help to you.

 

[Sox]

Thanks guys. I really didn't know that unspayed females will really mark territory more so than spayed. At present I can't afford to get her spayed.

Sounds like Sox will be envious of all your rabbits who seem to get a whole heap of freedom. I will give it a try tonight, let her have the whole run of the lounge which is tiled. Looks like she will have a ball skidding and hiding all over the place and lets hope she doesn't chew through electrical cords quickly!She'll think all her Christmases came at once! :bunnydance:My room is not rabbit proof yet and if it works out I will get it done. Don't worry she will be supervised. Looks like I will have a hell lot of cleaning up to do tonight! :X

Wonder what I am getting myself into as Sox as a fantastic memory and she will remember this adventure so from tonight onwards she will always want to escape from her playpen for total freedom! :?:duel



PS... by the way the photo of the rabbit on the couch is fantastic, he/she looks so relaxed! Minejust never stays still, she'dchew onall my papers and bills and scratch and chew through the couch!

 

[Bex&Bun]

Yeah that was the most freaky photo because Willoughby NEVER sits still for a second.. but it really did look like he was contemplating jumping on Dave! He really is naughty, if im asleep on the lounge he will jump on me! And he does chew the lounge but we have sealed of his chew spots