Prizm wrote:
Hello, as much as I love my two bunnies, they are not havinga good life with me. My home is not bunny-proofed and as a result, theyare living out most of their lives caged.
It's your choice, but I'm realizing thatin a lot of cases, wefeel a lot worse about them being cagedthan theydo. Pipp used to have free run of the house a good part ofthe time, and I assumed sheenjoyed it because of howenergetic she was when she was out of my bedroom.Now she stays in my room, and she's a lot more... relaxed! I see thatshe wasn't happily energetic, she washyper and concerned withher safety.
Same with the other bunnies -- Dill is a free run bun, and Iinitially get the sad-eyed look when he's caged a couple hours a day toallow the foster bun to run around. But I'm realizing thatwhen he's out and he's done his exploring and playing (an hour or twoeach day), he's perched on the couch where he can get a good view ofallareas. But he's not relaxed, he's watchingforpredators. He only truly feels safe when he's inhis cage. As much as he thinks he's missingsomething by being in there, he feels safe.
Rabbits in the wild spend at least 20 hours a day in their warrens,which is where they're the most comfortable. They come out tolook for food and play for a couple hours a day. And eventhen they stick as close as they can to the warren. The onlytime you'll see them bounding across the meadow is when they'reescaping a real or imagined predator. The rest ofthe time, they're playing and binkying a short spurt from home.
Now they're also very curious little creatures, and they want to knowthe lay of the land, including potential threats, escape routes,additional food and entertainment sources, etc, so they are compelledto explore, but that easily fits into their daily sojouns outside thewarren -- the one or two hour window.
Personally, I'd just make sure they've gotenough cage spaceto hop around (easy with a NIC panel job), lots of toys,andthey get out for an hour or two once or twice aday when theycan be watched (or in one room that CAN be bunny-proofed, or in an areafenced off with the NIC panels). And the chances are they'llbe happier there than any other home. It reallywon't be easy finding them a better situation than that.Also, they're getting older, which means they're less inclined to wantto explore.
Somebody may think they can do better, but they'll probably eventuallyend up in the same postiion as you a monthor a year or twodown the road -- they're too much trouble when they're out.Or they'll move to a different house, or they'll have a kid or get adog...And the bunnies willstand a goodchance of being worse off.
Meanwhile, whoever adopts themcould have used their space fora couple of bunnies who REALLY needed it -- abusedor shelterbunnies who spend all their time in small wire cages.
That's just my twocents.
sas
, pipp:bunnydance:andthewarren:brownbunny:toastingbuns:bunny24
