Is It Okay For Rabbits To Live Outside?

[stellarkirby98]

What do you think? I think rabbits are meant tobe indoors. I've heard terrible stories of their rabbits dying frompredator attack, bad weather conditions, and other things. I have arabbit, and I am considering moving him into my house. My parents neverheard of a rabbit living indoors

 

[Mr. Stee]

Could you give us a description of your rabbits living conditions outside and the possible indoor conditions?

 

[stellarkirby98]

Well he doesn't really have any conditionsthatI know of. He's a male dutch rabbit who is about 6 monthsold. He isn't neutered yet, so maybe I should neuter him before I puthim in the house.

 

[Mr. Stee]

Sorry, let me be more clear with myquestion. What is his cage like and what does he have in itand where in your yard is it? Inside the house, where wouldhe be kept, in what sort of cage, and that sort of thing.

 

[rabbitgirl]

stellarkirby98 wrote:

He isn't neutered yet, so maybe I should neuterhim before I put him in the house.

That's probably a good idea. I'm sure boy spray all over the housewon't go very far in convincing your parents house rabbits are the wayto go.

That said, mine live outside and do just fine--and I'm in the same climate.

Rose

 

[stellarkirby98]

Oh okay I get what you are saying. He has awooden hutch with a wire floor. There is a second part to his cage werehe can go to the bathroom which has a wooden floor. In the first partof his cage he has 2 metal dishes with one for pellets and the otherforwater. I also usually put hay and grass in here too forhim to eat. We have a towel and a piece of apple wood for him to chewon. In the second part of the cage we have alot of hay in there with ametal pan for him to use the bathroom in. My rabbit is right by ourgarage, there is a door and his hutch is right by it.

If he were kept in the house, we would keep him somewehere in ourlivingroom by a wall, with a different sized cage, preferably a mediumsized one with a litter box in it.

 

[Mr. Stee]

I too think they would be fine outside assumingthat you give them a warm place to go on the cold nights. Anest box stuffed with hay is what we gave our bunnies to keep them warmon cold days when I was a kid. We also made sure they were ina place that would have some protection from harsh winds.This is why I was asking for your bunnies living conditions before Igave an answer.

*edit* Of course I prefer to have my bunnies indoors becausethen they can be all the more comfortable (no big temperature changes,no wind, no rain and snow, you know) and I am able to enjoy theircompany all the more when they live in the house with me. Iwould say, if you would like to share your life with them more, indoorsis the way to go.

 

[stellarkirby98]

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Mr. Stee]

Are you going to still bring him in, or is he going to stay outside? Just curious.

 

[stellarkirby98]

I think we are still bringing him in, but if he can't adjust to my house then he will probably stay outside.

 

[BlueGiants]

This is a tough time of the year to make adecision like that. If you bring him in for a few weeks andthen decide that it isn't working out, itmay be hard toacclimate him back to the cold temps outside. Just considerhow cold it is before you switch him back and forth.

If he's content and healthy outside, don't feel bad if you havetoleave him there. Just keep giving him lots ofattention and love.

 

[stellarkirby98]

BlueGiants wrote:

This is a tough time of the year to make a decision likethat. If you bring him in for a few weeks and then decidethat it isn't working out, itmay be hard to acclimate himback to the cold temps outside. Just consider how cold it isbefore you switch him back and forth.

Yes, I'll make sureI do. He's doing pretty good out there, so I may not need to switch him.

 

[naturestee]

I've found that rabbits generally make theswitch inside pretty easily. The biggest problem for some islitter training, but you can make up for that temporarily with learninghis habits and doing fast cleaning. I have two dwarf hototgirls that lived outside that I adopted several weeks ago.Their biggest obstacle was learning that people won't hurt you, as theyhad been neglected. The vacuum spooks all bunnies,so that was to be expected. Oh, and Febreeze in thehallway in front of their room spooked them the first timetoo.

I also have Tank temporarily (she's being passed from person to persontill she gets to Gypsy in New Hampshire) and she's been living outsidefor years. She's adjusting pretty well too. We evengot a washing machine and had to put it in the bathroom withher. After running a few loads through she doesn't seem tocare at all.

Like my hubby (Mr. Stee) I really prefer keeping bunniesindoors. They get, and give, so much moreattention. It's okay to keep them outdoors, just make surethat you spend lots of time with him out there. Rabbits aresocial creatures and need you pay attention to them. And likeBlueGiants said, don't make any drastic temperature changes for him.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I have 3 rabbits and they're all outside. 2 ofthem will never be inside because they scare me everytime! They haveboth been outside since they were born and absolutely love it outthere. When I bring them in to play they don't really enjoy it and whenI put my shoes on, they both stand on their back feet and get soexcited and can't wait for me to pick them up and take them back out(they hate being picked up normally).

I've had Mocha infor 2 nights when I repainted the hutch andhe scared the crap out of me. He trained himseld so well that he willnot go to the bathroom inside at all. Not in a litter tray... not in akennel... even if it has soiled litter in it to encourage it. But assoon as I put him back outside, he runs to take a potty break. :shock:

Spice was in a few nights last winter and he gets to the point where he stops pooping because he gets so stressed.

So I've learned that my boys will never be inside bunnies even if Iwanted them to be. It really depends on the rabbit so we can't say thatyes your rabbit will surely do good inside.