My Esapeee

[Allysmom]

Okay so I live in a gated community with a 6' block wall 1/4 acre yard. I own a bunny named ginger. She is a rex rabbit. She is a ham. I rescued her from the shelter on her expiration date. She goes outside everyday in her x-pen (4 4' xpens to run and play ontop of her indoor fun. She is not much of a people bunny she will come to you on her terms etc.

Well 2 days ago she escaped her "play area".

She is soooo happy out there. I have Bushes to hide in a yummy lawn palm trees. She cant get out of the yard (well she probably could if she dug down 3 ft)
She runs and plays and goes in and out of her cage to eat and drink. Since she escaped I have left her cage outside she uses the litter box and eats and drinks in there etc.

I run a dayacre and she will run around by the kids bouncing and kicking her feet.

I know it gets hot here in the summer so If i built her an open breezy bigger cage with an enclosed area for when it rains that she can go in and out of and just let her run free is that bad?

I had the door open 20 min ago or the breeze and she came into the kitchen and sat by the fridge just watching me. I got her dinner and she headed out the door.

I cant get close enough to catch her. When the shelter took her in she was living in a cat carrier and the people lost their home were moving to an apt and couldnt take her. She was afriad of everything.

Am I wrong to let her stay out (its the only place I have ever seen her kick up her heals in joy)

If its okay to do that I have one side of my house that is shade 24/7 and gets a breeze. I could always add a fan lol! Could you give me ideas on what type of house to build what extras I should add.

There are alot of breeders out here whos bunnies are outdoors 24/7 no matter what My yard is sheltered from strong wind and has tons of places to hide. No spiders snakes etc I have pest control because of the daycare and they use organic spider kill stuff. just on the perimiter every 3 months.

I have 2 german shepherds who love her she comes up while they are laying down and lays on them. They lick her and cuddle her.

Will she love on me tho.... NOOOO!!!! I just feed her and buy her everything and respect her.


Thanks for any and all help and advice!

 

[Flashy]

I owuld be warey of leaving her out in the garden, free roam, 24/7.

Are you sure all your plants are safe for her to eat? That no predators could get in over night? No birds of prey around? That she couldn't get out? I know you said about digging down but rabbits can be really clever and cunning and she might find a small weakness.

I do think it's clear that she needs more space, so could you maybe convert some of the garden into a safe massive space for her? Like with a shed, a roof so nothing can get her from above? Things like that?

Another thought might be to get her a friend because that might be another way to make her happier.

If you were going to leave her out completely I think you would have to do some serious work on getting her decent accommodation that covers both heat and cold, rain, snow, etc, making it weather proof, and rabbit proof, i.e. safe for her, so no poisons, or anything poisonous, nothing can get in, she can't get out. I personally would be looking to make her a much larger run that you know is safer and more secure.

 

[Allysmom]

Since I have 2 dogs and small children in my home every day I am 100% positive that I have no toxic plants. I have also made doubly sure that I don't have plants toxic to bunnies. I had 1 plant that was and I dug it up and got rid of it. My yard is not a garden. Its a big open lawn with some bushes and 2 clusters of palm trees a grapefruit tree and a lime tree bordering the lawn. The vegetable plants I have are in pots about 5 feet off the ground on a shelf I installed out of the way of children. I have seen no birds of prey around here , not that there isn't, but there is a wild bunny who lives around the neighborhood and is about 5 years old. its the same bunny because hes missing an ear.
I live in Southern California our issue here is heat. My question is what do I build for her.

I can not physically catch her so I feel I am running out of options.

I have tried just sitting for hours yesterday next to her bowl of food and she sat 30 feet away from me like wow your a moron im not coming over there.

My wall is exactly 6 1/2 feet tall and goes under ground 3 feet its block and cement and there are no escape areas. My house is only 7 years old. There shouldn't be weak points in concrete blocks?!?!

 

[missyscove]

I would also worry about predators.
I don't know where in SoCal you're from, but I'm from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and we definitely have hawks and coyotes. I know you say your German Shepherds love her, but I would also never leave a bun and a dog unsupervised. I have two 12 year old golden retrievers who would never hurt the buns, but I wouldn't take that chance either.

I would agree that you could build her an enclosure, like perhaps a chain link dog run, if you want her to have lots of time outside.

The cold shouldn't be a problem in SoCal, but the heat definitely will be.
I know last summer we had about a week of 110 degree days. I would never leave a rabbit outside in that, no matter what kind of shade it had.

 

[Allysmom]

Allysmom wrote:

My question is what do I build for her.

I can not physically catch her so I feel I am running out of options.


My wall is exactly 6 1/2 feet tall and goes under ground 3 feet its block and cement and there are no escape areas. My house is only 7 years old. There shouldn't be weak points in concrete blocks?!?!

I am a RVT and I volunteer for the Wild Bird Center our birds come from the high desert areas because we have so few down here.

I GET the point of she could DIE from being outdoors.

I have set a trap.... Now I am waiting but If I cant catch her I have no options so again I say...My question is what do I build for her.

My dogs are NOT left unattenuated with her EVER that's as DUMB as leaving a kid alone with a dog regardless of how long they have been in the family. An animal is an animal.


I am reaching out for help and so far only one person has offered me any encouragement or ideas so please if your going to reply make it worth my time and yours!

I love my bunny she spent her whole life in a cat carrier and then i saved her the day she was to be euthanized. I had a rabbit for 7 years Ally who died 2 months ago. I miss her tremendously. Ginger and Ally hated each other. Ginger is spayed. She is a cuddler to everyone and everything under 3 feet tall but try to explain to a 2 year old how to properly catch a bunny!!!!!!!

I don't care if i have to run a tiny a/c to this thing but i need IDEAS.
She is still using her cage but I cant catch her in our out of it!

 

[Flashy]

To be fair, we have tried to be rational and helpful, and ok, it may not be the exact type of help you wanted, but we did as we would do for anyone, which is look for the risks. You understand the risks, which is great, but plenty of people could post what you have posted and not understand the risks at all, plus some of the important points you did miss out of the first post.

Getting angry won't really make people want to help, because that is what we are trying to do.

What to build for her? Well, in my post I mentioned a shed and that would be great because you could convert it so that it's cool for her. missyscove also mentioned dog chainlink stuff, which could provide a good enclosure if you wanted to go that way.

If you want to try and catch her, as harsh as it sounds, a net would do it. When we have had escapees my dad used to use a 6ft fishing net and we never failed to get one back (actually, it was always the same rabbit, we never failed to get him back).

I'm sure you're still going to be angry at me, but all I've tried to do is help. If you don't like it, stick me on ignore and ignore it, but when you get angry it won't endear people to keep trying to help (so better to not show your anger so outwardly and just stick the person on ignore).

 

[Allysmom]

Not once during reading or typing was I angry. I was simply putting it out there that if you are just going to continue with the risks etc i get it i know but I cant catch her.

I will have to try the net thing since the trap isn't working.

The problem with chain link is if i can catch her that offers her no shade. The shed would be nice I just have to find one small enough to fit on my side yard where it is shade 24/7

 

[Spring]

I know you understand the risks, so will try to explain how I would handle the situation.

Since she's coming in the kitchen, wouldn't you be able to just shut the door next time she comes in? I'm sure she's curious enough to come in (yummy food helps!) then you could easily catch her.

For myself personally if I were in this situation, I would not feel comfortable allowing her to live outside unsupervised. If you look at the lifespan of a wild rabbit, it's not too promising. There are just far too many factors that could contribute harm to rabbits outside free roam.

It really comes down to what you feel comfortable with, but with the factors involved, there is a risk involved. You just have to weigh the risks with what you think in your opinion is best for her. For myself, I would attempt to catchingher in a smaller area like inside and go from there.

 

[Allysmom]

the problem with that is my living room dining room and kitchen are a very large open area with the sliding glass door in the living room. My kitchen has a large island with walkways on each side. She gets to the door before I can. She came in 3 times but not for several days. She is eating and drinking and pooping in her cage. I spoke with the woman who runs the wild bird center and my vet and the conclusion we came too since the options for catching her were not working. She didn't eat for 2 days because she wouldn't go in the trap and that's not healthy. I am letting her live outdoors. I was told by my vet that every 3 months i will de-worm her however he does not think its necessary since he knows where I live (he lives in the same gated community) He and Linda (who runs the wild bird center) have no fears of her coming in contact with a wild bunny or getting nabbed by a bird of prey. Heat is their biggest concern. I have had several suggestions on shelters and The one we are building will have a 12" pip going down on an angle 1 foot to a box unerground the first floor will have a small fan attached to the side so it can keep air circulating and the top floor will basically be a lookout tower.


People have given me the playpen idea but what she escaped from was a 4' playpen so that idea is out of the question.

Since my vet and the woman who runs the wild bird center both feel she will be fine I am going with them on this. They both know her very very well. My attempts to cath her are making her very stressed out and nervous. It comes down to quality of life over quantity of life. She has never been happy or playful since I got her and now she is extremely happy and playful. She has a life now. Its not the one I wanted for her but its her life.

Thank you for all your help and suggestions.