Outdoor bunny help!

[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 perimeter 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!

 

[Baby Juliet]

She will love you in time. It may take a few months.
The only danger to your rabbits is probably hawks or other birds can get them.
When it's hot they keep cool by lying against the soil in the shade. My rabbits dug a den next to the foundation where they can go to escape the heat.

 

[Allysmom]

We have a wild bunny who lives around the neighborhood and is missing an ear. I haven't seen many birds of prey where I am except by the washes and at our wild bird center. Its a highly pest controlled area lol!

She weighs about 9 lbs and is bigger than my cat. I have tried to catch her to bring her in at night but I cant.

I am stumped on what else to do!

and if shes okay to stay outside I need to build her a house outside to keep her dry on the 1 day a year it rains and to help keep her safe. I could add a fan or something But I am at a loss on ideas on what to build??

btw I live in Southern California

 

[Maureen Las]

I didn't respond to this because I realize the attraction there is to allow your bunny to live a "wild life"
I really will not comment on whether you should do this or or not but I will tell you that your rabbit is at risk to every parasite that would be on a wild cottontail.

This would include various species of mites, mange, ringworm ,fleas, cuterebra fly larvae, ticks,fly strike, intestinal parasites (intestinal worms) and on and on.
Your rabbit would mostlikely would have a shorter lifespan if you can not catch him periodically to check whether he is OK, look him over or take him to the vet.

 

[Allysmom]

I am a registered veterinary technician (RVT) I do understand this... But if you would love to come catch her ill give you my address. I went down to the shelter today and got a humane trap and set it so we will see because I have no alternative how do you tell a 2 year old to properly restrain the bunny that they are petting. You cant!

Also my vet is the one who suggested building her an enclosure outside since I cant catch her.

If your not going to reply then don't!

Your info isn't helpful at all.

I took her from a situation where she was going to die because no one wanted her she had lived her entire life in a cat carrier. She got out of the 4' tall exercise pen I had her in god only knows how but she did.

She cant access other rabbits since they cant get in my yard unless the dig under the concrete 5 ft back and go down 3 ft and then 15 ft more across to enter my yard!


So is anyone going to help me out with ideas on building her a home.

Unless of course one of you wants to volunteer to come help me catch her!

 

[Baby Juliet]

Considering she's going to be free range you might as well just build something that looks good in the shady part of the yard. She's probably already have some favorite spots under low shurbs. You can even just place a few clay chimney liners under the bushes where she can stay dry. During hot days she would probably be more comfortable lying on bare soil in the shade than in anything you build even if it has a fan. She might get smart and go in your air conditioned house.

My first rabbit got away from me and for a long time never went in the hutch. After she got used to being around me for a few months, not only did she come running when she heard me filling the bowl with pellets, she let me pick her up and handle her.

You can ask Dana at http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/
There used to be a volunteer who had instructions for building hutches.

 

[anneq]

I'd make sure she has plenty of water also - I know how dry and hot the summers are out there (So.Calif.native) - also in the areas she seems to be using for staying cool you might also want to put soda bottles that have been filled with water and frozen beforehand so that will help keep her cool.

 

[Allysmom]

Thank you very much. Someone else gave me the idea of building a shed down that side of my house. She uses her cage even though shes outside she goes to her cage to poop eat and drink. I also have a big bowl i bought at the store its about 3 1/2" deep and i have it filled with water and ice and yesterday i kept adding ice cubes. The frozen water bottle thing is a great idea.

I left the door open and im in the other room so I am crossing my fingers that she just hops on in and i can catch her. Shes been in twice but i couldn't get to the door before her. Shes too smart!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Thats good sheis pooping, peeing, eating and drinking in one spot that you can observe. Just look for any changes in her poop, how much water she is drinking etc. If you notice anything different, you may have to enlist help to herd her into a spot where you can catch her. Sounds like she is well protected, from other rabbits. I agree the only concern would be birds of prey.

Being confined in the cat carrier probably gave her some claustrophobia and she doesn't want to be confined any more. As for her escaping, I once had a Flemish doe jump straight up and over a 28" fence. Of course I think she was trying to get a moments peace and quiet from her kits at the time.

Here is a link to a simple hutch, http://www.icecubetopper.com/blueprints/nd/pdfs/6277.pdfI am sure there are more out there. Many rabbit books/magazines have good simple plans too.

I am glad you took her in, that was very thoughtful. She does sound like she has trained you well at being a bunny slave.

If there is more I can help with just let me know. I would love to come out to California to help you catch her!

 

[DazyDaizee]

If I were you I would get a large strip of chicken wire or use two 8 panel playpens if you have them. Set up a large area with food and water only offered in the pen. Leave a small opening that can be quickly closed at the opposite side. If you're a patient person, sit out for a few hours and wait for her to enter. If you are not so patient, turn this one area into a very comfortable place for her. Offer lots of treats, a nice hiding spot, ect. Once she goes in (or becomes accustomed to sitting in there) you close the gate. Trapped rabbit without stress.

Alternatives.. get a few helpers, large strip of chicken wire or playpens and slowly corner the rabbit (without appearing too threatening.. slowly approach). Gradually reduce the amount of room she has to move around until you can close and secure her in the area.

A large net.

A humane trap (which you mentioned you had) be sure to load it with appealing treats.

http://www.columbusrabbit.org/strays.php

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/rescue.html

Great article here: http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=11c919de154235a4&mt=application/pdf&pli=1

I can relate first hand to catching a rabbit outside. I live in an apartment and there's a LARGE plot of land here. We started brining Toot outside when she was young and she'd hop around, we'd pick her up and bring her back inside when she was done. Then she got spooked. We chased her forever. The yard is not completely enclosed, there's a large hill with trees, shrubs, rocks.. very unstable. And it's several hundred feet that she could easily elude us. We did the complete wrong thing by just chasing and chasing. She eventually tired and practically collapsed. I now realize that could have killed her and was the wrong way to go about it. Luckily she was fine, but that experience sticks with me.. and I know the frustration of trying to catch a bunny who doesn't want to be caught. That being said.. I think it's better she doesn't like out there. She would benefit from a large secure run that she can spend time in when not indoors, however I feel she's much more at risk being outdoors in this current situation.