Outdoor Question

[petkeeper]

Hi guys

I would love to take my rabbits outside for some grass chewing and fresh air. I am wondering what to do to prepare them for the outside. They are strickly indoor bunnies and I am terrified of heart attacks if they get to scared.

Also what do you do to keep the bugs away from them. We have major black flies right now and I know what it is like when I get bit I wouldn't want them to suffer like that.

What I was planning to do is just take their cage top out and lay it on the ground in a nice grassy patch and let me the chew or I might make a cube cage with no bottom to stay outside so they can have an outdoor cage. I was going to put a blanket on one end so they can have shade. They will be staying out for an hour or two.

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

Shannon

 

[Little Bay Poo]

My bunnies are also strictly house rabbits, but you'd be surprised...they do well outside as long as you are there to supervise and comfort them. When I take Billy and Ronnie outside I set up an outdoor playpen so that they can't escape and other animals can't get in. I like to put a hidey house in the playpen because Billy gets really scared outside and uses the hidey house to feel more comfortable. I make sure that someone is outside at all times supervising because we have neighborhood cats that run through the backyard sometimes. Usually we are sitting in the playpen with the bunnies because they feel more secure with us sitting near them.

The two things that my rabbits are scared of the most are dogs and birds. When they hear birds chirping they get a little nervous, but usually they are pretty good about it. Dogs are a different story...the bunnies go into full on panic mode. So I set up in my yard where I know there will be no dogs.

As for bugs, I had previously asked about using citronella candles and people on the forum said it would be ok as long as the candles weren't too close to the bunnies. Maybe those candles would work for black flies. We have gnats here, but I ended up not using the candles because gnats tend to gravitate towards taller things. As such, the gnats were around me but weren't bothering the bunnies at all!

What you've described as your setup looks like it will work just fine. If you are out there supervising them you will be able to tell how they are handling it and also ward off any neighborhood or other animals that might run through the yard.