Rabbits don't like exercise

[Tally943]

I used to have my rabbits(3) in a rather large, closed off space in my home. I ended up having to move them outside because the third one could not be litter box trained, and he ended up peeing on the wood floor several times (which is very difficult to clean). So then I bought a large hutch for the three of them to live in. I also let them roam around their old home whenever I could but now I use that space for my office. They still come up here and are very comfortable but they always leave something behind! (chewed couch bits, urine, chewed wires, etc).

Alright so my second effort to get them out of the hutch and to exercise was to completely bunny proof my indoor porch, and let them spend an hour or two a day back there. Well... all they would do is sit in the corner. Sometimes they would explore for 5 minutes but then they would get bored and just hide in the corner until I put them back in their hutch.

My last attempt was to set them up in a playpen outside. If this worked I was going to call a family friend and ask him to build a much larger playpen/run for them. As you can probably guess, they spent the entire time sitting in one spot, and didn't move at all, day after day.

I'm not really sure what to do.....

 

[StormyB]

Following because mine do the exact same thing: nothing!

 

[LavenderGlenn]

I used to have my rabbits(3) in a rather large, closed off space in my home. I ended up having to move them outside because the third one could not be litter box trained, and he ended up peeing on the wood floor several times (which is very difficult to clean). So then I bought a large hutch for the three of them to live in. I also let them roam around their old home whenever I could but now I use that space for my office. They still come up here and are very comfortable but they always leave something behind! (chewed couch bits, urine, chewed wires, etc).

Alright so my second effort to get them out of the hutch and to exercise was to completely bunny proof my indoor porch, and let them spend an hour or two a day back there. Well... all they would do is sit in the corner. Sometimes they would explore for 5 minutes but then they would get bored and just hide in the corner until I put them back in their hutch.

My last attempt was to set them up in a playpen outside. If this worked I was going to call a family friend and ask him to build a much larger playpen/run for them. As you can probably guess, they spent the entire time sitting in one spot, and didn't move at all, day after day.

I'm not really sure what to do.....

It may have to do with the fact that they are in a new environment and are not curious about wanting to explore. I have kits that like their hutch more than the run and I have had to move them to the run several times to get them to explore.

I've also had "houdinis" that somehow get out of their hutches but will not go more than 10 feet from it. It just may be part of their behavior. Plus, if there's a lot of natural predator scents around rabbits will freeze and not move or bolt around quickly before settling back in the same spot.

 

[bunnyrose]

Hi -- Remember that bunns are crepuscular. I.e. they are most active at sunup (dawn) and sundown. You may be expecting them to be active when you are--midday. But that's naturally a bunny nap time. As is midnight. You might try stimulating toys 5 -7 am and 5 - 7 pm.

For toys, there is a great website which sells bunny stuff but also maintains a section where bunny DIYers write up successful enrichment ideas: binkybunny.com.