The Great Indoor Rabbit Debate
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Some people think that rabbits belong out in the backyard in a hutch, occasionally having hay and carrots shoved at them. It's an intriguing theory, and one that a surprisingly large percentage of the rabbit owning population seem to subscribe to. Many outdoor rabbits tend to be children's pets, with the parent thinking that they will be easy and simple to care for given that they live outside and won't make a mess on the rug.
This is true, outdoor imprisonment will mean that your bunny never gets near your rug, and it also means that you are unlikely to have to foot bills for shoes, cords and other household items that have been mercilessly assaulted by surprisingly sharp bunny teeth.
To be fair, the concept of keeping rabbits indoors is somewhat of a new one in many circles. People are surprised to see a rabbit laying out on the sofa, looking comfortable and pretty pleased with itself. Should you do it? Should your bunny be inside? Let's look at the pros and cons of keeping your rabbit indoors.
The salient points:
If you keep your rabbit indoors. You will actually spend time with your rabbit, thereby bonding with it and having a much more pleasant pet all round. Most rabbits require quite a bit of time and attention in order to make them friendly and affectionate, and like a dog or cat, they don't bond with you unless they spend time with you.
This brings me to my second point. Although they can appear less than intelligent at times, bunnies are actually pretty smart, and much closer to a cat or dog in intelligence, affection and temperament than say a guinea pig. This means that shutting them in a tiny cage in the back yard is tantamount to mental cruelty.
Rabbits need exercise. If you've ever seen rabbits in the wild, perhaps on television, you might notice that they are quite good at running. They love to run, running is perhaps their favorite activity. You don't get much of that when you're stuck in a little cage that is only a few hops long. Add physical cruelty to the outdoor list, unless of course you build a really large hutch for your bunnies.
Another surprising fact is that they are surprisingly easy to toilet train. Simply make sure that you keep your rabbit in it's indoor cage long enough that it establishes a spot to toilet in, and that should, in theory, be the end of it. It was in the case of my own rabbits.
On the downside, you will have to bunny proof your house. Their attraction to electrical cords is legendary and akin to the proverbial attraction of the moth to the flame. They also like anything rubber, and may have a go at wooden objects too. You can decrease the amount of destruction your rabbit wreaks on your surroundings by supervising your rabbit, and making sure he or she has ample toys that they can play with.
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Actually, this hub says exactly the opposite, ?????. But leaving comments without reading things first is so much more fun than all that boring reading and understanding, so I shan't begrudge you it. :)
so true...I have had my bunny living inside ever since I got him, and he is 8 years old now. Taking care of them properly is so much easier when they live inside. Besides, they really are very clean animals and as soon as you have them potty-trained even more. Those 8 years I had my bunny living inside, we both became best friends and it so amazing to see how much such a little bunny can actually understand and learn. It never gets boring with im around :-)
I’ve had a fascination with bunnies since I was practically born, but I got a dog in my childhood.
I got a bunny August 2007 she came up to me in the cage and tried to kiss my hand, I just had to beg and my fiancé’s mother bought me her. After 3 months of my fiancé thinking her a boy she was named Cena after the wrestler, when the bunny first flopped on the rug we got a shock as we saw her little black nipples. So we named her Dawn. She has always lived in our bedroom with us and the only hassle we’ve had is her getting under the bed and chewing things under. Now she doesn’t chew anything but the paper balls we make and anything cardboard lying around. Rabbit’s aren’t necessarily as destructive as you might think, given the right amount of attention and guidance rabbits can be more houses trained than your average cat or dog. Speaking from someone who used to own a dog (jack Russell) I found it much much easier to train the bunny; it was as if she already knew what to do.
I currently have a strike system with her. If she does something like try and crawl underneath the TV set I say “Strike 1 Dawnie” and she will come over and apologise by a kiss or a cuddle. She hates doing things wrong and despite a little rebellion (which is normal in a teenage/un spayed) bunny she is very eager to please me and my partner. She binkies everywhere and mostly has free run of the house. In her whole one year and a bit of living here she’s only ever chewed through one unplugged wire whilst she was under the bed.
what does binkies mean? ive seen it on a lot of bunny websites but dont know the meaning of the word can anyone help?
A binky is a rabbits way of expressing that they're happy. They run, jump into the air and kick their back legs into a semi flip. Watch a video on youtube if you're still confused. In the wild rabbits use this technique to get away from predators, or whilst playing with other bunnies. Binky's are a lot of fun to watch, and it's quite amusing watching them binky all morning long, then flop over as if they've had a long hard day. :) hope I helped.
?????? says:
17 months ago
you think that buunys should be out side just because they are wild animales well you are wrong bunny rabbits are cute so they should not be out side by??????