Zander is an outdoor rabbit. Fergus was too. They have been all their lives. Winter is not a problem - where we live, the temperature rarely dips below 10 degrees celcius, and snow is unheard of. In Summer it can get quite hot. The rule we have made is, that if it gets above 32 degrees celcius, we lay out a wet towel for him to lay on, and an ice pack to rest on, and move his hutch to the shade. If it gets above 38 degrees celcius then he comes inside until the heat passes.
I know the objections some of you have with this, but I think your fears for the happiness of the rabbits is, at least in some cases, unfounded.
Zander has a schedule, because since he is such an intelligent rabbit I know he could easily bore. In the morning he has his 'breakfast' of half a bowel of seeds, some strawberries or melon, or perhaps apple, and some fresh hay, which he eats, and then he naps for most of the morning. This is still inside his hutch. He also likes to watch the birds out of the corner of his eyes, who come for the seeds, or gnaw on his woodblock, or graze on the grass in the open section of the hutch.
In the afternoon, Mum lets him out of his hutch. Our backyard is completely enclosed. He knows his way around since he has had this couple of hours playtime since he was a kitten, when we first brought him home. I still remember the first time he and Fergus learned to climb the steps to the backdoor - it was a big moment. I was very proud. Mum is home. She keeps an eye on Zander through the kitchen window. He mostly plays during this time, he has his favourite places to go, and things to do, and likewise Fergus. Like some of you know, Zander does 'laps', jumping in pots, leaping onto the windowsill. He doesn't eat plants, neither he nor Fergus ever were interested in that. Nor does he dig anymore (for a brief period, at the age of about six months, he did go through a digging phase - nothing serious, just potholes in the lawn). If it's a warm day he also likes to hide under the ferns in the back garden, where it's lovely and cool, and stretch out on his belly. People who have rabbits will know what I'm talking about - the complete sprawl. Sometimes he hangs around on the lawn, playing games with the birds, chasing them away.
I know predators is a big concern for a lot of you, but honestly, they're not a problem for us here, and never have been in the eight years I've been keeping guinea pigs and rabbits outdoors. Lilke I've said, the yard is completely enclosed, so dogs aren't an issue. And don't tell me a yard can't be completely dog proof - if you can prevent your dogs from escaping from your yard, can't we prevent dogs from getting in? Cats are different, because they could get in if they wanted, although there mustn't be many around here because I've only ever seen a couple. We're not a cat populated community around here, I guess. Besides which, we spoke to several different vets (since we changed vets when Zander was about ten months old), and all of them said that cats do not pose a predatory threat to rabbits. They're just not big enough to seriously consider something as stocky as a rabbit prey. Guinea pigs, on the other hand, are a different story, and that's why they are in their hutch all the time, unless supervised in their pig-pen.
We interact every single day with Zander. When I get home from school, at about 4:30, he is still outside playing. When he hears the backdoor bang he comes hopping up to the backdoor, and let me pet him, or pick him up if he's not busy on some other project. Then I give him a fruit jelly treat, and play awhile (he likes to dig my shoe laces, and I like to kiss his head). Then I set him down and he goes to play again, but I stay out there, and at various intervals he'll come back and say hello for a pat and a chat. At about 5:30, or later in summer, I fix his hutch for him with fresh straw, water. Then I take the seed box out and rattle it, which he knows is his signal for bedtime, so he goes to his hutch and waits while I pour him his dinner. Then we close his hutch, and that is his day. He has a ramp from the lawn area of his hutch to his actual 'bed'. The bed is completely enclosed, weather proof, predator proof.
I know some of you will and do object to this, but I think that Zander is a happy rabbit, and that he has a good and full life. I am not allowed to have 'house pets' (except for the birds, they are different), that's why I'm not allowed a dog or cat. So if Zander and the guinea pigs weren't housed outdoors I guess they would still be at the RSPCA.
Reply With Quote
❤️❤️
Bookmarks