I have NEVER seen the point of having a pet that has to live outside, unless it has an aggressive personality or is a farm animal.

The prob w/rabbits living outdoors is that they are vulnerable to extreme changes in weather---often too cold in winter, too hot in summer; don't be fooled by ARBA.... DOMESTICATED rabbits do not tolerate big swings in the weather very well. In winter their water and food will freeze at the drop of the hat, often before they have the chance to finish their meal. In summer their fur makes them extremely vulnerable to heat stroke and death.

Rabbits are extremely social animals and being alone in a shed for the majority of the day is not going to speed up the process of having the rabbit trust you to handle him. They love life, are charming and wonderful pets.......but they still remain a PREY animal and retain those instinctive fears of their forebearers ... of anything that moves quickly, are loud and larger than they are. This is a major reason why rabbits are not respected by most people: they are viewed as timid, boring and not much more than a lump of fur when nothing could be further from the truth. Unless you are going to be outside with your rabbit for several hours a day he is not going to have the chance to develop to comical, affectionate and charming pet they can be.

Lastly, it is well-known is that outdoor rabbits have a much shorter life span than a lucky house rabbit, outdoors they avg 4-6 years, while indoor rabbits average 7-11 years; int he past year we have started to hear of 12-17 year old house rabbits.

You might go to www.rabbit.org and read up on rabbit care. They do have info on outddoor living. They are also the experts in rabbits as pets. It is my experience that ARBA and 4 H groups are more interested in rabbits as livestock, meat and show animals and neither group seems to have bothered at looking beyond this elementary view to see that rabbits have much more poertential than that.