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mushpea
04-10-2009, 05:23 PM
does anyone have a house rabbit? if so does it run freely round the house or do you only let it out when there are no minded children and how do i get it to use a litter tray, we have a big dog crate we are thinking of keeping one in, gonna put some wood around the sides of the cage about 5 inchs of the floor so i dosent kick stuff out of the cage but just wonded how you stop it from pooing and peeing everywhere and also spraying, also how do ofsted view free roaming rabbits?

sarah707
04-10-2009, 05:35 PM
I am allergic to rabbits so can't help with that one I'm afraid.

A story I can share though - my friend has 2 house rabbits and left a small window open for them when she went to bed as there was a bad smell in the house.

She was burgled in the night and told she was uninsured because she'd had an open window.

:(

DIPPY DOUGHNUT
04-10-2009, 05:43 PM
We have house rabbits.

They spend the summer in our garden and normally the winter in our house.

We brought them in Germany where we used to live and you could buy big cages for them to live in. Its abit like a huge hamster cage! you also buy them a trangle shapped tub which is their toliet!

when you let them out you put this tolilet in the same place everytime and they learn to use it so the dont pooh everywhere! we used to put their food bowl and water bowl next to it. Some times they would jump back into their cage on their own other times it would take about 45mins to catch them (we have 2)!!

I wasnt childminding last winter so i didnt mind them running freely around the house and although they are very child friendly i dont think they will becoming in the house this year (weather permitting) as there is only room for them in the kitchen/dining room and i dont think ofsted will like this.

Also they chew on everything! our sofas, telephone wires, kids toys you have to tape all the wires out of the way. Hope this helps

Twinkles
04-10-2009, 05:58 PM
My rabbit's hutch is outside but I open it every morning and he has the run of the garden and house. He comes in through the cat flap as and when he pleases !
We have no loose wires for him to chew and he's never chewed anything. He does , however try to bonk the cats !
He has his toilet in his hutch and goes back in there to use it. He's only ever left a few droppings in the house , when he was scared of something or something made him jump.
I put his hutch in the conservatory last winter and will do the same this winter.
If you get one of those toilets when you first get the rabbit and when they wee just put the damp sawdust in the toilet he will soon get the idea that that is his loo. ( Easier to toilet train than a puppy !)

youarewhatyoueat
04-10-2009, 06:30 PM
We have 2 bunnies but they are kept outside but i've always used a litter tray, i've bought 2 of them and when they come in the house I just bring one in and they mostly use it but not all of the time. If i've got mindees I wouldn't let them out just in case they picked the poo up.

Demonjill
04-10-2009, 06:38 PM
lol

My friend has 2 fab house rabbits - Bunnie and Clyde!:laughing:

They have a large dog cage where their toilet, food bowls, water and beds are - they love lying on wee bits of carpet. lol

They are not smelly and have both been "done" so no spraying or behaviour issues (can be territorial).

They are free to roam around as they please and sit at the patio doors when they want to go outside he he
They have their own baby gate to keep them in 1 room when my friend goes out.

As long as you risk assess etc i cant see why ofsted would have a prob. No different from dog or cat really.

mushpea
04-10-2009, 07:13 PM
Well, thanks for all your replys, he is outside at the moment stuck down the end of the garden with only a small run, i was thinking of bringing him in as he seems lonley but reading your posts we could actutaly move him up this end of the garden then give him the free run of the garden as its very secure (my partner will do a check tommoro to be sure) then if he wants to hop in he can, we have a kitten so will no doubt end up with a cat flap so that should be interesting, just have to introduce him to the dog but hes a labrador and the soppist dog ever, when the kitten goes in his bed he just sits and looks at her, humphs then lays back down with her and goes to sleep:laughing: so i am sure he will be fine with the bunnie, as for the kitten, we once had a rabbit that had the run of the garden in our old house and she used to head but the incomming cats up the bum and scare them out of 'her' garden:laughing:
he did start of in the house but was always but in the out door run then when the dog had 'allergies' (yes i know:rolleyes: ) he got evicted incase it was him that was causing the allergie but it wasnt and now i feel guilty that he is stuck down the end there but i have been inspired so changes will be made tommoro.
thanks

singlewiththree
04-10-2009, 08:05 PM
I had two house rabbits for all their life, they were always in the house, didn't have a cage or anything they were free to roam around when and where they wanted.

Plus side:
They were very cuddly and cute
A talking point.

Negatives:
They ate everything! and I mean everything toys/wires/furniture. Over their life time I learnt anything with a wire needed clear wire protectors over it. We went through 4 house phones, 3 keyboards and 2 mice. They chewed all the wallpaper up to as high as they could reach (I learnt to paint the walls).

They even ate the sofa! it was fabric, they chewed big holes in the corners.

Even though they were litter trained they left parcels and droppings. My own children soon learnt what was a raisin and what wasnt! :eek:

nikim
05-10-2009, 09:11 AM
ours live outside (we have 2 a boy and a girl) and come in regularly , the children love it and the rabbits are very tame and love being handled they will jump up on our laps for a cuddle , both of ours have been done though and i do think this makes a huge difference as before they would chew everything dig holes in the garden and the female was incredibly territorial ,she would growl (yes growl) if you put your hand in the cage ,

primula
09-10-2009, 11:42 PM
hi, we have rabbits in the garden but they do come in the house too, the first one used to spend ages indoors and would always use a litter tray or newspaper, i must admit i didnt let him run free when i have minded children because there is also the risk that the kids may pick them up and hurt them. if you have space they do like company, then you wont feel so bad if he/she is on their own, just like i did!