Can one keep a 'free' bunny?

Hello.

My daughter is about to adopt 2 baby rabbits of a non-identified, medium-size breed. We've done a lot a lot of research, bought a large hutch, made 2 different runs - one for the terrace (on windy days), one for the garden (other days). But we have one important issue which we've scanned the internet about, without any luck.

The farmer who is selling the rabbits (a friend) also has 4 neutered or male rabbits running around in his garden, with the gate wide open. He says he set these rabbits free because they were looking 'a bit down' and accepts that he will never catch them again. These rabbits look so happy and healthy, it's such a delight to see them hopping about the lawn, that my daughter and I are wondering about keeping our future bunnies in a hutch and smallish runs. Our friends' rabbits sometimes leave the property to cross the (very quiet) road and see what's going on in the next field or in front of the school, but they always return to the garden. The first one was 'set free' about 6 months ago. A fox recently did some damage to their chickens (got 2 one night), but so far the rabbits have survived this regime of 'total freedom' - to the delight of the family children, friends and neighbours.

Our own garden is very large (and contains, I've just realised, a number of plants toxic for rabbits) and would be impossible to fence in. We are on the edge of a very small village, so cats, dogs, cars, etc. are not far away. Our property is adjacent to a woods and overlooks a narrow, quiet, (nearly) pedestrian street. Our questions are the following:

1) Do other people keep rabbits in this way (if you can speak of 'keeping')? Is it established that rabbits will stay in a garden of their own free will, if the conditions suit them? Would their life expectancy be similar to that of rabbits in the wild? I am asking these questions as I could prefer to have happy rabbits with a shorter life than rabbits which lived 10 years and were always confined in something. Obviously it would be quite foolish to 'release' the rabbits until they were full-grown. I also realise that vaccination would be a real issue if one could never catch them.
2) Alternatively, would it be possible, with patience and competence, to release the rabbits very gradually (allowing a few extra minutes of freedom each day), and train them to be caught every evening and put in the safety of the hutch? My daughter is good with animals, so I imagine that if it is possible she could probably do it. (But perhaps if it was possible, every bunny owner would do it!)

(I need to add that the rabbits can't live in the house for allergy reasons.)

Thank you very much for your insights.

Hi,

Welcome to HH. x x x

Its a really bad Idea to let these rabbits roam "wild" - they will be eventually eaten by a fox or because their health can not properly be monitored, become diseased and die.

Some people "rabbit proof" their gardens so that they can free range during the day and then pop them in their hutches at night. they would need to somehow be contained (eg within an enclosed garden) so that they can be caught at night - but I really dont think its wise to let them have complete freedom.

Domestic bunnies simply do not have the skills to defend themselves and survive in the wild - especially with winter approaching, so I would really advise against this.

katie

I agree with Katie - what you have identified that you want to provide for your buns is the space to display natural behaviours. This can be achieved by provided the right space in your garden. This does not have to mean fencing off the entire garden, and if you have a large garden this might not be a good option anyway as you will need to be able to find the buns to ensure they are secure overnight. Many people have great set ups using sheds and full height aviary style run on the side accessed by a cat flap that allow plenty of free run space. And it is not just foxes you need to be aware of if you are out in the country, there are buzzards and other birds of prey who have been reported to take pet buns out of gardens not to mention local dogs that might get loose.

I agree. Its not a good idea. Domestic rabbits don't have the life-skills needed to survive in the wild. Too many predators. No skill at digging "proper" burrows. Impossible to monitor healthwise.... you wouldn't be able to do botty-checks daily, or keep an eye on them for dental issues developing.

Hi

Welcome to HH!!

I'm in agreement with the others, it really isn't a good idea. I know of someone who lost 2 buns to a bird of prey. It picked them both up at the same time and flew of with them. Awful

Hi



Welcome to the forum. It sounds idylic doesn't it, roaming free! But there are the issues of safety and being able to catch them to check they are ok as the previous members have pointed out.



Could you set up a huge run? You could make it yourself from untreated timber and weldmesh? A lot cheaper than buying a ready made one and you can make it to the size you want.



I have an ongoing arguement in my head as to whether I should leave my buns in the side ally down the side of the house for extended periods during the day unattended. It is enclosed but there is no roof and we do have foxes around that could easily jump the wall and catch one. Freedom versus risk. Sometimes I feel their lives would be better if they had more space to roam, other times I feel they are safer in their hutch and runs.



You could compromise and have a hutch/shed set up with large attached run, then have a fenced off area that is quite large that is open plan, it could be accessed via a tunnel so only the buns could get in and out. You could let them roam free range whilst you are home and shut them in the enclosed run whilst out and overnight.



As for catching them, if you handle them frequently they will be friendly and not run away from you. If I shake my trios food tub, they come running! Well, all except one, Faline who is insulted at the mere thought of me touching her.



I often feel my buns would be happier with more space, but I can't offer them more than what I have which then makes me question whether I should have buns at all But then I think of the lives they would have had if I hadn't taken them in, and then I know they are better with me



Good luck with what ever you decide.

I can only echo what everyone else has said, it seems lovely on the surface, they love the space and being able to do what they want. However, they were just lucky that the fox didnt get them. nothing more than that.

It would be impossible to know if they had any infections, illnesses etc if they were roaming free, and domestic bunnies just dont know how to live in the wild, although it seems hard to believe just watching them outside, but they really don't.

The best thing you can offer your rabbit/s is a safe enviroment with everything they need, things to chew, hay, things to dig in etc.

welcome to the forum x

Hi and welcome to HH, and what an interesting thread

Provided your garden (or part of it) is secured with wire fencing, (that they can't dig underneath) the buns can hop around with supervision, and that means watching them at all times when free. Without wire fencing, they could easily escape, and there are rabbits on this forum that have gone missing never to return I'm afraid.

Unfortunately foxes are adept predators, that can scale and walk along typical garden fences, if they smell a meal. Whils the image of free ranging buns is a nice one, (and I can see your logic in the 'shorter but happier life' point) unfortunatly the reality of a fox attack is deeply unpleasant - usually the rabbit is decaptitated, and the body left uneaten. Traumatic for both bunny and your daughter - and you I would imagine.

I think we have all known buns that have lived in unsecured accommodation that are fine for 1, 2 or 3 years, but then are found in this condition at some point. Whilst rabbit housing may not be ideal, it is the safest way to accommodate buns and it sounds as if you've done a lot of research into this, and you're right, the bigger the better!

My own personal view is that we have a lot of boxes totick to provide pets, and pet rabbits with an ideal life, and sometimes compromises have to be made. These animals already exist, we can't do anything about that, but you're right that Rabbits need lots of space, but they don't need it all the time. They will be asleep for most of the daytime, and it is only really in the mornings and evenings that you will see them active - if they are to have extra room to exercise, this will be when it's needed, and by providing secure space and supervision, there is no reason why they shouldn't enjoy some of that time 'free'. The other thing is that being prey animals, rabbits don't tend to like open spaces, you will mostly see them in the wild sitting near grass verges, roadsides etc, but that's because these places are in close proximity to a bolt hole, and the roadside is a dangerous place for a fox or bird of prey. Obviously wild buns live underground, so a hutch provides a sense of the environment, and as such, offers a psychological mimicking of the warren, this will help reduce their stress levels, and make the more relaxed. Pet and wild rabbits' behaviour/psychology is no different, domestication only changed their looks - shape and coats, so keeping that in mind may help you make decisions about their care. I found that learning about the natural behaviours of wild buns has really helped me understand the needs of pet ones.

Rabbits can learn their own names, and come when called with some patient 'clicker training', and should be gently handled each day for a few moments when they are young to get accustomed to humans. If you'd like more info on clicker training, theres a great website on it here: http://clickerbunny.com/

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to read your post You clearly have the best intentions for these animals, and it's great that you do, but giving them security, ample/adequate accommodation, a good diet, company of their own kind, and meeting veterinary care needs are (in my opinion) more benficial to pet rabbits than the freedom you describe.

that's a great reply from Jay



I had noticed that when my 3 are down the side ally, it's only the buck that hops around. The two girls go behind the rubbish bin. From watching them, the girls seem to enjoy being able to get away from everyone and have some quiet time by themselves. This seems more important than having freerange time, especially Faline, she won't let me catch her and will spend ages by herself in the second run. (I can corner her if need be, she doesn't like it though)



I recommned getting some runaround tunnels, they are perferated land drainage tunnels and my buns love them as they mimick burrows

The runaround system is brilliant, if a little pricey
http://www.runaround.co.uk/

I just re-read your post about the fencing - in a large garden,could you provide a fenced or secure area - say 20' sqaure of similar? If you we able to coveer this, then you may not have to supervise

My buns live in a compound which is 20' x 12' and during the day, they are loose in there with the hutch, a burrow, and other hidey holes to go into. The area I live in doesn't have any foxes, my garden is totally enclosed with a 12' leylandii hedge and gates.

However, because you have foxes, if you wanted to do this, you would need to create a massive aviary style run with strong fox-proof fencing and fencing buried underneath the run to stop them burrowing out and foxy burrowing in. That way you could leave them to go to bed as and when they wanted.

Thank you everyone for your replies and suggestions. On the basis of all that, I think we will stick with our original setup, and maybe try to secure the terrace, which is less interesting than the garden but easier to protect, for short outings and rabbit-training experiments.

It's three weeks until we welcome our new friends, so I'll keep you posted!

Mara

Looking forward to seeing them, how exciting

It may be boring now Mara but a few tunnels and pots of herbs and toys will make it fun.