Question about outdoor buns

My mother has moved into an assisted living community. She has her own little apartment and there is minimal staff. There are multiple totally enclosed courtyards with open sky. Each courtyard has it's own animal. My mom says one has a bunny. I haven't seen it yet so I don't know how big it is. There is a little house for it and that is on a covered patio. Mom says that it is kept in food and water. She says it is friendly and will come up for attention.

I'm worried about it of course. What questions should I ask as to it's care? Our Summers get 110F plus(43.3 C) for days on in. I imagine that it gets much hotter in that courtyard as it is surrounded by the brick buildings and they absorb the heat and radiate it at night. Winters can get down to zero but usually not for long periods of time. This Winter our last freeze was in February. There is very little cover of any kind that I can see, but I haven't seen one corner. Hopefully that will have some wonderful green foliage for it to laze about in.

The only overhead 'protection' is a pair of life-sized Greater Canadian Geese decoys in the middle of it. These birds are at least waist high and are supposed to deterre overhead attack by the hawks. I thought they were real.

What are some questions to ask? If it isn't well cared for I'll just bunny nap it I guess. I'd try to educate them first of course.

Crikey that's hot, I don't think I could cope in that heat!

Is there any chance you could get a photo?

My two are outside and on hot days I pop in 2 bottles of frozen water and a special ice pad which I pop under a terracotta drip tray so they can lay on it. I also sometimes put ice cubes in their water to keep it cool. What with it being outside I'm not sure how much attention it gets so of course checking the water bottle/bowl to make sure there's enough in there is good since that bunny will probably drink a lot in that heat! Maybe you could suggest a bowl as well as a bottle its easier for them to get to in heat and takes less effort than a bottle.

In winter I cover the buns hutch with a thick duvet and put lots of hay in their bed so they can burrow in it. Straw is a better insulator but my two seem to eat it.

Also must make them aware of flystrike especially with living outside, if bunny gets a dirty bum then flies will go straight to it.

I guess, shelter, space, companionship, hay - all the things that apply to thumper apply to this bun too x

I echo KatieB!

I would also be trying to find out who normally cares for it, and what happens if they find themselves unable to. Whether it is a staff member or a resident, there ought to be a back-up plan in place in case they are not able to feed / water it and check its health. Plus once you have found out who it is, you can get chatting to them about the wonderful Thumper, and you'll be able to suss out just how much they really know about bunnies

What other animals are in the other courtyards?

Thanks for all the info! Finding out this information is going to take time. The staff in this place makes an effort to hide--or so it seems to me! There isn't much security, if any, but then again crime in this area is almost non-existent.

I don't know what animals are in the other courtyards. I didn't even know that there WERE other courtyards! This place is a lot bigger than I had imagined. It is part nursing home, part rehab(I've been in that part twice after hospital stays and it has 4 wings!), part Alzheimer's & Memory Care, part Retirement Village and part Geriatric Psych. It's all on one level so it rambles on and on. So I'll be finding out what the other animals are. I thought the geese were pets. They were SO realistic!

I cannot imagine the animals are not well cared for, BUT I'm going to make darn sure they are! In temperate weather the bunny would be comfortable, but I'm afraid it might be lonely. We shall see.

I still haven't been able to pin down exactly who has the responsibility
for the bunny. Every time we have been there and checked it had adequate
food and water. Mom said some kids were trying to feed it Cheetos. It
didn't eat them.

This courtyard also had a land turtle! Someone wanted a tortoise and
a hare theme I guess. Another of the courtyards has a couple of Rhode
Island Red chickens. Haven't see any other animals in the courtyards,
but I'm told they are there.

I still haven't been able to pin down exactly who has the responsibility
for the bunny. Every time we have been there and checked it had adequate
food and water. Mom said some kids were trying to feed it Cheetos. It
didn't eat them.

This courtyard also had a land turtle! Someone wanted a tortoise and
a hare theme I guess. Another of the courtyards has a couple of Rhode
Island Red chickens. Haven't see any other animals in the courtyards,
but I'm told they are there.

I found out today that EVERY courtyard has a bunny! They appear to be about 10 lbs so they are good sized. They've been there for a number of years and are thriving. Still cannot find the person with the absolute responsibility.

I know one of the physical therapists has bunnies. The last time I was a patient there she had a 4 week old bunny that she brought to work because it still needed syringe feedings. She would bring it for me to bunnysit for a few hours a day. I'd tuck the tiny thing inside my robe and cuddle it. So wonderful.

Your investigative work is paying off!