I’m from South Africa too 🙂 But I live in America. I have a pair of indoor buns, and also a pair of outdoor buns. I started with all outdoor buns. I know this is an indoor forum, but since the question came up, here’s how I feel. My outdoor buns have a large shed that I built. It’s more of a hutch – 1/4 enclosed, 3/4 ventilated. It’s 4ftx8ft (about 3.5mx7m). And about 6m tall. Double story. Lower level is vinyl with nonskid clearcoat. Second level is wood. The enclosed areas on top and lower level have lots of hay. They have a 48ft perimiter run. If I had another bedroom in the house, I would bring them in. My indoor buns are super good. But I don’t have the space, and I don’t want to give them up, so they live outside. They require twice as much food in winter, and super thick hay bedding in a draft-free area. Predators can get to them and they have to where to escape – so their space must be super safe. Do some research on rabbit health and diseases in South Africa. I know in the UK they need vaccinations. I don’t need that where I live. Flies are your worst enemy. During summer, they lay eggs on or near the rabbits. Bottom line – you need to keep the rabbits safe from flies. The larvae will be ingested or eat their way through the skin. The results are disastrous. There are 2 products in the UK that are used to help with this problem. One requires a vet prescription, the other doesn’t. I can only get the one without the prescription which doesnt’ kill the eggs, but it kills the larvae once they enter the rabbit. So you still have to remove dead larvae. Sounds scary? It is. You will need to handle the rabbits every day to check for larvae lumps. Be sure their bottoms are clean, and change their litter box EVERY day. IF you are letting them poop on the ground, scoop up the poop EVERY day. Flies are no joke. I have experienced it. Hence – one of my pair are now indoors. My outdoor buns love being outdoors. They dig pits in the ground to keep cool in summer. They ignore the frozen coke bottles. I give them ceramic tiles in their shed to keep cool on, and the shed and most of the run are UNDER a LARGE TREE. This gives them 15F degrees LESS heat in summer. Winter here gets down to -18F. Waaay colder than South Africa. I dont’ give them heat. I want them to grow their winter coat. I do give them LOTS more food and hay, and they always have a super thick hay bed in their shed. In the lower and upper level. The shed is raised off the ground to help with insulation. I used to give them heat lamps, but they chose to hang out in the snow. They enjoy digging in the snow. They actually prefer the winter life than the summer life. But they o need a space to get out of the wind and rain. Check which direction your weather comes from. Face the entrance away from it. Make sure they have a large enough area that they don’t feel the need to dig massive holes. I have been able to tweak the size of my outdoor run by gauging the holes. Smaller space – more and deeper holes. Larger space, they only dig shallow pits to keep cool in.
I have their outdoor run inside a fenced yard so I have a second barrier to keep them from escaping. One of my buns escaped twice – and she was quite wild at the time. Took me a few days to catch her each time. Have a good containment plan. I’ve used different options – wire buried under the ground (can rust and hurt them), logs piled up against the fence (them move them surprisingly easy), Concrete stones around the fence perimeter (good option), housing them in a concrete floor bird aviary (watch out for sore hocks). I settled on a large run within the fenced area. Somehow – they tried to escape the fence – get under it, dig, etc. In the run, they are further from the fence, and don’t try to escape the run. My male did jump his ramp, so I made a tunnel so he couldn’t jump it.
I do wish you could find a way of entertaining the bunnies, and making a bunny proof space for them in your house. My indoor bunnies prefer the indoor temps. Buns in general prefer cooler temps. It is just much more safer indoors. I spend a lot of time outdoors so I get so socialize with my outdoor buns, but the indoor buns are the tamest.
Many folks here have ideas on flooring options – perhaps cordon off an area with an x-pen that is bunny proofed. If they are ruining things, perhaps they don’t need access to the whole bedroom. Perhaps there is an area you could section off and make bunny proof?
I do hope you are able to keep them indoors. If not – please be aware that outdoor buns need A LOT of extra care and protection. When something goes wrong – it can go wrong quickly.