Convincing parents to bring rabbits inside?

[Buns and chins]

Hello. 

I recently adopted two Flemish Giant rescue rabbit from the SPCA. I have them housed in an outdoor run/hutch around 3 metres long and wide. It is really big but they don’t seem very happy . I can’t play with them properly and I am unable to put them in a play pen because they just fly out. Elliot already escaped out of one 1.5 metres high. My parents say that they are outside animals and there is nooooooo way they are stepping one foot in our house. They think it is weird to house rabbits inside. How can I convince them? Also my chinchillas really smell even though I clean them out everyday so we had a family meeting and have decided to give one pair to a experienced friend and keep the other pair. Do you think I could bargain with them? And lastly, apologies for all the questions but I want to get this right, we do not have cars in our garage and it is very clean. Could i have them in there and then slowly get my parents used to the idea of them being inside? 

Thankyou in advanced

[Jazlyn]

I do believe it is safest for rabbits to be kept indoors, especially when it gets too hot or too cold. Rabbits can be housed safely outdoors but personally, I would like to keep mine inside. Even the garage would be better I think because then they have a lower chance of getting fly strike or being startled by other animals, potentially harming them. They also most commonly do not get the right attention when outside which is not good for their health, though the fact that you got 2 instead of 1 does make ot easier since they have a freind. I think you should set these arguments out to your parents and if they still say no, ask to bring them into the garage at least where they can’t be scared by outdoor cats and such. Rabbits can easily get heat stroke though so they’ll certainly need a way to help them keep cool if they can’t be inside. I can’t think of any reason why they can’t be brought into the garage except for the fact that they wouldnt get any breeze from the wind to keep them from overheating but maybe see if you get another response first just in case they can offer another insight. I wish you the best and hope your parents let them come indoors!

[Rookie]

House rabbits are nowhere near to outdoor cotton tails that your mom is thinking of as “outdoor animals” but bunnies should actually be considered “indoor animals”.

I would think you best bet for now is to start with the garage (make sure it is bunny proofed to the max with big buns!). also make sure the garage doesn’t have means of escape such as someone opening the door and they accidentally bolt. Also the temperature should be monitored as the garage may have drastic temperature changes and bunnies don’t adjust well to big temperature variance.

I don’t know much about chinchillas but most animals stop having a strong smell once they get neutered or spayed which might be something to look into.

[sarahthegemini]

I don’t understand why people think rabbits are outdoor animals – they are much more fragile than say, a cat or a dog yet people wouldn’t dream of keeping them in hutches in the garden :-/

The main reason rabbits should be kept indoors is because they are not safe outside. It’s as simple as that. Then of course there’s the social aspect and everything else. But rabbits are not safe outside. They are not safe from a very determined predator (and even if they are actually in a secure hutch, they’ll still be absolutely terrified. An animal should not have to live in fear) People that keep their rabbit outside are not as familiar with its normal behaviour so are much slower to pick up on any health issues which ultimately could end up being deadly.

In my opinion, there is no pro to keeping rabbits outside. They are clean animals, they are social animals, they are so entertaining to observe!

[WRXFamily]

As everyone said it is really unsafe to have rabbits outside. I have two Flemish giants. With their size they really need to spend a lot of time out of any enclosure they live in. My two babies have so much energy that they can spend over 8 hours romping about the house and still have more energy to spare. It really isn’t fair to them to make them live outside ?

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m sorry you are having difficulty.

Yes, we here are Binky Bunny are firm believers that bunnies belong inside. There are so many risks for outside bunnies. We’ve heard all the horror stories, hutches getting opened by predators and killing the bunnies, dogs getting in the yard and scaring bunnies to death, deadly flystrike, hyperthermia, hypothermia, all the horrible outside parasites, and depending on where you live, deadly viruses. I’ve even seen on Facebook too many times, bunnies being stolen from their hutches by people.

Not trying to scare you but perhaps showing your parents a list of the dangers will help persuade them. I think if there are never cars in the garage, that would be better than outside for sure. And perhaps you could transition your parents to the idea of bringing them in the house once they are fully litter trained (if they are not already).

I’m assuming they are spayed/neutered? If so, then it shouldn’t be too hard to litter train them. I have an 11 lb bunny and a smaller bunny in my house, both litter trained. There is no smell in my house, whatsoever. I used to ask people coming over to confirm this.

I use Yesterday’s News for litter and clean their boxes every 2 days. Bunnies are very clean animals.

[Hazel]

I’m pretty surprised the SPCA allowed you to adopt them, knowing they would be kept in a cage outside. I know they wouldn’t let anyone adopt a dog if they told them it would be kept chained up in the backyard…

I’m sorry you’re having trouble getting your parents to see it the way you do. They really should be kept inside, as everyone else has already said. I hope you can convince them.

[Buns and chins]

Hi there.

They are worried about smell and mess. Does anyone have a bunny here who is super clean??? I am not going to have them in the actual house so if I really clean the room they will be in and move some furniture do you think they will agree? Also does anyone know of any lists of reasons why bunnies should live inside? 

Thanks and apologies for the mountain of questions!

Buns and chins

[Rookie]

Bunnies are prey animals…too.many predators outside that can scare and harass them. Bunnies can get scared to death.

Also…insects…they can get very easily infested by flys fleas ticks etc…even the cleanest animals.

Bunnies deserve to be loved and cuddles inside. They are very social and need the interactions. They need exercise out of cage. By being outside you will not know them and their behaviours well enough to pick up on any health concerns that may arise and may need immediate attention.

99% of us here have indoor house bunnies who are litter trained and are free roam therefore no different than having a (mega cute) cat. It all depends how clean you keep them. I clean the litter box sometimes twice daily and have no issues.

Forgot to add temperature…bunnies don’t adjust well to temperature changes especially don’t do well with sudden cold…

Bottom line by keeping them outside you are risking their lives and severely reducing their life expectancy .

[joea64]

Bunnies, as a general rule, are exceptionally clean animals if kept healthy with a good diet – meaning, first and foremost, unlimited hay with water – and in clean housing. The most important thing is to keep their litterbox clean, which means refreshing the litter (throwing out the used and replacing it with new) every few days and giving it a complete cleaning every week, as well as keeping the cage clean – this is usually pretty easy, mostly sweeping or vacuuming up the hay, poops and such. Domestic rabbits are pretty much as easy to litter-train as cats, and they tend to maintain good litter habits their whole life long if properly taught. I have two rabbits in a very small efficiency apartment and whatever mess has been produced so far is almost entirely stray hay strands.

Healthy buns, by the way, produce poops that are about as un-icky as you’ll find in any animal’s poops; they’re basically just little, round, dry, hard balls of used hay and they’re odorless or virtually so. I know of a lot of bunny people who just literally pick up those poops with their hands while cleaning. Rabbits do produce a second type of poop, if you want to call it that, called cecotropes, which looks and smells a lot more like what we generally think of as poop (ick) but in fact, it’s partially-digested food that the bunnies eat to complete the process of digestion. As a general rule, with healthy buns, you’ll rarely if ever see one of those because the bun tends to eat cecotropes right away as soon as they come out.

[PandaBun]

Did you tell your parent’s that one of your bunnies escaped ? Maybe then your parents might reconsider.
My bunny is litter trained so he is very clean. You could get some patterned fleeces. My mum doesnt really like how Pandas cage takes up a lot of room. But she does like my many Winnie the Pooh fleeces.
Sorry if I cant help. I have no experience in convicing parents.

[Buns and chins]

Thankyou everyone!!! I am asking now

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Buns and chins on 8/26/2017 6:03 PM

Hi there.

They are worried about smell and mess. Does anyone have a bunny here who is super clean??? I am not going to have them in the actual house so if I really clean the room they will be in and move some furniture do you think they will agree? Also does anyone know of any lists of reasons why bunnies should live inside? 

Thanks and apologies for the mountain of questions!

Buns and chins

Bunnies don’t smell. And if they do, it’s a health issue that needs to be addressed. The only mess is from hay that can get everywhere. But y’know, use a vacuum 

I really don’t understand your parent’s attitude. Surely even if they are messy, it’s better to have a bit of mess in the house than to have perpetually terrified and at-risk miserable bunnies in the garden…

[Buns and chins]

Yeah. They said there is no way however they are moving the hutch into the sunniest spot in the garden and we are buying a large run. We are also going to buy a large covered dog play pen so that they can play. I think they may be coming round to the idea of indoor rabbits but it is going to take some time. At least they have a nice home.

Thank you so much for all the help and I think my buns will be coming inside thanks to you

From Elliot, Madeline and Buns and Chins.

[sarahthegemini]

How does moving the hutch to a sunny spot help any of the issues discussed? Predators, fear, health etc?

[joea64]

Posted By Buns and chins on 8/29/2017 12:07 AM
Yeah. They said there is no way however they are moving the hutch into the sunniest spot in the garden and we are buying a large run. We are also going to buy a large covered dog play pen so that they can play. I think they may be coming round to the idea of indoor rabbits but it is going to take some time. At least they have a nice home.

Thank you so much for all the help and I think my buns will be coming inside thanks to you

From Elliot, Madeline and Buns and Chins.

You got the buns a better habitat, that’s a big deal. Just keep working patiently with your parents and eventually they’ll see that these rabbits need and deserve to be indoors.

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