Quick question about moving

[sarahthegemini]

Hi guys, quick query – as you may know, I am moving back to my mums along with both buns. Currently they free roam my house but mainly stick to the living room. In mum’s house, they’ll have to be somewhat confined – they’ll have their own room which is approximately 7ft by 5ft? I’m not great at estimating but that’s my guess. This room has laminate flooring (I need to buy cheap rugs) There is a small hallway between their room and the room me and my partner will have. When I’m there to supervise (which is almost all the time, I don’t work) they’ll be allowed out into the hallway and into our room. The reason for this is it’s carpeted and mum understandably is concerned they might wreck the carpets if not supervised. ANYWAY, as the space they’ll have will be quite a bit less than what they are used to, do I still need to pen them in the room and then gradually expand til they have the whole rabbit room or do I just let them have access to the whole room to begin with as it’s pretty small? I’m not concerned about litter habits, just how they would feel being in new environment. What would you advise? 

[SeaTurtleSwims]

Since rabbits tend to drop pellets to mark a new territory it might not be a bad idea to start small and slowly expand. It just reduces the opportunity of failure by setting them up for success from the start vs. rolling the dice and re training litter habits if they back peddle. One thing that saved my new apt since moving is investing in vinyl siding to protect the base board. (purchased at Lowes for about $15/12 feet I think?) Anyway I measured the dimensions of the bedroom and used garden pruners to cut to size. It just leans up against the walls, fits easily behind bed and furniture etc which is a life saver (more like deposit saver). But if your mom is worried about destructo buns activating it might be something to look into? Good luck!

[Mikey]

Completely new areas can be scary too. All new sounds, smells, and sights. It can be very stressful for a bun to be thrust into that all at once. Its best if you start them pen’d for a day or two, then expand to their room for a day or two, then the hall for a day or two, and finally your room for a day or two. So, every day or two you will be adding a bit more space onto their territory.

I want to add, completely new territory can also cause a shift in bonding. They very likely will be territorial with poops and pees, might be extra humpy and nippy, and may or may not need some bonding sessions for the first few days. Some buns work it out quick, others just need a little bit of help

[shelbyelby]

I have a similar set up. My girl has a whole play pen to herself, she can run around my room, and we have the hallway leading into another room for her. I started her in the play pen, which she made her own and then let her explore the room and then the hallway.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Mikey on 9/27/2017 9:00 PM

Completely new areas can be scary too. All new sounds, smells, and sights. It can be very stressful for a bun to be thrust into that all at once. Its best if you start them pen’d for a day or two, then expand to their room for a day or two, then the hall for a day or two, and finally your room for a day or two. So, every day or two you will be adding a bit more space onto their territory.

I want to add, completely new territory can also cause a shift in bonding. They very likely will be territorial with poops and pees, might be extra humpy and nippy, and may or may not need some bonding sessions for the first few days. Some buns work it out quick, others just need a little bit of help

Thanks for the input guys. I’ll pen them to begin with

Mikey – I’m glad you mentioned bonding as that is something I was a bit unsure of. I suspect Peanut will take a while to settle and then might get a bit humpy when he’s more confident but we know bunnies can sometimes be unpredictable! I’m thinking perhaps I should sleep in their room for at least the first night? What sort of bonding sessions you suggest?

[Mikey]

You can try to sleep in their room if it makes you feel better Alternately, if you have any blankets or clothes with your scent on it, you can put those in the pen as well (but be aware, they might get peed on, lol). The main thing is letting them know that only their surroundings changed, so having as many familiar things in with them as possible can help out a lot.

As for sessions you could try, I would start small with something like smoosh sessions. Squish them gently together and pet them; you can do this any time they seem to be upset. If that doesnt work, or their bond seems to be broken by the move (rare), you would have to consider full bonding sessions in the room you hope to house them. Theres also a chance the move wont do anything for their bond, and theyll go on like normal. It really depends on the buns, and how used to change they are

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Mikey on 9/28/2017 11:19 AM

You can try to sleep in their room if it makes you feel better Alternately, if you have any blankets or clothes with your scent on it, you can put those in the pen as well (but be aware, they might get peed on, lol). The main thing is letting them know that only their surroundings changed, so having as many familiar things in with them as possible can help out a lot.

As for sessions you could try, I would start small with something like smoosh sessions. Squish them gently together and pet them; you can do this any time they seem to be upset. If that doesnt work, or their bond seems to be broken by the move (rare), you would have to consider full bonding sessions in the room you hope to house them. Theres also a chance the move wont do anything for their bond, and theyll go on like normal. It really depends on the buns, and how used to change they are

For my own peace of mind I’ll definitely sleep in there with them. Hopefully it’ll provide them with some comfort (and me!) as well as allowing me to keep a good eye/ear on them. I’ve got plenty of their toys, blankets, tunnels etc that will have their scent so hopefully that will help them feel at ease too. I’ll give the smoosh thing a try right off the bat, it’ll be a good way to start I reckon. Both seem to adapt well to change although this will be the biggest change of course. I’m quite lucky that neither bun has ever been particularly territorial either so fingers crossed! 

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