I need advice on moving an indoor rabbit outside

purple.sarah

I have a rabbit who is about 10 months old. I would like her to live outside because we don't really have enough room in the house to give her the space she needs and we have a nice big garden and outside cage, which I think would be a more natural environment for her. Is that a good idea? Is it too late to move her outside this year? I thought it might not be since we seem to be having an Indian summer. I got her from a pet store, which I now realise was a mistake and I've since read a very scary article that said pet store rabbits are too fragile to ever go outside. Is that true? I would really appreciate advice and opinions from other pet owners, thank you.

haribo862003

I don't think anyone can really give you an answer on that, as if someone said it would be fine to move outside and the rabbit dies, then you would blame them for giving you bad advice.
All my rabbits have lived outside, one was from a pet store but they went straight outside as soon as i got them. But during colder weather or bonfire night i would move them into my shed.

I've not had rabbits for a while now, as i now have ferrets. But they can go inside or outside, as i have a tunnel that goes into a outhouse. which is warm as there are heaters in there.

Fosterdog

It is too late to move her out this year, outdoor rabbits have already started to develop their winter coats. The best time to move them outside is spring so you'd be better off keeping her in over winter and move her out around April.

I would also never keep a single rabbit as an outdoor rabbit, they really do need company of their own species. I don't really agree with single rabbits at all but can understand the reasoning behind a single house rabbit and know that some can't live with others for some reasons. IMO it is cruel to even consider moving her outside without the company of another rabbit.

purple.sarah

She did have a friend, who was smaller and more fragile and passed away shortly after we got them. That's when I realised it was a mistake to buy rabbits from a pet store! The vet said we did not do anything wrong, that she was probably already weak and simply the stress of moving to a new home upset her system. We would get another rabbit if they lived outside but we've realised we don't really have enough space inside.

Fosterdog

Like I said I know there are some genuine reasons for a single rabbit, and you have a very good reason. Is she spayed yet? You could use the time she's left as an indoor rabbit to get that done so she is ready for a friend as soon as spring comes around, they can both go outside together then.

If you're unsure about how well she would get on with other rabbits most rescues offer a bonding service where your rabbit goes to live with them while they are bonded with another rabbit and then could both come home and go straight into an outdoor setup.

Do you have enough space outside for rabbits? Minimum hutch size you are looking at 6ft x 2ft x 2ft and a 8ft by 4ft run. A lot of people prefer to get a shed as they are easier to kit out and clean. Would you have a permanently attached very secure run or a temporary one that is set up regularly with supervision? What surface will the run go on?

You don't have to answer those questions, just giving you things to think about.

My own two are in a 6x2x2 hutch right now with a permanent secure 10x6 run and I can't help feeling they need more so the hutch will be replaced with a 6x4 shed and the run extended to 12x9 and possibly adding a run around system to another part of the garden with only supervised access. Their current run started as half slabs and half grass but it took them all of 2 days to dig out and create a mud pit so it is now all slabbed with a digging box put in once or twice a week.

rising_from_the_ashes

I'm afraid I totally agree that it's too late to move her outside at this time of year.

As Fosterdog says, ideally you want to do this late spring when it's started to warm up and so she can gradually get used to the evenings getting colder etc (it was -2 somewhere the other night!)

Lucyadams184

I'd go for the spring to as at least you know it's warmer. We have an outdoor rabbit and he loves it, we have rabbit proofed the garden and we open him up in the morning and close him before it gets dark.