Rabbits inside or out?

[Moxie]

I have two rabbits, a male and a female (not together). My mom and dad said that they could stay in the basement for the winter. I want them to stay inside forever, but they said no they need to go back out side. I can’t seem to convince them that they should stay inside. My mom said, "It’s cruel to keep them inside while it is so beautiful out." I just don’t know how to convince them to let me keep them inside

[Sabriel]

Do you live in a busy area? You could tell her its cruel to leave them outside where there are lots of scary noises and animals to bother them. They are also not as much a part of family life when they are outside.

Good Luck

[Lost_Soul]

Keeping them outside ALL the time increases risks of other animals getting to them or their food, which increases vet bills..I have 3 buns and all are indoor, I do put them outside in the summer for a short time each day to get some fresh air, but bring them in each day also..Its not bad to let them outside, as long as they are supervised...Keeping them in a hutch outside all the time unsociallizes them and then they become very scared and not want to be handled...I am sure that would not be the case in your situation though...

But the chances are higher for vet bills because of other animals trying to get to them or their food....I'm not sure where you live, but if there are foxes, feral cats, squirrals (SP) and even dogs, they can all be potentially dangerous...Which could result in a lot of vet bills or even sadder death from being attacked...You would be surprised on how determined an animal is when trying to get food..One of my nieghbors had rabbits outside in a hutch and a feral dog got into the hutch at night and killed the rabbits...Sad really...I hope that you can convince them to keep them inside, and let them out to play outside as long as they are supervised, or if you put them in a hutch they are brought in at night...Good luck

[Moxie]

I live very much in the country...lets just say it was a HUGE deal when they put a dunken(sp?) donuts in I just don’t know how to convince them....they said rabbits belong out side. They also said that once it gets hot out there will be a whole bunch of flies in the basement. I know there wont be.....the reason they think that, I think is because when I got my first rabbit (who I still have) I was young and did not know how to properly care for a rabbit and so I did not clean its cage enough (about once a week but rabbits poop a lot) So we had an evasion of flies in our house. Now I litter box trained them and clean their litter boxes twice a day so I know there won’t be any flies. I just don’t know what to do

[mncavylover]

Look on google for information; I'm sure there are a few websites that have information on this. Don't give up!

[Sabriel]

Everything technically belongs outside. Houses are a relatively new thing in the scheme of things But we tend to keep things we love in the house. You could always telll your parents that since humans began thier existance outside that they'd be happier outside too

But on the serious side of things, try to show them that you are responsible and will keep the rabbits' habitat clean and fly free. Make sure your room and the rabbit pen are clean and offer to put up fly paper around the rabbits' pen if need be. Do some research and show them that rabbits do better (and are cheaper) to keep inside the house.

[Lost_Soul]

http://www.rabbit.org/index.html

There is a lot of info here too...

[Matt & Guins]

Here in australia rabbits and guinea pigs are predominantly outdoor animals - I reckon at least 80% would be so.

Just a few things to think about if considering to house them outside...

*is your backyard safe? (any access to animals, is your area likely to have people getting into your backyard?)

*do you have a cage that is 100% animal proof?

*what are the temperatures like there? Can your cage be insulated in cold weather and cooled in hotter?

If you do decide to go ahead and house them outside, just be cautious of when you do so - you dont want them to experience a sudden climate change (ie, if cool inside, dont send them outside into the heat on a scorching hot day).


Matt