Housing
The Not-So-Great-Outdoors
By Chandra Moira Beal
I highly recommend that your companion rabbit be housed indoors. The reasons are many:
Rabbits are safer indoors. Predators such as cats, dogs, and foxes are a threat to an outdoor rabbit, day and night, and regardless of whether you live in the city or the country. Rabbits can even be frightened to death without being touched by a predator, dying of a heart attack or shock. Hutches do not provide enough protection. I have rescued rabbits whose feet were chewed off by predators through the hutch wire.
Rabbits need socializing. They enjoy companionship from humans and sometimes other animals. Hutch rabbits often appear dull, uninterested, or frightened. This is where the misconception of "rabbits just sit there" comes from. If you had nothing to do all day, wouldn't you? Indoor rabbits tend to become a part of the family. The human-animal bond is optimized when you get to see bunny dances and enjoy their companionship after a hard day. Outdoor rabbits are sometimes even afraid of humans because they are not familiar with them.
Because they are prey animals, rabbits hide illnesses. You must act quickly when they are sick. When housed indoors, you notice their eating and behavior changes more readily. If you only see your rabbit outdoors for a few minutes each day, you may not catch the subtle difference they exhibit when they are sick. Outdoor rabbits are also susceptible to diseases such as fly-strike and myxomatosis (spread by biting insects).
Indoor rabbits will probably live longer. Outdoor rabbits generally live 2-3 years. Indoor rabbits are protected from poor weather conditions. When it is raining and cold, you may not go out to feed or check on your rabbit. He, too, is cold and lonely. Heat is intolerable to rabbits. Temperature extremes can take a toll on a rabbit.
There are so many reasons to bring your rabbit indoors: They are quiet animals; they are clean and fastidiously groom themselves; they can be litter trainedŠ Rabbits are affectionate, loyal creatures with a high degree of intelligence. They play and enjoy socializing just as we do.
Outdoor rabbits are missing out on all the wonderful intimacy of living with humans indoors, and humans are missing out on a special kind of companionship.
There is no secret to transitioning your rabbit from outside to inside. You will need to provide housing and food, just as you would outdoors. You will need to bunny-proof your home, which is easily done. Most rabbits take to litter training naturally (you may have noticed their wastes accumulating in the same corner of an outdoor hutch).
Consider bringing your rabbit indoors. I guarantee you'll be delighted at the emergence of their personalities. Who knows--they may change your personality, too!
© Copyright by Chandra Moira Beal. All rights reserved.
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