Houserabbits and the Great Outdoors

Ebony and Snoop in their outdoor enclosure.

 

Houserabbits were a novel concept back in the 1990s. So, when we bought our first rabbit, Lupin, from a garden centre one Sunday afternoon in November 1998, along with her hutch and all the paraphernalia , we assumed she’d live in the garden. However, by the time we arrived home, it was cold and dark. After letting her hop around our living room, we kept her in the hutch in our house overnight... she stayed there the next day, as we had to go to work, and we enjoyed watching her explore the living room again that evening… by which time, we couldn’t think of putting her outdoors. Besides, the neighbourhood foxes constituted a risk... 

Some of our garden visitors captured on our wildlife camera.

  

That’s how Lupin became a houserabbit, and since then, we’ve always had rabbits in our living room... and none have lived in a hutch. 

Lupin, our first houserabbit.

Aware she couldn’t stay locked in a hutch, but wary of her hopping around on the new carpet in our recently refurbished home, we wanted to know whether a rabbit could be house trained. Today, we'd search online, but in 1998, the ‘World Wide Web’ didn’t have all the answers. However, we did stumble across the British House Rabbit Association (now Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund) website, and discovered that other people had rabbits living happily (and litter trained) in their homes. As we learned to share our living space with a mischievous little bunny, we realised how much we valued her companionship and the social interaction. She was a member of the family, and we couldn’t imagine her living outdoors. 

Our home became Lupin's home.

All our rabbits – that's seven since Lupin – have been houserabbits, not because we think it’s wrong to house rabbits outdoors (given suitable housing, care, and the companionship of another rabbit), but we love having rabbits living in our home.

Today, it’s widely acknowledged that rabbits can live indoors. However, a more recent recognition is the importance of allowing houserabbits time outside, preferably in a predator-proof enclosure. Time spent in the great outdoors offers many benefits:

• Rabbits tend to be more active outside, which helps to maintain musculoskeletal health, decrease the risk of obesity, and keep their guts moving.
• The greater variety of stimuli outside – things to see, hear, and smell – keeps them entertained and happy.
• Opportunities for grazing and foraging can be provided, through access to a lawn or planters – great for their digestive systems and teeth.
• An enclosure on grass or soil provides an uneven surface which is good for muscle tone, and allows feet to sit in their natural position, with their nails sinking into the ground, reducing risk of pododermatitis; it’s also perfect for digging behaviour. A paved enclosure with a rough surface helps to wear down nails.
• Sunlight exposure (UVB rays) allows rabbits to synthesize vitamin D through their skin (not possible from sunshine streaming through windows, as the UVB rays are filtered out by glass).

This last point is significant – currently, research is limited but indicates a possible risk of vitamin D deficiency for indoor-only rabbits. Vitamin D is important for the immune system, kidney function, cardiovascular health, and calcium absorption – a deficiency may cause inadequate levels of calcium in the bloodstream. Calcium strengthens bones, and helps to prevent arthritis and osteoporosis, and, although there are many other factors involved in dental disease, a deficiency may increase the risk. With insufficient calcium, bone density decreases, and teeth can become unstable in the weakened supporting (alveolar) bone. Roots may become elongated, increasing the risk of other problems, including abscesses. Although artificial UVB lights, sun-dried hay, and dietary supplements can also help rabbits obtain their vitamin D requirements, it seems exposure to unfiltered sunlight is significant.

Sadly, Lupin didn’t have a chance, in her short life, to spend time in an outdoor run, but we constructed an enclosure for our next bunny, Charlie.

Charlie in our first outdoor enclosure – 
obviously not large enough by today's standards.

 

The enclosure was used for our rabbits for many years. In conducive weather, when we could be outdoors to supervise, our rabbits were placed in their carrier and taken to the enclosure on the lawn. They enjoyed grazing, and seemed relaxed, but of course they couldn’t go indoors until we took them, and their time outside was restricted to when it suited us. 

Neroli and Rosie training their first Baby Servant.

 

Two years later, and the original Baby Servant is growing up fast but there's a new one to train.

 

A third small hoomin joins Neroli's staff, and waits on her in the enclosure.

Mabel and Dijon were energetic young bunnies when they came to live with us, and transporting them to and from the enclosure was not simple. 

Mabel and Dijon (3 mths old) loved the enclosure, but not being put in the carrier.

We had an idea: we set up a temporary enclosure on the patio – one which they could access through the patio doors from the living room, without the need for us to pick them up. 

 Watch to the end to see Dijon run indoors to safety when scared by a breeze.

They loved it, and so the enclosure became a permanent fixture, clipped securely to the wall either side of the patio doors. 

Mabel and Dijon exploring new territory (June 2012).

  
We still use this enclosure today, for Ebony and Snoop. It has increased in size from one puppy pen to three linked together. We attached mesh to the bars, following Ebony’s accident with a puppy pen. Plastic clematis trellis is fixed to the top, to stop the bunnies jumping out or predators climbing in. It’s not entirely predator proof – an animal could chew through the plastic trellis, and the enclosure is not fully covered, due to the patio door, but hopefully it’s sufficient to deter predators. When the bunnies are outside, we ensure they’re within our sight.

The enclosure is on paving, so we’ve provided planters of grass and rabbit-safe plants to allow the bunnies to graze. 

Ebony inspecting the hazel prunings.

In autumn, our apple and hazel tree prunings are placed in the enclosure. The bunnies enjoy eating some of the leaves and twigs, and are kept busy by their innate need to clear the branches from their usual routes, moving them by scrabbling and chewing (which has the bonus of keeping their teeth in trim). 

 Ebony clearing some bay tree prunings.

 

They have a tunnel, a sheltered/hiding area, and a digging pit. The digging pit was made in 2021, from parts of our children’s old playhouse, to celebrate Dijon’s 10th Birthday, although he preferred to roll in the soil than dig, and Ebony claimed it as her territory, rarely allowing poor Dijon in.

Dijon having fun in his 'digging pit' 
(edit with music here).

Ebony soon took ownership of the soil, and despite watching (not always from a safe distance), Dijon never really mastered digging. Watch to the end to see how Ebony even tried bringing the contents of the pit into the house to encourage him, but to no avail… Dijon preferred rolling in the soil 
(edit with music here).

 
As a senior bun, Dijon began struggling to negotiate the threshold – his knee injury (a ligament tear) became arthritic, and decreasing muscle mass made him quite wobbly. We added a ramp from the patio door, and removed the larger planters, in case he tried to jump from one and hurt himself.

The bunnies love going outdoors, and, early most mornings, Ebony scrabbles the door to tell us to open it… whatever the weather. In fact, our rabbits spend more time outside on dull days – this could be their prey animal instinct (less easily spotted by a predator when it’s gloomy, and they don’t have strong shadows), and a preference for low lighting (wild rabbits spend their days in dark warrens, and come out to graze/forage when it’s twilight). Fortunately, we're not completely exposed to the elements, as the insulated curtain is quite effective at preventing the indoor temperature from plummeting too rapidly.

Whatever the weather, there's always a good reason to have the door open, even if it's just to sit on the threshold and make the hoomins cold 
(edit with music here). 

If we don’t open the door by mid-morning, the bunnies show their annoyance: chasing one another, giving us their hard stare, or destroying our furniture.

Fortunately for the bunnies, there’s usually someone at home, so during the daytime, they can venture outside whenever they wish, and (even more importantly) they can return indoors at any time. If they hear, see, or smell something they think represents a threat, they race indoors. We’re honoured to see that they perceive our living room as their secure home. We’ve realised our domestic rabbits are hard-wired to recognise predators – they’re not bothered by wood pigeons flapping nearby, squirrels bounding along the fence, or robins entering their enclosure, but if they hear a crow or a magpie, they shoot indoors. Their time outside tends to reflect their crepuscular nature – usually, they choose to go outdoors in the morning, and, in spring/summer, late afternoon.

We’ve been able to let our bunnies enjoy time in the snow, knowing that they won’t go out if they think it’s too cold, and they can come back indoors when they want to warm up. Click here for a compilation of the bunnies having fun in the snow.  

Mabel and Dijon were always very excited about snow.

 
Through observing our bunnies’ behaviour, we’ve realised it’s important for rabbits to have as much choice as possible. As houserabbits, they see our home as their home, but being able to go outdoors is highly desirable to them. Future goals? A hole through the living room wall, with tube to the enclosure… then maybe another tunnel over the garden wall to an enclosure on the lawn…