Bunny-proofing our new place

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mark

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Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a few things that we did to bunny-proof our new apartment.

The new place is cool, and we're taking advantage of the "blank canvas" that only moving can truly provide.

Our new place has laminate (hardwood) floors, so we will be getting a new rug for the bun to have a place to dash around on. She does sometimes get startled while she is on the slippery hardwood floors, and it's pretty funny to watch her do the "running in place" thing, a-la-cartoons. You almost expect to hear the sound effects when she starts doing all of that!

We started with the baseboards, the most obvious chewing target. She especially loves the corners where she can really sink her teeth into it! We obtained two boxes of laminate flooring that roughly match the color of our floors, and leaned them up against the baseboards.

Time will tell if we need to secure them somehow; so far she hasn't tipped any over yet.

I cut down several of them to make smaller pieces for short walls (they are a standard 4 feet long).

Regarding our entertainment center, we knew from prior experience that the many wires in the back would need to be cordoned off to keep Kimchi safely away from all of that stuff. She loves to try to get behind there for some reason - presumably because she knows she isn't supposed to be back there!

So I went to Home Depot and bought a roll of plastic poultry fence, in black color. This is what we used to think of as chicken wire (which is actually wire) and what my uncle refers to as "critter fence". I stapled this to the wall and to the entertainment center, on either side, to basically just enclose the area behind.

Finally, I work from home once a week on average and have to plug in my laptop(s). I prefer to work at the dining room table so I can let the bun run free and keep an eye on her, so I figured out the following (see pictures). I found a power strip with the fattest cable I could find, and looped it around one of our chairs so that it goes from the top of the table to the outlet, staying off the ground. So far, so good - today is the first day I've tried this.

Once we get everything finally unpacked and cleaned up, I will post a full room picture to give you the whole picture.

Thoughts and comments welcomed - what did we miss?

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Ha! Yes, bunny proofing is a very individual thing depending on the bunny.

Some of my rabbits would make short work of that wire barricade and just pull it out of the way. (They tend to pull with their teeth, rather than push.)

I also had long curtains that became a digging/chewing treat for my rabbits. I had to pin them up so they would be shorter.

I guess time will tell if adjustments need to be made. :)
 
Agreed with BE regarding fencing: my dutch learned to pull pieces of heavy, 36" high dog x-pen segments to get past them. Your rabbit may do well with your setup, but keep an eye out if she learns how to manipulate the fencing. Mine took several months before she learned she could move them... and I think she learned by watching me move them to get past.

I appreciate the pictures and post -- it's good to read and see how other people handle their homes!
 
Do you have something chewable easily available? Our rabbit loves Lava Bites best as a chew toy so we have them placed all around the living room, about 1 every 2 feet. Since we did that she actually leaves the baseboards alone.

Btw your rabbit looks really cute behind your hat curtain!
 
I think your bunny is eyeing that electrical cord. I would wrap it in small gauge hardware cloth(actually metal wire, but they call it "cloth"), which is similar to chicken wire, but has smaller holes.
 
LOVE the photo of your bun behind the curtain..."eyeing" that cord -- but staying hidden. :)
 
Ha ha, you guys are funny. Thanks for the replies and feedback!

Regarding the cord - it is unplugged always except Thursdays for about 10-12 hours (my workday from home). During that time I am always keeping an eye on her/the cord. I do have some smaller gauge conduit that I can encase it in, perhaps I will do that for peace of mind. She does love cords and we are very cognizant to keep them out of reach.

Regarding the critter fence around the TV/entertainment center, I think the fact that I stapled it to the wall and TV stand was missed. ;) If it were just sitting/standing/leaning there, yes indeed she would push or pull it away in no time. It is stapled with heavy-gage staple gun staples. :) Should be very solid as I personally tested it (not with my teeth, though!). The holes seem to be too small for her to comfortably get her teeth onto to chew on/through it. At any rate, I had to buy a 25-foot-long roll of it, so I can replace it over and over without spending any more $$ anyway.

Regarding the curtains - you know, I was pressing my wife for some of the shorter ones to keep her out of there, but I've come around since we've unpacked and let her run around a lot. She LOVES the curtains; she loves to "hide" in there while we are "chasing" her around (a game she likes to play sometimes). I've also noticed that she will go nap in them during the day, especially if I/we are sitting at the table. I have seen her chew on them a bit, but frankly I don't care as long as she stays healthy. I think it's a nice way to provide her with several hiding spots in otherwise "barren" (for her) areas, without having to have other crap laying about for that purpose. She loves the peek-a-boo with the curtains - super cute!

We had a pretty wild 4th of July (U.S. independence day holiday) in our neighborhood, so it was good that we had elected to stay in that night, and could comfort her as the big fireworks and explosions were going off. She was a little afraid when there were some big ones close by, but after a while even she got used to it and went back to normal.
 
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Regarding the critter fence around the TV/entertainment center, I think the fact that I stapled it to the wall and TV stand was missed.

Ahhh... now I see the staples. That's a great idea, actually.

She LOVES the curtains; she loves to "hide" in there while we are "chasing" her around (a game she likes to play sometimes). I've also noticed that she will go nap in them during the day, especially if I/we are sitting at the table. I have seen her chew on them a bit, but frankly I don't care as long as she stays healthy. I think it's a nice way to provide her with several hiding spots in otherwise "barren" (for her) areas, without having to have other crap laying about for that purpose. She loves the peek-a-boo with the curtains - super cute!

As long as they're not fancy or valuable, I like the idea of keepin the curtains there. My rabbits like some really odd hiding and sitting places that I would not have otherwise thought of.

Now that I think about it, I have long, cheap drapes in the room my dutch claimed that I should do that with. I don't care if they get munched, as they're ill-fitting and came with the house. They're just bunched up towards the middle from when the carpet cleaners came last year, and I haven't touched them since.

We had a pretty wild 4th of July (U.S. independence day holiday) in our neighborhood, so it was good that we had elected to stay in that night, and could comfort her as the big fireworks and explosions were going off. She was a little afraid when there were some big ones close by, but after a while even she got used to it and went back to normal.

Oh, good. I'm glad I wasn't the only person who stayed home in order to comfort rabbits during humans-setting-off-explosives day!
 

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