Free Roam Buns In House Questions!!!

[Bellamy+Lilah]

How long did it take for your bunny to start getting comfortable living inside the house with you? How long did it take for them to "come out of their shell"? Did they become more affectionate toward you after a period of time or not? How long did it take for your bun to get that way if they did?

Tell me your bunnies' "moving in" stories below and the differences of how each one adjusted and how their personalities shown through as a result. I love to hear about these experiences! Please share!! [emoji195][emoji178][emoji252][emoji537]

 

[Laura West]

We got our Gabby girl a month ago. She was free roaming our downstairs within the first week. I should mention that she's spayed so that helps a lot with territorial messes. We keep the upstairs blocked off. We've noticed that she's more social in the early morning and late evening. Especially when it's quiet and the kids are in bed. But she stays in her room (where her xpen is) more often than not. How long have you had your bunny?

 

[samoth]

How long did it take for your bunny to start getting comfortable living inside the house with you?

Both were comfortable pretty quickly... a matter of days. It's a quiet house with no kids, other animals, or loud noises, and there were plenty of hiding places for them if they got spooked.

How long did it take for them to "come out of their shell"?

Within a month or so for each. However, their "shells" are quite different: my buck's pretty independent and does what he wants, whereas my doe's more affectionate and really loves attention from me.

Did they become more affectionate toward you after a period of time or not? How long did it take for your bun to get that way if they did?

The rabbit with an affectionate disposition, yes, over a period of 1-2 years.

The independent alpha rabbit not so much.

Tell me your bunnies' "moving in" stories below and the differences of how each one adjusted and how their personalities shown through as a result.

I got my buck first, and brought him home to a ~20 sq ft xpen enclosure in his own bedroom. He had his own indoor hutch and everything. Within a couple weeks, I had the door to his pen open 24/7, as he has perfect litter habbits. He immediately claimed the area underneath my bed as his -- I had to get a huge run to keep under there to protect the carpet.

I got my doe a month later, bringing her home to a ~12 sq ft xpen enclosure next to the buck's enclosure. I tried giving her freedom as quickly as the buck, but she was a carpet chewer with less-than-perfect litter habbits (likely because she was spayed at 3.5 years old). Luckily, they bonded quickly and without issue, as they were BFFs at the rescue. I was able to combine their xpens to a large area keep them together during the day. They got along great.

Things went slowly, probably because the doe was new to being a house rabbit. They stayed in a ~30 sq ft xpen during the day, had the hallway and a spare bedroom in the evening, and stayed in their room (not locked in the xpen) overnight. This was stressful for the buck, since I had blocked off my bedroom, and he desperately wanted back underneath my bed. However, he was happy enough to have a bondmate.

It took almost a year to get the doe to the point I could leave her out to roam the upstairs by herself. Interestingly, once she got more space, her personality kind of changed... she has her area downstairs now that she doesn't like to leave during certain times of the day. At other times, she binkies around the dining room and hums. I think she's happy, as she has the space she chose, and can go where she wants whenever she wants now. The buck is happy to have the under-bed area, and grunts/lunges if I intrude (but has never bitten). His personality hasn't changed all that much.

 

[Bellamy+Lilah]

How long have you had your bunny?

I've had my oldest one since Easter of 2017. Unfortunately none of my buns are allowed to be in the house with me (unless it's super cold outside) but I just pray and hope someday I will be able to live with them free roaming in the house with me. I just like to imagine what it would be like and I love hearing about other people's stories about how their buns get used to being that close to their humans lol [emoji195][emoji173]

 

[jamesewaller]

How long did it take for your bunny to start getting comfortable living inside the house with you? How long did it take for them to "come out of their shell"? Did they become more affectionate toward you after a period of time or not? How long did it take for your bun to get that way if they did?

Tell me your bunnies' "moving in" stories below and the differences of how each one adjusted and how their personalities shown through as a result. I love to hear about these experiences! Please share!! [emoji195][emoji178][emoji252][emoji537]

environment-is very important..my rabbits have never been exposed to the elements..i have facility{solarium}-which has a full compliment.hvac,climate control-full spectrum lighting-even a radio for classical rock..and my office..they are free roam with fencing-yes,i am a slave-{labor of love}-you will need to buy wrap for any wiring,they love to chew-on anything,-sincerely james waller rip jojobeez{avatar}

 

[Lucky_2017]

I got my rabbit nearly a year ago. He was the perfect rabbit placid and affectionate... until we got home. He started to kick and scratch and didn’t want anything to do with me. Long story short we got him neutered and he’s amazing!! I recommend getting your rabbit neutered if they are playing up

 

[Liz Talley]

My Precious has always been a sweetie, but it was a couple months because we got lots of nose bumps and kisses. She became REALLY happy once she had roam of the house. Runs around, binkies, will run up to me, and she chooses where to hang out (either her pen or dog crate). I put her in her cage at night. Actually, she puts herself in right around 7:30 every night; yes, she puts herself to bed! She is a carpet chewer and I had to block off some areas because she would get in the corner and chew/dig. For some reason, it happens only in corners. Otherwise, she doesn't destroy anything (all wires are blocked off).

She came from a rabbit hoarding situation (like 100 I believe!) before I adopted her from the rescue so our house is like living a dream to her--very quiet, clean, uncluttered, and it's just us and two guinea pigs. This might be why she warmed up so quickly; anything was better and more peaceful than where she was born.

 

[katlupe]

I have had "Rabbit" for 4 years this month. He was dropped by an owl and we found him in our barn with our horses one morning. He had wounds on his side but would not let me near him and they healed themselves. He was outside and living in the barn and would go off in the woods and sometimes be gone for a couple of days. I kept saying he needed to be inside because it was cold, below zero even, but he was not easy for me to pet let alone catch a hold of. Finally, I was able to catch him and brought him inside.

I had never heard of a house rabbit or even knew people kept them in a house free roaming. I learned though. I researched and I ordered a cage from Amazon. Before that, I kept him in a box. He just stayed in it. I didn't know! I knew I loved him though.......at first sight, in fact. First I put him in the cage a few days and would take him out and put him in the box while cleaning it, Then one day, I put him on a newspaper and he stayed right there while I cleaned it. Then I decided the next day to let him roam free and I put him in the cage at night. Well, he made so much noise at night in the cage, that I finally just quit putting him in it at all. He was fine. Well, until we got him neutered........but that was a whole other issue, him spraying my husband's feet constantly.

I keep his cage door fastened open and he goes in and out all day. Sometimes he sleeps in it for hours. He loves it but he has other areas too. I moved into a small studio apartment, after leaving my husband in May and he came with me. He adjusted beautifully. Now it being just him and me, he has really bonded with me a lot and I love it. He is very friendly when people from other apartments come to my apartment. He appears to be a very happy bunny doing binkies around me every morning when I first get up. Happy for the new day, I guess.

 

[Bam Bam]

When I went to the rescue group to adopt, one of the volunteers brought up a beautiful black Holland Lop , named Bam Bam. I used to work for Warner Bros. so fate was the Cartoon Network name from the Flintstones. They put him on the floor and he ran over to me and stuck his face to my face and I fell in love. He had a slight head tilt which gave him character. I never wanted to use a cage or a pen and luck would have it, he was perfectly litter trained. The next day I was watching tv in my bedroom and all of a sudden I watched him fly in the air and he ended up next to me.from that day on we watched tv together and he slept with me. Luckily, he never had an accident on the bed. He would jump off, go to his litter box, do his business and then come back. He was my love bunny.
3 years later, a neighbor brought me a 6 month old, Harlequin Holland Lop named a Boom Boom. He was moving out of the country and asked if I can find her a home. It took less than 10 minutes for me to keep her and I renamed her Pebbles. I had to pen her to try and bond her with Bam Bam. Everyone said I wouldn’t be able to do it since Bam Bam loved me so much. 3 weeks later, they were perfectly bonded and I lost my love bunny. He found a bride and never came up on my bed for 8years. As luck would have it, Pebbles was also perfectly litter trained. They were free roam and were perfectly well behaved. They were inseparable and Pebbles took great care of her Bam Bam.
Pebbles passed 8 years later and Bam Bam turned 12. We were both so sad.
Bam Bam could no longer jump on the bed but I would bring him up on the bed and he has slept with me every night. He no longer was litter trained but I have him on bed pads so if he peed it was absorbed by the bed pad.