How can I safely stop my bunny from chewing furniture and cables?

[jessie cola]

I've been keeping bunnies for about 3 years now, with our first bun daisy dying this year.it was so heart breaking but we decided to adopt another bunny Jessica in September. Both are rescue rabbits with daisy being 3 when we adopted her and Jess 2. Relatively speaking I am quite new to this and I know older bunnies can get 'stuck in their ways' particular if you don't know what kind of past treatment they have had. And I also appreciate that their little personalities vary hugely! Daisy was a real character and her mood changed everyday. One day she could be Hugely grumpy, the next quite chilled out, they day after a real Snuggle bun. Jess is more nervous and vocal. Very snuggly but hates you coming up to her when out of her cage. She tends to hide and stomps her feet/ grunt at you. But very sweet and is always happy to see you - I'm pretty sure things will settle down a lot more as time goes on.

Both thing daisy and Jess have in common is the persistent chewing of furniture, cables, skirting boards and carpet. They are ruthless and will go crazy to get at it! They have lots of things they are allowed to chew, but it's almost an act of domination. Either that or a game. Im careful on how I react but it has to stop!! If for any reason their safety. The question is how?

Any tips or advice will be hugely helpful. Sometimes I feel in they only one with this problem. Other things to note both have/had been spayed and both live indoors. Daisy was trained as a house bunny ( no cage) but jess is not happy to be left out alone... And we're not happy to leave her out at the moment!!


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[funnybunnymummy]

Several thoughts:

Bunny-proof! Get those cords covered up or hung out of reach. Move/remove furniture or anything else you absolutely do not want destroyed. It's about the only way to 100% protect something from a rabbit. Cover up the baseboards or block access to them (some people use cardboard or NIC cube panels).

She may be wanting attention/affection. If Gus wants to be pet or fed, he starts the destruct-o-bunny behavior. He was a major destroyer-of-carpet until Pepper came along. I don't think he's touched is in the month since we've had her. He will still nibble the furniture (he's got a thing for anything made of pine and from IKEA. ), but not even close to what he used to. So maybe consider a friend for her?

Rabbits have a chewing/digging instinct, so provide her with chew toys to get that out of her system in a healthy way. We give Gus and Pepper wicker balls, apple sticks, cardboard, newspapers, etc.

Ivory bar soap. Rub it on everything she likes to chew (and do it frequently!). It's the one thing rabbits seem to hate the taste of.

Be consistent in chasing her off when she starts chewing. If she's persistent, give her a time out in her cage.

Also, two is not old. She's still young, as she ages she should mellow out a bit.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Blue eyes]

Yup. Bunny-proofing is a must! I have found that I have to get creative with bunny-proofing depending on the situation and the bunny. What blocks or prevents one bunny may not work with another.

I've tried the ivory soap, for example, with my Mocha and it didn't work. He was chewing the baseboards and the soap wouldn't stop him. I had to get a 1 x 2 board to block the baseboards. He can chew on that board all he wants. It may not be great for my decor, but such is life with a bunny!

Personally, I don't use their cage as a timeout. I don't like the idea of using their cage (their sanctuary) as a place of punishment. I want them to see their cage as a good place. But that's my opinion.

My rabbits also were starting to chew on a couch edge until I realized they wanted to get behind it. I moved the couch about 10" away from the wall and now they leave the couch alone. They like to just hang out behind the couch in that space.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

The best thing is to limit access. If the can't get to it they can't chew it.