How to get him to like his hutch again

[Azerane]

So the background on this is that Bandit was originally an outdoor/indoor rabbit (inside when home, outside in his hutch at night etc). Eventually we just transitioned him to being indoors all the time which meant he lived in the laundry and when we were home he got to come out and play in the hallway etc.

Unfortunately due to repeated incidents of Bandit jumping on top of the washing machine to chew on blind cords and then the window frame when I'm not home (and we're renting) I've had to go back to the old inside/outside arrangement.

The problem with this is that after months of not having been in his hutch (besides our inspections) he absolutely hates it. Tonight will be his seventh night in there, and it seems he's just more and more desperate to get out every time I open the door. The first morning after he'd been out there, I went to feed him and he didn't even look at his food, usually he buries his face in the bowl before I can put it down.

My question is how do I make him not hate his hutch again. Whenever I put him back I try to pet him and talk to him a lot, and I make sure to give him some greens (which I haven't been giving outside the hutch now), but he gets so upset that he doesn't even want to eat the greens while I'm there. If I've got the lid open he constantly tries to climb up the mesh side and then literally launches himself at me so I have to catch him otherwise he's going over the side.

It really makes me feel like the most awful person in the world, and I actually cried for a while the first night after I put him in there because he seemed so upset. I've been trying to figure out a solution for the laundry, but I'm not sure there's a way to block his access to things he's been destroying without permanently fixing something (which I can't do). I've thought about stacking things on top of the washing machine to stop him jumping up there, but then I'm worried about them falling on him if he tries.

Any help, advice, ideas for things to keep him busy and not bored etc are greatly appreciated.

 

[aozora]

About how big is Bandit? How high up can he jump? Can you maybe take some photos of the room where he stays so it's easier to visualize how he might be getting up there?

I thought of two possible ideas, but I think it also depends on the layout of the room, how far up it is, and so on and so forth.

1) I do think stacking something would work as long as it's one or two solid and heavy items - like say, full paint cans or some sort of box that takes up quite a lot of room so he has no space for footing and thus can't get up there. My Mocha recently learned to jump on my bed which is two feet off the floor, but due to the fact that he sometimes pee on my comforter and the fact that I keep my laptop with all the cords up on my bed as well, I don't like it when he jumps up unsupervised-- especially when I need to step outside. But I've noticed that when I shove my comforter into a mini mountain near the spot where he likes to jump up from and stack a couple of things up to lend the illusion of a greater height, he stands up and periscopes it a bunch and then seems to give up on the idea of jumping entirely. If Bandit is jumping up onto the washing machine in a similar manner, maybe you can also create a false sense of added height and see if that discourages Bandit?

2) A big cheap piece of cardboard or even sheet of wood can possibly do the trick as well, but again it depends on what the layout of the room is like, how far up the window frame is, if there is enough room, etc. I use a giant sheet of cardboard to block off the lower shelves of my bookcase and I have seen Mocha standing up and trying to climb it a few times, but he has never tried to chew it or do anything else. It used to be such a problem corner for him because he would always try to investigate it and now he almost forget it exists most of the time because of that cardboard wall-- and should he remember again, I know it's okay for him to chew the heck out of it since it's just cardboard anyway. Maybe you can lean a big sheet of cardboard or wood against the window every night too?

You can also maybe try those bitter sprays for pets and see if that deters him, but it sounds like you're better off blocking the area off and preventing him from trying to chew in the first place. I hope my ideas helped in any way!

 

[aozora]

I forgot to add that I stack things up right up to the edge of the bed so he can see that there is no room for footing should he try to attempt anyway. So if you do give that idea a try, just remember to stack near the edges of the washing machine and that way Bandit can see that there will be no space for him to land on.

 

[JBun]

What about having an indoor cage for him to put him in at night and when you aren't home?

 

[Chrisdoc]

That´s such a shame, I suppose he´s just got used to being inside. Is there any way you can put a structure round the washing machine to stop him going up there, maybe buy cheap boards from the DIY shop and put something together.

Or Jenny´s idea is good, get him an indoor hutch for when you´re not there.

I must go back and look at the photos or maybe you could post them again of that area just to remind us what it looks like.

 

[ladysown]

put an empty laundry basket on top of the washer/dryer. he sounds like he's a big enough rabbit so an empty laundry basket shouldn't cause him a problem.

 

[Azerane]

Hey guys, thank you so much for all the advice and ideas, I will go and take a picture of the area so that you can see it and help with ideas. The other issue I have with blocking off the top of the washing machine with boxes etc, is that it blocks large amounts of light from the window, and I don't want him to be sitting in the dark all day.

I realise that keeping him outside is only a temporary solution since summer is coming and there will simply be times that he will have to be inside when I'm not home. I hadn't really considered an indoor hutch since he's not supposed to be inside anyway and I figure it might be a give away to the landlord (though would put it out in the shed when she came), and a new one from a store isn't really in my budget at the moment.

 

[aozora]

Can you maybe use an x-pen to limit the space he gets in the laundry room at night? That way he won't be able to access the washer and you won't be blocking off the sunlight, but he will still have plenty of room to move around. I figure since x-pens are portable you can always just fold it up and stow it to one side in the morning once you let him out, and only take it out when it comes time for him to be ushered back into the laundry room. Would that be within your budget?

 

[Azerane]

I do have some x-pen type fences but without a way to secure them it may not work since he likes to push them around if they're not secured.

Here's the laundry. There's room for the washing machine to be moved over to the right, but then if he jumped up he'd be by the tap and hose, and also the electrical socket (which I'm not too keen on). Also if I moved the washer over, if he ended up jumping in the wash tub, he wouldn't have a way of safely getting out and down again. I may be able to pull the blinds up and put a couple of fence panels against the wall, would at least stop him biting the window frame, but he may pull that around too. From memory the washing machine is about 90-95 cm high.

 

[aozora]

Mocha looooves to grab onto the bars of his x-pen (it also acts as his cage) and push as hard as he can when he wants out in the morning-- I learned very quickly that he's strong enough to make the entire x-pen move with him to turn into this very oddly-shaped octagon, so what I do now is push something heavy up against it when he's shut in for the night. I'm going to see if I can get a picture of it for you since I've actually got him in his pen with my printer in front. You can probably do that with a heavy box or something else that's fairly heavy too, just to hold the x-pen in place so that he can't push it around.

Pulling the blinds up and using fence panels sound like a good idea too, though I think it would be a matter of time before he learns how to push the panels aside if they're not secured... but I'll snap a pic first and let you see how I've got mine set up

 

[aozora]

Here's a quick pic! Putting the printer right in the middle works great because no matter where he tries to push, the x-pen doesn't move around at all. Depending on the shape you want to configure your x-pen it might require positioning the heavy object (eg box) differently but as long as it's heavy enough it should hold firm against a bunny

 

[ladysown]

he's not supposed to be inside anyway and I figure it might be a give away to the landlord (though would put it out in the shed when she came),

your landlord doesn't want the bunny in the house?

Then keep him outside. Sorry.... but you need to respect your landlord's wishes.

build him a bigger hutch or help him adjust to life outside.

My reasoning: if your landlord shows up sometime unexpected, could ask you to either move out or get rid of your bunny. Respect their wishes! it's important to do so.

 

[Azerane]

your landlord doesn't want the bunny in the house?

Then keep him outside. Sorry.... but you need to respect your landlord's wishes.

build him a bigger hutch or help him adjust to life outside.

My reasoning: if your landlord shows up sometime unexpected, could ask you to either move out or get rid of your bunny. Respect their wishes! it's important to do so.

That's part of why I want to be able to make him like his hutch again, but as yet nobody has given me any suggestions on how to do that despite the fact that it's what I asked in the first post.

He can't be inside all the time, but he needs to be inside on hot days which is something that the landlord suggested to us and is fine with. I'm honestly not sure there's a way I can rig anything to block him from the washing machine anyway so being outside will largely be the norm again from now on anyway.

So I ask again, how do I make him like his hutch again?

 

[aozora]

I think no matter what you do, he's going to hate it for the first while-- it's like moving from a mansion to a tiny apartment, nobody would be happy about it in the beginning, right? But maybe you can try things like cutting back on all the treats and only giving him one or two at night once you've put him in the hutch as a reward? Get him used to associating the hutch with treats and maybe that can get him to accept it more easily. And throw in a favourite toy or two so he won't be bored?

But he's definitely going to hate it for a while and you'll have to tough it out. I know it sucks to see them unhappy in any way, but if this is something you have to do, then there's really no other choice.

 

[JBun]

I agree. It will probably just take him some time to get used to it again and realize it's not that bad.

 

[ladysown]

quickest way is just to leave him out there and not bring him in for awhile. He won't be happy, but he'll settle and then be content. THEN (after he has settled and appears content) bring him in for short visits. But not long term.

 

[Azerane]

I think no matter what you do, he's going to hate it for the first while-- it's like moving from a mansion to a tiny apartment, nobody would be happy about it in the beginning, right? But maybe you can try things like cutting back on all the treats and only giving him one or two at night once you've put him in the hutch as a reward? Get him used to associating the hutch with treats and maybe that can get him to accept it more easily. And throw in a favourite toy or two so he won't be bored?

That's already what I'm doing. He gets toys in there, different to the ones he gets to play with when he's out of his hutch, and then I also give him treats that he doesn't get when out either. I suppose it will just take a bit of time.

Thanks guys.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Is it just the getting into the blinds that's the problem? If so, how about just rolling them up so that he can't nibble them? If you want privacy you can always apply an opaque film to the window for privacy but it still let's all the light in. As far as getting him used to the hutch, how about giving a great each time you put him in. Over time he will associate the hutch with a positive thing. Also keep in mind your own energy and mind set when you're putting him in. If you feel tense and negative about it he will feel that vibe from you and it will affect him negatively.

Good luck

 

[Azerane]

Is it just the getting into the blinds that's the problem? If so, how about just rolling them up so that he can't nibble them?

That's what I did, then he just ate the window frame lol.

Except for a extremely windy night we had two nights ago, I've been religiously putting him in his hutch around 8pm. He is getting better with it. Before, when he wouldn't even take his greens when I first put him in there, or eat his breakfast when I gave it in the morning, he's now eating the greens straight away when offered and he's actually have some breakfast straight away in the morning. So he is settling down. Last night I actually wedged this little carrot chew toy in between the bars and he chewed off all the top bits, lol. I got a suggestion the other day to actually zip tie a wooden spoon to the inside of the cage, so I'm going to give that a go I think, maybe even some of the wooden dowel I bought a little while ago.

I have actually been putting some serious thought into building him a new hutch. It will be cheaper than buying one, I can customise it and I can spread the cost over a few pay cheques. I would want to give it an extra 30cm length than the current design (currently around 120cm), but would keep it reasonably similar apart from adding doors on the front as well as the top. And most importantly, wheels on the legs so I can move it on my own!!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Have been on and off the last few days with computer problems.

I was thinking about he indoors but it is a really difficult one because of the layout.

He will get used to being outdoor again in time but you have to be a bit tough, I know it´s hard but that´s where he has to be. I have cardoboard pieces zip tied on the cage bars as well. Mine spend ages chewing and destroying it. Have you thought of a digging box maybe, put the soil in there and hide food in it for him to find. I can´t remember how big his outdoor hutch is but giving him more space may allow you to provide more things for him.

I love this little guy so I hope he´ll settle down again, he ´s such a gorgeous colour and that little cute nose always makes me smile.