letting bunny roam the house

[Arwen]

Hi, I have been thinking about letting my bunny roam the house for a long time. I have cats and a dog that I know wouldn't be a problem. I got Arwen a couple years ago in the hopes that she could roam free. I let her out once and never again since then.

The problem is the chewing. She went for the cords. I thought about cord protectors but I have so many cords because I keep reptiles so it would be crazy to try and cover all of them. I also worry about furniture...like the tasty wood kitchen table lol. The bitter sprays didn't work.

My dilemma is this, I want her to roam so she can interact with us and the other pets. If I don't, I want to rehome her because I feel she's not getting enough attention otherwise.

Any advice?

 

[mdith4him]

I know some people use hooks to hold cords up away from the floor or out of reach of bunnies. If you used hooks for your reptile cage cords that might cut down on the amount of cords you need to cover. Depending on how your house is laid out, you could simply close doors to areas that you don't want Arwen getting into. Some people only let their bunnies into certain areas of the house--not necessarily the whole thing. Maybe let Arwen stick to high traffic areas like your living room and kitchen?

 

[ZRabbits]

I've always contained my boys to a certain area just because of wires and things that could be tasty. Never had problems with chewing furniture. They like to chin mark it but haven't done any real chewing. They get a nice run every morning in our kitchen. Have a rug down because the floor, they just are a bit nervous on.

Have a wooden kitchen table too. No chomps but sure a lot of chin marking. lol

Hope you give it another try.

K

 

[funnybunnymummy]

You really need to properly bunny proof. If you've go a lot of cords, you can block them off using NIC grids or an exercise pen or any number of other things. As was mentioned upthread, you can move the cords up out of reach too. I know someone who blocked off the back of their TV cabinet using the mesh used in window screens (aluminum not fibreglass). Get creative. There are other ways to bunny proof besides using cord covers.

As for chewing furniture, it's mostly about training. Rabbits will chew on wood, it's just the way they're designed, but it doesn't HAVE to be your furniture! Give her appropriate chew things (cardboard, twigs, etc.) and chase her off every time she tries to chew your table. You're the top rabbit, remember. She'll learn soon enough what's hers and what's yours. Also, try rubbing a dry bar of Ivory soap on the wood. It worked pretty good with Gus (just remember to reapply from time to time!).

One last thing, how old was Arwen when you first tried letting her roam the house? If she was young then (under a year) she was probably still going through the teenaged phase. Now that she's more mature, she'll most likely respond to training better and not be quite so mischievious.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We used to let ours roam in the other house. The family room, kitchen, and bathroom were all blocked, blockaded, and generally rabbit proofed. All cords were covered, blocked off or boxed in. You don't have to chew proof your whole house, just where the rabbit will be roaming.

 

[MagPie]

I've noticed with my rabbit, he'll leave cords alone as long as they aren't in the way of traffic. I do have my bedroom cords completely out of the way since he spends most of his time there. But the rest of the house I have the reptile cords tucked into the stands. The fish tank cords are kept out of his reach. But he leaves the cords to the TV alone since he doesn't go behind the TV very often. I did however forget about my phone charger and the cord was right in his path to get behind the sofa. He made quick work of that.

I've had to block certain corners where he likes to chew the base board. The walls that I couldn't block I did have to be firm with him. He got it eventually. Either way when I am not home he is in his cage. That's also for his safety with the cats too. I trust my cats but they are still cats. Plus I think Harvey would get into all sorts of trouble if I wasn't there to watch him haha.

 

[mrbunny]

Most cords that I keep in the kitchen are stapled into the wall. If you have a staple gun around, staple, staple, staple.
Others I have blocked off or used clear plastic hose (sold by the foot usually at hardware stores) to protect my cords.

 

[Arwen]

Great ideas everyone thanks! I have tried the ivory soap when she was in a wood hutch, she apparently didn't mind the taste of it. When I first let her out she was about a year old.

I don't worry about my cats, they didn't bug her the first time I had her out, they just had a look on their face like "what the heck kind of cat is that?". She is just about as big as them. One of my cats jumped into Arwen's cage and Arwen humped her lol. The cat has since not visited the rabbit lol.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I have 4 roaming buns. Two have home base in the bedroom, the other have home base in my office. If they are not supervised they have to stay in their room. When supervised they can run the house. I use NIC to block off cords and things I don't want them to get into. If I find them going after a piece of furniture (only happened twice) I make sure to keep an apple twig close and that draws them away. I think apple must be the yummiest wood there is for chewing.

I also have cats and one is great frineds with the buns. It's cute to watch them play.

 

[Arwen]

Wow that's cool! I'll have to try to remember to get some applewood.