Outdoor housing and stoats.

[Narada]

I am considering getting a rabbit, and planning to house it outside at night. I saw a Youtube video of a stoat mauling a rabbit, and checked their range. Turns out stoats are found in Riverbank, so need to check and see if the enclosures I'm considering have bars close enough together to keep them out:

https://www.chewy.com/frisco-ultimate-heavy-duty-steel/dp/168128?
https://www.target.com/p/pawhut-43-...r-medium-large-dogs-dark-silver/-/A-86198517?
https://www.chewy.com/frisco-ultimate-heavy-duty-steel/dp/168127
Anyone know how to determine this?

 

[Moonshadow]

Unfortunately none of the cages you are looking at would be suitable for housing a bunny outdoors. If you plan to house one outdoors, it would be best to make an outdoor enclosure. The bunny would probably need insulation in a proper hutch, room in the hutch to move around a lot, a pen/enclosure for space to run, cover above to protect from hawks, ways to protect from other predators (like stoats) etc. Members like @Preitler can probably recommend the best way to go about doing so.

Also, currently there is a contagious rabbit hemorrhage disease (RHDV) so we do not recommend housing domestic bunnies outside unless they’re vaccinated. The virus is in a lot of southern and southwest states like California. It spreads extremely easily and is fatal in most cases.

Additionally it is generally not recommended to switch a bun from indoors to outdoors repeatedly like having inside in day and leaving them outside at night. It can mess with their ability to adapt to the outdoor environment when temperatures change (though I don’t know if that applies to California as much since I’ve never been there and don’t know if they experience as drastic temperature changes as New England). Usually it’s easiest for owners to choose one or the other, like for an indoor bunny having them free roam during day and caging them at night inside. @JBun can probably weigh in sinceI think she lives closer to your state, knows weather better, and can probably add more advice

 

[Diane R]

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-housing/outdoor-rabbit-housing/

 

[Blue eyes]

Free-roaming during the day indoors is a great idea. However, you may want to consider another alternative for nighttime housing... for a few reasons.

One difficulty you may (probably likely) face is getting the rabbit into the outdoor housing at night. With a free-roam rabbit, he will quickly learn that he will be banished to the outdoors each night. That means it will turn into a game of "catch me if you can." This will not only be highly frustrating for you, but stressful for the bun as well. I can just see that turning into utter frustration for both of you.

An easier solution, in my opinion, would be to do what we did. Our buns may free roam during the day, but are locked in their indoor enclosure for the night. This enclosure is not in the bedroom. This works out very well for us.

A free-roam rabbit should still have an area of their own anyway -- a space they can retreat to when they are not wanting to be disturbed. This is where they have litter box, hay, food and water. That separate area easily becomes their nighttime enclosure. It becomes their "den" so to speak.

Since it is still in their roaming area, it is familiar and comfortable. Before we turn in for the night, I noisily scoop the daily pellet portion and put it in this enclosure. They greedily hop in for their pellets (hay also recently refreshed) and then the enclosure is closed for the night. In the morning, it's simply a matter of opening the door and they are good for the day.

 

[Blue eyes]

Here is a picture of our enclosure that I made from an old oven cabinet.

It is so convenient to have the enclosure inside. I can let them out before I'm dressed, or have shoes on or have had any coffee, or even if I'm feeling under the weather.

 

[Narada]

Okay so after consulting with a couple breeders and forums, I decided to go with either of these for an outside enclosure:

https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-heavy-duty-45-wheels-pet-crate-w000666481.html
https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-vintage-pet-crate386x244x28h-w009980763.html
I will try for the first one, as it is all metal (impervious to gnawing), looks to be strong enough to defeat even coyote attack, on rollers, doubt a rabbit will be able to shake or rattle it....and I don't see stoats or even snakes being able to squeeze through the slit-holes. The second one is Plan B.

I cannot keep a rabbit outside year around in Riverbank. Except for two or three months in the winter, the usual daytime temperature is in the mid-80s to 100F+ (my central air conditioning is a must), but the usual nighttime temperature does not exceed 65F, so that is within rabbit tolerance. I will be moving into a 'open-concept' studio, so I cannot keep a rabbit inside year around. Rabbits tend to nap, not sleep, and zoomies a couple times a night would not be acceptable, nor rattling the cage, or any other noise that can penetrate my silicone earplugs. I'm a very light sleeper, and once woken up I become insomniac. I also have a senior cat, and while he is scared witless of anything/everything possible to be scared of, supervision between cat and rabbit is still required.

Rabbits are not Einsteins. Simply by altering the time I put the rabbit outside, I should be able to prevent him from wising up...if not, a casting net should work as last resort. I live a very spartan lifestyle, so very little furniture and junk for evasive maneuvers or cover. This may well not be an ideal situation for a rabbit. Robin Leach may never want to interview him for 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'. I would contend that it will be far better than life in a small cage at the SPCA, or being sold to someone with a bunch of screeching kids, or someone with a 'hopper-popper'. Me and Buddy will have to adapt to the rabbit, and the rabbit will likely have to adapt to us. It's a (gasp!) compromise situation, where the rabbit will have to get use to not being the 'alpha' of the colony.

 

[Diane R]

Okay so after consulting with a couple breeders and forums, I decided to go with either of these for an outside enclosure:

https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-heavy-duty-45-wheels-pet-crate-w000666481.html
https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-vintage-pet-crate386x244x28h-w009980763.html
I will try for the first one, as it is all metal (impervious to gnawing), looks to be strong enough to defeat even coyote attack, on rollers, doubt a rabbit will be able to shake or rattle it....and I don't see stoats or even snakes being able to squeeze through the slit-holes. The second one is Plan B.

I cannot keep a rabbit outside year around in Riverbank. Except for two or three months in the winter, the usual daytime temperature is in the mid-80s to 100F+ (my central air conditioning is a must), but the usual nighttime temperature does not exceed 65F, so that is within rabbit tolerance. I will be moving into a 'open-concept' studio, so I cannot keep a rabbit inside year around. Rabbits tend to nap, not sleep, and zoomies a couple times a night would not be acceptable, nor rattling the cage, or any other noise that can penetrate my silicone earplugs. I'm a very light sleeper, and once woken up I become insomniac. I also have a senior cat, and while he is scared witless of anything/everything possible to be scared of, supervision between cat and rabbit is still required.

Rabbits are not Einsteins. Simply by altering the time I put the rabbit outside, I should be able to prevent him from wising up...if not, a casting net should work as last resort. I live a very spartan lifestyle, so very little furniture and junk for evasive maneuvers or cover. This may well not be an ideal situation for a rabbit. Robin Leach may never want to interview him for 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'. I would contend that it will be far better than life in a small cage at the SPCA, or being sold to someone with a bunch of screeching kids, or someone with a 'hopper-popper'. Me and Buddy will have to adapt to the rabbit, and the rabbit will likely have to adapt to us. It's a (gasp!) compromise situation, where the rabbit will have to get use to not being the 'alpha' of the colony.

WAY too small!

 

[Preitler]

And way too expensive. Have a look at hardware cloth.

 

[overhear]

It sounds like your new open-plan space will present some challenges to cohabitating with a bunny. And that's only a hypothetical bunny - - not a specific one with its own quirks, temperament, and needs.

Whatever you decide, definitely be sure your rabbit is vaccinated against RHDV.

 

[Moonshadow]

Okay so after consulting with a couple breeders and forums, I decided to go with either of these for an outside enclosure:

https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-heavy-duty-45-wheels-pet-crate-w000666481.html
https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-vintage-pet-crate386x244x28h-w009980763.html
I will try for the first one, as it is all metal (impervious to gnawing), looks to be strong enough to defeat even coyote attack, on rollers, doubt a rabbit will be able to shake or rattle it....and I don't see stoats or even snakes being able to squeeze through the slit-holes. The second one is Plan B.

I cannot keep a rabbit outside year around in Riverbank. Except for two or three months in the winter, the usual daytime temperature is in the mid-80s to 100F+ (my central air conditioning is a must), but the usual nighttime temperature does not exceed 65F, so that is within rabbit tolerance. I will be moving into a 'open-concept' studio, so I cannot keep a rabbit inside year around. Rabbits tend to nap, not sleep, and zoomies a couple times a night would not be acceptable, nor rattling the cage, or any other noise that can penetrate my silicone earplugs. I'm a very light sleeper, and once woken up I become insomniac. I also have a senior cat, and while he is scared witless of anything/everything possible to be scared of, supervision between cat and rabbit is still required.

Rabbits are not Einsteins. Simply by altering the time I put the rabbit outside, I should be able to prevent him from wising up...if not, a casting net should work as last resort. I live a very spartan lifestyle, so very little furniture and junk for evasive maneuvers or cover. This may well not be an ideal situation for a rabbit. Robin Leach may never want to interview him for 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'. I would contend that it will be far better than life in a small cage at the SPCA, or being sold to someone with a bunch of screeching kids, or someone with a 'hopper-popper'. Me and Buddy will have to adapt to the rabbit, and the rabbit will likely have to adapt to us. It's a (gasp!) compromise situation, where the rabbit will have to get use to not being the 'alpha' of the colony.

Please don’t catch the rabbit with a casting net. It would just end with the rabbit being positively terrified of interacting with you at all, breaking all trust you may have been able to nurture, and could end up with the bunny injured and possibly dead. Rabbits can be trained to enter into pet carriers with the right amount of coaxing and incentive. It would be a MUCH safer option to transport and capture the bun using a carrier.

 

[overhear]

Asking the bunny experts:
Could an encounter with a predator - even one that's outside the cage - give a bunny a heart attack? I've only had indoor bunnies, but I think that's what would worry me most about having my bunny outdoors overnight.

 

[Diane R]

Asking the bunny experts:
Could an encounter with a predator - even one that's outside the cage - give a bunny a heart attack? I've only had indoor bunnies, but I think that's what would worry me most about having my bunny outdoors overnight.

It sure could, especially if bunnies are in a small space with nowhere to hide.