Can i put rabbit into the coop at night?

[KranK]

I'll try to find a good pine cone cuz i heard that they are good as chewing toys for rabbits. She also loves carrots.

 

[Rosdez31]

Hi, I'm going to have a rabbit (one female). I've got 4 rabbit cages near the chicken coop, so she'd live in one, but as there wouldn't be any other rabbits for now i was thinking about putting her in some kind of cage in the coop at night, so nobody would steal her, nor she'd feel alone/scared. Would mites or chickens bother her? Or the heat (there is warm in the coop with 20 chickens i think?) Gotta buy a padlock for the cage. Btw everybody says that rabbits can handle being in cages outside in winter, as they prefer cold than warm. I'm talking about those mixed breeds rabbits that people keep for food, etc.

In my experience rabbits and chickens don't get along well during the day so she probably wouldn't benefits from sleeping with the chickens, they just have different life styles. Rabbits will do great outside all year in a mild climates but will need help in more extreme climates. I live in the pnw and would use heaters if it got below freezing. I would lose rabbits even here without them. Even hot days they did great but they were in shady places ( but the weather here is so mild.

 

[EverythingDucks]

Oh she's a Californian rabbit! What a cutie!

Be sure not to give her so much of the carrot. Only a slice or two a day. It's high in sugar and can cause issues if given to much. Some other good options for treats are herbs, bananas, and fresh greens. Just avoid ice burg lettuce. Fresh greens should be fed in large handfuls twice daily, with about one fourth a cup of timothy based pellets (in the morning).

Also, I would recommend getting her a water bowl instead of the bottle. Rabbits drink as much as a large dog and the bottles don't let them get enough and they can become dehydrated. They are also very hard to clean and can end up giving your rabbit an infection.
Since rabbits tend to knock over bowls a metal or ceramic bowl in a stand works best.

Pine cones work great as toys. You can also use an old toilet paper tube and stuff some hay as a good interactive toy.

Are you planning on litter training her? If so, I would get a cat litter box. The corner litter pans are too small. And you can fill it up with hay since they like to eat while doing their business lol. Just be sure to provide fresh hay too.

 

[KranK]

Oh she's a Californian rabbit! What a cutie!

Be sure not to give her so much of the carrot. Only a slice or two a day. It's high in sugar and can cause issues if given to much. Some other good options for treats are herbs, bananas, and fresh greens. Just avoid ice burg lettuce. Fresh greens should be fed in large handfuls twice daily, with about one fourth a cup of timothy based pellets (in the morning).

Also, I would recommend getting her a water bowl instead of the bottle. Rabbits drink as much as a large dog and the bottles don't let them get enough and they can become dehydrated. They are also very hard to clean and can end up giving your rabbit an infection.
Since rabbits tend to knock over bowls a metal or ceramic bowl in a stand works best.

Pine cones work great as toys. You can also use an old toilet paper tube and stuff some hay as a good interactive toy.

Are you planning on litter training her? If so, I would get a cat litter box. The corner litter pans are too small. And you can fill it up with hay since they like to eat while doing their business lol. Just be sure to provide fresh hay too.

Well, honestly I doubt that she's californian as i bought her from my grandpas friend in the village for 30zł (he wanted us to give 20zł lol). And californian usually cost like 40-60 zł in Poland lol. Grandpa always used these bottles, so i'll replace them if she won't drink from it. Won't litter train her, but gonna try selling her poop and chickens ones too lol. Grandpa showed me where i can get fresh dandelion etc. We are also thinking about asking someone for his male to mate her and then we could sell the rabbits, cuz we wouldn't want to eat them. What a business . I'd haveto build/buy more cages though.

 

[KranK]

Are you sure she's californian? Btw wondering when she'd stop being scared of me.

 

[EverythingDucks]

Are you sure she's californian? Btw wondering when she'd stop being scared of me.

Definitely a Californian. Possibly a mix of one but if that she's mostly Californian.

To bond with her setup a safe area and lay on the ground with some treats. Let her come to you. It may take some time so be patient. Dont try to pick her up more than needed. Since rabbits are prey animals they may think it's a hawk about to eat them. You can tuck her head into your elbow so she doesn't see how high up she is. Lennon the Bunny had a great video on how to bond with your rabbit as well as how to hold them

 

[EverythingDucks]

Here's an indoor setup idea you could have in your basement. This rabbit is quite spoiled, and the space could probably fit up to three rabbits.

Notice how there are plenty of hiding spaces, two good size litter boxes, toys, and things to chew on. These are important for the setup.

You could setup the playpen in the basement and make it into something like this. You could still use the outdoor hutch and a pen for her to play in outside when you're with her too.

 

[KranK]

Here's an indoor setup idea you could have in your basement. This rabbit is quite spoiled, and the space could probably fit up to three rabbits.View attachment 2294567
Notice how there are plenty of hiding spaces, two good size litter boxes, toys, and things to chew on. These are important for the setup.

You could setup the playpen in the basement and make it into something like this. You could still use the outdoor hutch and a pen for her to play in outside when you're with her too.

Gotta try convincing them. As i notices she ate whole corn in the night. She spend the whole in there and seem to be more confident about her new home, but still afraid of me. I'll try giving her some treats later. I am only worried about her drinking. Grandpa says not to worry, as she'll try to find water and probably even by accident touch the ball and water'd came out, so she'd learn where the water is.

 

[Bunnylady]

Your mother is right, rabbits smell. Or rather, their pee and poop smells. Not a lot, but there is some smell, and even the best and most expensive brands of litter don't entirely cover the smell. Male rabbits stink the most. With them, it isn't just the litter box, they spray urine around to mark their territory (I've had a couple that would spray me sometimes!). I've even seen a few females squirt urine as a territorial thing, but it's a bit unusual. Some rabbits never put everything in the litter box. My daughter has two male Netherland Dwarfs that she keeps in her room, and they leave "bunny berries" everywhere. Sometimes I find it amazing that two little rabbits can poop so much! One of them also pees outside of the litter box at least once a day (and yes, they have two litter boxes). If your mother doesn't want that in her house, I can't say I blame her - remember, you have family members that have kept rabbits before; they just might know what they are talking about.

The subject of whether rabbits are social animals is something that has been argued about for decades. As babies, they definitely are - they need each other's body warmth just to survive. As adults? Well, some people who have studied rabbits in the wild have come to the conclusion that they live in groups because they have to, rather than they want to; there's only so much good land left for them to live on, after all.

Domestic rabbits cover the entire spectrum of personalities. Some are so fiercely independent, they will attack any other rabbit, male or female, that comes into their territory. Some are friendly and playful and baby-like their entire lives. Since a lot of people keep them as pets these days, it should come as no surprise that the friendly personality is more popular, and some people are convinced that that is how all rabbits normally are. I know from personal experience that there are some rabbits that are not and never will be friendly, no matter what you do, not to each other, maybe not even to you.

"Pet bunny" people just do not understand about keeping rabbits as livestock. They will tell you it is cruel to keep rabbits housed separately, and if you tell them you have a rabbit that shreds any other rabbit it can reach, they will most likely tell you it's somehow your fault, that you are doing something wrong. I'm telling you that it may just be who that rabbit is, just that rabbit's personality, and no amount of good intentions could ever turn it into a sweet, loving, friendly bunny.

From what you have said, it is clear that you want to do what is necessary to keep your rabbits happy and healthy. If your grandfather and his friend raised rabbits for any time at all, they probably know all about what it takes to keep them healthy. "Happy" is a bit harder to figure out. Animal lovers in many countries have managed to push through all manner of "anti-cruelty" legislation, some of which is quite good, but some is more about people's feelings rather than anything to do with rabbit biology and behavior. Just to be safe, you should find out what your laws are regarding rabbit keeping before you go forward; as long as you are doing at least what the law requires, you should be safe. More than that is up to you, you will have to figure out what level of care makes you comfortable. Be warned - the pet bunny people may try to guilt you with so many things that they think you must or mustn't do, if you try too hard to please them, you may find it too expensive to keep even one rabbit!

 

[Nana Dilts]

Hi, I'm going to have a rabbit (one female). I've got 4 rabbit cages near the chicken coop, so she'd live in one, but as there wouldn't be any other rabbits for now i was thinking about putting her in some kind of cage in the coop at night, so nobody would steal her, nor she'd feel alone/scared. Would mites or chickens bother her? Or the heat (there is warm in the coop with 20 chickens i think?) Gotta buy a padlock for the cage. Btw everybody says that rabbits can handle being in cages outside in winter, as they prefer cold than warm. I'm talking about those mixed breeds rabbits that people keep for food, etc.