Keeping house rabbits by Catherine
We are the proud owners of two rabbits, Harry and Emily, who we keep in our house. They are an endless source of amusement and we get great pleasure from them. We do not think that we would have the same understanding of their behaviour or get to see their true personalities if we kept them in a hutch in the garden.
Rabbits are very easy to litter train - the odd ‘current’ makes its way on to the carpet but nothing else! They are very clean animals, although you will have to learn to be less house-proud as hay and fur will inevitably make its way into your living space – a good hoover is necessary!
Rabbits like to chew things and they do not know the difference between a wooden chair leg and a wooden chew toy! So please be aware that various pieces of furniture are likely to get munched! Electrical cables and telephone wires are also vulnerable (as are the bunnies if they munch through them) so you must ensure that you cover them with plastic tubing if the rabbit is to come in contact with them. Of course, if you provide them with more attractive things to dig and chew on then this can distract them from your personal items but there is no guarantee that this will work!
It may sound like I’m being very negative about having house-rabbits but I’m not – their personalities and exploits far outweigh any of the negative points I’ve made. I just feel it is fair to show both sides of the story.
Rabbits are prone to fast acting illnesses, which if not caught in time can easily prove fatal. Keeping rabbits in the house means that you’re much more likely to notice when they are feeling unwell or off their food and so quick action can be taken.
Our rabbits are most active in the morning (often long before we rise) and again in the evening. They tend to be fairly quiet during the day which fits in with our routine as we are both out at work. When active, they spend their time munching hay, digging in their cage, digging in some cardboard tubes that we have laid behind our sofas, jumping on the sofa to get a good look out and investigating up the stairs. Harry was more active when he was under a year old – he used to do mad running circuits around the room but that is rare these days. We let them out in the garden at the weekend and they enjoy exploring all the nooks and crannies and eating anything that looks tasty!
We originally kept Harry in a shop bought cage. Although this is advertised as suitable for keeping a rabbit in, it really is too small.
After 6 months we adapted the cage to make it 2 storeys (there really aren’t many options for buying 2 storey indoor cages). After initially being very sceptical about the second storey, this ended up being Harry’s favourite spot as it was good for surveying the room.
When we decided to get Harry a friend, we knew we had to build something bigger. We settled on a 3-storey design which fitted into an alcove in our living room. This was not an easy project and actually cost us quite a bit in materials but we’re very happy with the result (picture 3).
We have now given them an ‘extension’ – basically a two foot run attached to the side of the cage to give them some extra space.
We now keep them free range all of the time i.e. they are not shut in their cage when we’re out of the house or asleep. Our entire downstairs area is open plan so we it took us some time to build up the trust to give them this freedom! We now feel confident that our entire downstairs is rabbit proof - both for their safety and for the safety of our furniture and electrical equipment!
On a final note, I would recommend that you keep rabbits as a pair. We had Harry for 2 years on his own and although he was happy, he is so much happier now that Emily lives with him.
If you would like to read about another owner's experiences of keeping house rabbits then you can download a pdf document here (right click to download).
For further information about keeping rabbits as house pets, please see the following fact sheets (right click to download):
Indoor accommodation Shopping list for house-rabbits
Advice for training house rabbits
The following are owner's experiences of kepping house rabbits as pets and advice for training them.
