Ask Me Help Desk - Rabbit OK outside?

I am 75 years old & been keeping rabbits since I was six. NEVER, NEVER, humanize a Rabbit. OK the Rabbit will recognize humans as friends by the feeding/handling/grooming. Keep it indoors in the warm in the winter & it may get ill. They are an outside animal & actually like the cold. Just see where he/she sits on either a warm or cold day. Normally in the shade or cooler parts of the garden/hutch. What they need is less attention, just being there is enough. Talk to it, offer it a treat now & again, the treat would be some of it's food NOT RABBIT CHOCKIES. Or such, all they do is make the food manufacturers & pet-shops even more money. Just be there, that's enough. If you keep two rabbits have the male neutered. Consider a guinea pig also. Most animals will live together if they are cared for & well fed. I have a Jack Russel "Cindy" who often goes into the Rabbit run. They have been together since babies, they are friends. Cindy keeps cats, other dogs & rats away. The Guinea pig is also in the same run. No problems. KEEP THEM ALL OUTSIDE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackrussel

I am 75 years old & been keeping rabbits since I was six. NEVER, NEVER, humanize a Rabbit. OK the Rabbit will recognize humans as friends by the feeding/handling/grooming. Keep it indoors in the warm in the winter & it may get ill. They are an outside animal & actually like the cold. Just see where he/she sits on either a warm or cold day. Normally in the shade or cooler parts of the garden/hutch. What they need is less attention, just being there is enough. Talk to it, offer it a treat now & again, the treat would be some of it's food NOT RABBIT CHOCKIES. or such, all they do is make the food manufacturers & pet-shops even more money. Just be there, thats enough. If you keep two rabbits have the male neutered. Consider a guinea pig also. Most animals will live together if they are cared for & well fed. I have a Jack Russel "Cindy" who often goes into the Rabbit run. They have been together since babies, they are friends. Cindy keeps cats, other dogs & rats away. The Guinea pig is also in the same run. No problems. KEEP THEM ALL OUTSIDE.

What benefit is there to keeping them outside vs inside?

You have just stated that they do fine outside, not WHY it is better.

Rabbits are social animals they don't deserve to be locked up alone outside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackrussel

I am 75 years old & been keeping rabbits since I was six. NEVER, NEVER, humanize a Rabbit. OK the Rabbit will recognize humans as friends by the feeding/handling/grooming. Keep it indoors in the warm in the winter & it may get ill. They are an outside animal & actually like the cold. Just see where he/she sits on either a warm or cold day. Normally in the shade or cooler parts of the garden/hutch. What they need is less attention, just being there is enough. Talk to it, offer it a treat now & again, the treat would be some of it's food NOT RABBIT CHOCKIES. or such, all they do is make the food manufacturers & pet-shops even more money. Just be there, thats enough. If you keep two rabbits have the male neutered. Consider a guinea pig also. Most animals will live together if they are cared for & well fed. I have a Jack Russel "Cindy" who often goes into the Rabbit run. They have been together since babies, they are friends. Cindy keeps cats, other dogs & rats away. The Guinea pig is also in the same run. No problems. KEEP THEM ALL OUTSIDE.

I disagree.

You state that you're 75 years old and have been keeping rabbits since you were six, well, I hate to say it, but back then rabbits weren't kept as pets, they were kept as food. Those that were kept as pets were treated like any other pet back then, as an accessory, not as part of the family.

Nowadays people have pets for companionship. Also, we've learned a lot more about rabbits then they knew back then. For instance, rabbits are social animals. They actually don't do well alone. If you have a pair then neutering the male will prevent pregnancy but the female that's left unspayed will have a much shorter life span then if she was spayed. Unspayed females have an average life expectancy of 3 -5 years, spayed up to 12 years. That's a huge difference!

Outdoor rabbits (just like their wild kin) have a shorter lifespan as well, because of the weather and predators. It's a fact.

If you cannot keep your rabbit indoors then why get one? An indoor rabbit is a pet. An outdoor rabbit is just livestock, in my opinion.

Quite correct. Rabbit stew... lovely. About neutering. If women are "done" do they also live longer. God help us men. But there is always the stew pot.

Lions Tigers etc are also lovable animals but look here woman. Even you wouldn't want one in your home. Animals belong OUTSIDE. They can still be cared for & loved. They can be kept warm in the cold & cool in the heat. My OUTSIDE Rabbits are healthy & live long lives except those for the pot. As do my chickens/ducks.

Rabbit pie for dinner & chicken tomorrow, probably a duck on Sunday.

Jackrussel

PS: I don't fancy the Jack Russel though, sticks in the teeth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackrussel

quite correct. Rabbit stew.............lovely. About neutering. If women are "done" do they also live longer. God help us men. but there is always the stew pot.

Lions Tigers etc are also lovable animals but look here woman. Even you wouldn't want one in your home. Animals belong OUTSIDE. they can still be cared for & loved. They can be kept warm in the cold & cool in the heat. My OUTSIDE Rabbits are healthy & live long lives except those for the pot. As do my chickens/ducks.

Rabbit pie for dinner & chicken tomorrow, probably a duck on Sunday.

Jackrussel

PS: I don't fancy the Jack Russel though, sticks in the teeth.

Look here woman? Really? You're going there?

Lions and tigers are not domesticated animals, rabbits are.

As for women living longer if they're spayed, I wouldn't know, we're not talking about people, we're talking about rabbits. You do realize that there's a difference, right?

I have four rabbits, they're all indoor rabbits, and yes, I do want them in my home, because I know it's what's best for them and I also get to spend more time with them this way. Also, all of them are fixed.

Obviously you don't consider your rabbits to be pets, just animals that you'll either keep or eat. That's the difference between us.

The person that asked this question has a pet rabbit, not a rabbit that may be destined for the pot.

Can you keep rabbits outdoors? Yes, it can be done, but there are dangers in doing so.

If you want a rabbit that's a pet, then indoors is best.