Pet Rabbits in the garden

2011

I am a first time rabbit owner that has 2 female lionhead rabbits.
My walled back garden that is about 130 sq. meters.
As I like to give them as much freedom as possible I have been letting them loose in the garden for a few hours at a time when the weather is good and they really enjoy it.

My initial concern was cats. As the rabbits are now adult I have been told that they would be able to fend for themselves. Has anyone any thoughts on this?

My more recent concern was magpies. The rabbits are not afraid of them at all and allow magpies to get very close. I am worried that they might try to peck their eyes out. I have been told that they do this to lambs. Is this a legitimate concern?

By the way the garden is definitely 100% rabbit proof.

Many thanks.

Galwayguy35

2011 wrote: »

I am a first time rabbit owner that has 2 female lionhead rabbits.
My walled back garden that is about 130 sq. meters.
As I like to give them as much freedom as possible I have been letting them loose in the garden for a few hours at a time when the weather is good and they really enjoy it.

My initial concern was cats. As the rabbits are now adult I have been told that they would be able to fend for themselves. Has anyone any thoughts on this?

My more recent concern was magpies. The rabbits are not afraid of them at all and allow magpies to get very close. I am worried that they might try to peck their eyes out. I have been told that they do this to lambs. Is this a legitimate concern?

By the way the garden is definitely 100% rabbit proof.

Many thanks.

Cats might be a concern as i have seen cats at home kill adult wild rabbits. Maybe if you could build a fenced in area for them in the garden so they could still enjoy the fine weather and you would know that they would be safe.

shanew

We let our rabbits out quite a bit, never had a problem...although they share the garden with a dog and two cats, so I think they are safe from magpies. A magpie did try to peck at one the the Guinea Pigs at one stage - but was quickly chased off by several cats and people..



Shane

dodderangler

I'd be more worried about mink or stray ferrets than magpies
And as for a grown rabbit taking on a mother cat not a hope that they could defend against it big female cat has strength to take it down and quick kill is instant
I'd keep and eye on them anyway
There's always chance of a hawk taking one aswell

Sigma Force

Cats will take an adult rabbit no problem they do it all the time with wild buns who are more alert and generally stronger.

Never leave them in the garden unsupervised, although it's great for them to get so much freedom if you have a walled small garden then an option might be to place netting over the top or brackets to hold netting to cat proof the garden.

SingItOut

Definetly do not leave them unattended! My adult cat brought home a hare a few weeks back so rabbits don't stand a chance against any cat

2011

Thanks for the advice. I will only let them out when I'm there.

paddy crazy horse

i would build an enclosed run if i were you just to be safe. especially if your not supervising the rabbits or werent in the house. i have 3 rabbits and in the past have caught the neighbours cats stalking them form the top of the wall. only for my dog id say the cats would have had a go at attacking them. i have 2 rabbit runs one is enclosed and the other is about 5 ft high and a gazabo over it for shelter and ive never seen a cat try to get into it. (bearing in mind the dog is still here). as for birds, i have never seen any near the rabbit runs and there does be a lot of magpies in the area but they have never came near as far as im aware. ive heard of far more rabbits been attacked by foxes than birds or cats.

rorrissey

My friend has a similar back garden to yours, it's completely walled by concrete so there's no escape for the rabbit. She lets her rabbits free 24/7, she doesn't even own a hutch. I thought that was a stupid idea at the time, but the rabbits are fine! She made them a diy shelter out of an old suitcase, so they can hide from birds if they need to. She hasn't had any cat troubles either, I guess she's just lucky! :P

REPTILEDAN88

Why not make/buy one of these ?
http://cdn.uploads-preloved.com/uploads/userphotos/10/0929/2345861-469m.jpg
These are not hard to make and it will keep them safe from all types of predators too.

TooManyDogs

I had a feral rabbit that I tried to keep in the house, and then in a run/hutch in the garden but finally released into the garden because he was majorly depressed in the house and hutch. He only got about a month outside before something got him, I ended up making a quantity v's quality decision for him because I'd had him 6 months and he was miserable but the minute I released him in the garden he had 2 very happy months running and binkying about. It's not a risk I'd take for my pet rabbits though, I'd imagine it was cats got him.

My rabbit gets out into the garden when I'm there too, but she's a nightmare to herd back into the house. If there was a way you could pen off a smaller area around your backdoor I'd do that, my girl cant get out of the garden but if she doesn't want to come in at dusk it takes about 15 mins with me and hubby trying to herd her into the house