You might want to keep your rabbit playing outdoor for awhile while them happy. Naturally, happy rabbit likes to hop energetically and like to explore a new place. Should you want to let your rabbit playing outdoor, you need to have a proper preparation for your rabbit so your rabbit can relish a good experience when they are in outdoor. But if you want to keep your rabbit live indoor your house, please read this Tips To Pet A Rabbit in Your House.
Now, here is 8 Ways on How to Care for A Rabbit When Playing Outdoors
1. Secure The Outdoor Area For Your Rabbit
Keep your outdoor area safe from harmful plant and sight of the predator. Domesticated rabbit can’t differentiate what plant is good for them or harmful for them, keep them clear from any harmful plan as your rabbit will likely to eat any of it. Make sure there is no predator that might harm your rabbit (Neighbor cat, dog, fox, and raccoon), especially if you have a young and small rabbit or domesticated Rabbit that might sudden dead because of shock in a mere sight of a predator.
Limit your rabbit explore by placing a safe yet large enclosure for them. You don’t want to get your rabbit unsupervised exploring unknown area that might contain many harmful for their being, especially if your rabbit is a domesticated rabbit. As mentioned above, a sight of a predator may make your rabbit died in shock. You may let them play outside during daylight when the risk of predator is low.
But even so, should you have given proper care and preparation. A full-time outdoor living is fine and you as the pet owner should make the call on how to take care your own rabbit.
2. Protect Your Rabbit From Predator and Itself
As mentioned above, a sight of a predator can kill them, make sure the predator can’t get into your rabbit enclosure and make sure your rabbit has a place to hide from the predator.
As you know, if you let your rabbit in a garden, they are most likely to eat every plant there. Avoid having the poisonous plant around. Avoid having the plant that is toxic for your rabbits like aloe, begonia, daffodil bulb, Easter lily, and geranium. For further information, ask your vet if you want to give your rabbit anything. Keep their area clean as they eat everything like electrical wiring because rabbit will likely to chew on it.
3. Play With Your Rabbit
Rabbit can’t be left alone even if you left them outdoor, they will likely get bored and get lonely. Rabbits are meant to be an active creature, running and hopping about, and need at least 3 hours of “free range” time per day for exercise.
You can play with them by petting them in cheek or your rabbit head, hold them on your lap or let them lick your hand. You can also let them roam free indoor like your bathroom, for a change of pace, just make sure to secure any item that might harmful for your rabbit. Rabbit also like playing with paper, cardboard, hard plastic, or untreated wood toys as well. Please keep in mind to avoid treated wood and some varieties such as cherry, redwood, and peach, as those wood may be toxic.
Should you don’t have time to keep them company for the least of the required amount of time. Give them another compatible rabbit to socialize together, ideally 1 of similar size and age. Make sure they are spayed or neutered, especially if you have a male and a female rabbit as Rabbit known as the fast breeder unless of course, you want a baby rabbit. See 5 Signs Before A Rabbit Gives Birth to give you insight into their upcoming pregnancy.
4. Set a Safe Home
For further security or should you decide to fully let them live in the outdoor environment, you have might want to build a proper home like a hutch for your rabbit. Rabbits need a dry, clean, ventilated, safe, well-placed, and relatively roomy hutch to thrive.
5. Keep The Outdoor Area Dry
Should heavy rain or snow occur, consider to move your rabbit into a drier location in their second hutch, the emergency or mobile one. A location like a porch, garage, basement, or just in the main house is a good shelter for them. A bad thunderstorm can frighten your rabbit to death, so bring them in if possible. Should you want to let them loose in the house, please make sure you already proofed your house has been proofed for the safety of you and your rabbit. For further information on how to proof your house, you can read these 5 Easy Ways to Rabbit-Proof Your House article to help you.
6. Provide Shade for Your Rabbit.
Should the weather become very hot, you might find your rabbit trying to find shade to lay down or even dug down their own rabbit hole. You can help them by providing fresh water should they need to rehydrate themselves. or set a shade for them with a roof or screening material and give them a frozen water bottle for them to chill down nearby it. You can also put some iced water bottle in the shaded area and let your rabbit should rest there and feel chilled.
7. Do a Regular Cleaning
Rabbit typically establish 1 or 2 litter areas in its enclosure. It’s recommended to let the rabbit decide where, and then you can place a litter box there, but it is important to keep the enclosure area clean in general is important for the rabbit health and happiness.
It’s recommended to do a general clean-up daily, like by removing the soiled straw, etc. Do a more thorough cleaning at least every 1 to 2 months like removing and replacing bedding materials and the like. The soiled and damp area and bedding in their hutch will attract flies and make the place unhealthy, which can bring on maggots that can infest your rabbit and cause “flystrike”, as a potentially fatal illness. You might want to read 12 Symptoms That Your Rabbit is Sick article to keep watch for your rabbit health.
8. Feed Your Pet
While it seems obvious, you should regulate their diet as rabbit eat any plant they find that might harmful for your rabbit health should be left unsupervised. Please keep in mind, Your rabbit is not bugs bunny, so their staple food is not the carrot. Carrot can only serve as a treat for your rabbit, but there is a rabbit that not interested in carrot at all so please adapt to it.
Naturally, rabbit food is hay that can be available in the pet store. if not, a pellet that pet shop sell is more than enough. A greenery also fine for them as they can hydrate itself by eating a fresh and green vegetable. Kale and broccoli one of is quite recommended greenery. Should you want to make your vegetable garden, this “How to Gardening Your Rabbit ” article will prove useful to you.
I hope this “8 Ways on How to Care for A Rabbit When Playing Outdoors” article will give you some insight on how to take care of your pet in outdoor habitation. But even you let them play with their rabbit companion, your interaction with your pet is really important so if you have time to spare, please play and have some bonding moment with your beloved rabbit