POPPY'S PAGE
Christine Elliott's Site Devoted to Rabbits Indoors & Outdoors
The Right To Roam
Homemade bench which serves as somewhere
to sit...
...and somewhere to shelter.
Tunnels are a must for 
rabbits as they replicate
natural behaviour.  This one is a left over from a builder's site - thouroughly cleaned out  of course.  
This was bought from a pet shop, and can be used indoor and out.  It also has a hole halfway along for bunny to look out of.
Rabbits are built for running.  Of course in the wild this is
what keeps them alive, but even pet bunnies enjoy a mad
dash around too.  Therefore it is very important that you
give your rabbit a spacious place to run, hop and jump.
The mobile triangular runs which are widely available in
pet shops have their place for letting bunnies eat tasty
lush grass around the lawn, but no way should they be
used as the only run the bunny has access to.  I am lucky
enough to have a 15 metre run in my garden, pretty much
going from one of the garden to the other.  It is only about
1 metre wide so it does encroach too much on the rest of
the garden.  This run is then divided about half way so that
my different groups of rabbits can exercise at the same time
without any trouble.  It is divided with a wire mesh which
means they can investigate each other safely and get to
recognise the other bunnies smell.  It is my dream that one day all 11 of them will be able to exercise together and become a real bunny family. 

Rabbits are curious and inquisitive animals so a big space may not be enough alone to keep them active and interested.  There are lots of products available to keep up a bunnies interest, ranging from tunnels to wigwams, chewable balls to treat dispensers.  Be careful about what you buy.  Some of these items are expensive and may never be used by your bunny.  Some are also just not appropriate for rabbits, such as a rabbit papoose I saw on a website the other day.  This would be totally unsuitable, and in my opinion cruel, as rabbits are ground loving creatures and should not be treated like toys.  Pictured below are some of the 'toys' I have in my run.       











































































As well as the 'toys' pictured above, I also have a wicker basket for bunnies to shelter in/sit on, several natural woven balls which can be stuffed with hay, and 'kebabs' hanging down which are skewered with natural chewable wood to keep the bunnies teeth healthy and encourage stretching.  There are many toys out there but do be careful what you buy.  Toys do not need to be expensive and quite often the homemade, simple things are the best.  Cardboard boxes can provide lots of entertainment for curious buns!  Probably my silliest buy is a bunny see-saw which I recently purchased from E-bay.  My bunnies have sniffed it, scentend it and chewed it, but as yet have not been across it.   
It is important that your bunnies have plenty of shade, not only to shelter from rain but, perhaps more importantly, to keep out of the sun.  Sun and rabbits do not always go well together.  This is a homemade shelter.  As you can see two wooden poles are holding up some garden woven matting fencing. 
In each half of the run I have created these 'raised beds'.  These are log rolls curved round against the back of the run.  Woven mattingl fencing has beed used to make a back, and then I filled it with soil and put wood chips on the top.  These can be used by bunnies for a watchout point and an area to dig in.
My rabbit run is on my lawn and was at one time lovely grass.  Of course this has now been eaten or worn away, so I have used a hanging basket with liner to plant grass seed in and use as a grass manger.  I have four of these and change them over when the grass has been eaten down, so the grass has chance to grow again.  Clover could also be planted in them as it is a good source of protein for buns, and is also thought to have tonic properties.  Plus it makes a nice change. 
Willow thinking about going across the see-saw...but maybe another day!