Rabbits Outside

Well we finally got the rabbit enclosure finished. It's on a wooded hill and measures about 25' x 30'. We took the rabbits out there about 7:30 Sunday morning. We put them in the cardboard box we use for holding them while we clean the dog crate that has been their temporary home. One came out of the box right away, another came out about 10 minutes later, and the last was more cautious and only ventured out after 20 minutes or so. They would explore a bit, then retreat to the box, then explore a bit more, then retreat to the box. They enjoy scampering up the hill but coming down the hill they frequently slide. That's what comes of living your life in a hutch or dog crate. Our dog Rolf had a smilar problem with stairs when he first came to live with us.

We took the dog crate apart and put the top half on the ground to provide a ventilated shelter for them. We put the bottom half upside down on the ground as a solid shelter and put their bowl of food in it. We hung their water bottle on the fence and showed them where it is. They ate plants and ignored their food and water.

We had a couple of hawks flying overhead most of the day screaming and making all kinds of racket. Those white rabbits practically glow against the dark understory of the woods. The hawks didn't try to get the rabbits, though - perhaps because the enclosure is so close to the house, or perhaps because the trees make an attack difficult. The rabbits didn't pay any attention to the cries of the hawk, because they've had most of their "street smarts" bred out of them. They do run for cover when a chipmonk sounds an alarm. Still, we think we will get some bird netting and put it across the top of the enclosure in two or three places. It's way too wooded to attempt covering the entire thing.
When we were building the enclosure, my husband dug out a burrow with a shovel. He fortified the sides with rocks and roofed it with a large flat rock then covered it with dirt. We put a few wood shavings in it yesterday, because that is what they're accustomed to having in the dog crate. We were hoping the wood shavings would say "home" to them. One of the rabbits poked her head way in until only her little butt was sticking out. She did this a couple of times and then the third time her butt wiggled a lot and we could tell she was digging with her front feet. When she was happy with it she turned around and napped a while.

They hang out in the ventilated dog crate top a lot, and they hang out in the burrow a lot. We're hoping they'll dig the burrow out deeper. We're encouraged because the one rabbit dug some her very first day out. If they don't enlarge it much now, they almost certainly will when they get pregnant.It poured rain last night and I had a hard time sleeping, worrying about the rabbits. My husband laughed at me and told me they're water proof, just like cows and deer. Sure enough, this morning when the sun came up they were outside playing in the rain. Then one laid down on the wet ground to rest and nap a bit. They didn't mind the rain at all.