# Rabbit jumping out from the encloser



## Hermelin (Oct 30, 2018)

Have a male named Toste which jumps out from his encloser, he’s living outdoor. Is there anything I can do to prevent him from jumping out and explore the neighborhood. 

Some pictures of the cage and encloser:


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## Popsicles (Oct 30, 2018)

Yes, build a higher fence! My rabbit was able to jump her two foot fence, and that was indoors so I didn’t have to worry about her going missing. If I were you I would put another panel on top all the way along.
Have you dug down and buried the fence too? I would be worried about him digging underneath, especially with some of the tunnels and holes I can already see!


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## Hermelin (Oct 30, 2018)

The male is not a digger, all the holes are dug by the doe. Which I will fill up again with dirt. So the fence don’t go deeper. 

I can build a higher fence but then I will have to make the encloser smaller.


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## Nancy McClelland (Oct 30, 2018)

Get a roll of wire at a hardware store and attach it at the top with an inward lean. The inward angle will discourage jumpers and even more important, it will stop climbers. I had three that could climb up and over wire enclosures--looked like hairy spiders with ears and they went up and over very fast.


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## Hermelin (Oct 30, 2018)

Thanks for the tips, I’ll try to find wire ^^


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## Watermelons (Oct 30, 2018)

I think you are failing to understand what Popsicles is saying. 
Rabbits can and will dig out of their enclosures. So if that is permanent housing for them, then your fencing needs to be buried so there is some underground so they cannot dig out.

What do you have to shield them from predators?


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## Hazel 1 (Oct 31, 2018)

Hermelin said:


> Have a male named Toste which jumps out from his encloser, he’s living outdoor. Is there anything I can do to prevent him from jumping out and explore the neighborhood.
> 
> Some pictures of the cage and encloser:
> 
> ...


I've been a member of The House Rabbit Society since 1992. Rescued bunnies have been a part of my life for decades. No matter how good the enclosure, your bunny is a prey animal. He is at risk! Predators can breach just about any enclosure, and even if they can't, your bunny will be fearful if they show up and try to get at him. One of my recent rescues is a little Dutch girl who was allowed to run around our neighborhood. She was out when terrible storms hit. The owner, who has since moved, said she adopted her from another family and complained that she bit. The bunny, Ivy, has occasionally nipped me because she's food aggressive and we worked that out. Unfortunately her little buddy, who was kept in an outdoor enclosure, escaped regularly so he could follow her. I was frantic to catch them both. The little male was hit and killed on the busy main road in our development. I paid for his cremation and finally found the owner and told her what happened to him. I offered to take Ivy and she helped me catch her, which was quite an adventure. We have hawks here and other birds of prey, dogs that get loose, free-running cats, and an occasional coyote. The House Rabbit Society is all about keeping bunny indoors, where they will delight you with his/her personality and affection. My rescues have taken over my house, I've bonded them with another bunny (except for Ivy -- so far she's been hostile about sharing her enclosure and food). Exploring the neighborhood will eventually lead to tragedy. I've lost count of the number of tragic tales I've heard from people who lost outside bunnies. (In Sweden, outdoor hutches for bunnies are forbidden by law.)


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## Blue eyes (Oct 31, 2018)

I had the same concerns as Hazel. It isn't just a matter of bunnies escaping (which is itself important to prevent) but it is also a matter of preventing predators from getting in. It would be so easy for a bird of prey to swoop down in the totally open enclosure. 

To make the outdoors predator-proof it needs a fence that goes down under the ground and it must be totally enclosed (which means a roof as well). Predators can dig under a fence, climb over a fence or fly down from above. 

As for your rabbits escaping, the others have already mentioned ideas, but an enclosure that is predator proof will also be escape proof. 

Scroll around at the following link to see examples of safe outdoor bunny housing:
http://pinterest.com/catcatxx/rabbit-housing-wall-of-fame/


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## Hermelin (Nov 2, 2018)

I bought a net which lay over the encloser which will prevent birds coming and will not be able to jump out. Also I don’t have big Eagles or anything like that in my area. If I lived near the sea I would have to worry. 

I’ve only seen one goshawk and that was many years ago. 

Why I keep the rabbits outdoor it’s because they don’t like being indoors which I’ve already tried with them. So they live outdoor which it’s no problem and they have it better outdoors than indoors. 

Have one free range rabbit indoors, the plan was to have the rabbits free ranging indoors but I rather make them choice what they like. Than force them being indoors when they dosen’t like it. 

Lilja got destructive indoors and showed it with scratching doors, biting, tipping the litter box and never using the litter box, and she got aggressive indoors. 

Now when she’s outdoor she calmed down, does binkys and never acted aggressively against anyone. 

The predator in my area it’s foxes only, then it’s dogs and cats. All rabbits are used with cats and dogs, and most neighbors know my rabbits. Also I lock them in during the night in the hutch which the only predator that can open it are humans. 

Hutches are allowed in Sweden but it have to be above ground and follow the laws for it and follow the recommendations of the minimum size.


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