# Do you cage your free range bun overnight?



## ~*sAbRiNa*~ (Aug 31, 2010)

With moving to a new place I am feeling that now would be a good time to re-assess the fact that I cage Sabrina overnight. She has amazing litter skills *knock on wood* and is free range all day on her own (anywhere from 1-12 hours at a time) with little to no destruction. I was in conversation with a friend who could not understand why I cage her at night when she is out and alone all day. I totally see her point and I only currently do it so that she has "bedtime". Since I am also asleep at that time I have no idea if she actually sleeps or not though. I don't know if its benefiting her all that much to have a "bedtime" or if she is just used to the routine.......

Any opinions/stories that anyone has that can help me make up my mind?

Thanks


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## Dragonrain (Sep 1, 2010)

I do not cage my rabbits at night, they have free range of their room.

I hear them up playing usually very early in the morning. I'd feel kind of bad if I started to cage them again now, since I know that they like to play at that time. They wake me up a lot since their room is right next to our bedroom, but I don't mind too much. I know wild rabbits are most active at dusk and dawn. That seems to be the times when my crew are most active too. And since I'm not awake to let them out before dawn, I just leave them out all night.

If Sabrina is good out of her cage and has a nice safe bunny proofed area to run around, I don't see why you couldn't try leaving her out all night.


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## Mrs. PBJ (Sep 1, 2010)

I caged Storm when he was a free rome bunny at night. It gave him a routine. He knew what bedtime meant. He knew he would get out and get breakfast in the morning. 

That was my main reason. To be honest when I was awake I could control more. Storm is caged more now do to his bond mate tearing up carpet walls and such.


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## ~*sAbRiNa*~ (Sep 1, 2010)

Thanks for the quick response Chelle. Do you leave them with the lights off at night? That might be a silly question though 

I like your point about them being active at dawn...Sabrina always wakes me up with the sun, in the winter she will stay quiet longer but I have been noticing in the summer months that she starts getting antsy for her breakfast earlier. Maybe being out will help with that????

Thanks for the advice, I will try leaving her out tonight!

Kat-we must have posted at the same time, yes a routine was one of the other points that I liked about putting her in her cage at night. I guess I can try it for one night and see how she does (I am at my parent's tonight so she is staying in my room so I can tell if she is having issues or not.


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## nicolevins (Sep 1, 2010)

My rabbits are free range and they have a cage inside the shed to go into. They also have a hutch with just a bedsheet inside because they don't go in their much.

During Spring-Autumn, I don't cage them at night time. They know where shelter/food/water is and they'll go when needed. At Winter however, they just love the rain  I cage them in the Winter because I don't want them getting snuffles or pneumonia or anything else, lol. 

Btw - If I could have them inside in the house, I would. **** parents! anic:


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## slavetoabunny (Sep 1, 2010)

The only reason I would cage Sabrina overnight is that if anything happened and you had to evacuate quickly, you would know exactly where she was.


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## Dragonrain (Sep 1, 2010)

Yeah I do leave them with the lights off at night. They all have areas outside of their cage where they like to sleep when it's dark. They have a window in their room though and the shade doesn't do such a good job at blocking the light, so as soon as the sun starts coming up their room starts getting light. 

They still have a routine regarding feeding times and play time with me and they seem to make their own routine about when they like to sleep and such. They don't sleep at dawn, no matter if they are caged or not. So I just like to give them the space since I know they'll be awake and wanting to play at that time anyways.


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## MikeScone (Sep 1, 2010)

*~*sAbRiNa*~ wrote: *


> Any opinions/stories that anyone has that can help me make up my mind?


From the time he was two or so, Scone MacBunny was free range through the entire house (except the guest bedroom, which is where I throw stuff until I can figure out what to do with it, as opposed to ever having actual guests...). He'd visit with me until I shut off the lights at night, then he'd mostly sleep under or near my bed, or go into his cage when he felt the urge. In the morning he'd always be right there in the bedroom - or in my bed, kissing any part of me he could get to if he felt I'd slept long enough. 

My present rabbit, Natasha Rabbitova, is in her cage at night because I'm not ready to trust her out on her own. She's still too much into territory marking - we've only been together for a bit over three weeks, so it's early days yet. My long-term plan is to let her out whenever I'm home, just as I did with Scone.


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## ~*sAbRiNa*~ (Sep 2, 2010)

Hmmm there is so much to think about. I am still really torn on the issue. I appreciate everyone's advice though and I am considering all of your stories/ideas. Last night was a rough night, Sabrina did not like her new cage at all  That is all sorted out now though and she has become a lot more relaxed and back to herself, thankfully. 

Once she is settled in the new place (we will get there Sunday) I am thinking that I might try leaving her out for a night or 2 and see how it goes. She has been out when I pulled all nighters before (darn thesis writing) but I was up with her, so we will see how it all goes when she is alone. I will be sure to keep everyone updated. Maybe I will even start a blog although I have been avoiding it up until this point because its a great distraction (see note on thesis writing above lol).


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## MikeScone (Sep 2, 2010)

The one thing Scone and I had to work out when I first started leaving him out at night was the whole "crepuscular" thing. Rabbits are naturally most active at dawn and after sundown. So, as soon as first light appeared - and my house faces east - Scone would be in bed with me, enthusiastic to get his day going. Usually, that was about 5:00AM. It took a while for him to realize that for me morning mostly started when the box next to my bed started making noise. 

I never did figure out how he knew when that was going to happen, so he could get me up just before the alarm. Someday I hope to find out if Natasha has the same talent.


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## slavetoabunny (Sep 2, 2010)

Bunnies seem to have great internal clocks. If I don't get up on time, I start hearing them bang around their pens demanding breakfast!


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## jujub793 (Sep 2, 2010)

i also let my Willow and Walter free range all day and put them to bed in their cages at nite. They know when i start feeding them in the evening its time to get in their cages. I worry about them free ranging at nite and getting into some type of mischief so i just narrow down the chances.


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## Jaded (Sep 2, 2010)

I cage my free range giants during the night, they have the run of the yard during the day.
I cage them for safety reasons theres allot of stray cats/dogs in my area and I have just gotten another dog.


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## ~*sAbRiNa*~ (Sep 3, 2010)

Yes Sabrina definitely has an amazing internal clock! I was a victim to it this morning. I must be such a bad slave trying to sleep in until 8 am on my day off.......


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## elrohwen (Sep 4, 2010)

I cage my rabbits at night - though I also cage them while I'm at work, so they're not technically free range. On the weekends I usually leave them out all day, even if we go out for a few hours, since I know they'll sleep from 10am-7pm. I'll cage them if we go out for the evening though.

Otto is perfect in every way with his litter habits, has never destroyed anything, and isn't very curious or brave, so at this point I would be ok with leaving him free range 24/7. Hannah, however, is a devious little bunny and would be into the book cases and behind the tv as soon as we went to bed, so I feel much better having her locked up. During the day she's asleep, which is why I'll leave them out while I go to the store (but I still don't trust her for 10 hours while I'm at work). Sometimes I wish Otto could be fully free range, but I think he's happier having a buddy and being partially locked up, rather than being alone and free range (and their cage is 8'x4' - pretty luxurious)

Our townhouse is an open floor plan, so there's no way to really confine them to one room, which is why they have a cage. When we get a house, if the layout works, I wouldn't mind giving them a room to themselves and locking them in there while we're at work or sleeping - that would be as close to free range as they get.


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## PetoftheDay (Sep 4, 2010)

Miss Hoppy was free range, and out at night. She would usually hop up the stairs and sleep in our bedroom. Sometimes she would wake before me in the morning and I would be awakened by her nibbling on the wooden cross boards on our bed - and boy, does wood resonate sound well! She liked to be where we were, so there was usually not an issue of having to find her. I did, however, have to stop wearing my Eeyore slippers, as she hated them, and would attack them even when they were innocently sitting under the bureau. Other than that, and that I couldn't put a half-read book on the floor or it would get bunny-beveled, everything worked out just fine.


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## Flash (Sep 8, 2010)

My bunnies are put into their pens at night even tho Bentley has the entire bedroom all day, Soph I let out when I get home then it's Bent's turn. I try to put them on my clock that's it's bedtime so there's less wrestling around and noise. 

Flash had the bedroom too then I let him have free run of the place. He was great but the only thing was he went back to 'bunny time' so when I was up he was sleeping so I couldn't tell whether his eating habits were good or bad, litterbox too since his schedule had changed. Also, I couldn't tell how he was doing all the time where as before I saw him run, play, eat, and use the litterbox. He was an old bunny so it made it difficult to check on him when he's sleeping during the day. Just a thought. So I'll never do the total free run again when I can't keep a close eye on them when I'm sleeping.


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