Why Living Indoors is so Much Better

Before you bring a rabbit home it’s important to think about the quality of life you will provide for them. Rabbits thrive best as indoor pets and require committed care by an adult. If your intention is to house your rabbit outdoors, in a garage, or in another outside building, please reconsider. Outdoor living for rabbits is old-fashioned and dangerous. Indoor living and being fully incorporated into the life of your family is safer, healthier, and more fun for the rabbit and you.

An indoor house rabbit is:

  • Safe from predators, both wild and domestic.
  • Protected from parasites and insect-borne disease.
  • Sheltered from life-threatening weather extremes.
  • Not at risk of theft or harassment from strangers.
  • Monitored for health problems,
    which can be noticed before it’s too late.
  • A part of the family.

You will develop a deeper connection and relationship with your bunny when you live with them. Rabbits can be fully incorporated into family life, just like dogs and cats.

The lifespan of an indoor house rabbit can be 8-12 years or longer, while a rabbit kept in an outdoor hutch often lives for less than three years. So, living indoors definitely helps your intelligent, social rabbit thrive!

Rabbits should not live in an hutch outside because:

  • Most areas of the United States have weather extremes of hot or cold (or both) which can be deadly to rabbits.
  • Rabbits confined outside are often forgotten and neglected.
  • Rabbits need space for daily exercise with room to run, leap, jump and play.
  • Rabbits are social animals and need social interaction.
  • Life confined in a hutch is boring, depressing, dangerous and stressful. Solitary confinement is detrimental to health and happiness.
  • A rabbit need not be touched by a predator to be harmed. Their mere presence can frighten a bunny into a fatal shock.
  • Raccoons–whether in the city or country–are a frequent threat to outdoor rabbits and have been known to reach through the wire and injure the rabbit or even take a hutch apart.
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