When we first got Lulu I had thought it would be fun to get her a harness and leash so that she could enjoy a little yard time. I didn't even know if they made such a thing for rabbits so I was delighted when I found one at our local feed store. Then Lulu went and had some babies, so my plans for outings away from the hutch were put on hold for a while. After we re-homed the little ones, Lulu went through a period that seemed an awful lot like depression. She wouldn't come to the front of her cage to greet us anymore, and seemed to detest any attempt of ours to show her affection. It has lasted about a month, but the past few weeks she has been acting more like her friendly bunny self. So tonight the kids and I decided to wrangle her up and take her out for an adventure!
I put the harness/leash on her in the hutch and carried her kicking and struggling (I should have worn a long sleeved shirt!) over to the grass. She sat there hunkered down for a few minutes and you could see the wheels spinning in her head. Suddenly the fact that she was free from the confines of her cage hit her and she was off like the wind! Thank goodness Killian was holding on, she really tore all around the yard:
After that burst of energy, she sat by the side of the house for a few minutes to regain her composure. You could tell she was really enjoying herself:
And then she was off again!
She must know where the good stuff is, because she headed straight for the garden. After we blocked that off, she eventually wound her way around the yard and when she got next to her hutch I scooped her up and set her in. It was a lot of fun seeing her be able to run around the yard and get some exercise, and really made me want to build some sort of outdoor space for her. I think our yard is too big for her to be loose in and there is a cat killing (and presumably bunny if he got the chance) dog on the other side of our back fence. If (when) we are able to get chickens again there is a spot in the yard under a big fir tree that I had planned to build a large run for them. I thought tonight that maybe I should build the run now, and put Lulus hutch in there. It would give her space to run around during the day, and a still safe place to sleep at night. Then when the day comes that we can get chickens again, it would be all ready for them and I am sure Lulu would be delighted to have some feathered friends!
I put the harness/leash on her in the hutch and carried her kicking and struggling (I should have worn a long sleeved shirt!) over to the grass. She sat there hunkered down for a few minutes and you could see the wheels spinning in her head. Suddenly the fact that she was free from the confines of her cage hit her and she was off like the wind! Thank goodness Killian was holding on, she really tore all around the yard:
After that burst of energy, she sat by the side of the house for a few minutes to regain her composure. You could tell she was really enjoying herself:
And then she was off again!
She must know where the good stuff is, because she headed straight for the garden. After we blocked that off, she eventually wound her way around the yard and when she got next to her hutch I scooped her up and set her in. It was a lot of fun seeing her be able to run around the yard and get some exercise, and really made me want to build some sort of outdoor space for her. I think our yard is too big for her to be loose in and there is a cat killing (and presumably bunny if he got the chance) dog on the other side of our back fence. If (when) we are able to get chickens again there is a spot in the yard under a big fir tree that I had planned to build a large run for them. I thought tonight that maybe I should build the run now, and put Lulus hutch in there. It would give her space to run around during the day, and a still safe place to sleep at night. Then when the day comes that we can get chickens again, it would be all ready for them and I am sure Lulu would be delighted to have some feathered friends!