# Digging Rabbits



## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

I'm looking for advice from those of you with colony set-ups. All of my rabbits are in cages, so I have no experience with colony situations, but I need some help!!

I work at a nursing facility and last spring we decided to put a few rabbits in our courtyard for the enjoyment of the residents. Needless to say, the residents absolutely fell in LOVE with the rabbits, named them, etc. Some of our residents even have the rabbits literally eating out of their hands. We made absolutely certain that *all* of the rabbits were the same gender so that we wouldn't have to worry about offspring. The facility purchased the rabbits from me and I had more females to choose from, so we went with all females.

There are 5 females out there and, as far as space is concerned, there is more than enough room for them. Our administrator is somewhat familiar with rabbit behavior, so it was no surprise to him when they started digging. The digging however, is becoming a problem - as in they have actually managed to dig deep enough that their burrowing is threatening the foundation of the building. We are going to try reducing the number from 5 to only 2 rabbits and see if that helps the situation and makes their burrowing more manageable. Is this likely to help the situation? We don't want to get rid of the rabbits....taking 3 of them out is likely to induce a small riot as it is. 

Do any of you have any other advice or suggestions we might try so that we can keep _some_ of the rabbits?


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## Niomi (Apr 29, 2009)

I have a large pen with rabbits. I have put vinyl coated wire on the ground around the fence line. I started out with chicken wire, but one of my rabbits cut up his paws on the wire trying to dig out. Rabbits like to hide their entrances, so they will also try to dig around obstacles, so if they can't dig around the fence line, they will try to do it by anything large enough to hide a hole. My rabbits also seem to need to memorize the ground pattern before they dig, so moving things around will slow them down. 

I work in a memory care unit. I have a rabbit that I bring to work, and the clients just love him, although they think he is a dog, no matter how many times I tell them he is a rabbit. I set up an animal play pen in the lobby when I get to work, and put him in there. Before I go home, I put him in a cage that I keep at work. He stays in the memory care unit until I get my days off. Then he comes home with me, and I bring him back to work when I have to go back to work.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Rabbits like to dig _under_ something. I'd fill the holes next to the building and lay wire mesh flat on the ground against the building. You can bury it a bit and plant flowers etc. right through it or cover with patio stones, decorative boulders or whatever. If there is a place where they can dig without causing problems, put a feature there... a bunny lounging platform/bench for residents might be nice. This should help them to choose that spot for digging.


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

Unfortunately, I don't think putting down wire is a possibility. As big as our courtyard is, I'm not sure they will be willing to put out the funds to wire around the whole building (it's HUGE, I'm telling you!).

Is there anything different we could put out there that might occupy them with something other than digging? I know they will still dig some...but I'm wondering if we can occupy them with some other activity. If they were children, I would say we need a jungle gym. LOL


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

I'm going to suggest filling in their current holes with gravel, topped by wire. I know they will just go somewhere else and dig again, but maybe we can at least get the worst of it under control so that they can stay. I'm not sure how we will catch the 3 that have to go....it's a biiiiiiig courtyard. I do know we are going to be in sooooooooo much trouble with the residents.....(somebody hide me!)


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## Niomi (Apr 29, 2009)

Do you work for a nonprofit? May they can put the wire and labor on their wish list, and someone might donate to the project.


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

No, it's a for profit company. They are good about making sure our building has what it needs, but keeping rabbits is not a priority at the corporate level - and I can understand that. If I was writing the paychecks, I would probably say no as well - especially with all of the renovations we have in progress already.


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## a7736100 (Jun 4, 2009)

Males don't dig as deep as females. Anyway given time there will be no grass left because they kill the grass where they dig. You also need to put guards around small trees so they don't get kill.

Have a large cage where you feed regularly. After a while they'll hop in to feed. You can then close the door.

BTW females will get pregnant if some male escapee finds his way to the courtyard.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

i doubt a rabbit tunnle will damage a well built structure, yes they dig along the walls but unless you have some HUGE Rabbits like from that old B movie about the Killer Giant Rabbits then your building should be fine, my colony has been under the chicken coop that is just a wooden shed set up on cinderblocks and their burrows are all over and under the place under that coop and there has not been a problem in the last 3 or 4 years, a little settling simply because its just cinderblocks holding up a solid wood shed but thats it,


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

KSALguy said:


> i doubt a rabbit tunnle will damage a well built structure, yes they dig along the walls but unless you have some HUGE Rabbits like from that old B movie about the Killer Giant Rabbits then your building should be fine, my colony has been under the chicken coop that is just a wooden shed set up on cinderblocks and their burrows are all over and under the place under that coop and there has not been a problem in the last 3 or 4 years, a little settling simply because its just cinderblocks holding up a solid wood shed but thats it,


While I am sure you are correct about the safety of the building....some of these holes really are huge. I've actually been expecting someone "higher up" to say something about them before now. Despite the fact that they purchased them from me, the rabbits are technically not _my_ project though....they belong to the Activities Department. Everyone looks to me for advice when they have questions though...I guess that makes me the "bunny lady!" HAHA. The administrator came to me today and said "the rabbits are becoming a problem" and told me about all of the damage they have done. While I may disagree with the actual harm their burrowing may cause, the question of whether it is actually a problem is not one I have the authority to decide. They are a problem because the boss says they are, ya know? 

Honestly, I'm just glad he is willing to let a few of them stay. The bunny excavating crew has moved more dirt than anyone (including myself) expected them to, so now something has to change. I'm just hoping that the wire and reducing the population down to just 2 will be sufficient. Any other ideas I can suggest will just help to buy them some more time


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## AugustRED (Apr 18, 2010)

I would second the idea to have a "feeding" cage, just letting them out part of the time will slow things down. Maybe consider limiting them to just part of the yard. As for the bucks digging less - they probably do however I do have a buck that will tunnel out (have heard that they won't go under ground, well he does) & he's a digging fool during the summer - leaving the ground pockmarked with 6" deep holes. But what a neat idea to bring joy to peoples lives!


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

I _personally_ like the idea of a feeding cage as well, but unfortunately our courtyard set up will not allow for that for 5 rabbits. What we are going to try is reducing the population from 5 rabbits to only 2. We realize those 2 rabbits will still dig, but 2 rabbits can't do as much damage as quickly as 5 rabbits can so we should be able to control things a little better. 



AugustRED said:


> But what a neat idea to bring joy to peoples lives!


Our residents absolutely love the rabbits. The one resident who has chosen to be responsible for feeding them each day is quite sad that some of them have to leave but when I explained to her that we will still keep two of them - and the one that is everyone's favorite will be one of the two that stays - she was much happier.

As a side note.....4 of these rabbits were from an experimental breeding where I crossed my french angora buck with my californian doe. If I decide to keep one of the 3 that are leaving, I may just further my experiment....


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## qwertty57 (Dec 18, 2010)

Make them caves and give them toys, Etc. To keep them busy So that they have something better to do.


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## DonofPaw (Apr 6, 2010)

It seems that you are out of luck. 

I have an outdoor colony pen, I had to put wire down on the ground to prevent escape from my small area. 

Sadly nothing you do will prevent them from digging. Reducing the population will not stop digging. 

If you wanted a reasonable plan I would say get the four foot tall wire fencing used to keep rabbits out, use metal fence stakes made for that fence roll and create a pen, put the same wire down n the ground and it will prevent digging, you can make the pen as big or small as needed and it can even look nice, you can buy the green fence material to match the posts or buy the white. 

You can plant shade trees around it put cement lawn ornaments inside etc. Setup pretty little dog houses etc. You could even set a gate up if you had a person who was even slightly handy, and you could put benches inside for the resides to hang out on. You could also use more expensive and prettier wood style fencing...... Can be cheap, 100 dollars or you could make it a rabbit mansion. 

I think it will be the only long term sustainable plan, plus you can have quite a few rabbits if you want.

Other option is a moveable pen on wheels with a slat floor, and fence screened sides.... just a thought.


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