If you are keeping rabbits, you know that outside playtime is vital to keeping them active and happy; the same applies if you keep your rabbits in hutches outside. The main issue you need to be concerned with besides protecting them from the elements is predators. It made me wonder how to keep your rabbit safe from predators.
You can keep your rabbit safe from predators by taking a few precautionary measures, like fortifying the hutch or outdoor play area, ensuring it has a ‘ceiling’ to protect them from birds of prey, installing motion sensors with a loud alarm and taking your rabbits inside at night, to mention a few.
If you have rabbits, you know that, like all animals, they have natural predators. I wanted to do more research about this before I got my own rabbits. I want to give them the best home I can, so I contacted a friend who has had rabbits for years to get some advice. I thought I would share her helpful tips on keeping my rabbits safe.
Contents
How Can You Keep Your Rabbits Safe From Predators?
Keeping your rabbits happy and healthy is important, and that means giving them playtime outside. The trick is to keep predators away from them while they are getting their daily exercise and playtime. We will discuss several ways of keeping your rabbits safe from predators.
1. Upgrade Their Outdoor Play Area Or Hutch
The most effective protection for your rabbits is to upgrade their outdoor play area or their hutch if they stay outdoors permanently. Some of the ways you can make these upgrades include;
Using Hardware Cloth
Hardware cloth is a great material to use when fortifying the rabbit enclosure. Use ½-inch hardware cloth so smaller predators such as snakes, raccoons, and possums can’t enter the enclosure. Avoid using chicken wire as the holes are big enough for these smaller predators to squeeze through.
Adding A Ceiling To The Enclosure
When you think of predators, it can be easy to forget about the birds of prey that like to snatch rabbits up, like hawks, owls, and eagles. Add a hardware cloth ‘ceiling’ to the enclosure to keep them from getting to your rabbits.
You can also add a solid pine roof as it will protect against predators and keep some of the harsh elements like the sun and rain at bay as well.
Burying Some Of the Fence
As you need to protect them from flying predators, you must also think of the diggers. Bobcats, raccoons, coyotes, and foxes like to dig under the fence of a rabbit enclosure. So experts suggest you bury the fence at least 3 feet deep and add a bottom to the enclosure at the same depth. Adding some soil and bedding on top of the bottom part will ensure your rabbits don’t hurt their feet.
Giving The Rabbits A Safe Place To Hide
Another way to upgrade your rabbit hutch is to give your rabbits a safe place to hide when they sense a predator. Some people create tunnels that end in a protective hideout for their rabbits so they can feel safe, and it confuses the bigger predators that won’t be able to follow them.
2. Take Your Rabbits Inside At Night
Some people keep their rabbits in hutches outside permanently. That is fine if you have taken the correct measures to protect them, but many experts advise that keeping your rabbits in an indoor enclosure at night keeps them safe from the elements and sickness and is a good way to keep them safe from predators.
3. Get Motion Sensors Outdoors
Another good way to keep your rabbits safe is to install motion sensors around the enclosure. Most predators are opportunistic and use stealth to catch their prey, so if they are trying to get to your rabbits and the motion sensor goes off, the noise will scare their prey and them away.
4. Use Repellent
Not all predators that can kill rabbits are wild; one predator that sees birds, mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits as prey is cats. Some domestic cats can get along with your rabbits, but your neighbor’s cats might not.
One way to keep your rabbits safe from cats is to use cat repellent, like an organic citrus spray. They hate the smell and will avoid going near the enclosure. Other repellents include using low-frequency devices that work like motion sensors but release the low-frequency sound as soon as they are tripped.
5. Use Motion-Activated Sprinklers
Another thing cats and other predatory animals dislike is being wet. When you install motion-activated sprinklers, you point the motion sensors around the enclosure facing away from the rabbits.
When a predator tries to get inside the enclosure, the motion sensors will set the sprinklers off, spraying the predator with a strong stream of water. It will scare them off and keep them away in the future.
6. Get Companion Animals
Many people feel that if you have rabbits, you shouldn’t have dogs as they are related to wolves and coyotes and can attack your rabbit. That is true to some extent; there are some breeds that will act as good guard dogs for your rabbits without attacking them.
When you have a secure rabbit enclosure, dogs won’t get in, and dogs are loyal and will make a huge fuss if any predator comes into your yard. They can also be trained to guard your rabbits. Some of the best breeds include Maltese, Golden Retriever, King Charles Spaniel, and Great Pyrenees.
7. Regularly Clean The Rabbit Enclosure
Predators rely on smell to tell them where their next meal is coming from, so if you regularly clean your rabbit enclosure and replace the bedding, they are less likely to smell the food and droppings of the rabbits, and it won’t entice them as much.
Conclusion
When new to keeping rabbits, you must take precautionary measures to protect them from predators. Most predators don’t like noise or being wet so installing motion sensors with alarms or motion-activated sprinklers are two great ways of keeping them away from your rabbits. Other measures include upgrading their outdoor enclosure and keeping them inside at night.
