Honey is very nervous all the time. He seems to have calmed down some since his surgery, though. He does freak out a little outside. He has gone home with a few of my students for the weekends, though, and he goes between my home and school, too. I think inside environments are different, though. Another classroom rabbit at my school does walk on his rabbit leash outside and even runs around on our playground. He is a big, floppy, lazy guy, though! Honey would get away from me too quickly! I\'m scared to death of leaving Honey outside for any amount of time since he had the \"almost\" heatstroke. He wasn\'t outside that long, and it was only like 84 degrees. he was SO SICK and it was really frightening. He wasn\'t himself again for days.
I think keeping them cool outside would be so hard!! I agree about the outside and inside rabbits, though. I think they are just like cats and dogs, and some of them won\'t be happy in the wrong environment. I\'ve also read that a lot of breeders keep rabbits in hutches and outside environments. I treat my dogs BETTER than children (ha!) and I just couldn\'t bear to treat Honey any different.
We have two rabbits outside and two inside. One of the inside rabbits in only in for the winter. Midnight will join the other two in the barn come spring. Cloud is my son\'s pet and she\'ll be inside with him year round. My buck, Thumper, absolutely hates the house! He loves his big hutch and the barn. And just because he is outside year round, doesn\'t mean he gets treated worse than the inside rabbits. Just a little differently.
I think some animals would consider an indoor environment being treated poorly! We had a cat that I wanted so bad to be an indoor cat, but he would sit at the door all the time and howl-- he was just so unhappy indoors. So we let him come and go as he wanted and made sure he had what he needed outside. He was a very spoiled and happy outside animal!
to Kelly: Our church has a preschool too, and I\'ve noticed the teachers let the kids take the bunnies home occasionally. I\'d be so nervous that the \"host\" family wouldn\'t know how to protect the rabbit all weekend. I assume they are made aware of the possible problems, etc? How does that work out?
To Petey\'s Friend:
I have an open invitation on our class website to any family to inquire about taking Honey home for the weekend. Our preschool program requires that I visit my student\'s homes four times a year, so I am very familiar with their families and homes (if they have other pets, the ages of siblings, etc.) I have only had 3 families do so, and I trusted them completely. I have already had a family ask to take Honey for the summer. I have all Honey\'s supplies (food, treats, bedding, hay, etc) in a large plastic tub that goes with him. I also have a \"Rabbit Handbook\" and a list of recommendations for Honey\'s care. (One family is looking into getting their own rabbit because they loved Honey so much.) I require that he be kept inside in a warm, dry place (basements only if there is some heat) and kept in his cage at night to sleep (that is what he is used to). I also warn them about Honey\'s love of chewing ALL THINGS and tell them to prepare their environment and put up all electrical wires. Honey is used to running from my dogs at my house, and he is very good at hiding and getting away, so I don\'t worry about him much in that respect. I work with a local animal rescue and my families are very aware of how passionate I am about all animals, and I know they all respect and love Honey as much as I do. I haven\'t had a family ask to take him that I was leery of yet.....I guess I\'ll deal with that if it comes up!
Sounds like you prepare them well for their bunny experience! It would seem to me that only the people who knew they could provide properly would participate. I\'m not sure what the name of our preschool bunny is, but he is definitely a fan favorite--the kids love him. There is always a crowd around the cage.