It's cold in there.

Hi. Firstly an apology - I have no doubt this has been asked before, and yes, I made the effort before posting to look for an answer but alas, I didn't find one.

Brief history - despite my protestations the missus bought a Flemish Giant boy who is now about 11 months, and recently got him a FG girlfriend who is...ummm....about 5 months old. She is lead caregiver and up until now I've just followed her lead as the bunny-whisperer. The whole bonding thing is recently completed and all seems good in the 'hood.

One thing troubles me, and not her. These bunnies seem in all respects happy, healthy and doing what they should do. My concern is the amount of time they spend alone together, away from adult (and dog) companionship. Yeah I know, by now you're thinking "that question again!" however I've yet not been able to find a good answer.

It's winter in this part of the world, and long story short, the rabbits spend most of their days sitting together in a freezing cold, dark kitchen instead of a warm, cozy lounge with the heatpump blazing, with toys, couches and rugs to lie on. Granted, they seem happy lying together on a rug in said kitchen, but it strikes me as illogical why an animal, apparently social and intelligent, would choose 10 hours a day in the cold and dark, when warmth, compainionship and entertainment is on offer in a room 5 meters away.

I'm assuming this is normal, and yes I'm assuming MY expectations will have to change, and I'm all good with that. Just as long as it's normal behaviour then I won't feel like we're missing something ...

Thanks.

They sound perfectly normal. Rabbits have a very thick coat, fit for cold environments. Their 'ideal' temperature is lower than a human's ideal temperature; where 75 degrees is nice for us, 55 degrees is a bit more of their range. They also spend most of their time in the wild underground, in dark burrows. Those dark burrows are 'safe' for them; above ground, in the light, they are exposed to all sorts of predators. So rabbits enjoy hiding in dark spaces. Additionally, they are prey animals. Dogs, cat and humans may all enjoy constant entertainment, but with rabbits, they tend to stress easily and avoid the active, 'dangerous' area more often than other species.

:yeahthat:

Thanks for the comments guys.
I'll relax about it as it seems it's a just a rabbit 'thing'.