How to let rabbits play outside safely in large yard?

[samssimonsays]

I wouldn't think putting a rabbit on a tie-out would be a good idea, largely because of the nature of rabbits. If something frightens a rabbit, it has two responses - it freezes, or it bolts for cover. If you tie it out in the open so that it can't get tangled, "cover" is going to be out of reach, so a bolting rabbit will hit the end of the tie-out hard. Another reason that I suspect this would be a problem is because I haven't yet seen a rabbit harness that a rabbit can't get out of - usually by going backwards suddenly. Unless a person is intending to stay in the yard with the rabbit, there is a good chance that a rabbit left tied out in the yard would not be in the yard for long (it's actually illegal to do this with dogs in my county). If you are staying with it anyway, what's the point of tying it?

Lots of rabbits get really excited and skittish when loose on the ground, even otherwise friendly ones. If you want to let them out, you can build a playpen that you can supervise them in, or a large wire-bottomed cage like the tractors that a lot of people "pasture" rabbits in.

Yes, you are right. I often forget that rabbits can be skittish since mine are not. But mine also have a recall like a dog and I let them run in the yard with no fence or pen as adults because they come when called.

 

[Nyboy]

After work when I am relaxing in backyard I take a wire dog crate and remove pan. I place crate somewhere on lawn ( Lawn is never sprayed) and put rabbit in crate. Even though pan is removed crate still has bottom crate, rabbit can graze on anything within boundary of crate. I move crate to different spot each time. Rabbit not bored and gets to pick what he wants to nibble on, his dropping fertilize lawn win/ win

 

[PghRay]

My first rabbit, (raised him from 5 weeks old) was carried away by a hawk, right infront of me and my dog. The thing came out of nowhere and spent less than a second on the ground and never came to a complete stop. If it werent for the fence it would jave been a flyby, but he had to launch off of the ground to get over it. So he landed right on the little guy and off they went.

It was horrifying, the sound the poor thing made... still sticks with me. I live in the city of pgh (city proper not suburbs) so birds of prey were not exactly a consideration.

My rabbits now play on my front porch with a roof over their heads or they are in a covered enclosure down in the grass.

 

[Dawnclucks22]

I know I'm late to this thread - but my rabbit is an excellent escape artist and after one time where he scared us all by vanishing overnight I won't let him hop around unsupervised. If yours are very tame though it might not be the case. He's skittish by nature.