How to Free Range Rabbits

It's possible. Some people let their rabbits free range all over the house.

First step…Litter box Training
It's fairly easy. I did it unintentionally with my rabbit. At first, I threw aspen bedding all over his hutch but then he was pooing and peeing in one area. So the bedding was getting too expensive so I cleaned everything out and placed a cardboard box full of aspen in his corner. It worked but leaked. So I switched it with a small litter box for cats and it works. Only issue is it has no traction on his cage so when he jumps in and out of it, it slides around and he hates it and only goes in it occasionally. So I stick it in a cardboard box and it's perfect. The urine soaks to the newspaper under the aspen and is contained in the plastic but the cardboard under it keeps it in the corner.
Some issues with this…he doesn't go in the litter box 100% of the time. Sometimes has little urine spills and almost always have a few poop outside the box. And he sometimes nudges the box out of the corner.
This will take a week or so. Start ASAP. Buy a small cat litter box (for the cage now but get two or three more for your room), fill it with bedding. Sawdust isn't good. It's dusty. Please get aspen or carefresh. Don't get pine or cedar.

Step 2…Rabbit proofing the room.
My rabbit loves dark corners. So clear out that stash of old socks and stuff under your bed if you are one of those people who hid messes under there (like me). As long as you can get under there to shoo her out, you should be fine. If you have a computer in your room, use twist ties to tie away wires out of her reach. Or hide them behind too small spaces for her. Books should be kept up high or in drawers. They should never be out in the open because rabbits are paper eaters. Your toys should be put in drawers too and locked up. Makes sure you sweep your room up often and keep it organized at all time. If you study in your room, sweep up eraser shavings every time you're done. And keep homework away from the floor. My rabbit eats everything on the floor he can get his mouth around. Listing everything in your room would have made it easier for me to give you advice so if you reply with a list, I could have some advice of what to do.

Step 3….Rabbit home.
Rabbit free range supplies
I have a automatic dog feeder bowl for my rabbit. Pellets on the bottom and hay stuffed in the top. You might want to get one.
You might need more water bowls. Or find places to hang a bottle.
I made a bed out of two pieces of rectangular fabric sown together and stuffed with cotton. More like a pillow. For sturdiness, put it in a cardboard box.

Rabbit area
-Keep the litter boxes in corners, spread all around the room. Preferable away from your bed. Clean the litter box often to keep the smell to a minimum.
-Save a quiet corner for your rabbit. Away from the door and walking feet. Place her food and water bowls there as well as her bed. Scatter her toys there.

Some warning…
Hopefully this is only in your room.
-Make sure to tell everyone your rabbit is free ranging. I posted a big sign warning them on the bathroom when my rabbit was in there when I had no indoor cage for him and people didn't touch the door. Or have a lock for it so no one can open it.
-When you do open it, use your body to block the door in case she decides to dash for it. My rabbit tried to run out the bathroom door.
– She might pee on your floor. Rabbit urine have a lot of calcium so it may leave a chalky residue. It may leave spots on your floor. Make sure to crawl under your bed to clean up any mess she tried to hide there.
– Rabbits can hop. My rabbit when over to a friend's when I went on vacation with my family. She let him free range during the day. One time, she left some bananas(his favorite food) on her desk and he somehow hopped up there and was munching away when she came back a minute later. And he also hopped on her bed and licked her pillow until it was soggy. So make sure stuff up high is also rabbit proofed.

Holland Lops are AWESOME, I had them when I was younger. First off, free range or caged? Free range would require litter box training b/c it would b roaming around the house or in a room (i would suggest still having a cage for a free range rabbit so they have 'their own space') while a caged rabbit would just need its cage cleaned there are a bunch of different sites that tell u how to litter train; i myself prefer cages simply because i have more than 1 rabbit but thos with one seem to like having them free range. Holland lops have a thick coat so make sure to have a brush that is gentle on the rabbits skin but still gets the knots out. Depending on the weather in your area make sure the temperature is between cool- warm during the winter (if it gets cold and snowy) and during the hot summer put a frozen water bottle in w/ the bunny so they dont over heat. Make sure to keep the toe nails clipped and to make sure they have something to gnaw on to wear down their teeth b/c if their teeth over grow it wont b able to eat and u'll have to take the bunny to the vet to have it's teeth cut so it can eat again. As for the most basic (food and water) i just get simple rabbit pellets that they sell in any pet store and i use tuna fish cans as dishes, and a 32oz. Water bottle that you hang on the outside of the cage runs about 4-6 dollars depending on where you are. Hope that helped.

Rabbits can be kept indoors without a cage as long as the house is rabbit-proofed. Wires are a big concern and need to be covered with wire protectors (don't buy the rubber ones sometimes sold in pet stores, they'll get chewed up). Sometimes using baby gates to keep your rabbit(s) confined to one part of the house is best (that's what I do).

They can be trained to use a litter box and for that period of time you may want to use a cage or pen. The rabbit will probably pick a corner to use and you can put the litterbox there. Any stray droppings should be moved into it. They get it eventually. Un-neutered rabbits are A LOT harder to housetrain so make sure your bunny is fixed (if you adopt, it probably will be already but ask). Try to have a litterbox in every room that the rabbit is allowed in.

Rabbits don't NEED a companion but it's good for them, especially if you can't devote as much time to playing with your rabbit. It can be difficult to introduce them to each other so it's better if you get an already bonded pair or at least adopt both rabbits at the same time.

This is an excellent website to check out if you're interested in keeping a house rabbit: Http://www.rabbit.org .

By the way, my family has had nine house rabbits total and about half were totally free-range. One didn't even have a cage for a while. I would actually get a cage, though, simply for traveling and confining your rabbit when needed (if s/he gets injured, for example).

Cats can get along with house rabbits but it varies depending on the animal. You could try to foster a rabbit and see how your cat reacts. A large rabbit might be best since tiny and fast animals might encourage the predator instinct.