bunnies and parrots

Owlet

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So I've been rather obsessed with house rabbits for the last couple years. I'm not intending on getting a pair anytime soon but it is definitely something I want to do.

They wouldnt have direct access to each other BUT heres what my possible plan is.

As of now I need to live with my parents due to my mental health issues. Right now i live in the upstairs portion and I have my bedroom and the bird room. I do not pay rent right now. I have discussed with my parents about once I get a proper job I could move into our basement and begin paying rent. Our basement isnt really a basement in the traditional sense. So it would be a rather comfy living area. Theres the main area and a bedroom. The main area is rather large. I want to build a divider (likely just made out of wood and wire mesh) in the main area so its split into two. One side would be the bird area (would be more space than the current bird room) and the other side would be effectively my living room. I would intend to have the rabbits free roam between the "living room" and my bedroom. They would also have a "home base" or pen in the living room for when I'm away/sleeping.

Now my primary concern is the hay. If you dont know rabbits require hay 24/7 and its 80% of their diet. And as you probably do know, hay causes a lot of dust and allergies. My worry is that the hay would affect my birds' respiratory system. If it works out I would like to feed the rabbits orchard hay which is supposedly better on the allergy/dust level than the standard Timothy hay, but it really depends on what the rabbits will eat.

I have an air purifier for the birds right now, but I think I would be getting a more heavy duty one since itll be a bigger living space anyways.

What are your guys' thoughts on the hay issues? Do you have rabbits and birds? how do you manage it?

Obviously the birds come first since they're already here and will be with me for life.
 

HannahandSunny

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I don’t think there will be much of an issue to be honest. I don’t think the hay would cause a concern to the birds health, however I would more slightly worry about the dander effecting the rabbits respiratory health. In saying that, in a well ventilated room it’s really shouldn’t be an issue as long as you keep up with all the constant cleaning of the animals. I have kept Guinea pigs and a birds in the same room and pretty much next to each. I did worry about the cockatiel dander and dust but as far as I can tell, no harm was caused.
And my piggies also have hay 24/7
:)
 
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SailBoat

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Basement is a very general term and covers several major variations.

That said, they all come under very specific building /use codes that must be considered for use as living /sleeping space. Ventilation is a critical item as air in basements can become sedimentary and become a collection /gathering point i.e. stale, potentially polluted air. The second is having an emergency escape, commonly resolved with a specially designed window with ladder inside and access outside for the sleeping room.

IMHO, rabbits are not a good choice as an indoor pet as their general needs are not a good match with ones home /apartment let alone a basement.
 

BirdyBee

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IMHO, rabbits are not a good choice as an indoor pet as their general needs are not a good match with ones home /apartment let alone a basement.
Rabbits actually do better indoors than outdoors.
 

SailBoat

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Rabbits actually do better indoors than outdoors.

I can agree that they likely do better indoors. But, IMHO in a home /apartment just not a great setting especially in a basement. Just not seeing the fit, remembering that everything that goes down, has to come back up and in a slightly different form. So, we are likely going to have to agree to disagree on this one dear friend.
 

BirdyBee

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I can agree that they likely do better indoors. But, IMHO in a home /apartment just not a great setting especially in a basement. Just not seeing the fit, remembering that everything that goes down, has to come back up and in a slightly different form. So, we are likely going to have to agree to disagree on this one dear friend.
I understand.

@Owlet maybe it's better to wait a few years. I think basements have less filtration, which mean more dust for birds and bunnies, which isn't good for either, especially as you said bunnies make a lot of dust.
 
OP
Owlet

Owlet

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Basement is a very general term and covers several major variations.

That said, they all come under very specific building /use codes that must be considered for use as living /sleeping space. Ventilation is a critical item as air in basements can become sedimentary and become a collection /gathering point i.e. stale, potentially polluted air. The second is having an emergency escape, commonly resolved with a specially designed window with ladder inside and access outside for the sleeping room.

IMHO, rabbits are not a good choice as an indoor pet as their general needs are not a good match with ones home /apartment let alone a basement.
As I said, it isnt a basement in the traditional sense. It's not underground like most basements and it's essentially just our bottem most floor. There are 2 ground level doors leading outside. 2 big windows where the birds would be (screened in) another window in the bedroom, and another window in the storage room. The space is currently being used as an office for my mom and brother and my brother is using the bedroom. Before that the room was a guest room/hang out area Theres a fully equipped bathroom down there too. The only real difference from it and the other floors is it stays a little cooler which I am equipped to handle in winters
 
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Owlet

Owlet

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Regardless of if I get bunnies or not my intentions are to still move into the basement. I do not think any concerns mentioned about basements really pertain to mine.
It would give the birds more space, I could provide more out of cage time and it would be infinitely easier to clean. Right now Lincolns cage does not fit through my door way so I would have to partially disassemble it if I want to take it out for a power wash. It makes cleaning really difficult and it's hard to get into the little nooks and crannies of the cage and it sorely needs a power wash. Having it downstairs I could more easily take it outside as it would fit through one of the sliding glass doors down there. In addition, the current room they are in is carpeted which is infamously annoying and difficult to clean, the basement is something else. I dont remember what exactly it's called but I can ask my parents. It is not a cold cement floor. Theres also some personal non-bird related reasons I would like it.

Our basement is NOT some cold dark area where dust and spiders congregate, I promise. It's a proper living area just short of a kitchen. My parents have discussed fitting it with a small kitchen and renting it out in the past.
 

Briburd

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This isn’t an answer to the question really but more like a oh by the way. I bring Mojito my GCC to work a few days out of the week. I work at an animal care center. He hangs out in our exotic room and quite often there are rabbits there for boarding. The center has been boarding pocket pets and birds in the same room, obviously in their own separate enclosures, safely for years. Sometimes when I let Mojito hang outside of his cage supervised. He gets a little too curious of the bunnies and flys towards them or onto their enclosures…even try’s to poop on them(naughty boy). I’d say your biggest concerns is a case of birdy curiosity.
 

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