Rabbit Burrowing

Question
Dear Katie,

I have two dwarf nederland sisters (my daughter's rabbits). They are about two years old. They live outside in a nice hutch and they have an grassy enclosure which is about 6 meters by 4 meters. They are out of the hutch for three or four hours every day, longer at weekends.

They have just started burrowing and I have some technical questions about burrowing.

How far will they go?
Will they share the same burrows?
Is there any danger of them getting trapped underground?
How do they decide when to tuen left or right,  at the moment they have gone about one metre in a straight line?
If I stop them burrowing e.g. cover the entrance,  will it cause them distress?
I hope this is not too much to ask all at once!

I am concerned that if they borrow outside the area of their enclosure they may get out on to the road via the neighbour's garden or become prey to a predator e.g. urban fox.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards

Paul Livingston

Answer
Hi Paul,
Rabbits are instinctive burrowers, remember that in the wild they live underground so all their wild instincts will tell them to burrow and what to do if they get stuck, how to turn round etc, so this is nothing to worry about.
Try digging their enclosure deep into the ground so that if they burrow they cannot escape, this will not distress them, but will just teach them there's no way out!
Hope this helps.
Katie