I wasn't feeling well today and slept for 6 hours. When I awoke and got out of bed, I was startled by a little black and tan streak--Buttercup--who made a mad beeline for her room. Apparently I didn't lock her pen and she pushed the door open. The damage a bunny can sometimes do in ten minutes is frightening, so picture 6 hours of freedom. I was amazed to find that all of my cords and wires were intact, along with the furniture. I was shocked, given my long history of rabbits and chewed charging cords, air conditioner cords, lamp cords, laptop cords, not to mention chewed coffee tables and sofa slipcovers. (And that damage was done under adult supervision.)
I sheepishly admit that my first instinct was to put her back in her pen, which I did momentarily, and then I let her out again. I never had a free-roam rabbit and always wanted one, because I feel guilty caging anything. (My birds live in a cage, but their door is always open and they have unlimited flying privileges.) With a dog or a cat it's different because they generally are not major destroyers. A rabbit's mission in life is ostensibly to chew everything in its path-- although sometimes rabbits don't.
Buttercup was free-roam with her previous family; there was no reason that she couldn't continue to be as long as she left no wreckage in her wake. She was out all day long. Turns out she really likes sleeping under my bed. After hours of exploring, she went back to her room on her own because she knows that's her space. She sat in the litter box outside her pen, chewing hay. She let me pet her for a long time, no longer afraid I would lock her up.
So, barring any complications, Buttercup will have the run of the house. Who knew?