Rabbit owners

[mom31257]

Would anyone that owns a rabbit be willing to share their experience and what it takes to care for one? Any positives or negatives?

 

Here's our situation:

Our kids have had no pets, and we really wish they did. We don't have the money for a fenced in yard, and we don't want to put a dog on a leash. We go visit family often and are busy out some, so we really don't want an indoor dog. We're not cat people, either.

 

A friend son's has a rabbit, and it sounded like a good option for us. She said they left it with an extra large water bottle and extra food and were gone for 10 days. We've never been gone quite that long. She said her son does take it out of it's cage and play with it, too, which was appealing to me. I never wanted the kids to have fish or something like that because I just didn't see the point.

 

Thanks for any tips or advice!

[LAS in LA]

We had a number of (outdoor) rabbits when I was younger. I don't know what my parents did when we went away, but probably someone was checking on the house and also feeding/watering them. I don't think they were as pampered as the pp's pets. :001_smile: I'm pretty sure they never went to the vet. We enjoyed playing with them in the yard occassionally. I'm thinking that handling them early in life and often after that results in a tamer pet that enjoys being handled.

[Samiam]

Ten days!??! Umm, that seems extreme, and I wouldn't use that as a viable source!

 

We had a rabbit. He was the cutest little guy. We kept him in our loft (wasn't a true loft, just a big open room upstairs in the center of all bedrooms). During most days, we were upstairs schooling and/or playing with toys in the loft area. Dog was not allowed upstairs. Cat was roaming. We let Bunny out of the cage, and he was allowed to roam the loft. We shut all other doors so he could not get anywhere else. He would check out the cat, and the cat mostly ignore him. He would venture near me when I was on the floor, but mostly avoided my boys. He wasn't much of snuggler, but I think that was just because none of us bothered to hold him much. He would do okay, when I held him, but mostly it was like he just froze. He did like to follow me around though. When we moved, we kept him in our master bathroom (it was huge and only room that we could fence off from the big dumby Lab), and he would stay by my feet as I walked around getting ready.

 

He was littered trained, for urine. So while he wandered out of his cage a good portion of his day, he never peed on the floor once he was trained. But poop, omg, poop. He tried to go poop in the litter box, but I guess, like many "rodents", they just poop as they move, because he certainly did poop quite a bit on the floor. It was round pellets, very easy to clean, no stain, etc...but still, it was poop.

 

As far as his cage, we got him a nice 3 story deluxe cage. He had a litter box in the corner of that, he mostly used. The cage had a wire floor, where droppings, etc fell to a slide out pan. Most of what was in the pan was food,,he was a messy eater. I cleaned his cage and changed his litter about every 4-5 days. Super easy.

 

Overall, he was a great little pet. I would have liked to have an outside area where we could have taken him, supervised, but we didn't have any sort of fencing at all.

 

His one downfall: He would not stop chewing my baseboards. I blocked them off, I bought him chew toys, nope, he still found a way to get to the baseboards. That did not make my DH happy at all.

 

We moved to a one story house, and had no good place to keep him so that he would have room to roam. We had to keep him in our master bath, which was huge and attached to the closet, again huge, so he had some space. But since we never went there during the day, and you know, one doesn't tend to spend alot of time in the bathroom, he was pretty much by himself alot. And then there was that baseboard issue again!!

 

We ended up giving him to another HS family. Last I heard, they gave him free roam of the house!!

 

ps. Wanted to say, that we always got a sitter for ours if we left for longer than a night. Easy to find someone to care for him. Friends, other HSers, etc.

[Liz CA]

Rabbits are pretty easy to care for and get very friendly with lots of interaction.

I had one as a kid and my ds had one. Both lived to about 7-8 years.

These were the dwarf varieties.

You have to keep them out of direct sunlight or they can be dead within hours, other than that, there is nothing difficult about having a little bunny - if you are okay with little pellets in the house. Some people have even trained their bunnies to use a litter box. I have no experience with that, however. :001_smile:

[specialmama]

I've had rabbits growing up, and had one a few years ago. Honestly, I'd look into guinea pigs, they're much more social and bite less. Rabbits do startle to death quite easily, their teeth are very long so when they do bite, they can do some damage. They're a bit harder to tame too... unless you get a baby and hand feed it a lot. Both rabbits and guinea pigs have distinct odours and you really need to stay on top of cleaning their cages. I agree with previous posters that 10 days is too long. We went away for 3-4 weeks but we had someone come over every other day to change the water and wood shavings.

[CLBMom]

We have 2 rabbits. Both males. One is an albino dwarf and the other a mini rex. They did not get along at all till we had them neutered. Now they are are ok to roam the house together but prefer their own "homes" and litter boxes. They are litter trained completely with urine and they try with the poop lol The rex was allergic to pellets so they both get a natural diet of veggies, hay and a little fruit. I usually feed them 2-3 times a day. If they were on pellets they probably wouldn't need to be fed so often. Litter boxes get changed every other day and entire cage cleaned every 5-7 days. They both have very different personalities. The albino doesn't roam much and likes to cuddle. The rex is always busy and trying to get into something. He loves to jump in our bed lol. I would say care wise it's not as much as a dog, more like a cat except not so much attitude and you can cage them up for awhile lol. I have 3 kids and no bites yet but we have had them since they were about 6 weeks old. We also have 2 dogs and a parrot in the house. It's a bit of a zoo but it's fun!

[Bensmom]

We had a similar experience as was mentioned...roaming bunny loved to eat baseboards (even though we had woodblocks in his sleeping area)! He even found a loose piece of wall paper and began pulling it off the wall (I hated that paper anyway;)) Our clothing was also pretty tasty to him and we had to watch or he would begin nibbling that too. He was neutered and super sweet and easy to care for. We have cats and the bunny litterbox trained himself to their box. He liked to be held and would lay on his back while I rocked him to sleep. BUT....we will not have another one...their life expectancy it too short. I had two when I was growing up and then one for our son. None of them lived past four years. The two in my childhood developed respiratory problems so our son's was indoor only (no nice playtime outdoors) and he died at 3 years. We did not do an autopsy, but always assumed that he ate something he shouldn't have while he was roaming the house. He was quite the nibbler.

[Desert Rat]

My 8yo loved our rabbit. I hated the thing. We had a netherland dwarf. She was darling and cute and sweet. She was also into everything, destructive, messy and smelly. The burden of caring for her fell to me. I was resentful. She had a tooth problem where her teeth didn't rub together like they should so the became like tusks. We had to have her put under every six weeks for them to trim her teeth. It cost $75 each time. She would come out of anesthesia worse and worse each time. We finally made the decision to put her down. It wasn't a monetary thing even though that was a lot of money when we were unemployed. It was bad for the poor little thing.

My 8yo still mourns her. I regret ever getting her. I made a rule of no mammals after that (the boys are allergic to dogs and cats). I've sinced caved and gotten mice. I love them!

The rabbit was just too much mess and smell for me.

Sorry to be a bummer.

[DianeW88]

I've owned bunnies on and off through the years, and honestly....they're kind of fragile. They tend to die easily...often suddenly, with no explanation.

 

Their digestive systems are very sensitive and we've had to take bunnies to the vet more than once for tummy issues...and a regular dog and cat vet isn't adequate for rabbits. You need to find one who specializes in bunny care. Their systems and the medications they can take are radically different, and a vet without specialized training can easily kill a rabbit. And rabbit vets are expensive.

 

I can honestly say that our Holland lop was the sweetest, most affectionate, social and loving pet we ever had, and we loved her fiercely. She was also the most difficult to care for and did the most damage to our home. As others have mentioned, bunnies chew EVERYTHING. And they poop...non-stop. Which is necessary for their health (we always had to make sure there were adequate poos, the right shape and size), but not fun for the owner. Our bunny was litter trained, and "free-range" (she HATED her cage, so was never in it), but the poos still "escaped" the bunny randomly (they're easy to clean up...little pellets). and you'll find them everywhere.

 

Keeping a rabbit locked in a cage or hutch all the time is cruel. They need to hop around for exercise and for their health. They will develop problems if they're never allowed to do that. Free-ranging time is important for them.

 

Also, your rabbit MUST be spayed or neutered. If not, your female rabbit is 90% likely to get uterine cancer and your male rabbit will be mean, bite frequently and mark his territory with nasty smelling urine...not to mention constantly trying to mate with your hand, your foot, etc. Fixed bunnies are much, much nicer. Spaying a female rabbit here costs well over $300. Something they don't often tell you before you purchase one.

 

Bunnies are wonderful pets, but they require a level of specialized care that not all people are aware of before they acquire one. Here's a great website to help you out. Check out the "health" pages so you can see what you might be in for if you become a rabbit owner. http://www.rabbit.org/care/index.html

 

http://www.myhouserabbit.com/

 

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/behavior/dothat.html

 

In short...a cat is fifty times easier. :lol:

Edited October 28, 2011 by DianeW88

[Desert Rat]

You said what I meant to say in a much nicer way, Diane. Thank you.

[Remudamom]

Wow, I've been thinking of getting a bunny and letting it live with my chickens. I think I'll forget about it.

[vettechmomof2]

We have 3 indoor mini rex rabbits. all in seperate cages, all with seperate play times. 2 are litter trained and 1 would be but then she throws all of the litter and mess out of her box right away so we took away her boxes.

My daughters male is the sweetest guy. Never a spraying issue, used the box the first night he was home with us and is just great.

He has 2 litterboxes and they get changed daily. He is a cardboard chewer so makes a mess with cardboard. He is 7 years old now. He was an ex show bunny.

My female is sweet beyond belief. Goes to lectures with me on animal care, used as a training bunny,etc. BUT WILL NOT KEEP HER LITTERBOX CLEAN. She is 3 years old.Frustrating! She is a wood chewer. cares nothing for cardboard.

My son's is a timid but sweet rabbit. She likes either cardboard or wood to chew. Loves the family but is shy with strangers.

None of ours bite. They are used to the noise of our household, which is a lot. They are stinky(urine smells) but we change the litterboxes daily and that really does help. They are not that difficult to care for , IF they have no health issues. We cut their nails monthly and brush them when they are blowing their coat. Otherwise play time is the most difficult for us as we have to lock up our cats while the bunnies are playing.

Each rabbit has their own large cage. The male has a 4 level, my female has the smallest as we have not had luck with her in larger cages (we tried many types) and my son's has a 2 story but extra wide cage. We use puppy play pens for play time.

If we did ever allow another bunny it would be 1 only due to space and play time allowances. I am happy with the personalities of the 3 that we have though but I enjoy the cats and dogs more.

[Socalmom]

We adopted a rabbit from the House Rabbit Society in August. If you have an organization like this near you, I highly recommend them. Our rabbit is around 1 year old and was in a foster home before we got her. She was neutered, litter box trained, and lived in a home with a dog. Her adoption fee ($65) also included a visit to a local vet that is experienced with rabbits. We went to their shop and they introduced us to 8 different bunnies that they thought would be a good fit for us. We knew her temperament when we got her. We were able to buy all of her supplies at a discounted price from them.

 

She lives in a pen in our family room. Her litter box has carefresh and hay in it and is changed every other day. It doesn't smell bad. She hasn't pooped anywhere else and she is out of her pen several times a day. She's not a big chewer but does like my wicker baskets. We have to watch her or she will nibble the edges. She gets along great with our dog. She eats mostly hay, 1/4 cup of pellets a day, and a handful of mixed greens every day. I couldn't imagine her being alone for more than a day or 2.

 

So far, we have enjoyed having her. My DH isn't 100% sold on rabbit ownership. He likes dogs. I do catch him cuddling our bunny and baby talking to her though. :001_smile:

 

Margie

[mom31257]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I guess my friend just got lucky with a super easy bunny. I don't think I'm ready to take on one at this point, though. I really, really wish we had a way to have a dog. That's what we would want the most.

[Pippen]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I guess my friend just got lucky with a super easy bunny. I don't think I'm ready to take on one at this point, though. I really, really wish we had a way to have a dog. That's what we would want the most.

 

I suspect if your friend left her bunny alone for ten days without anyone checking on it, she made it into an easy pet for herself. Most of us rabbit owners wouldn't leave a rabbit alone for anywhere near that length of time. When we leave town our rabbits are checked on twice a day, and more often during hot weather which can be dangerous to them.

 

Our rabbits live in the garage, but get a lot of interaction with us out there and with bringing them into an enclosed area in the house. They've been low cost pets for us--no spaying or neutering and we just know there will potential risks. They are very social animals and ours become sad if they don't get enough attention. Our female used to have an attitude (she'd give me the cold shoulder if I hadn't been out to pet her or bring her an apple slice). Our male is more easy going about attention but he doesn't like to be held (they're prey animals and many don't like holding).

 

We love having rabbits.

[bbkaren]

We raise meat rabbits (~10 lbs) and they're cute and furry and nice. The babies are absolutely heart-wrenchingly adorable.

 

The males can reach 3' out of the cage with their urine stream. They'll chew anything they can find. The mixture of their urine and poo has an aroma that will really stay with you unless you give their enclosure daily attention (we don't; they're meat rabbits and live in wire hutches for this reason. Everything drops through the wire and we clean up from the shed floor after the chickens have picked through it.)

 

A small rabbit I imagine would probably be on the level of care as a hamster.

 

It's difficult for me to imagine leaving a rabbit alone for ten days. When we go away someone comes daily to change their water and give them grain and hay (we feed naturally, not pellets).

 

If you're not absolutely meticulous in keeping males and females apart, you will have babies 32-35 days later. Seriously. A 2-minute meeting is all it takes; rabbits' ovulation is triggered by the act of mating, so with few exceptions, if they mate, they've made babies.

 

It's easy to suddenly wind up with dozens of rabbits, literally. So for a pet, I'd suggest one...or if you're getting two make sure they're the same gender or cage them separately.

 

A rabbit's back legs and claws are powerful weapons and I have scars down the front of me to prove it. It'll get kicking and unless you're able to pull it into you and restrain it, someone's getting hurt and it's usually the human.

 

They don't generally bite (we've had hundreds and I've never been bitten unless mistakenly when giving a treat, etc.) and with handling, can make fairly nice pets.

 

But in terms of hygiene, be prepared to spend considerably more time than you would on a cat. And in my opinion a cat is an immeasurably better pet, even if you're not a cat person. Seriously, a cat will grow on you - a rabbit will just...be there.

 

Just my $.02; take it for what it's worth.

[bbkaren]

Wow, I've been thinking of getting a bunny and letting it live with my chickens. I think I'll forget about it.

 

If you let a rabbit live with your chickens, get a female; a male will literally hump the feathers off the chickens. Ask how I know :)

[Nakia]

We had 2 rabbits a few years ago. I could not stand them after the "new" wore off a couple weeks after we got them. They are stinky and were not near as friendly as our other pets. We have, or have had, mice, rats, chickens, cats, dogs, and a snake. I prefer any of those over the rabbits.

 

I find it appalling that someone would leave any animal at home for 10 days without someone at least checking in on it every day.

[Nakia]

If you let a rabbit live with your chickens, get a female; a male will literally hump the feathers off the chickens. Ask how I know :)

 

Our rabbits were both females and they humped each other continually. Do you think it might be more of a dominance issue than a s*xual thing?

[DianeW88]

Our rabbits were both females and they humped each other continually. Do you think it might be more of a dominance issue than a s*xual thing?

 

It is a dominance thing. If you get them spayed, they are much nicer, friendlier pets. Unfortunately, no one who sells rabbbits tells this to the buyers. Because who would buy one after you learn spaying a female will cost over $300?

[Sandragood1]

We went through this process last year about this time. Dd wanted a small furry pet to snuggle and Play with. We checked out all the rodent-like critters: rabbits, hamsters (all types), gerbils, rats, ferrets, and guinea pigs.

 

I nixed the rats - cannot abide their tails - and ferrets. Of the remaining the guinea pigs are the most friendly, cuddly, and easy-going. You do have to have 2 of them, though. My dd picked them out Christmas Eve. Moonpie and S'more. They have been wonderful. We feed them treats from the kitchen in addition to their kibble. They love cucumber skin, carrot tops, and other crunchy salad leftovers. They don't try to escape and only bite your finger if they mistake it for tomato. Bites don't really hurt. The skin doesn't break.

 

Anyway, I am surprised to find that I really like them.

 

Sanda

[OrganicAnn]

Thought you might enjoy this blog by Amy Sedaris

 

http://therabbitadvocate.blogspot.com/2011/07/bunny-lessons-from-amy-sedaris.html

[Pippen]

They don't generally bite (we've had hundreds and I've never been bitten unless mistakenly when giving a treat, etc.) and with handling, can make fairly nice pets.

 

Our first rabbit went through a period where she'd occasionally nip my daughter, for no apparent reason. She'd be sitting in her lap seeming perfectly happy and just bite her.

 

We use a wire hutch but since it's in the garage I use Carefresh Pet Bedding in the catch tray. It helps a lot to control odors.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Our daughter, Adelyn, has a bunny. He's cute, sweet, and everyone enjoys him. He does love to chew cords, so those have to be picked up when he's roaming. And, his cage needs to be cleaned out every day or so, or it gets quite stinky.