Daughter wants a bunny.

[clare]

Hi all,my little girl loves bunnies and has always wanted one as a pet.I have waited until she is old enough to do the work and understand that they can bite etc so her 8th birthday present is a bunny!!It is in december but we are saving now for the things and when we get to the school summer holidays we are hoping to get one.Hubby is building a run and we are buying the hutch as he says wood is so expensive now it is cheaper to buy one.I looked into a rescue but the rspca are so stringent in the home visit I don't think we would pass,purely because we are using chicken wire for the run and shutting bunny in at night to protect from foxes.They say they must have 24/7 access to the outdoor even if that means being eaten!!and they say the wire must be square mesh not chicken wire(we already have loads of c/wire) and must be buried in the ground a foot down round the run,we want to be able to move the run so the grass doesn't get stripped.
Does anyone keep rabbits as pets?do you get them vaccinated?I understand lops and mini lops are the friendliest.Any advice would be welcome....thanks....
Clare

[doofaloofa]

My daughter has a harness for her bunny and takes her for walks. She also tethers her on the lawn, much to the amusment of the cats



I think rabbits are great if you have veg waste, bolted veggies etc, and thier spoilt bedding is a great asset to the compost heap

Remember they are social, so take well to company and plenty of gentle handling. They can also be house trained, thopugh males smell. Males can be neutered.

I would get the bunny vaccinated, to be sure
Good luck and happy bunny owning

[oldjerry]

A couple of students I once knew in Luton had a house rabbit that never went outside,always used a litter tray,and seemed happy and healthy.
Currently my 6 yr old has a rabbit(Dash) that lives outside off the ground,but spends dry days in an outside run on the only remaining bit of lawn I haven't dug up.Didn't want 2 rabbits,so he lives a batchelor lifestyle with his best mate (Owen) a guinea pig.
Used to keep Angoras,quite profitable,but very time consuming,might go back to them when (if) I live to be seriously old.Do the vaccinations,be aware that lop eared coneys get more probs with mites,but they're not that hard to get rid of.Enjoy.

[diggernotdreamer]

I keep rabbits, they live in with the chickens, always have kept rabbits and chickens together, they have a hutch in the chicken shed and we have a run about 50ft by 20ft and the chickens get let out into the meadow mid day so the rabbits have the place to themselves. We certainly do shut them in at night, there are foxes, pine martins and mink round here and I couldn't bear to lose anything

Just a suggestion, why not have a hutched run, ie the hutch is above the the run and they get up into it via a slope, chicken wire it top and bottom, then they still have access day and night, as for digging in, I used to board rabbits and guinea pigs and did not want to lose them, I also had to move the runs around to fresh ground; to make sure they didn't get out and nothing got in, I had pieces of chain link fence cut larger than the runs and stood them on top, they could still eat the grass, but could not burrow out, in years of keeping chickens, and on sandy soil which is much easier to dig, I never had a fox dig through into a run. I would agree with Doofa, get two rabbits, most animals like a companion and if you have wild rabbits around you can get vaccinated, when I lived in a town, I didn't bother as we never got wild ones in our totally enclosed garden. My rabbits eat whole barley, mixed corn and whatever I am feeding the chickens, they get hay and any weeds and veg, they love woody prunings too, especially apple wood. Have you go another local rescue that takes in all sorts, I am not sure of RSPCA criteria everywhere, but it often depends on the local group and who does their home checks.

[doofaloofa]

I would agree with Doofa, get two rabbits

Well two rabbits would be ideal, but I find them to be quite unfussy about companions. as has been stated in this thread they will befriend cats, and I have heard of them playing with dogs as well

One reason i like the idea of a house bunny is they can come and find company when they want it. Also they can be extreamly entertaining

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HiO9rzU_aw

[safronsue]

We got our 8 year old a dutch bunny many years ago in the uk and it gave us so much pleasure. Legs can be a bit kicky and sratchy when cuddling but ours never bit. He would follow people around the garden and generally be super cute. He had a hutch and a run but was usually free in the conservatory and used a litter tray. The fox got him when we left him with friends.

[trinder]

There are also lots of videos on utube of people training rabbits using "clicker training". Try this short one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9poWbBG-GM

[Niele da Kine]

We keep angora rabbits for their fiber and sell the occasional bunny to folks looking to start a bunny herd of their own or to have a pet that provides fiber for yarn. Over the years the biggest predator of the bunnies that have been sold has been dogs. IMHO, chicken wire isn't going to slow down a dog much at all. One stray dog and you won't have a pet anymore. If you can provide the bunny with a very secure hiding spot that a bunny can get to and a dog can not, your bunny might have a chance if a dog breaks in. Maybe some sort of very sturdy metal or wooden box with a tunnel for an entrance so dogs can't get in. We have border collies as livestock protection dogs so that keeps stray dogs away and we haven't lost any bunnies to predators.

A mini-Rex might be a good choice for a child's pet. They are small, easily handled and very soft. All the ones I've met have been very docile, too, although I've not met many of them.