To get a load of bunnies for the kids?

[JoanCollected]

Any rabbit owners who do it properly here who can advise me? I have finally agreed to get rabbits for my daughter and other kids. Mostly daughter (9) as she loves animals and has proven to be very responsible minding other pets and animals, as well as being organised and mature in general. I’ve tried googling and have a pretty good idea but it’s not the same as hints from real owners in the context of my own set up.

Ive an omlet run which I’ve bought a long tunnel and additional fox proof run off it for them to be in safely. They will be in a larger area that is chicken fenced and walled full of grass and trees. My chickens live there and I am planning to slowly introduce them to each other. (Anyone ever done this?).

Bunnies would be able to dig out of the area when let loose, but anyone know if I can get them to imprint enough on their big fenced area to at least go back or stay close when given freedom? We could only let them loose when supervised but ideally I like them to have as much freedom as possible while making sure they’re in their safe runs at night.

I think we’ve loads of space for 4 but is 2 better to make pets of? Would they be less friendly if they’ve more of their own buddies?

im planning on wood shavings in their hut as I’ve loads for my chickens. Is there anything easier for cleaning? Or better for bunnies?

I haven’t a good or water dish yet, any recommendations?

Anyone know if they are wise enough not to fall into a pond?

Thanks for any advice.

X rabbit owner here.

Last one lived to 15 years old !!

They're not good pets for kids, some will tolerate being handled if they are a) very used to it (ie: house rabbits) and b) just happen to be placid or too nervous to struggle.

If they're not happy to be handled they'll kick and/or bite which isn't a nice experience for children and can put them off pets for life!

They will chose a toilet area which you need to keep very clean. (guinea pigs poo anywhere and eveywhere but rabbits like a poo area)

If you don't keep them spotless they can get fly strike which is hard to spot at the beginning if they're free range. Please look up fly strike OP. And be brave enough to look at the awful pictures.

Even if you do keep them spotlessly a hot summer and bit of runny poo for a day can lead to fly strike. You have to be so vigilant.

Rabbits can suffer from flea bites like cats and dogs.

They need their teeth looking after otherwise they can't eat and will starve.

They have sensitive stomachs and if there is a digestive problem and don't eat for more than 12/24 hours irreparable harm can happen to their gut. Again if they're free range (which is the kindest way to keep them) it can be hard to spot this in time.

Being a prey animal in the wild they are good at 'hiding' illnesses and it is often too late once you see a change.

In my experience some dig when free range and some don't.

If it’s fox proof, you should be able to let them run free all the time.

Please consider a rescued pair. They will be ready vaccinated and neutered if you want male/ female bonded pair and they may even like being handled! The rescue would be able to give you lots of advice and support too.

Rabbits like being in a group, so I think 4 would be a good number. I had one as a child which with hindsight is incredibly cruel. As others have said they need space and things to explore. I think hamsters or guinea pigs might be better for your daughter, much easier

Been there done that. If you really want a garden pet. Guinea pigs are really a better idea. I know it's not what you want. But rabbits are hard work. Especially in the winter!

We have rabbits, inside ones though so slightly different.
Neutering, can't remember exact prices but roughly £100 each, huge difference in price depending on the vet practice.

There are specific rabbit rescues that would be worth looking into.

We have 3. 1 can be picked up, likes to play with my DD with a stick, acts like a little grumpy old man. 2, took months to be able to touch her but now loves to be stroked, can't pick her up at all. 3, sits likes a cat on my daughters chair and you could carry it about all day with it being happy

Some vets do a pet plan, where you can pay £8-10 monthly to include price of their vaccinations, nail trimming, some nurse check ups etc.

Ours are litter trained which makes cleaning much easier, they have litter trays made out of shallow under bed storage boxes with paper litter and hay in.

Guinea pigs are more friendly and they don’t mind being manhandled.

I got one from a farmer in Spain. He was lovely little fella but they are really hard to care for.
To be honest I'd be more inclined towards rats or a hamster as a first kids pet!

Rabbits are one of the most neglected animals in the U.K. Rescues are over-run with them because people think they are easy pets. I’m afraid I’m another one saying I would not recommend them. I got one from a rescue for me and DD and it’s recently passed away and as much as I had a soft spot for her crazy ways, I most definitely would never get another.
Would recommend a piggy herd though of female guinea pigs but they will need cleaning out lots and they wee everywhere!

Will just add - IME a lot of vets aren't very clued up on detailed rabbit health.

They are lagamorphs which are a class (genus/species?) of their own. Our otherwise wonderful vet told me freely lagas are often times rushed through/overlooked somewhat in training. Some vets do specialise/have a special interest.

When one of our bunnies got an abscess we had to find a good rabbit vet and it cost 1k to fix.

Honestly I would consider rat.
They are very smart and very sociable.

Rabbits are cute, but as other suggested could be more difficult to handle etc.

What about dog if she's responsible?
Something smaller?

i think rabbits suffer far more than people realise when they are kept as pets. The only advantage of rabbits over GPs is that they shit in one place so you can use a litter tray whereas GPs just log out wherever they please. GPs over rabbits any day. Provided you keep the oxalate foods down in GPs, the bills are likely to be less/non existent

Guinea pigs are rodents too.

What about rats? fantastic pets, uber intelligent. love to play and are very clean

There are rabbit rescues all over the country!
A rescue would be able to find you a bonded, neutered pair, or group, and would be able to help you find the best match for your family.

Rabbits are not good pets and it's almost impossible to give them a decent quality of life in captivity. Please don't buy them.

They also really enjoy human company. Rats are a vastly underrated pet and far better than hamsters and gerbils. (who are also wonderful, but aren't actually suited to being pets)

Rabbits as a child and they were just awful, guinea pigs weren't great either as not very friendly and needed a lot of work (poo machines basically). We now have gerbils and they are so lovely and so easy to look after. Ours are learning tricks and are very affectionate (and very funny).

My DD won’t get bored

Famous last words. She's 9. Give it 2-3 years until she's in high school. You won't see her for dust.

My best friend has rabbits and they have a whole room in her house. They are a lot of work. And need a lot of space a hutch isn’t enough space really and the Omelet runs I wouldn’t trust to be fox proof as nothing ever is.

Rabbits can be hard work. Years ago, we kept chickens and rabbits as a commercial hobby. White rabbits, white meat and white fur that took dye well. [Like I said it was a while ago]. We gave up the rabbits and increased the hens. Much hardier creatures, better prices for eggs.

Look at all types. Smaller scale as well. My friend rescued all four of her bunnies. They are out there.

We used to keep rescue rabbits.
Your set up sounds great.
We took bonded pairs usually. They lived in a garage which had a cat flap fitted and they were in at night. They had wooden crates stuffed with hay, ramps. old chimney pots as tunnels, large plant pots to hide in. A heat bar in winter.
During the day they would spend time in the garden. Running, hiding, sleeping.
I loved looking out and seeing long legs peeping out from under a hedge.
I love the big New Zealand whites.
We didn’t really pick them up. Sit beside them stroke them, hand feed them.
Keep them to a healthy weight, helps them to be able to properly clean themselves and reduce the risk of fly strike. Keep their toilet area very clean, again flystrike. We had a couple suffer this and it is horrific. I caught it early enough and both were saved but it cost a fortune and the rabbits were in distress, both were female and both very overweight when we got them due to being in tiny hutches and fed too much, but basically someone’s child’s unwanted pet, as most rescue rabbits are.
The importance of a bonded pair is crucial.
They groom each other constantly which again keeps them healthy. They genuinely love each other and have each others back. They feel settled and safe with one another. Ours never attempted to dig out and if anything they didn’t like came into the garden they would bolt back into the garage through the cat flap and wait it out. Cats came to investigate but these were large rabbits and they were not scared by a cat. We had terriers and they liked them. Sometimes our small terrier would go to visit them through the cat flap to sit with them or to look for a carrot to pinch. I absolutely loved keeping them. A lot of cost and work but if you love it then it’s worth it.

I had a rabbit. Took him from a friend who found it as a teeny baby in her garden as her neighbours just let theirs breed (they don't anymore, they were all taken off them). How naive was I? He was a legend, raised alongside my dog, had his own paddling pool in the summer, and seeked out hugs, used to nudge you if you dared ignore him BUT he had the run of the entire garden all of the time, it was secure to start with but required adaptations. Started with a hutch and ended up with a multiple level shed. His diet was expensive, a variety of fresh alongside his expensive nuggets lol. Had to adapt the garden with every season change so he had areas to shelter from the cold and heat. We were at the vets fairly regularly because they are so stoic but you notice the runny poos and change in eating habits. He was litter trained so had a huge tray in a corner of the garden and one in his shed. We loved him but he was definitely harder work than the dog. He needed company so we spent a lot of time outside in the garden in all weather's if he didn't fancy coming in.
We adored him, he was one of a kind and so so full of personality. We were never short of offers to house sit when we went away because of him. I will not be getting a other one, can't cope with the heartbreak for a start and they require so much work, well in our circumstances they do.
If you have a good set up already then go for it... maybe not 4 though!
Thank you for giving me an excuse to rabbit on about mine 😊 we loved him so much.

I’m a rabbit owner. Previously had two but now only have one (and two dogs!) as he fought with the other rabbit.

Our bun is now 10 and over the years has been both a garden rabbit and a house rabbit. He’s now a house rabbit with access to our garden. I would never allow him to be free range unsupervised. Your run set-up sounds fine. We no longer have a pond but when we did many years ago, he did fall into it once (he was fine, but same can’t be said for all rabbits!).

Agree with PP that rabbits really do make shit pets for small children. They’re quite a lot of work for not much ROI. My husband and I love and appreciate our bun a lot, but the joy we get out of him would be boring to a child - laughing at him sleeping in the dog bed, admiring how him and the dogs get along etc.

Ours prefers water bowl to bottle, he has a medium sized dog water bowl. We don’t use wood shavings as they’re messy - we prefer a small animal bedding called Back2Nature, it’s much better for smells (rabbit poo = not offensive at all, rabbit wee = highly offensive). I’ve never introduced ours to chickens but he was introduced to our dogs when he was about 5 with no issues and only last year we started sending him to a sitter that has cats and he gets along with them just fine!

To add there are 54 rabbits on Blue Cross website