How much bunnies really cost

[Crazyteenager]

Hey everyone,

I just thought that I’d write down how much it really costs to raise a rabbit as many people genuinely think that rabbits are very cheap.

This is just for one rabbit and if you want a second or a third one then you’ll need to double or triple the monthly bill.

Pets at Home.

1. Timothy hay bale £6 x2 a month £12.
2. Timothy pellets £5 a month (lasts for two months) so £2.50p.
3. Wood shavings £15 lasts a month.
4. Chew toys £10 a month.
5. Petplan (insurance if you are on minimum wage and can’t afford to save too much for a rabbit) £13 a month.

Total = £52.50p a month.

However, if you choose to have feed your rabbits unlimited grass from the garden as a substitute for hay then you can get the monthly bill down to £40.50p a month and if your rabbit is a house rabbit ie no cages or hutches then instead of wood shavings you can get puppy pads. Like, I think a pack of 100 puppy pads costs £14 and that’ll last you a whole month.

Don’t forget that when you insure your rabbit that insurance companies won’t insure it against dental problems which occur when they aren’t fed unlimited hay or grass and don’t have access to chew toys or are fed muesli for example or are fed human food causing them to be overweight and not want to chew they hay etc as they are full and they won’t insure a spay or a neutering or putting your pet to sleep. You will also always have to pay a £55 excess fee on things that they may cover like illnesses or injuries and let’s say your monthly bill was £40.05 and your rabbit had flystrike or conjunctivitis then you would have to pay your vet fees (most likely £48 and then petplan £13 so for that month your rabbit would cost you £101.50p.

I know as I’ve had rabbits for more than 4 years and it never seems to amaze me just how uninformed people are about rabbit care and the actual costs of owning one. I have a few that I luckily can afford but with my girl who has always had illnesses etc due to faulty genes and a rare disease that she was born with, I’ve had her for 5 years and she’s cost me 6.5k in total and her monthly bill because I didn’t insure her as a baby is £125 to raise her as I have to pay for her lifelong meds to. The others have always been healthy although I’ve always put £40 aside per bunny a month but if you get a bunny that’s prone to illness just be careful because if this all looks like a lot to you then just consider having a bunny or whether you should or you shouldn’t xxx

You have forgotten the cost of replacing chewed cables if you have a house rabbit!

@firsttimekat

Lol. Your comment made me laugh. I’ve never once mentioned that my views are the only views out there and I’ve had many rabbits. I’ve also worked at rescues to. However, I must assume that although I’ve had so much experience with them that I’m still random. 😂. People can take my views on board but nobody has to fully accept them as being the vets as everyone’s idea of best is different. The indoor rabbit owners will never agree with the outdoor rabbit owners vice versa. It all comes down to choice but it is a well known fact that outdoor bunnies lives are cut by half due to the extremities of the weather and that they are more prone to illnesses etc than an indoor bunny. They are also more likely to be at risk of being eaten etc by a prey such a a fox or even just having a cat trying to claw at them is enough to frighten them for an early heart attack. It also makes it harder to spot illness or injury if they are outdoors because I’d be surprised if they are monitored a lot or if at all really whereas indoor bunnies are monitored regularly and more easily thus making illness or injury more easier to spot. Plus. I’ve known many people who’ve had their rabbits stolen from being outdoor. I’ve never know it to happen to an indoor bunny although I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. I’ve just never known it.

@JaJaDingDong

Not really. Because that’s all a matter of bunny proofing. I could say the exact same thing about you (if you have outdoor bunnies) as you have forgotten about the cost of potentially buying a new hutch as most outdoor bunnies live in this because many outdoor bunnies actually end up chewing at their hutch. That can’t be helped but hiding cables etc by bunny proofing can easily be helped.

It's still a cost though.

However I'm not going to argue as I disagree with so much of your original post.

We made the hutch and run, I would estimate it was the equivalent for a £40 shop one. It has lasted us about 6 different rabbits now.
They have free access to grass, and eat veg peelings/bird seed (once they’ve chased the poor pigeons off) - free
Use shredded newspaper as bedding - free
No toys/chews but put cardboard boxes or logs in -free
Spay/neuter - £100
No insurance - free
Never had any vet bills

So £140 one off cost
Almost £0 from then on.

However they are not to be taken lightly, they require time and care.

Only ever had outdoor rabbits.
All have lived to be 10+, only ever had one die young (suspected cancer)
All given a wonderful loving life, able to free roam around a 1/2acre garden during the day, eating grass, digging the vegetable patch, munching through flowers.
Insulated hutch with heating in the Winter.

Disclaimer: I wouldn’t have outdoor bunnies now because it’s harder to give them enough attention and they can be at risk of fly strike, foxes, theft etc etc

It all comes down to choice but it is a well known fact that outdoor bunnies lives are cut by half due to the extremities of the weather and that they are more prone to illnesses etc than an indoor bunny

My outdoor bunny died at 12 in really excellent health.
If that was half his lifespan he’d have made the Guinness records!

I've never neutered rabbits because I've never had males and females together. Also never insured as I'd rather pay the full fee if necessary - and several long lived rabbits later, I've never had an expensive vet bill.

I would disagree that rabbits are 'healthy' animals, they are like miniature horses, they cannot be sick and can suffer gut stasis which can be deadly and is definitely costly to treat, they are prone to dental problems, lops are prone to ear problems, entire females get uterine cancer, they often get dropped by children and break legs/their back, they are prey animals, if they get ill they try and die basically!

@Crazyteenager of course you are random! This is an Internet forum and no one knows who anyone is. As with legal/medical advice people should always seek advice from a credible source where the experience and background can be understood. You could be an expert, you could be the one writing the advice I pointed people to but no one will know that so they should research broadly before making decisions.

My buns don't live in a hutch so no need for wood shavings. They have hay and fleece blankets.

It’s all fun and games until the vet bills start rolling in. Can quickly hit hundreds and thousands depending on the rabbit.

We did insure our 4 buns but it doesn’t seem to cover anything that we tried to claim for. They do cost us quite a lot what with food, vaccinations & vets bills but they are absolutely worth every penny. We keep ours outdoors & the only problem is fireworks around Bonfire Night. They are brought indoors then so we get lots of extra cuddles 🐰🐰🐰🐰

Netherlands dwarf with double decker cage
Timothy hay : £2.99 poundstretcher or b&m. Monthly
Snowflake sawdust bale: £1.99 as needed.
Nuggets: £7.99 ex large bag per 2 or 3 months
Treats £6 per months
Toys as needed.
She has loads of things to chew on
Insurance £12 per month
Litter 30 litres: £6 every 2 months

Oh and mine lives indoors.

I'm jealous of all your affectionate Rabbits, mine hate me
They've got the life of Riley roaming free all day, eating like kings and all tucked up at night to keep them safe but try and give them some attention and I swear they sigh and roll their eyes at me.

My guys are outdoors in a custom bunny shed and roofed aviary - cost about £1k in total but bought at different times and now the shed is on to its second pair of rabbits. I would NEVER let them free range unsupervised outdoors, way too many foxes here. Their shed and aviary is well predator proofed and kept padlocked with CCTV spying on them.

I’ve adopted my rabbits so they came already neutered/spayed but I have had to rebond twice due to losing my last pair to old age (12 and 13 years).

They are always kept vaccinated and the last one was the new combi vaccine which was about £80 for the pair.

They have a hay subscription to Hay Box because that stuff is FAB. So green and lovely

I also don’t use shavings - they are on vet bed and fleece except for their litter trays which have back2nature pellets with hay. I wash bunny blankets daily.