Getting DD a bunny for her birthday in December - never had a pet before - advice please!

[huffpuff]

is starting with a bunny the best idea?

what do they eat?

can they go in the house as well as outside in hutch?

where do i get one from and what should i look for when buying one?

TIA X

i suggest you get a book first and read up about it. also how old is your dd as pets are a novelty. is she aware that she will hae to clean it hutch and feed it daily and let it out for exercise? if you get her a bunny be prepared to care for it yourself! not being harsh but i have seen it happen!

dd is 5 and i am under no illusion that i will end up caring for it!! Any tips?

do not know much though apart from they need a hutch plus run, need to make sure your garden is escape proof and they cant eat lettuce as it can cause diahorea and death. need vacs yearly or 6 monthly not forgettign the one for mixxy. if you get a male have it neutered as they can be quite aggressive.i think they are social animals so better to get them in pairs, either two females or a neutered pair.
if you ask me about rats i cold help more! or cats or dogs! i had a rabbit when i was a child but i think my parents took care of it!

You can litter train them and keep them indoors in an indoor hutch. They chew as much as Hamsters, they need a hutch they can stand up in, a run or safe garden to roam in. They can eat just hay but most people give them dried feed too. Their bed needs to be of straw or shavings or similar.

They are very inexpensive especially if you bulk buy feed and bedding from a farm supplier rather than pet shop. A rabbit breeder is probbaly your best bet or a rescue bunny - see dogpages.org on the other animals needing homes section.

I have 7 bunnies born this week want one?

I looked after one for a bit for a friend(indoors) about 15 years ago and it was active at night, lots of rustling about which is a bit of pain when you're trying to sleep.

Hi, kept rabbits since I was 18...

They are lovely animals, best to go to a childrens farm where they sell the babies, rather than a pet shop, you never know how old they are in a pet shop! I have had two rabbits together, two boys but after 2 years they started fighting, so my neighbour had one off me.

I'm now on my fourth rabbit, Peter, he's lovely. He's in a large hutch with an attached run. If you look on the web you will find advice about hutch and run sizes, basically, they need enough room to stand on the hind legs and to run around. I also bought one which the roof lifts off of, it makes cleaning out much easier, I use an old dustpan to scoop out the messy stuff and put back clean sawdust and straw. I put extra straw in in the winter months for warmth and also cover the whole thing with a taupauline sheet at night and in the rain.

I bought Peter from Twinlakes in Melton Mowbray, I saw his mum and dad and they are very well looked after. If you handle a rabbit a lot he will be very tame, they like affection. Mine come in the house from time to time, but not so much in the winter due to the sudden changes in temperature. He eats any veges or peelings, dandelion leaves and his favourite treat is the 'dead heads' off my pansies! Although his main food is a normal rabbit food from the pet shop.

Like any animal, look for a clean environment, clear eyes, ears and nose and look at the temperament of the parents.

Good luck.

they are mpore work than you think.

we havea house rabbit who isn't a chewer of cables but will 'dig' at paper/clothes etc left in reach. They need jabs twice a year anc some dont like being handled at all. Ours will only let me pick himup and even then its only if he instigates it.
ours stamps at night of there is a fly in the room or a spider or even if he feels like it, they smell.

If he is outside he will need some kind of protection from frost as well as foxes, if he is inside you will need to bear in mind what furniture you have as it WILL get nibbled.

Males should be neutered-mine isn't but he is so old now he prob wouldn't survive the op!

AM purposely not telling you anything good aboutit

BTW, goldfish are easier...but you can't cuddle them!

guinea pigs much better imo, rabbits claws can be really sharp if they suddenly jump out of your arms.
G-pigs much easier to handle and none of the teeth problems that rabbits so often get. Also they smell lovely and can be quite affectionate.

DON'T DO IT! Unless your DC are old enough to pay for, clean, feed, and cope with burying the things!

We had a rabbit, it was given to us by another mum who was pg and just didn't have the time for it anymore as she was also working FT. I found it extremely hard hard work, the rabbit was quite agressive, which I found suprising and really scarey, it wasn't house trained but had to be indoors in the utility room as it was too cold outside most of the year. We made it a large enclosure aswell as a hutch inside the house, it wouldn't go in the hutch however and it just became a daily chore to keep it clean and it just smelt alot. The kids lost interest very quickly and were scared of it lashing out at them. It was very old and grumpy so perhaps getting one young would be better.
The kids much more prefered the hamster we had, they could hold it, watch it in it's cage, on it's wheel etc, and most of all, they loved watching it run round the room in it's ball. They could help clean the cage as it was pretty easy to do and feed it themselves.

Rabbits are wonderful BUT they need a lot of work and aren't that fond of being cuddled. More like a cat or dog really. My late beloved bunny had the run of the house and garden - she was very spoilt and lots of fun, even played football. Rabbits need a big hutch, in fact mine had the dining room and a secure garden to charge about in, and eat your flowers .

IMHO you'd be better off with a couple of guinea pigs, much lower maintenance. I've always had g-pigs too and they are much better for children.

my dd has 2 gerbils, they are awake in the day so not to much noise at night, love being in pairs, very inexpensive to keep and love nothing better than an old loo roll to chew on. we got ours at 9 weeks old and regularly handle them so they are not aggressive, although they will give you a little nip if you hurt them or if they have had enough.

my dd is 3, but likes to help when she can.