Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pets

Join our community on the Pet forum to discuss anything related to pets.

Original poster

Buying first bunny for DC - need advice!

15 replies

lyndysue · 05/10/2009 23:05

DC has a hutch which is 3.5 feet long by 2 feet wide and has a ramp down to a run underneath. We have been to a breeder to look for a baby but DC has seen two dwarf lop sisters who are 8 weeks old and I'm really keen to get both for her. Would they live in this size hutch OK?

OP posts:
123andaway · 06/10/2009 07:10

I've just bought a 10 week old dwarf lop girl. She's lovely! Apparently the dwarf refers to the size of the ears, and not the size of the rabbit, they grow to 2-2.5 kgs.

My little girl has a 3 foot cage, however she does spend all day in the run with the guinea pigs, so the hutch is really for sleeping and bad weather. Im planning to let her have run of the garden when she is bigger in the spring, so long as I can convince the cat she's not lunch!

Original poster
lyndysue · 06/10/2009 13:17

Thanks 123 - anyone else know what size of hutch would be acceptable?

OP posts:
TanStan · 06/10/2009 13:42

Hi, just to let you know, rabbits make brilliant house pets. i had a house rabbit, it was litter trained and i let it out in the garden in the day. they really do make fantastic house pets! alot like cats. only advice for doing this would be to hide all your wires out of reach! they like a nibble! if this is not for you, i do suggest the biggest hutch you can get your hands on, they really like a good run around! hope this helps.

barbarianoftheuniverse · 06/10/2009 13:48

You are right to think of getting two- they are sociable animals and get lonely. We kept two for eight years in a hutch that size but they had the run of half the garden too. They will need neutering so they don't get cancer- we found that out too late to save ours, and they both died of it in the end.

Original poster
lyndysue · 06/10/2009 23:08

I've checked with the breeder and she has said that the hutch would be a good size for them but we'll need to think about the run outside. Can you put them onto wet grass? (sounds like a daft question but our garden gets quite boggy through the winter).

OP posts:
cece · 06/10/2009 23:17

I put mine out on damp grass, my thinking that is in the wild they would go out on damp grass... But boggy I would imagine not good.

barbarianoftheuniverse · 07/10/2009 08:50

I think they would be fine on wet grass as long as there is somewhere dry to go when they have had enough. Our rabbits (4 in total) never seem to eat much grass, not like guinea pigs who graze all day, so it doesn't affect their tums. Ours even came out to explore in snow!

spacedog · 17/10/2009 19:41

Mimimum recommended is 6ft x 2ft x 2ft with attached 6ft x 4ft run. Otherwise they will be sad and cooped up. Might be ok if you could get a carpenter to extend the downstairs run though (and fairly inexpensive). Remember any run which isn't under constant supervision should be placed on concrete / paving slabs as a fox can tunnel under (or a rabbit tunnel out) in minutes. And all outside hutches should have bolts, not those 'twist' ones as foxes can open them.

FABIsInTraining · 17/10/2009 19:43

That hutch seems really small to me, going on what we had to get for 2 guinea pigs which was 5 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot.

spacedog · 17/10/2009 19:44

Also, don't know if the breeder mentioned this but femailes should be spayed as uterine cancers in rabbits are very common. This will also help with temperament as otherwise once they reach adulthood they will be very feisty and may fight (a rabbit fight is not pretty and can end in death). Having said that, most rabbits CRAVE a companion and thrive in a pair.

beautifulgirls · 17/10/2009 19:49

You should think about getting them vaccinated too - Myxomatosis and HVD are both life threatening diseases that you can prevent. Make sure you factor in this cost alongside the neutering costs.
I would also say that whilst the breeded may indeed know her rabbits very well it can be incredibly hard to sex baby rabbits and whilst she thinks she has two girls there for you to consider there is a realistic chance of then being sexed wrongly at this age - just bear this in mind! It wouldn't be her fault if it was wrong!!

notjustapuppymum · 18/10/2009 19:28

Please don't put them on wet grass when they are young, my first bunny died when I was 8 years old after eating too much wet grass for her little tummy and needless to say I was devastated.

anniebear · 19/10/2009 12:32

Hutch sounds far too small even for 1 rabbit!!

Pets at home have a big double hutch for sale at the mo for £99

plus they need a good size run also

We got told that the 'dwarf' in dwarf lop doesnt mean they stay small!!

anniebear · 19/10/2009 12:33

Breeder is prob saying the hutch is a good size as she wants you to have the rabbits!!

JHKE · 20/10/2009 20:22

Agree with Spacedog, minimum recommended size is 6x2x2 ft for a rabbit, bigger the better... You would also be better getting a boy and a girl. They may be ok now but once hormones kick in they may not, so need to be prepared to separate. We have 2 brothers (worse combination)and they do not get on even though we have neutered them (watching them fight was awful) so they now have a 2 separate Hutch/ Run combos.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page