Was thinking of getting rabbits but read they aren't the best pets for children, what substitute would you recommend?

[SenoritaViva]

So DD (5) would really like a rabbit. I was open to the idea and happy to get two for companionship, hutch with run etc. But, have just read here that rabbits aren't really good pets for children. We also have a baby so in a year or two the animal will be handled by a young child too.

We would like to get outside pets, there isn't really space in our cottage for a pet indoors, although we have a decent sized garden. Of course I wouldn't let any pet freeze in winter outside but I would like it/them to mainly be outside.

What would you recommend? And if you think rabbits are our best option then what tips do you have to make sure that it is a good pet for our child(ren).

TIA

Guinea pigs make nice pets for the whole family, they are much easier to handle than rabbits. Outdoor pets are more likely to get ignored by children though (both a good and bad thing imo).

I second Guinea-Pigs, I've got 2 boars (my DD is 10, DS 12).
They are definately nicer than rabbits from what I've read (though I've never kept rabbits).

But, wether or not a 5 yo could handle a GP?
My DDs boar is a big beast, DS boar is smaller but they are both lively and have to be lifted and held carefully. I don't think a 5 yo would have big enough hands TBH. And DD knows if he pig struggles, then to hold onto him (hand under belly, other hand under his bum). She knows if he scratches or gives her a nip (they don't bite but they can be a bit 'nibbly' ) then it's not malice on his part.

And I do the hutch duty- I said right from the start that I was responsible for this. Not because my DC aren't responsible, but the cage takes a fair amount of effort (I clean it every day) and if my DC did ever get fed up with their pigs, then I wouldn't want them to suffer.

They can be kept outdoors all the time.
Mine went out at Easter. In winter they were in at night, out during the day.
I put a fan heater in their pighouse for 20 minutes and hot water bottles before they went out in winter.
You'll need storage for hay (lots) , space for them to excercise. A draught and damp free environment . And they can live for 8 years.

Maybe wait until your DC is older? I got my first GP at 9 yo. My DD was 9 yo when we got the boars.

I have a rabbit outside, the children take no interest in it. There is the cleaning out to think about and brushing (quite high maintance).

I also have budgies (the clues in the name). Take up little room, easy to keep clean, more entertaining.

We had guinea pigs when DD was 2 and they were happy to let her handle them. She is very gentle with animals and was closely supervised. I have had numerous guinea pigs growing up. Probably first ones when I was about 10 but my younger siblings would have been 8 and 4 at the time. They lived outside most of the year but had a cage for inside for the winter. They really can't be kept outside in winter even with all the fancy hutch cover things you can buy these days.

Unfortunately for us DD was very very allergic to our guinea pigs, the allergy nurse told us its quite a common allergy, so we had to rehome ours.

I bought goldfish when my DC were young (even they can be high maintence when you think about tank cleaning and filters and putting the treatment in the water).
We have one who is about 6 yo now. His tank is in the hall so DS remembers to feed him. (I wish DS would show the same consideration to his pig. I would have had the second GP but DS said he wanted him. I said ok as it wasn't fair for me to give DD a pet and not DS. The pigs were a pair when we adopted them. I want GP2, he is really mine in all but name)

Someone will come on here and suggest rats. Not indoor but a nice size for DC if you like that sort of thing

should read not outdoor

Of course you'd keep your ratties indoors.

Frilly I agree. Outdoor GPs are high maintence, they'd have to be in a shed/garage (that is fume free) with heating and a shed load of insulating hay.
Ours live in my DC old playhouse, insulated haybox inside (in winter I use half a bag of hay per bed, sometimes straw at the back to bulk it up).They have a tube heater on the wall, 3 hotwaterbottles in covers and a Snugglepad. And they are out from 6.45am til 5.30pm in winter. Their haybox is always snuggly and toasty though.

Last winter wasn't too bad but the water bowls froze a few times.

It's lovely to be greeted by a chorus of wheeking when they hear the fridge open

rats are lovely :-) of all my our pets, the rat is the easiest to handle for the kids, the cage is easy to clean out and they enjoy making little adventure tunnels etc for him.
whereas the rabbit it PITA, who hates being handled and will only be fussed on her terms.
my pair (5 and 7yrs) also have a guinea pig each, who are lovely, but as said above, the cage in big and needs cleaning out daily and guess whos job that is

I have two piggie's. They are mine!

Ds (4) likes them but is not really that interested. He like's to talk to them and feed them sneaky bits of parsley but thats it. I would not by him his own pet. He is just not interested enough to have 'his own'.

I wouldn't be happy to let him pick them up. However, Big Pig (my more dozey pig) will sit happily on his lap for a while if I plonk him there. Little pig however is a wriggler and just runs off. they can be hard to catch and wriggle when first held. Little pig jumped out of my arms at standing height once Idiot

They poo alot. i clean their cage and run out once a day each, so thats two lots of poo picking a day. Complete clean once a week.

On the plus side, you will eat lots more veggies

Mine are indoors. I have had rabbits outdoors before and going out there in the winter was not my favourite job. Shamefully, it was a quick, run out, feed, check water, run back in jobby (I was 12) but they did not get much attention in shitty weather.

Have had house guinea pigs and they were lovely indoor pets. Very sociable, enjoyed a run around the lounge every evening. Rats also gorgeous but sadly don't have a long average life expectancy...

Another vote for guineas, I had them myself from age 4 and with a bit of supervision handled them fine. I've heard good things about rats too although have never had them. We now have 2 guineas - my DC are 7 and 2.5 - the 7 year old is fine handling the guineas (though is not allowed to pick them up from the cage or walk around holding them) and the 2.5 year old can happily have one on his lap whilst I sit beside him making sure guinea is held securely. I'd say a 5 year old should be fine (and guineas are a better size for younger children to handle than rabbits too).

The thing with rabbits is that it's a bit of a lottery as to whether you end up with a calm mellow one that is happy to be handled or a bitey one that doesn't like handling at all. Some rabbits are up for the cuddling lark, but lot don't like to be cuddled (even though they look cuddly). And some can be vicious (my poor mother was in charge of two school rabbits in one of her primary teaching jobs, one of which was a real biter, it was a nightmare). And the problem is there's no guarantee as to whether you'd end up with cuddler or biter! They are a bit like hamsters, really - my sister had a couple of hamsters with the loveliest, sweetest natures imaginable, I had a vicious, biting ball of fury...

I do understand your DD wanting rabbits - let's face it they look absolutely gorgeous don't they - my elder DS was desperate for rabbits for ages, and we gradually talked him round to guineas over a period of time. Now he adores our two. The thing with guineas is that whilst you might get one with a slightly more flighty disposition (we have one lively guinea who is a bit wriggly when held and would rather be running around - unless he's being offered food! - and one who is as mellow as anything and just snuggles in contentedly as soon as you pick him up and goes to sleep on your lap whilst you're watching TV) but you would be really unlucky to get a vicious one. I agree with the others, though - if you can't keep them indoors then they ideally need housing in a shed or non-fume-infested garage.

My 10 yo DD helps look after the Schools Rabbits (they have early lunch then go and clean the cages) she does it on a rotation.

Only one of the bunnies is socialable. She doesn't pick them up but she is fine to chase escort the rabbit into the run to allow excercise and cage duty.

But- she much prefers her boar. She'll lift him, checks him over, helps to cut their nails, bathing, takes him up to her bedroom to sit on her bed in a blanket (and he doesn't pee )

I just think with a rabbit she'd miss out on all the huggy one-to-one stuff.

My DS GP sits at my neck and makes little purr or hog noises (soooo cute)

I forgot to say neither the gpigs or rats ever bit us. Maureen our girl pig had bladder probs as an aged lady and even with daily bathing, and attending to bladder stones and urine burns on her bits with sudocream, she would still just lick my hand and sit there nibbling parsley.

Guineapigs

@ VivaLeBeaver

Short and to the point!

rabbits do make good pets as long as you can provide daily handling and lots of exercise. They can become unfriendly if left in a hutch with no handling. Ifs always best to have two, ideally a neutered male and a neutered female. If you do go ahead always go to a rescue centre and not a pet shop, and they will give you lots of help in matching a pair. Guinea pigs are much easier to handle and are a great pet. They do need again to live in pairs though and again I would recommend getting them through a rescue centre.

I would add my vote for GP's. We have 2 boars who live indoors and we all love them. They chat away to you all the time, particularly if you open the fridge! They're easy to handle and amusing to watch when they run around the kitchen. They will also compost all the ends of vegetables that you would otherwise throw away.

We also have a houserabbit. He's our second houserabbit (first was female). My experience of them is that they don't like being picked up but do enjoy being stroked and will come and nudge you to ask for strokes. Our current bun regularly ends up in bed with one of the kids in the evening for cuddles and mountaineering (climbing over them whilst they read).

We've had 2 rabbits for 4 years now and they are the best pets, but we were very careful where they came from. We live near Adam Hensons farm park so we knew they came from very friendly breeding stock. They had been handled from very young on a daily basis in the petting barn. They breed old english crossed with lion heads so not too big but very pretty. We got a brother and sister and had the boy neutered.
The run is accessible so they get seen and cuddled every day but they also run loose and hop in the house and will use a litter tray.
So if you do go for rabbits I recommend you go to a farm park where you can see the parents and then the babies are handled from as soon as they are old enough.
Best pets we've had and very low maintenance as they have a litter tray in their hutch so all the bedding is kept clean and it only needs a big clean once a month. my ds's feed them and change the water as part of the morning routine. We bought a winter cover for the hutch so very rain proofed.
We also have 2 dwarf hamsters and they are very cute and friendly when they are awake and very little trouble to keep but they only live for 18/24 months and they are 14 months old now!!!!

We have rabbits which the dcs love but it depends what you want from them. Ours don't like being picked up so we don't in general pick them up.

However, as we have a very small walled garden they roam free most of the time. We open the hutch in the morning and then herd them back in the evening.

They eat all my best plants and sometimes they hide under the shed and refuse to come out but mostly they hop about eating grass looking pretty. They like to be stroked and the more friendly one will sit by the dcs or me when I'm hanging out washing but they don't like to picked up which seems fair enough.

So, like I say, it depends what you want! Most people seem to prefer guinea pigs.

I have a house bunny. I think rabbits would make a great pet for children! They are loving, sociable and have great personalities. They like playing and strokes and will follow you around and sit by you. They generally don't like being picked up or being held but love being fussed over at floor level.an outdoor rabbit would need lots of quality time and handling every day and exercise to keep them happy and sociable. They are clean and can be litter trained. Mine lives in his cage at night, has an hour out in the morning and is out all evening until bedtime. I think as a minimum they should have 2-3 hours out of the cage/hutch. Any less than this and mine let's me know he isn't happy by rattling the cage door! I love mine as much as I have loved cats and dogs. We also have two degus - I don't find them quite as rewarding but dh loves them. They are also very sociable and sing which is nice.