Could you tell me about owning rabbits?

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I haven't had one since I was a child but DD is very keen and I'd like to know more so I can make a decision. In particular:

I understand that two would be better than one, is that right?

We have a smallish garden but room for a medium sized hutch with run and enough grass for exercise - I hate the idea of a tiny cramped hutch so would go for the biggest we could. Is this enough?

Is it necessary to have them inside in cold weather? There's nowhere the hutch could go in except the garage (dark and enclosed so don't think that would work) or at a push our conservatory.

We currently have a cat and all the animals would be left together during the day. Obviously the rabbits would be enclosed but is this likely to be a problem?

DD is 12 so I think more than capable of looking after them mostly herself, is this realistic?

Roughly how much am I looking at in terms of food, vet bills and other expenses?

We've seen some rabbits she loves at a local garden centre but obviously places like Pets at Home are cheaper. I've heard though that they're not the best place to buy from so would welcome advice on that.

Is there anything else we should be thinking about?

Thanks very much :)

Two rabbits definitely better than one.

The biggest hutch and run possible the better.

I think a twelve year old is perfectly capable of looking after them most days but will obviously need an adult to check that they are being cared for properly.

I was worried about mine over winter. Everything I read said they ere fine outside. Spoke to the vet who also said leave them outside. They had an igloo in the enclosed bit of their hutch, two blankets and a waterproof cover and seemed perfectly happy. Since then I have cleaned out my shed and they live in there so they have more space to hop...

because my two female rabbits were in fact male and female. I now have four rabbits. I'd double and triple check their sex!

Okay - 2 rabbits not one as they need company of their own kind. Yes, you need the biggest hutch and run you can afford - they need loads of space and daily access to a run to hop around. The best place to get them would be from a rescue - there are loads of unwanted rabbits out there. Try a local rescue or the RSPCA. They will have bonded pairs available.

Rabbits must be neutered (for health reasons) - this is about £50-60 per bun. Then you have annual vaccinations - £40ish. A rescue will probably already have done this and will be able to tell you about their temperament. It's about £5 for a bag of rabbit pellets which lasts around a month. Prices of hay vary and then you just add a small amount of veg (but very little).

Yes, in theory, 12 is old enough to do most of the work - feeding, brushing, handling, daily cleaning out etc. You would need to check her work though. But please bear in mind rabbits can live up to 10 years. Will your 12 year old still be into taking care of rabbits when she's 14/15 and into make up, hair etc? (I have 14 year old twins). Don't get a pet unless you want it and are happy to all the work yourself because realistically that's how it will end up. As I said there are lots of buns in rescues and most of those are there because children lost interest. Rabbits are lovely but not particularly cuddly. Most don't want to sit on laps and be stroked, they can kick, scratch and bite. They do like being stroked if you sit near them though.

I can't emphasise enough the importance of getting them via a rescue. Please consider this route if you decide to go ahead.

I second getting them from a rescue. You are guaranteed the sex and they are neutered. I also found that when I had a question they were always happy to help. I got mine from a small bunny rescue so the knowledge they had was amazing. In my experience a boy and girl make a brilliant pairing. They are easy to house train too.

They are pretty hardy creatures BUT rather mischievous!

Thanks, I hadn't thought about rescue but that's a great idea, have found a few places locally.

The thing I am most concerned about is the cat - I can't bear the thought of her terrorising the poor bunnies in their cage while we're out all day. Hopefully she wouldn't but it's something we need to consider. Does anyone have any experience with rabbits and cats?

It's a good point about DD still being interested in a few years time, definitely need to think about that.

Disclaimer - this applies to my ex NDN rabbit and our dearly departed cat.

Our moggie was a hunter (ex Rescue, onto her 4th litter) very 'keen'

She saw NDN rabbit free ranging. "Aha, Lunch and Sport" she thought.

She stalked him............ ONCE
He charged her. Poor cat got the fright of her life.

In a hutch or run, you'd need to give them a safe hidey space.
Your cat might be ok but you cannot control who else comes into your garden, be it foxes, cats, birds of prey.

My DD is 12 nearly 13 . We don't have rabbits ( we have guineas) but I wouldn't leave her to do all the maintenance TBH, it's alot of work.

That's interesting, it'd do our spoilt cat good to get a taste of her own medicine!

I wouldn't leave DD solely in charge of any pets, just think it's her that really wants them so she needs to be prepared to put the work in. It's one of the things that's making me wonder if getting them is a good idea though, she's desperate for them now but what about as she gets older - boys, social life, homework, exams... I'm not sure.

Dc and I have owned rabbits for years.

Rescue is a good idea, because you can choose two that have already been together long term and are known to get on. They can do each other damage if they fall out!

They vary a lot temperamentally. We have had lap cuddly ones, stand offish ones, scared-of-us ones, responsive friendly ones and very independent ones. We have never had an aggressive one , but they exist. One of our current ones has severe agoraphobia, and panics madly in a big hutch, and it only settled in a tiny cramped one!

They are fine in a dark garage if it is cold, in the wild they live mostly in the dark.

they need immunising and yearly vet check ups. There are far more rabbit diseases around now than there used to be. Females also need spaying, as about half will get uterine cancer if you don't. Also, they are happier if spayed/neutered.

They shouldn't be fed rabbit food! (Ikr !) We learnt this the hard way. Their bodies are designed to grind out the last minute percentage of nutrient from masses of very low nutrient food, and so they need hay. We do give rabbit food in very small amounts to one of ours, because she likes it, and quite frankly, she is 12, so she can have what ever she wants. The other had digestive and tooth problems, even though we were only giving her tiny amounts, so can't have any more, ever, or carrots or fruit, poor thing, but she loves dandelions, and they are still on the allowed list.

The cage needs a padlock. Foxes and rabbitnappers can open loose bolts.

They can live more than 10 years, or die unexpectedly at any time

( you also need to keep long life in mind when naming them. My 4 year old DS named one "fluffy", now is manfully sticking to it age 14, although I have offered to change the name if he would find it less embarrassing!)

They are great fun, and we love them

Also, we have cats, and I would never ever let them come into contact deliberately, but it did happen occidentally once, a big rabbit got out in the room with a small cat. There was no harm done to either, rabbit hit and cat ignored, but if the cat had attacked, I would imagine both could have been hurt.

sorry, the rabbit hid, not hit!

My DM has a rabbit (he's technically mine too but lives at her house). We got him from Pets At Home but in the adoption bit - he'd been there for months and months because he didn't get on with other rabbits and nobody wanted him. He was abandoned at a train station behind P@H, in the snow One day DM cracked and brought him home, complete with the biggest cage and run possible. She'd gone in there to pick something small up for my degus, ended up spending ££ on a rabbit!

Since then he's been spoilt rotten! He lives in his cage, with blankets over the top, in a big metal shed that used to house the lawnmower. DM gave up with the run a few months in, and has now sectioned off half of her garden so he can run around there. He's slowly taking it over as she keeps moving the fence so he can have more space

She's also got cats and he's desperate to talk to them. The boy cat will sit outside with him but runs away if he gets too close. The girl won't even go outside if he's out and takes the longest possible route to avoid him! But otherwise they don't bother with him and DM keeps a close eye - she's more worried about foxes/other cats.

One thing I would warn you of is their teeth (if it hasn't been mentioned already!). Our rabbit stopped eating a couple of years ago, and was running around shaking his head and carrying leaves in his mouth. We took him to the vet and she said his teeth were so long they were cutting into his face/cheeks/tongue and they needed cutting down. This now has to be done every few months and involves anaesthetic which can be dangerous for bunnies. He's a big boy and has been fine with it so far but it's a worry.

Oh, and he spent a Summer trying to bite our feet until we got him neutered, then he went back to his lovely self. Overall he's a friendly boy and we wouldn't be without him, but can be hard work and expensive when he needs his teeth doing!

XH brought home a baby rabbit - we had nowhere to put it. Got a hutch etc and had to make the best of it. he turned out to be quite aggressive despite being neutered.I'd had aggressive rabbits when i was a child and I was the only one who could handle him and i got bitten and scratched regularly. He was very handsome. It was a pity. The other thing to remember is rabbits can live for 12 years - will your DD want to take it with her when she leaves home or will you be lumbered with it?

my late bunny was medium size angora and free range in the garden.

she was only with us for 3 yrs but in all that time the local cats virtuall stopped coming into out garden. I don't know what she had done or threatened them with but they kept away.

I once saw one wander in th garden, look at her, stop, she moved towards him and he scarpered. she was lovely really, often slept on the sofa and nicked biscuits from me.

It's not sounding as though it's the rabbits I should be worrying about being scared or intimidated but our poor old cat!

Definitely need to give this some more thought though, DD is so keen now but I'm worried about the novelty wearing off - she's not a thoughtless girl but teenagers can be pretty self absorbed and also tend to have busy lives.

If you're really keen on bunnies but worried about your DD losing interest, then you could adopt an elderly bunny couple from a rescue and give them a happy retirement.

My son desperately wanted a rabbit a veg nurse friend of mine was rehoming a few years ago. Now he has no rabbits and I have six...

Absolutely use a rescue. There are around 70,000 bunnies in UK rescues and if you adopt you'll not only be helping the two your adopt, but you'll be making space for two more. Sadly, the PAH adoption section isn't really a rescue, they don't home check and a lot of the bunnies there are old stock that got too old or weren't cute enough to sell. rescue bunnies will also be already bonded and neutered, health checked and vaccinated and so will work out much cheaper for you with no risk of complications during ops etc.

Our (indoor) cat used to hang out with our bunnies when they were house bunnies. She still hangs around with them if they are indoors for any reason. She doesn't bother the bunnies and they don't bother her, although one bunny did growl at the cat once. Never heard them growl before or since. It was loud! I also have dogs and although I don't let them loose together as I'm too lazy to train the dogs to ignore the bunnies, the dogs do ignore the bunnies if they are out in their aviary/run etc and the bunnies aren't scared of the dogs. Sometimes thy lay near each other.

Bunnies do need a lot more space than you'd think. The Rabbit Welfare Association is a god website for advice on everything and any good rescue will advise on housing and have minimum requirements, so you'll know you're getting it right. The other good thing about rescues is that they are only concerned about the bunnies and their care. They don't want to sell you anything or make money, so you can be assured they are acting in the best interests of the rabbits.

Thanks that's great advice although :( for the old/not cute enough bunnies in PAH. I'll definitely have a look at that website.

We have a bunny that's 2 years old from a rescue place and recently got a second from pah in the rescue bit. Was £10 and that includes neutering. not impressed with pah but that's another story. Ours are house bunnies and have a cage in the living room. It's not massive but all evening they have free run of the living room for at least 4 hours. They are handled every day and since getting the second the first is more happy for dc to handle him. I had an evil female rabbit as a child and my experience is neutered boys are best. Also., even outdoor bunnies, can be litter trained. It means that you won't get poo all over the garden and so much easier to clear out.