I think rabbits...

[SidTheSquirrel]

So we’ve decided to get rabbits.
My DD is 3. I know I’ll be doing the hard work with them and I’m fine with it. I had many rabbits as a teen due to an incident with a pet shop mix up. 🙄 So I’ve cleaned up five hutches regularly in the past.

But I’m a little rusty on a few things, and I don’t want just general info online, I’d like ‘normal’ peoples experiences too.

Girls or boys? (Must be one or the other, not making that mistake again!)
I thinking it’s has to be two for company and their sanity.
Outside bunnies but can come in to play in winter so long as I keep hay topped up and w use to cover ours with an old carpet and tarp to keep warm over night... that still ok?

Fresh fruit and veg daily, rabbit pellets, hay, sawdust, toys, run.
Handle daily to keep friendly.

Clean out weekly still?

Anything else?

Thank you

I’m sure rabbits are a better idea than G pigs? I’ve never had them...

Many people will tell you rabbits are terrible pets but mine are amazing and dc love them. I keep them as House rabbits and they're litter trained. They go on the grass in the run in the summer. Mine mostly have pellets and hay with occasional veg.

Girls should be spayed even if in a same sex pair. Consider rescue buns as loads are given up. Get the biggest space you can for them. Hutches really aren’t ideal. You mention bringing them in for winter would that be all winter or overnight/ during the day?

Diet should be 80% hay and make sure they have toys/tunnels to amuse them.

Get a rabbit savvy vet and be prepared for them to live for 10+ years

My bunnies are lovely too. They prefer to keep their paws on the ground rather than be picked up and cuddled. They happily pop over for a head rub though.
Ours have hay, a little kale/parsley/mint and very limited pellets (Science Selective).
We have house rabbits who have a run in the garden. They live in a big enclosure in the utility room. They're messy devils and need swept out twice a day!

Hi I’ve found boys are less likely to dig deep burrows.

We have a playhouse for them which I’ve added an extra floor too so they have an upstairs and a down stairs and an outside run. The biggest you can afford. RWAF says minimum 6x4x2ft hutch and a 8ft run.

Runaround. Do pipes and tunes etc that you can build a whole Warren from.

Go to a rescue so your two are properly bonded and not just get two babies from a shop and expect them to get along. Most rescues will have neutered, vaccinated and chipped their animals so it’s better value.

Mine have a small amount of pellets, lots of hay and access to the garden and grass/plants all day so they don’t have extra veggies.

They have a litter box with sawdust and hay in their hutch which is cleaned once a week the rest of the playhouse stays clean.

We have two girls, I think a boy and girl is usually recommended but ours get on really well for the most part. The only time we get any trouble is when we’re about to feed them and the ‘doninant’ bun starts humping the other! Other than that they’re lovely together, always grooming one another and snuggling up. Apparently the humping is normal, even in two girls who’ve both been spayed.
Girls have to be spayed as they have something like 80% of getting Iberian cancer otherwise. They have to have annual vaccinations. We also spray for flu strike and ours have had scabies (caught from the vets!). To be honest they have cost us a fortune in vets bills but we were prepared for this beforehand as we’d done our research. Instead of taking out insurance we put by a little amount each month to cover us and it’s been okay. But things like an X-ray can cost £200. Blood tests around £80.
I clean mine properly once a week but every day I empty and clean the litter tray as it gets REALLY stinky and especially in this weather they’re more at risk of fly strike if you leave it.
Back in the 90s we were giving rabbits carrots and lettuce but they’re both a big no no now. Carrots too high in sugar and can cause tooth decay. Not sure what the lettuce reason was. Mine love herbs. When it’s teally hot I put cucumber in the freezer for an hour and they love it.

Sorry for the typos
*ovarian cancer
*fly strike
*really hot

Brilliant advice guys thank you.

Yeah it’s was the 90s when I was a teen so I’ll cjeck about carrots and Lettuce then.

Ya muchly

Definitely check out local rescues, there's literally thousands out there and most rescues have intake waiting lists. A neutered/spayed boy/girl pair is the easiest usually. I've known of pairs of rabbits to spend their entire lives in rescue because no one came forward to adopt them :(

These are good reads:
www.therabbithouse.com/
rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/

They are a long term commitment, longer than in the 90s. I have a 12 year old girl who was recently widowed after her brother died, she's currently being bonded with a handsome 1 year old rescue toy boy (whose been in rescue since he was about 10 weeks old). Buns getting into their teens is not unheard of these days and those seniors can run up big vets bills.

Housing can be expensive too, hutches are mega old fashioned and not designed with ANYONE'S best interest. A shed/aviary option is very people friendly as well as bun friendly. How much space they need can come as a surprise when you look at how they were cared for before the internet came along.

you sound like you are well on the way to being a great rabbit mum - yes things have changed for the better so you just need to checkout what current recommendations are - look on rabbitwelfare.co.uk for lots of info - also rabbituk facebook group - and definately get from a rescue as they will be vet checked vaccinated neutered and bonded - and lots are still young even though they are second hand

Rabbit owner here, about 30 years on from the first time. Things have definitely moved on. No more museli mix, just an egg cup of pellets each, twice a day. Rabbit size ball of hay each.

I use 2 cheap litter trays, line with newspaper, sawdust one end, hay at the other and they poo and pee in there. I change both trays out morning and evening, sometimes reusing part of the straw if clean.

Mine eat kale, greens, celery and occasional carrot peelings. Strawberry and vine leaves. I also go round the garden picking weeds, lumps of hedge, conifer tree... there's lots of advice on line what they can and can't have. They like cardboard (not too much as it makes them fat ) and pine cones to knaw on. Injections are annual, expensive at £50 each, but a lot of vets do "for life" plans at £99 per rabbit which is a no brainier...

We have 2 girls and like a pp, sometimes the dominant humps/chases the other when food is coming but they are very affectionate towards each other (washing) so it's all good.

For a little child, guinea pigs are much better pets. Rabbits are skittish and generally don’t like to be picked up. They can, and will, bite and scratch if they feel threatened - and those powerful back legs can really scratch. They also cost a fortune to keep. They need a huge hutch, then either a massive run or a secure garden for exercise. Unlimited good quality hay, fresh veg, vaccinations, neutering. I’ve got a menagerie and the rabbits are more expensive to keep than the dogs and cats. Guinea pigs in comparison are utterly delightful little souls and happy to snuggle on a small child’s lap. I will always have pigs but once the rabbits die there will be no more!

I'm not a rabbit mum (I have guineas. My guinea-pigs are professionally offended by I’m sure rabbits are a better idea than G pigs? )

I know rabbits are tidier than guinea-pigs ( TBH , you'd be hard pressed to find an animal that was messier than piggies)
Keep an eye on their dirty bedding in summer with the risk of flystrike.
We clean our pooh machine pigs bedding/sleeping areas daily .
With rabbits if you use a litter box its easier . Clean, refill and I think put a tiny bit of their dirty bedding in so they know its 'theirs'.

I quite like the idea of rabbits in our garden but I know they're hard work.