House rabbit

[wildeverose]

Thinking of getting a mini lop doe as a house bunny - ideally I'd just have the cage open all day for her to use the toilet or eat drink etc and she would have free roam. I have read rabbits are easy to litter train etc and this breed are particularly cuddly.
Does anyone have any advice, stories etc about keeping a house rabbit? I have visions of a bunny sat next to me or on my lap like a cat just chilling, and Dh thinks I'm expecting too much! Any advice would be much appreciated

Every rabbit is different.

Will you be planning on getting her spayed? Unspayed does can be...fiesty. I know my girl (who was found as a stray) was extremely aggressive when she arrived in rescue, probably why she was straying :(, she calmed right down after spaying and is now just very outgoing, always up for a head rub, but don't you dare try and pick her up. Ooo the rage when it's pedicure time.

She is also a Lop, a Dwarf Lop so a little larger than a Mini. I did initially have my pair indoors (as they really better in bonded neutered pairs) BUT, even with the whole spare bedroom as their own, no cages, they would wake us up every.single.night around 3am - 5am digging walls, doing laps of the room, and when they had access to the landing, madam came storming down at 4am and tried to break into our bedroom - we honestly thought a human was trying to kick down the door it was so loud.

Prior to this pair I had my old pair indoors, as they were doddery seniors and I lost them at 12 and 13 years old respectively, they had none of this youthful rambunctiousness and we rarely heard much from them at all.

My youthful pair now live outdoors where they can make all the noise they want. They have a 6x4 custom made bunny shed attached to a 10x5 aviary, so still no cage or dingy hutch for these guys. We still have the chew marks on the doors and skirting boards in the spare bedroom though.

I would say "lap rabbits" are in the minority rather than majority, every single bun is different. Being picked up is generally a big nono for rabbits, while my girl is happy for human attention, my boy (also a rescue) does not like touching of any kind. Humans are best viewed from a distance, every now and then he'll allow a 5 second head rub, but that'll do.

I would also add, that buns on soft furnishings , or around soft furnishings, or under soft furnishings are risky. Some are great, others will pee on them regularly, or may decide that the inside of your sofa will make an amazing hide out. Young rabbits and unneutered rabbits will be more wild than older neutered ones, and a single can be more destructive out of boredom than a pair.

I love my rabbits, but they're definitely not pets for everyone.

We had a house rabbit and she would sit in our lap to be cuddled and would lick us as a way of showing affection, potty training a rabbit is so easy (only takes a couple of days), use pick up the pop and put it in the potty with a little bit of cat litter in and the rabbit will associate that corner with the toilet very quickly.

However, we ended up sending out rabbit outside (with a new rabbit friend to keep her company) as she tried her best to destroy the house! She ripped up carpets, ate her way through 3 phone chargers, the tv wire and an iPad charger. As a very house proud person I couldn’t cope with it and the bunny is much happier now she’s outside, she has the full run of the garden all day (and has eaten/dug up all the plants) but she isn’t as affectionate with us.

These are both such useful replies, thank you so much. A lot to consider

I have/ had three house rabbits (demoted to outside rabbits now we've moved in with my parents to save for a deposit). The two girls would be picked up and we're really out going but would rather have been left to their own devices and just cavort around the house. The little boy who was a petshop buy and really buck wild when we got him. He still detests being picked up but of the three is the cuddliest and would come and lie down for tickles and cuddles of his own accord and is the least tame but still the most loving. It really depends on the rabbit.

If your wanting a tried and tested rabbit I would recommend looking at rescues where you will get a better idea of personality. They will more than likely be neutered and vaccinated also.

I realise this is an older post but I'm enthusiastic about rabbits so wanted to add something!