Rabbits?

Christi23

Cathlete
Hi everyone,
The dreaded day has come. My kids are begging for pets now. I don't really want to get a dog because they move around too much, and just seem like they would be too much work. Does anyone have a rabbit? How hard is the upkeep on them. How badly do they smell too? And do you have to let them out of the cage? Are they good for kids with allergies too?
 
The only thing I know about rabbits is that they poop ALL THE FREAKIN' TIME. If you let them out of the cage and loose in your house, they leave little nuggets everywhere. I think I remember someone saying that you can train them to use a litter box though.
 
Hi! My daughters (9 and 13) each have a rabbit, and they are very sweet pets! They live inside, each in their own cage. They are litter box trained, and we usually empty the boxes and clean the cages once a week. On that schedule, we don't have odor problems. We use a recycled paper pellet litter, and it is excellent (I think it's called Yesterday's News). We do get the rabbits out for play time and cuddling daily; they need the social interaction. They're very tame and we love them lots! Some thoughts: Rabbits need a constant supply of hay for proper digestion. I've found a great internet source that only costs us about $50 a year (we buy in bulk), but if you buy at a pet store, it can be much more expensive. Also, rabbits are serious chewers, and we lost several cords to their chewing before we figured out how to rabbit-proof the room they run in. As for allergies, it's hard to say. I'm allergic to cats, but not rabbits (thank heavens!). Overall, they're fun, moderate-maintenance pets, and I enjoy them as much as my girls do. Hope that helps!
Allison
 
We too have a rabbit. He is our second one. Our first one was terrible - it would bite you whenever you tried to touch it. She was miserable. Unfortunately(!?!) she died and my dd got another one that is absolutely wonderful. Make sure they are very used to being handled when they are little.

An excellent website by the House Rabbit Society is a must see if you are considering a bunny: www.rabbit.org

They make the good point that a dog or a cat kept in a cage all the time would have serious mental problems and the same goes for rabbits.

We let ours out occasionally in a rabbit-proofed room and for the most part he is housetrained. He is madly in love with our cat and jumps and spins whenever she is near - she doesn't share his affection but occasionally will pin him down and give him a bath - which he puts up with probably in hopes that it'll lead somewhere! Poor guy!

Good luck!
Trish
 
The nugget story is true. I experienced it myself. Did not know they could be litterbox trained. Very cool :)
 
I had heard that rabbits have to have access to their own poo, so they can eat some. They don't digest all the nutrients in their food the first time around, so they need to "recycle," so to speak. Can they do that if they use a pan?

There is a rabbit in our vet's office, and I always think he looks so bored, lonely, and aloof. Doesn't seem like a very interactive pet.

How about a cat?
 
I had a rabbit that lived for 7 years. I loved him so much, but he was so much work. I cleaned his cage out each day. He was semi house broken. He did bite sometimes. Once I was hugging him and he bit me on the lip that left a scar.

You have to make sure you find a vet that treats rabbits. You cannot use a vet that treats just dogs and cats because rabbits bodies are different. So that was a big pain whenever my rabbit got sick and he did get sick a lot. He also shed a lot and molted about three times a year. We would be eating dinner and see hair floating in the air. No telling how much of it we injested.

I really do not think a rabbit is a good choice for children. They are far too much work.

p.s. I was very allergic to my rabbit but didnt realize it until he passed away. My asthma improved by 80% afterwards. Dont get me wrong, I loved my bunny so much but I will never get another one.

Love,
Madonna
 
I have had rabbits for over 10 years now. Our current rabbit, Dorothy, has free run of the house, is litterbox trained and does NOT LEAVE NUGGETS EVERYWHERE.

All rabbits are not necessarily good with children. You should work with the House Rabbit Society in your area to adopt a rabbit that has the temperament you want. Some rabbits are cage protective and don't like people to reach into their cages. Rabbits can growl, bite, and scratch.

Also, not all rabbits are good with children. Some rabbits are frightened easily and don't like quick movements. They also don't always like to be held.

With that said, some rabbits are very laid back and you can drag them anywhere and they don't care!

For more information on rabbits check out the website of the House Rabbit Society www.rabbit.org.
 
If you don't want a dog due to the work, then get a cat. They are smart, clean and most of them are sweet. Rabbits are alot of clean up. We had one for a year, and I was so glad to get rid of it. They are very cute but all the do is sniff and poop. You have to clean the cage every other day too. The only good thing is that they don't smell due to them being vegetarians but I really think they are more work than a dog.
 
I would think rabbits would be hard on kids with allergies. Just guessing. But cats are my downfall, altho I get used to them and rabbits are even worse.

Also no one says you "have" to get a pet if you really don't want one :)

Colleen
 
We borrowed one from my daughter's class for the weekend. It took me until Saturday AM to figure out that I did not want a rabbit. I couldn't catch it when we let it out. Tried "throwing a towel over it" like the teacher said and that only proved that the rabbit was smart enough to escape the towel. She held the kids' interest for a day - they are 5 and 6 and then they didn't want to hold her anymore because she kept jumping out of their arms. Seems like it is very subjective and depends on the bunny. This one seems to do fine in the kinde class getting passed around, but not at our house? Don't even get me started on the nugget extravaganza.
We now have a box turtle and the kids really like her and take good care of her! I was kind of shocked, but after 6 weeks they are still "into" her. She was a friend's pet for 7 years and the girl kind of grew out of her.
Melissa
 
Rabbits are less work than dogs but more work than cats. They can be litter box trained, you need to put cables into conduit and not leave them out too much, but then, if you lock them up all the time, they get depressed and bored. Get two. It makes a huge difference in their happiness and health. Make sure they are neutered, even if they are the same sex, they will get along better, and be healthier.

The best companion animals I have ever had, bar none, were rabbits, and I love them. But you do need to be good to them. Their food is cheap, they dont' need shots, they are very clean. But they are more destructive than cats and need more exercise and attention to be happy.


rabbit.org is an excellent place to start. Please make sure you know what you are getting into.
 
All pets are work. The easiest to clean up after are fish. I am hightly allergic to cats and rabbits, so i vote dogs:+ but, if you don't really want a pet, then don't get one, because most likely, you will be the one to clean up after it;-)


jes
 
Thanks everybody,
I guess I dread this moment so much because I had a bad experience when I was a child thet still affects me. The area I lived in during early childhood wasn't that great. My dad bought us a puppy (mutt) for like $5. We didn't know how to take care of him and we had him sleeping outside. Anyway, one morning we woke up and we saw his fur left outside. I heard my mom say she thinks the people with the pitbull probably fed him to their pitbull. Me and my brother cried. I think I wanted that pet more than anybody because up until that point I had been terrified of dogs. I thought I would be able to get over my fear with him. Well needless to say I never got over my fear. So I'm scared to get a dog partly because I don't know how to take care it and because I'm still a little scared of them. I thought a rabbit might be easier, but it seems like they are the same if not more work than a dog. I don't want a fish, but I'd like to get something so my boys don't turn out like me, terrified of animals.
 
Just a quick response to the comment about rabbits needing access to their poop because they need to eat it to digest. Rabbits have two types of poop - the hard 'nuggets' that everyone is familiar with and a softer stool that only the true rabbit observer will ever see. These are released, usually during the night, and are immediately consumed and redigested. They are the smelliest, grossest thing should you be so unfortunate as to be around to witness this. They do not usually consume the hard nuggets...although dogs readily will. In fact I think my dog thought my first rabbit was a Pez dispenser!
Strange but true.

Trish
 
>Just a quick response to the comment about rabbits needing
>access to their poop because they need to eat it to digest.
>
>Trish

Thanks for the clarification. I now feel enlightened (though kind of grossed out as well! Rabbits eating those "nuggets'--that kind of look like bunny chow anyway--didn't seem so bad. But soft, smelly stool? AKKK!) So it seems that the person who told me that they have to be in a cage that allows them to access their poo was wrong, since it would be pretty easy for them to access the soft stuff directly--kind of like a soft-serve ice cream dispenser?:p
 

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