Wanting one… new to rabbits

[Ollie]

Hello! I’m new to this forum AND rabbits. I am really wanting a pet rabbit right now and have been for a few weeks. I’m working on reading about them too. I am familiar with small animals, fish and cats. I have owned all three. I am very familiar with guinea pigs and know the drill. Eats OXBOW, timothy hay, needs a large C&C cage, needs floor time. I assume it’s very similar with rabbits. Except rabbits are a little different… on the more $$ side. 

I would appreciate it if someone would feed me the information on rabbits. They’re monthly costs, behavior, and especially info on housing a rabbit INSIDE a house. My bedroom floor is getting redone and I will be having laminate flooring. I know that laminate floors damages easier than carpet. I am wanting my rabbit to be kept inside of my room as her/his “cage”. I can’t have a huge cage in my room, so I figured that I can have a free-range cage. I will, of course, have it bunny proofed. The thing I am most worried about is that the rabbit will chew on my furniture. All of my furniture is wooden. I will supply the rabbit with many chew toys to entertain him/her with. I have to have the rabbit in my bedroom for specific purposes. But I WILL let him/her out everyday for a free range run. Are they hard to take care of? Would you say they are as much work as guinea pigs or more work? Any input and information will be appreciated!  

I read in an article that most rabbits are litter trained when you adopt them from the shelter/rescue. I can set a litter box somewhere in my room and have an area where it can be a kitchen/bathroom area. Yes, I will feed my rabbit high-quality OXBOW rabbit food and timothy hay.

These are the items I plan on purchasing: 

-Timothy hay (I already have) 

-Oxbow rabbit food

-Hay box (probably going to be in a SEPARATE litter pan) 

-“Sleeping hut” and a cat bed 

-Pen to section her/him if I need to (don’t worry, rabbit will be out in my room 24/7 

-Litter pan for litter 

-Cat bed for her sleeping 

-SEVERAL toys 

-Cardboard box as “safe house” 

-Kitchen supplies (water bottle, dishes etc) 

-Cleaning supplies (I already have) 

Is there anything I am missing out on? I will be feeding fresh veggies everyday and we do have a full lawn of fresh, green grass. Also, (not in this weather, I know) is it safe to put  a rabbit on a harness? 

Please add any additional notes and comments. Those will be greatly appreciated. Remember, I am VERY new to rabbits and will need all the help I can get! Thanks! 

~Ollie 

[Ollie]

And can anyone tell me what is the best breed to start off with? I really don’t want a Netherland Dwarf. I think those are too small.. I think (correct me if I’m wrong) they’re as big as a guinea pig? What I can find easily and want is a female (or male) black dutch, holland lop or mini rex. Are one of those easy to take care of?
One of my friends has a black dutch said they’re quite friendly and bond easily. Is this true? Thanks again!

[Ollie]

Sorry.. I double posted. 

[Snowytoshi]

Posted By Ollie on 01/10/2013 03:33 PM

And can anyone tell me what is the best breed to start off with? I really don’t want a Netherland Dwarf. I think those are too small.. I think (correct me if I’m wrong) they’re as big as a guinea pig? What I can find easily and want is a female (or male) black dutch, holland lop or mini rex. Are one of those easy to take care of?
One of my friends has a black dutch said they’re quite friendly and bond easily. Is this true? Thanks again!

I would not be worried about a rabbit’s breed, as every rabbit is unique and it is their personaility that counts. 

[Ollie]

Posted By Snowytoshi on 01/10/2013 03:43 PM

Posted By Ollie on 01/10/2013 03:33 PM

And can anyone tell me what is the best breed to start off with? I really don’t want a Netherland Dwarf. I think those are too small.. I think (correct me if I’m wrong) they’re as big as a guinea pig? What I can find easily and want is a female (or male) black dutch, holland lop or mini rex. Are one of those easy to take care of?
One of my friends has a black dutch said they’re quite friendly and bond easily. Is this true? Thanks again!

I would not be worried about a rabbit’s breed, as every rabbit is unique and it is their personaility that counts. 

Ok, thanks! 

[RoyalElvira]

Sounds like you are doing your research, which is great!! Do as much reading as you can! Also, you might want to see if your local house rabbit society does a bunny 101 class. This will help a lot! But it sounds like you’re pretty prepared. Read up on GI Stasis and other rabbit sicknesses, nail trimming, etc. Good luck!

[tanlover14]

Hey there, congrats on wanting a new furry little friend!

Having been in this position when I bought my first bun (last April), I’ll get you a little up-to-date. First and foremost, I thought owning a rabbit would be a lot like owning a guinea pig. Big surprise, they are NOT! Owning a rabbit is really more like owning a dog or a cat. Sometimes even harder. (Depending on personality, age, ect). So if you’re planning on easy — rabbits are not easy animals.

As for owning a rabbit, you seem to have a lot of necessities picked out. I would hold off on feeding the bunny grass from your yard unless you’re COMPLETELY sure it is safe from any sort of fertilizer or sprays. Which can be very bad for their sensitive stomachs. As for food — Oxbow is a great brand and what I use to feed my buns. We’ve never had a problem here and their hay offers a good variety. The amount of money you spend monthly on food really depends greatly on your buns size and you. For a 6 lb. bun, they should get about 1/4 cup of food daily and about 2 cups of veggies daily. Veggies and their prices vary greatly from place to place so it’s hard to determine what your area may be like. BUT for adult rabbit oxbow food, my three bunnies go through about a bag every month-month/half. As for veggies, for my three brats we spend about $6 a week on them. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending whats on sale and whether we want to switch up the variety a bit. In our litter boxes, we use CareFresh and between 3 litter boxes we go through about 1 big bag every 2 weeks which is about $30 at PetSmart/Co I do believe. Again, this is for THREE bunnies. All of who are about 4.5 lbs. each. If you get a bigger bunny it’ll obviously be more. As you don’t want a small bunny — I don’t think your costs will get any less than this. But there’s also great saving options for litter so if thats expensive for you there’s lots of other options to check out.

Harnesses are definitely NOT safe for the rabbits. Rabbits become way too easily startled and their first response is to bolt. Harnesses have been known to seriously injure, if not kill, rabbits. So I am definitely steering you away from them.

Humane Societies are GREAT places to acquire a rabbit. Not just for the rabbit – but yourself also. By adopting, they usually come spayed/neutered which saves you the cost and energy of neutering/litter training habits. Younger bunnies are also VERY energetic so I would suggest getting a bigger, more calm bunny if not looking for a little destructo bun. Usually the people at the rescue can give you a very good description of each bunnies personality as well as letting you interact with the bun before deciding to adopt. I wouldn’t go in looking for a breed, as breeds come in all different personalities, and instead go in with what you are looking for in a rabbit and then decide THAT way. Usually they have also been seen by a vet, so don’t need another appt for a year. I’d have someone at the rescue give you a good lesson on how to hold your rabbit and also, trimming his nails if they can. These tend to be the HARDEST things I had to learn with my bunnies. I never expected my buns to be able to escape my grasp like they really can. (Bunnies almost always like all four feet on the floor — so I would only handle your bunny when it’s really necessary though).

Rabbits are EXTREMELY good pets though — so if you decide to go ahead and get one I’m sure your new bun will be way more than you expected in so many ways. I never expected my buns to be as affectionate as they are (although it took a lot of time and patience to get to that point so you have to be wiling to give them their space) and I never expected to love them like I have dogs and horses and other animals in the past, so I think you’d be pleasantly surprised!

[mocha200]

Sounds like you have a pretty good list going! For the Oxbow food, if your rabbit is over 6 months it is considered an adult and should have Timothy pellets ( called “Oxbow Bunny Basics/T Adult Rabbit Food”) if it is under six months get the Young Rabbit Food. If your bunny was on a different pellet at the shelter! Slowly introduce the new kind by slowly mixing them together. Same with veggies. Slowly introduce them to avoid stomach upsets.

Also, it is not natural for rabbits to drink out of water bottles and some will not drink from them. Also water bottles only release a little bit of water every lick and rabbits can become frustrated and start chewing and shaking the bottle and sometimes not end up getting the water they need as an average rabbit will drink just as much or more then a 20lb dog. A heavy crock dish is best. It’s not bad to use water bottles, but just make sure if you do, offer both.

Your set up sounds great! Lots of space to run around. Just to warn you, rabbits are very territorial and like to “mark” their territory in a new place. So even if they are litter trained he/she may mark for a few weeks.

Sorry for the long post! I babble a lot! If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome! It’s wonderful you are doing your research before jumping in Your set up sounds like it will be really good; I would check out this link https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/8/PID/940/Default.aspx to help you bunny proof that wooden furniture. A lot of woods are toxic and certainly the finish on furniture will be so you’ll want to take care of that.

Compared to guinea pigs, I think rabbits can be a lot more work. Guinea pigs can’t jump so they can’t get into as much trouble as a rabbit. Additionally rabbits are very smart-so this makes it harder to keep them but very rewarding. I think cost wise-food will be about the same if you considered lb for lb; obviously a six lb bunny will eat more than a 2lb guinea pig Vet wise it will definitely be costly. If you adopt a rabbit, you get to skip the spay/neuter cost which is very expensive. Exams are usually 50-100$ depending on where you live; You can definitely count on having some sort of health issue at least once in their life, in addition to annual exams.

Feel free to ask anymore questions you have, and keep us posted on your progress to bunny-ownership!

[LoveChaCha]

Haha, dwarf bunnies are not that small. They range in the 2-4 lb and have HUGE personalities.

As for breed, I wouldn’t eliminate one breed over another. They are like people and come with different personalities. My dwarf is not hyper, but is very much in control, demanding, and very sweet.

As for wanting to have your bun free range, I would try possibly getting an x-pen and litter training it first. You will also need to spay / neuter the bunny.. It makes litter training and life with a rabbit so much more easy.

I have one rabbit at the moment. Her litter is cheap (I use wood stove pellets and a 40 lb bag is $5) and it takes me several months to go through one bag, she doesn’t get many pellets (I spend a little more on pellets due to the quality and it has no fillers, so $18 for a 6 lb bag that lasts almost a year), hay from the feed store costs me $15 for a 50 pound bale. As for vegetables, my bun gets 5-7 types a night so I spend about $10 or less a week on vegetables. Vegetable prices depend on where you live and what is in season at the moment. The biggest part of my money goes to having a vet. Establishing an exotic vet (rabbits are considered exotic) is important! Also, you’ll need a good grooming brush and nail clippers! Rabbit’s nails grow and need clipping.

[Elrohwen]

I would say that rabbits are more work than guinea pigs, but in some ways they’re also less because they use a litter box and don’t require so much cage clean-up. Mine are really pretty low maintenance – more so than cats, but super easy compared to a dog.

I have two lop rabbits, on the small-medium end of the size spectrum. I spend about $7-10 per week on veggies (primarily romaine and leaf lettuce, and parsley), $100 per year on hay (though it would be far cheaper if I bought a bale, instead of oxbow), $50 a year on bedding (wood stove pellets), and a negligible amount on pellets (I buy a couple small bags per year – they each eat 1/8c daily). Vet care is expensive – the ones near me charge $90 for a standard check up per rabbit. The last time Hannah wasn’t eating I spent $300 and they didn’t find anything wrong with her (she was fine the next day).

Breed really doesn’t matter. Unlike dogs, rabbits aren’t bred for their personalities, but more for physical appearance. Of course, nobody wants mean and unfriendly bunnies, but beyond that there’s not a lot of emphasis on temperament and you can’t generalize much between breeds except that the bigger breeds tend to be more laid back. Any of the breeds you mentioned will make great pets and will require the same amount of care and living space (since they’re all a similar size).

On litter training – it isn’t actually training so much as setting them up for success (kind of like cats). Most bunnies will instinctively use a litter box if you set up their habitat correctly (we can help you with that), though they will vary on how accurate they are. There are very few bunnies who just absolutely won’t get the hang of it.

I would start with some sort of enclosure (xpens are great) while your bun gets used to your house and you can evaluate litter training, chewing, etc. Some buns are just great free range buns and others simply get into too much trouble to be left out all the time. I have one of each – if I only had my boy, he would be free range now, but my girl is too much of a trouble maker.

Many rabbits will nibble on furniture. I like to use the C&C grids to block off things that they’re chewing on and you can easily put those in front of furniture legs. The lime flavored no-chew products also work for me. Mine don’t like commercial chew toys, but love cardboard boxes and phone books. Bunnies often love the cheapest toys the best, which is nice.

Bunnies are really fun pets. Their personalities really vary by bun and can run from affectionate to aloof, laid back to nervous. I find that having no expectations of personality and just loving your bunny for himself is important. One of mine is aloof yet very laid back and for a long time I really wanted him to be affectionate. He still isn’t (4 years later), but I’ve worked with him a lot and we interact through training and others things which gives us a pretty solid bond. My other bun is nervous yet affectionate and looooves to be petted. She’s also extremely smart and is always doing silly things or getting past my bunny proofing so she keeps me on my toes. I got the aloof bun as a baby, and the affectionate bun as a 3 year old, so the age you get them doesn’t really matter for bonding. I think their personalities are very genetic and they are who they are. Of course, socialization and stuff helps, but it won’t change their core personality.

[Ollie]

WOW! Gee thanks!!

Yes, I keeping a rabbit is like keeping a dog or cat. The only reason why I’m wanting a rabbit is because I was REALLY wanting another guinea pig for my lone boar. I was asking my guinea pig forum if I could attach a 3×2 to my current “mini” 3×2 and they said “No, most likely not”. If two guinea pigs are suitable in a 3×2, why can I have 2 in a 3×2 ALONGSIDE with a big loft extension? Makes no sense, right?
Anyway, I wanted a furry friend to give me some company. I clean my guinea pig’s fleece/towels every other day which is QUITE A HASSLE. I figured if I only had a littler box to refresh everyday it’d be MUCH easier. I may be wrong.

Yes, I will have a water bottle AND a water dish.
As for nail trimming, I have this covered. My guinea pig rescue clips my piggy’s nails and they also have a rabbit that lives there. I am sure they will clip a rabbit’s nails (they also work with rabbits)

I am thinking about a dwarf now.. :-/

[Ollie]

Hey guys, just wanted to say thanks for all the useful information. This is really motivating me into wanting a new furry pal but I’m thinking that I can’t really handle a pet such as a rabbit right now. Thanks so much!
~Ollie

[Ava]

Alvin has a tiny wire cage, but since he is allowed to free roam the majority of the time, it hasn’t been an issue. It’s really just a place for his litterbox, food, water, and hay. My dad is in the process of building him a bigger, better cage, but his drill broke so he hasn’t been able to work on it for awhile now. I think having any cage is a good idea in case of forgetting to close the door at night, visitors, safety, etc… I had to start putting Alvin in the cage at night once he was old enough to jump straight up onto my desk(3ft high) and get at my computer wires, it surprised me when I saw him jump straight up like that, he almost seemed to float up!

Alvin loves to jump on my bed and do binkies there, he is very curious and inquisitive, he *has* to investigate everything! He also chews on everything. He has pulled papers(including money) out of my bookbag that had been sitting on a table and chewed them before I could get to him. He has snuck out of my room by racing out as soon as I open the door and then I have to chase him around the non-bunny proofed living room(he thinks it’s a game)!

Alvin keeps me on my toes, but he makes up for it by being so adorable and lovable, he adores having his nose rubbed and eagerly hops up to my mom when she comes into the room, just because that’s the first thing she does, is rub his nose.

My first rabbit breed was a Dutch. They’re usually known to be friendly little rabbits. I’m not sure I could choose one favorite breed, I love them all, really. What I would do is go down to a rabbit rescue, spend time with the rabbits, and see which rabbit clicks with you.

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

Congrats on deciding to get a rabbit they are a terrific pet. I have owned them for over 20 years. I can’t really say that I specifically wanted a certain breed. I just knew I wanted a rabbit it didn’t matter to me what breed or color or female or male. The way I got my 2 buns I knew they were meant to be with me. You have definately come to the right place and seem like you know alot about bunnies. Good luck in owning a rabbit they are alot of fun.

[Author]

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