pet rabbits for blind people

[Josh Kennedy]

My son who is 11-years-old just got a pet rabbit from a breeder who we know very well. I took care of him for a day while my son was out with my parents. Since I am totally blind and read braille and use a screen reader program on my computer called NvDA in order to use it… I was considering getting a rabbit of my own once my son is old enough in 10 or so years and moves out, — I would get a rabbit for companionship. I am not a big fan of dogs because they are loud. And when I walk bye them in the neighborhood and they bark or run at me from behind fences they give me quite a scare… We have a large cage set up in the kitchen on the same floor where we most frequently spend time in our house. The only concern I have is in 10 or so years when my son moves out and takes his rabbit with him… And if I get a rabbit of my own… When I let him out of the cage for a bit how could I tell where he is at so I don’t lose track of the rabbit? Is there a way to put a small bell on a rabbit or something that makes a sound so I could tell where It is located at? I like the french angora rabbit my son has. He’s a very well-behaved rabbit and is quite friendly towards both me and my son. If I did get a rabbit when the time comes, for its safety i would keep it off of carpets and away from cords. Perhaps only allowing it to run around the kitchen area which is tiled floor. So in short, any ideas on people who are blind taking care of rabbits would be helpful… creative ideas for keeping track of the rabbit and making sure he is safe. For on the spot sighted help, I find the free be my eyes app for android very helpful when my son is not at home and if i want to check on his rabbit. I can call a sighted volunteer and they can help me out using the be my eyes app and looking through my live video feed on the phone to answer any questions I may have about what the rabbit is doing, and so on.

 

[Edited by Wick to be in paragraph form, rather than being one line of text. Let me know if this affects your computer’s ability to read the post.]

[Wick & Fable]

Welcome to Binky Bunny! I edited your post because it generated as one very long line of text off the screen. If this negatively affects your screen reader configuration, let me know. We can keep your future post at the single line format. Other user posts will default to collapsing into paragraphs though. Just let the moderators (myself included) know what’s easiest, as I’m unsure how screen reader programs work.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bunny House]

Hi,
So it would be hard for you to have a bunny as bunnies require a lot of attention all the time. Not saying it couldn’t happen but a bun parent needs to be able to see how much food he is eating each day and since bunnies get sick often, you have to see how much they poop a day and what it looks like. You also have to be able to see how they are looking- if they are hid in a right place, pushing belly to the floor from pain and how they are laying in general. You also wouldn’t be able to see if they are having any eye issues or teeth issues. I think this is why dogs are great service dogs because they do not have serious illnesses that bunnies have which can lead to death within hours if they can not be monitored. If you have a partner who can look at him during the day to make sure he is eating and pooping good then a bunny would be good but if not, it’s too dangerous for their health. Bunnies can’t wear collar because they squeeze into places and can get caught, freakout and suffocate. Also a bunny wouldn’t be able to be free roam unless you have a partner who can physically see him as they like to get into stuff they shouldn’t and anything chemical can kill them. They love to eat carpet that causes blockages, love cords which can electrocute them and they love furniture to eat and base boards. Also a bunny would be easy for you to trip over and they do not act like dogs and move out of the way for you so it would be likely they would get injured.
I think personally because they can get so sick so fast that a dog would be a better choice and by the time you noticed they were sick it would most likely be too late for you to go to a vet since I’m guessing you would have to rely on someone to drive you there.

I know this probably isn’t want you wanted to hear but buns require so much attention with eye sight to monitor them each day that you would be risking the buns life.

Also, I recommend you and your son reading the bunny info tab because bunnies are way harder pets to take care of compared to dogs so it will help ou guys know what to look for if he gets sick. Bunnies often aren’t good pets for kids as they don’t notice the changes in a bunny until they are very sick but make sure to read up so you guys can be better prepared and make sure you see a rabbit savvy vet only as regular vets do not know how to treat bunnies and make sure you have a 24 hour vet near you because it is inevitable you will have to go there at least once with the bun.

[BinkyBunny]

I have a different perspective on this as I do know that there have been a couple of blind members here,who wish to have that part remain private, and they do just fine. They are the sole caregivers of their rabbit or rabbits. Their other senses help them determine many important things – touch can help you feel the poops (they are normally dry and not gross — and if they are squishy and gross, then something is wrong health-wise). Scent can also play a big part in that as normally healthy dry poops don’t smell bad, don’t have much of strong scent at all. (much better than dog or cat poo), but if something is wrong, you can tell.

I know with all the eye issues and teeth issues, my bunnies in the past had, there is usually drainage from the eyes and the mouth, and so it may be possible to make a daily habit of checking for moisture from those areas.   Learning the normal “breathing” and how to take their temperature,  can also help you assess health. 

And I am sure you can feel for food and water like you do for yourself-so those aren’t big issues. 

Not all bunnies will chew on carpet, and it does allow them to run and binky easily (but it can make them quieter). It’s harder for some to run on tile or hard wood. For those that have a tougher time, some carpet squares or carpet samples you can get from carpet stores allows the footing needed for them to run around as they hop from one carpet square to the next. 

But I do agree that finding a bunny can be tricky. Even for sighted people as rabbits are quiet and good at hiding and many of us have accidentally kicked or tripped over our bunnies – so I am not sure how you avoid that.  A bell around the bunny is not recommended as it could get caught up in something and the constant noise with movement would stress out a prey animal. I am not sure how other blind members keep track of their bunny, IF they are free roaming or have free roam exercise time. Hoping that one of our other blind members will help or will message you in private if they want to remain anonymous.

If you for whatever reason, you did lose track of your bunny, I am sure you can ask a friend, neighbor or family member to come help you look.  (If shaking a bag of treats doesn’t help)

EDITED TO ADD: I just had a thought. You could clicker train your bunny to come over to nudge you.  Not that bunnies will follow directions at all times.  But many can be clicker-trained which may be helpful for you. 

 I know our site may not be the easiest to navigate around. Though you did fine here. We are getting a site update in the future that hopefully will work well with your navigation software.

[Josh Kennedy]

You said that I would need eyesight to monitor my bunny’s health, poop, and so on. So are you saying that the be my eyes android app would not work? this app is free and you can read more about what be my eyes can do for me at:

https://www.bemyeyes.com/

Now if you think this would not be enough, then do you think that by using the aira service app with the glasses found at this website: 

https://aira.io/

With these two services, I can get on-demand sighted help with anything I need. If I need transportation somewhere, I can pretty easily get it. Also, my son’s mom who breeds and sells bunnies she only lives a 3 to 4 minute drive away from my house. And she said if we need anything to just give her a call. Also the anual farms show and farming-fairs are in my area frequently, there are bunnies at those events, so i could meet and talk to other rabbit-owners at those places.

[LBJ10]

I agree with BB. There may be some challenges, of course. But I’m sure it would be no different than anything else. As long as you are able to get help when you need it (either through an app or your son’s mom), then the risks would really be no greater. I mean, even sighted people miss things happening with their bunnies. After all, no one is watching their bunny 24/7.

If it were me, I would research everything I could about bunnies and then work out a plan on how I would care for one. When it comes time to get a bunny, then I would have someone help me with setting things up and figuring out how to do the things that need to be done to care for him/her. After that, a day-to-day routine should be easy enough to maintain.

I do like BB’s idea of clicker training. But if it were me, I would have someone help me bunny proof the area the bunny would have access to. You wouldn’t want to loose the bunny in a tight space somewhere!

[Daisy]

Just my thoughts below here. I’m kind all over the place today so these are random brainfarts without really reading other posts, but I hope it will help you out a little!

– To check on health, you will know if your bun is healthy if he comes to you for food/treats and if their pellet/veggie bowl and hay rack are empty. If he does not come you can use the app to have a volunteer check if he shows signs of pain/distress such as hunching, pressing belly to floor, panting.
– To check on the whereabouts of your bunny, I would suggest keeping him in a pen when. That way you will always roughly know where he is and that he is in an area where he cannot get hurt/break your stuff.
– Furthermore you may need assistance with clipping nails, but atleast where I live pet stores and vets do that for roughly 10 euros or you can ask family members or friends to help out.
– Maybe it’s nice if you use the app to have a volunteer check the general behaviour of your bun (once a week, or once every few days). See if he’s still happy and moving around a lot.
– Place a lot of toys with bells in the pen, you will hear when he moves (when I lay in bed I know my buns have not escaped if I hear the bells going inside their pen when they’re running around in there haha).
– If you let him out, 99% of the buns I know go back in their pen when you put treats/veggies/pellets in there if they’re still close enough to the pen (so I wouldn’t give them access to the whole house because if they leave the room even sighted people have issues finding them haha). So finding a free roaming bun should be easy! I suggest having them roam through a closed off space that have nooks crannies and cords blocked off, so that even if she goes missing she can’t be far and she can’t be hidden away too deep somewhere. On tiles/laminate/wooden floors you can actually hear the bun nails on the gloor when they run, so you should atleast have a very vague hint of where they are.

[Vienna Blue in France]

My free roam bridge bunny Pepsi had a collar with a little tinkle on, rather than a huge bell. It was fine. I know bunnies are prey animals, but seriously NOT afraid of my dogs and a tinkerbell should be fine.

People with sight impairments are so more tuned into their animals, through feel and senses.
And regular vet checks sort out issues that even us sighted humans can’t see.

There are ALWAYS solutions – this member has a real life human son who has been brought up…

The bun could be kept in a big enclosed xpen which will make “finding” him easier and keeping other things like cords, safe ! LOL

I would def go for a laid back breed though, so they don’t jump each time you reach out to feel which way round the bun is !!! ( Of course you can get breeds where you can’t tell which end is which !! ):laughing:

[Author]

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