Breeds of rabbits 4 kids

[Chicky-dees]

Congrats on choosing rabbits as pets!

I didn't read the entire postings of all the others (just skimmed) but I have a house rabbit that my family absolutely adores. She is a black and white dutch belted I took home from vettech school and I potty trained her. Altho she might leave a poop pellet or two around the house, she will only pee in her litter box. I have a 12 yr old and a 2 yr old who LOVE her, and she thoroughly enjoys their interaction and company as well. In fact, she is SUCH a lush for attention, she will jump onto the couch between me and my hubby in the eve after the kids have gone to bed, kick her little feet out sideways, and fall asleep on the couch. Can you say ROTTEN? !!

Tips on diet - I don't feed Timothy hay (but it is an excellent hay for rabbits - can be bought at pet stores) because I have an abundance of rye and coastal (lucky me, saves the cost at the petstore) and her diet is always 80% free choice hay and 20% veggies (mostly fresh kale) with the occasional piece of carrot, apple, strawberry, canteloupe or whatever I might be eating at the time. I also had her spayed which not only increases her health and lifespan (some rabbits have issues with their reproductive system when they don't mate regularly - anything from biting out of sexual frustration to mammary tumors) and she turned 7 this year, and is still in perfect health and perfect weight. I do feed a handful of sunscription adult rabbit pellets (main ingredient timothy hay with mixed in dried fruits and veggies) as a treat and extra source of vitamins. Of course not all rabbits can stay at a correct weight with free choice hay, so you'd have to watch that. But hay should be the number one feed fed which is necessary for dental health.

Sometimes (and only sometimes) I feed her alfalfa (which should never be the main ingredient of the diet due to some rabbits' predispostion to issues with the calcium in it) as a treat as well, and I put her out in the back yard to play when the weather is nice and she can eat grass, leaves, or whatever she finds for about and hour.

I obviously really enjoy my rabbit - the worst thing I can say about having a house rabbit is the litter box and the yearly molt. Normal rabbit pee is very dense (almost creamy like) and is very stinky. The molting is worse than cat hair floating around but it only lasts a few weeks and with some brushing and patience and with the help of a pet hair roller, one can survive. We enjoy the heck out of our little bunny and hope that you and your family enjoy yours just as much!!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Snowy:
*Generally* people find the bucks to be sweeter. I've heard of some mean and nasty bucks though. Biting and scratching and just never tame down. I've only personally met testy and nippy does. I've also heard nightmare stories of bucks never litter box training, and just spraying everywhere, even if neutered! But, mine have all been fine with the exception that the bucks do tend to scatter poops as a territorial marking, and I haven't seen does do that (though I hear that some do). The poops are easy to sweep up, and I've owned bucks before who didn't do it at all. But, I generally expect those out-of-the-box poops from bucks. Not a problem if kept outdoors though.

I don't know about allergies. Probably depends on what the allergy is for! Dust mites may be a problem if indoors, hay gets some people something awful, and the urine is fairly strong (I use Feline Pine...the processing eliminates the harmful pine oils...and it works really well for any odors). One of those little air filter/purifyer things isn't a bad idea either. This is all I could find about allergies and elops. Says the holland lops bugged these people on allergies, but I guess the Elops did not if they are going back to them:
http://www.freewebs.com/jmrrabbitry/englishlops.htm

The elops typically weigh in at around ten pounds. They are a big bunny! Some people find they like the gentle giant breeds with kids, and some people find they prefer much smaller rabbits for kids. I personally just prefer whatever rabbit or breed is the calmest.

Definitely recommend them! I haven't heard any complaints about the breed's temperament myself, which is something I can't say for most breeds. English angoras (however...lots of complaints on the upkeep of their hair), dutch, and Himalayans are the others I've never really heard anything bad about temperament wise. My one complaint would be that they seem prone to entropian. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropion

 

[OldGuy43]

I've never had a rabbit before, so this is all new to me.

Since you've said that I will warn you of one thing that OldGal and I learned the hard way. You cannot safely let them run free in the house. For some reason they really LOVE(!) to chew on electric cords. Nothing, not even being shocked will dissuade them. Other than that they make great and loving pets.

 

[FireTigeris]

And the door jambs and the walls... and the chairs and anything else rabbit height... (wood plastic or rubber- and the rubber is deadly...)

They -do- make cord keepers that are nearly rabbit proof. nearly-

 

[Snowygirl]

Thanks everybody!! I really appreciate all of your suggestions an tips!!

And the door jambs and the walls... and the chairs and anything else rabbit height... (wood plastic or rubber- and the rubber is deadly...)

Since you've said that I will warn you of one thing that OldGal and I learned the hard way. You cannot safely let them run free in the house. For some reason they really LOVE(!) to chew on electric cords. Nothing, not even being shocked will dissuade them. Other than that they make great and loving pets.

We'll be keeping him/her outside to reduce on smell in the house, and so that we won't have to worry about "bunny-proofing"
the house. Also we have 2 dogs, and I'd be heart broken if something were to happen to the little guy.

 

[StarLover21]

We used to have a holland lop. She was the SWEETEST girl! She thought she was a cat- she 'free ranged' the house, and ruined many electrical cords . She was potty trained too, so it didn't smell at all! I would go with the mini lop. I would definitally neuter/spay the rabbit, it makes them much sweeter. Bucks are supposed to be much sweeter than girls- so I would probably get a male, but ours was a girl and super sweet!

 

[Snowygirl]

Awww! That's so sweet!!

Are holland lops good with kids?

 

[Chicky-dees]

LOL - the computer cord attached to my computer right now has about 5 electrical tape repairs on it...!!! As far as my spayed female bunny goes, she went from crazy and nippy to sweet and spoiled after the spay. So that is always an option. I have to lock her up when it's time to feed the dogs...boy does she love dog food and it's so bad for her. She also loves to check under the parrot cage for fallen pellets and other goodies he tosses out. Kind of like having a two year old child in the house 24-7..haha!

 

[Chicky-dees]

My favorite rabbit breed is the Flemish Giant. Never lived with one, but have played with many belonging to other people I know - they are the size of a small dog. They are fun, too - much more bunny to love especially if you get one that likes to be cuddled.

here's a youtube video of one hopping around inside

now that's a big furball!

 

[Snowygirl]

That is a GINORMOUS bunny!!! Do you think that a Flemish would be ok
with being held? We want a very nice and laid back bunny. Thanks 4 all the help!!