bunny survey

[IDIOT HUSBAND]

We have a 4 year old baby girl. We are looking into getting her a pet rabbit.
we are particularly interested in the holland lop and the lionhead. If there is any breed we should look into other than these please let us know.

 

[Mrs. Glassman]

Just keep in mind that rabbit have very strong back legs with nice sharp claws.

When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I was playing with my pet rabbit. It wouldn't be still so I could "love it". It laid my arm open from my wrist to my elbow with one quick flick of it's back leg. I still have a nice little scar. I have no idea what breed it was, only that it had long black hair & lop ears.

Also, rabbits bite, of course, anything with a mouth & teeth can bite.

I don't know of a completely docile breed. Maybe someone can recommend something.

Just supervise closely when letting a child that age play with any animal.

Good luck! & post pics of your new bunny when you get it!

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

I have to agree with Mrs Glassman, we have a dutch bunny and he is super docile but he still ripped up our daughters arm a couple of weeks ago when she was petting him, one spot really worried me but it has healed well but I am sure she will have a scar. I grew up with rabbits and I love them but they can really inflict a good sized wound if they choose too!

 

[havi]

Not to be rude or anything, but at 4 years old does she really need a pet? Kids that young sometimes doesnt understand the 'you have to be gentle with it.' Also rabbits can easily be hurt if grabbed the wrong way or dropped.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

havi, my 3 yr old has a cat, a bird and a frog, she is great with them, as is my 8yr old, I of course take care of everything but those animals are truly hers, age isnt the issue to me here its just keeping a child of any age safe while handling a bunny/rabbit.

 

[CrazyChickieMama]

we had a very nice new zealand baby that my daughter (2) adored. He was very docile and did not care how much she pulled on his ears or tail. But then again he was just a baby...We also have guinea pigs that love kids too...mostly it's a matter of supervision and knowing when the animal has had enough of "playtime".


Good Luck on your search for a pet!!!!!!






(my son got his first pet when he was 3-a guinea pig)

 

[IDIOT HUSBAND]

Thanks to everyone for their input. Me and my wife will research it further.

 

[Akane]

We had a huge new zealand cross actually destined for a meat rabbit farm before we got it. I was in preschool when we got him. We were never allowed to pick him up and we were always taught to handle the pets carefully. He worked out fine for us and actually couldn't fit through the chain link fence around the yard so could wander about with us. Until the neighbors dog got him one day when someone left the gate open. After that my aunt gave us 2 dwarf rabbits thinking the smaller size would be better but my mom ended up giving them away. They were too high energy and like cautioned above would scratch horribly if we tried to hold them which we were tempted to do since they were small enough to be picked up. The big 10-12lb rabbit was not really possible for little kids to even attempt to pick up. After that my aunt got us a pair of guinea pigs which turned out to be male and female and we had guinea pigs constantly from then until I went to college.

Rabbits do actually get along better if kept with at least one other rabbit and make better house pets if neutered. See http://www.rabbit.org/faq/index.html . Other than that whether a young child does well with any animals greatly depends on the parents and the child.

 

[mekasmom]

I personally believe all kids should have a pet. It teaches them "childcare" skills, empathy, compassion, responsibility, and how to care for and love another weaker being.
As for the rabbit idea, they really don't make a good "cuddly" pet. Dogs are much better. If you just want something to look at and gently stroke once in a while, the rabbit is ok. But the child would get scratched, and have no interaction or love back from the rabbit. Dogs are just much better pets for kids. They love back and can cuddle. And dogs want attention while rabbits don't like it.

 

[dutchhollow]

My daughter has had rabbits since she was about three, and started showing them about 3 years ago when she was eight. We have large breed satins, very calm laid back lot of colors. But size is an issue. Of all of the small breeds I would go with the holland lop, we bred them for a while and they are the most laid back (in fact some of them barely move) loved to be carried like a baby and lay on their backs (now not all of them will be like this of course, try to buy from a breeder and take a look and handle their stock). Most of the other small breeds can be flighty and kicky. We have had dutch, also and a friend raises mini rexes. We do have one lionhead that is a sweetheart, but I don't know if that is the norm, I haven't dealt with a lot of them.
If you close I would place the lion head with you, and have a hl doe also!