Rabbits!

[GoldenFlight]

I had such fun with my buns today. It was my second grader's birthday, so I took my now 3 week old kits and buck into school to do some visiting. It was so fun to see the kids reactions--ended up visiting four extra classrooms. The kits were all a big hit, and my buck behaved so nice.

Awwww... Cute!!!!

 

[Bunnylady]

I had such fun with my buns today. It was my second grader's birthday, so I took my now 3 week old kits and buck into school to do some visiting. It was so fun to see the kids reactions--ended up visiting four extra classrooms. The kits were all a big hit, and my buck behaved so nice.

This is such a great idea, and such fun to do. When my son was in Kindergarten, I started doing this; I'd pack up whatever babies I had (hopefully at several growth stages) and an adult representative or two of each of my breeds, and visit his class. It expanded to basically visiting the entire grade, and then half the building . . . . But then there was an incident in another school involving a class pet (a rat) that a child provoked until it bit them, and the entire school system became a "no animal" zone. Wellll, not completely; third graders still incubate eggs every year, so they see hatched chicks for a day or two.

 

[User395221]

.But then there was an incident in another school involving a class pet (a rat) that a child provoked until it bit them, and the entire school system became a "no animal" zone. .

Why does everybody overreact to everything these days? Everything is governed by liability concerns. ONE incident, and everybody misses out forever. I find it sad.

 

[GoldenFlight]

But then there was an incident in another school involving a class pet (a rat) that a child provoked until it bit them, and the entire school system became a "no animal" zone. Wellll, not completely; third graders still incubate eggs every year, so they see hatched chicks for a day or two.

That is so sad!

Well, that's good, at least they see some animals.

 

[balloonflower]

It is very sad when blanket policies are put in place without considering the whole story. On my part, before the bunnies came out of their boxes, we had a quick discussion about the need to be as calm and quiet as possible (reality is part too--I did visit both kindergarten classes and a spec ed). We talked about what happens when animals get scared and that I'd put them away immediately to keep both buns and kids safe, and the teachers in each class also made it clear that any behavior that wasn't correct would result in immediate "refocus" time, with no warning. And I am very active in the school, with great relationships with the teachers, so I knew what to expect.

Part of the fun was using the visit for various things that tied into class--for the second grade they have been working with money and adding. So we counted up costs for buying a bunny and all the needed supplies. What all did you talk of other than sharing the fluffy cuteness? (The office staff decided that the school needs therapy bunnies to cuddle when needed)

 

[Bunnylady]

With Harlequins, Netherland Dwarfs, Jersey Woolies, Holland Lops, and Mini Rex, my rabbits covered a pretty broad range of types; most of the kids had no idea that there were such things as rabbit breeds. With all the differences in size, coat type, colors, etc, just the animals themselves were a lot to learn about. But the kids were told before we even started that the rabbits needed them to behave in a quiet and orderly fashion. What we talked about depended partly on the group; mostly it was things like feeding and the basics of rabbit care, and no, those are carriers, the cages the rabbits live in are much bigger, these tiny babies will be this big in this many weeks, and they will be that big in 6 months, yes, rabbits can scratch you, which is why I'm only letting you pet them, not pick them up . . . . With the youngest groups, that many kids and that many animals was barely contained chaos, so most of the time is was kind of "question and answer" rather than a prepared lecture, and keeping things short so there wasn't time for someone to get bored and difficult.

 

[User395221]

.most of the kids had no idea that there were such things as rabbit breeds. .

I can honestly say that I had no clue about ANYTHING related to rabbits until I adopted my first pair. They were banned as pets here until relatively recently, so nobody would have had them as pets to know anything about them. They were only vermin for farmers to deal with. I don't think I knew there were different breeds before I adopted my first ones. To me a rabbit was a rabbit.... It was only when I boned up on information as to how to look after them that I found out things. I went to a rabbit show, and saw the other types then. I now have 2 netherland dwarves and my minilop and my giant, but that's just coincidence as to the rabbits I adopted and who were looking for homes at that time. It's unfortunate that more information isn't given before people take the "cute bunny' home from a pet shop. There are so many ads for pets that the "kids have outgrown" looking for other homes. .

 

[balloonflower]

Yeah. We started with showing off my buck, and most kids and staff were very surprised at the size of the silver fox rabbit. It would be so fun to have more breeds to show.

 

[Bunnylady]

Since all of my other breeds are generally 4 lbs or less, a lot of people would see a 7 or 8 lb Harlequin and say, "that's a big rabbit!" For ages, I have been tempted to get a Flemish Giant just so I could point to it and say, "that's a big rabbit. This one is just medium sized!"

 

[User395221]

."that's a big rabbit. This one is just medium sized!"

hahaha, yes, people who've never seen a giant are gob-smacked when they do. My big girl is in with a netherland dwarf, but he's not that small, he's sort of medium. The other netherland dwarf is tiny, he's got these tiny little hands. The difference between him and my giant is phenomenal, I'm sure kids would be interested to see the differences in how little they can be and how big. Even within breeds, you get variations. I don't think my giant is that big, compared to how big they can get. She looks huge against the "little buns", but she's not enormous.