Our 6 year old daughter would like a pet bunny. We prefer a rabbit that doesn't get very big. Suggestions?

Answer 1

Get a rabbit and tell her its a bunny.

Answer 2

Yes, there are many breeds that fit that description:

Holland Lops
Florida Whites
Havanas
Polish
Jersey Woolies
Netherland Dwarfs
Dutch
Tans
Dwarf Hotot
Himalayans
Mini Rex
Mini Satins
Lionheads
Britannia Petites *they can be somewhat fiesty

For the most part, that's an extensive list of the smallest rabbit breeds.

Regarding the excitable fact that one person mentioned, with the exception of Britannia Petites as far as small breeds, the excitability of the rabbit depends on the herd the rabbit comes from and how the rabbit is cared for. One person's herd for a breed of rabbit may not be excitable at all while another person's with the same breed may all be totally excitable. It's good to leave a radio on most all the time around your rabbit so it gets used to sound. Sudden sounds or a sudden lack of sound can scare a rabbit. Sudden movements can also scare them. Male rabbits generally make better pets because they do not go through the hormone cycles that females do, which can cause some female rabbits to become mean.

As far as age being a factor, I've grown up raising rabbits since I was five and have seen other children raising them before that age. I began feeding them and cleaning out the cages on my own at age five. The parent should check to make sure that the child handles and takes care of the rabbit properly on a frequent/daily basis. I believe letting a child raise an animal teaches them responsibility. But you have to make sure they do it properly and correct them when they don't.

Answer 3

If you want to get your 6 yo a rabbit you should get something bigger that wont be as afraid of being picked up and handled roughly like 6 year olds tend to do. I would suggest getting a flemish giant, new zealand or a california rabbit. They are larger and tend to be gentle. The smaller breeds are more prone to getting scared and trying to flee which can inflict some pretty nasty scratches. If you cant house a larger bunny then wait until you can because your daughter ( and a rabbit) will do better with a larger breed.

For those of you that say her daughter is too young, your wrong, my 4 children have been around rabbits for a long time now. 2 of my daughters have their own rabbitry and they are only 9 & 8 years old. They do very well at showing and have some of the best stock in the state.

Isolad, your wrong, you just got sick rabbits, probably from a pet store or irresponsible backyard breeder...Netherlands are not prone to stuff like that.

Answer 4

We got our six year old boy a pet bunny just at Easter, his friend (called sarah) has a mum breeds them (consequently our bunny is named easter sarah!!!) and owns a pet shop and her baby bunnies are handled from a young age and very tame. We always thought we would get a dwarf one but ended up getting an ordinary sized bunny, she's a girl. The real plus to getting a little on maybe however that they can't scratch as badly. Ours was tame, we had her on her lead all the time and also let her play inside the house but just recently she has started to scratch when we try and get her out of the cage and is quite nervous. She has had no bad experiences and is well socialised, I think it's just a natural bunny thing, they fright easily and so on. I had heard that dwarf bunnies don't scratch so badly so maybe thats something to look into as well. She's so cute though and we love her to bits. I heard that desexing can sometimes help with the scratching so we might do that...anyway getting off subject here, sorry. In short I would go for a dwarf bunny, nothing too difficult to maintain. (short haired etc...) and avoid your average pet shop, try and find someone who breeds them at home.

Have fun!

Answer 5

Dwarf rabbits are small though tnd to be nippyer and not so good for small children, also they tend to develop much more health problems then standard breeds. Most standard breeds however do not grow to exceptionally large sizes and ive had friends who kept them in an apartment quite well, there are lots of books out there about rabbits and breeds but probly the best advice youll get is to go to a country fair, being its close to labor day im sure you can find one where you lie, just go to the rabbit barn and talk to a breeder, most are ppl who do it in thier spare time and will give you all the help you need and will probly even have some rabbits to sell or may possibly even give one to you for free! (dont ask however just wait untill they offer) i have gotten a few rabbits like this and always had good results

hope his helps =)

Answer 6

Size is important but with a 6 year old, temperament is one of the most important considerations. I wouldn't choose a dwarf breed (such as Netherland Dwarf or Holland Lop) for a small child since they tend to be excitable and get easily startled by sudden movements. They do have sharp toenails and can scratch, so make sure she learns the proper way to handle it.

Rabbits CAN make excellent pets for children, I got my first one at 5 and played with him all the time. You will just need to teach her how to handle it and supervise her. They DO interact with humans, some more so than others, which is why I would recommend visiting a breeder so you can see the individual's personalities and choose an outgoing, curious one. Like any animal it will need to bond with your daughter, but the more time she spends with it and getting to know its personality, the more she'll know how to play with it, and it will play with her. If you watch kids at a rabbit show doing showmanship, you can tell right away who spends the most time with their rabbits. The more socialized ones will dart to the owner if startled, or if they are calm, will stand up and put their front feet on their person or try to climb up them.

Himalayans are probably the calmest breed and stay under 4 lbs. They're white and have black (or another color) on their nose, ears, feet and tail, but they do have pink eyes which freaks some people out.

Dutch are another pretty calm and cool breed, they don't get stressed out by much. You've probably seen them...they are white on the front end and black on the back end (or another color) with a dark head and ears and white stripe up their face. They top out at about 5 1/2 lbs but most are smaller.

Mini Rex are another very popular breed that tend to have good dispositions. They come in many colors and have very soft, plushy, velvety fur. They don't get much bigger than 4 1/2 lbs either.

Those would be my top three picks. Dutch and Mini Rex are pretty easy to find, while Himilayans are a little rarer. Here's a link where you can see pictures of all the breeds:

http://www.arba.net/photo.htm

Answer 7

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend getting a bunny at all (at least a dwarf rabbit, which is what I think you would want). I have had two, and both died only after a few months suddenly of an upper respiratory infection leaving me devastated. Apparently, dwarf rabbits are prone to URI's, and they are quite deadly. I gave both of my bunnies excellent care and as much love as my heart could give, but in the end, the vet could not save them. Research it for yourself. However, to save your young daughter a lot of pain, maybe you can suggest getting a Guinea pig or a chinchilla. I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I had to share what happened to me in hopes of saving someone else the pain of loosing a friend.

Answer 8

The samller rabbits are very fragile for a small childs pet. II raise several diffrent breeds of rabbits and to me the best rabbit for a childs pet is the Flemish Giants. They get real big and need a larger cage than the smaller rabbits and eat a little more but not enough to make a big difference. They are very docile and a child is not likely to hurt them unless they treat it really rough. Mine has been so easy to train to a harness and leash. They get large enough that a child can play with them like a dog and not hurt them . Good playmates, will sleep on your shoulder like a baby. I just love mine. Her name is Ruthie. MIne eats hay and about 6 oz of rabbit pellets a day Of course she is spoiled to getting a small slice of apple or pear everyday Get that baby a Flemish and she will enjoy it.

Answer 9

these are the smalles rabbit breeds varying from 2-6 lbs
this is the american rabbit breeders assosiation list

Small - 2 to 6 lbs (0.9-2.7 kg)

American Fuzzy Lop
Britannia Petite
Dutch
Dwarf Hotot
Florida White
Havana
Himilayan
Holland Lop
Jersey Wolly
Mini Lop
Mini Rex
Netherland Dwarf
Polish
Silver
Tan

Answer 10

Here are several small breeds of bunnies:

Netherland Dwarf - one of the smallest breeds of rabbits, weights just over 1kg.
Dwarf Lop - weights 2-2.5kg
Dutch - weights 2-2-5kg

Personally, I would go with the Dutch as they're quite popular and fairly small. They are colorful; usually white across the shoulders and have a white blaze (stripe) down their nose with color from the waist down, around the eyes and upright colored ears.

Really nice sweet good-looking bunnies:

Answer 11

small dwarf bunnies only make good pets for 6 year old sif you are goign to be supervising the child and you ar eable to keep the bunny clean and take care of it.
i have a dwarf holland lop and they are not suitable for 6 year olds as they are fragile.