recommend bunnies??

Question

can anyone give me pros and cons of small rabbits as pets.or breeds under 5 lbs????please help.my friend is researching whether to get onee.

Answer 1

Rabbits can be very good pets. They can be littler trained just like cats can. However if you decide to let your rabbit loose in the house you will need to treat the electric chords and chair legs with bitter apple or tobasco sauce to keep the rabbit from chewing on them. Male rabbits normally make a better pet than female rabbits since females normally go through a hormonal period when they reach about 4 months old that can make some of the females turn mean. Male rabbits also seem to be more well tempered most of the time.

There are many rabbit breeds around or under 5 pounds:

Mini Rex
Polish
Netherland Dwarfs
Tans
Himalayans
Dutch
Dwarf Hotots
Jersey Woolies
Florida Whites
Havanas
Holland Lops

It's normally best to only let your rabbit loose in the house while you are around to monitor it, especially at first. Otherwise it is a good idea to keep it caged. For a small rabbit, I recommend keeping it in wire cage that has a wire bottom floor and a pan underneath to collect the poop. They are much easier to clean out and the rabbit won't get nearly as dirty.

Also like cats, rabbits don't need to be bathed. They lick themselves clean like cats do.

Avoid giving the rabbit fruits and vegetables. Stick to just rabbit pellets and water. Fruits and vegetables if given in excess can not only throw off the rabbit's nutrition but also cause it to get diahrrea.

Answer 2

By small rabbits I assume your friend is after something like a Netherland Dwarf or a Polish Dwarf? They are lovely rabbits but do not have the placid temperament of the larger breeds ie the Dwarf Lop. They are very intelligent and can be really destructive if bored - tell your mate to buy as many toys as he/she can to keep the bunny from chewing unwanted things. They also need a lot of exercise (as do all rabbits) just because they are small does not mean your friend will not have to exercise them. They generally need at least 20 mins out of their cage/hutch a day - although I would recommend an hour at least if possible then they are truly tired!!

If your friend has small children (under the age of about 6) a rabbit may not be the pet for her as they are not very kiddie - minded. Guinea Pigs are better in this instance if the children are goint to be involved.

Enjoy bunny hunting :-)

Answer 3

Rabbits are wonderful pet. Just treat them as you would any animal, with a lot of love and attention.
But as they have less body mass they will have to be kept extra warm. Make sure the hutch is out of any drafts, and the hutch is dry. Put an old piece of carpet over the hutch and a tarpaulin or some sort of other plastic to keep the rain and wind out. Put sawdust on the floor and a lot of hay in its sleeping compartment, rabbit grain, not the wet stuff, that's horrible, water and green veg, carrot and tops, toast, apple, even a little porridge, cooked.
And please don't buy a water bottle, have you ever seen a wild rabbit drink out of a bottle, no, so why do it in a hutch. Get one of those metal bowls that clips on the wire at the front of the hutch, or a very heavy ceramic bowl for water.

Answer 4

I have one rabbit. She is fantastic! I must say, I never expected the level of intelligence, affection, and cleverness that she has demonstrated.

The other side of the coin, is that they are a lot fussier than cats to care for. It can be difficult to find a vet with rabbit expertise; proper diet requires a good deal of attention to detail, until you master it; they require more individual attention than a cat; you do have to bunny-proof an area for exercise.

It is possible to litter train them, but, if you are going to give them free run of more than just a small area, you will need multiple litter boxes. Get a paperback at any pet store, or borrow a book from your local library and do the research. Please give it some serious thought. If you decide you are up to it, then, by all means, they make a wonderful pet.

Answer 5

My best friend/ex-boyfriend and I had miniature bunnies, Malcolm & Lilly. We loved them to death but there were big down sides. First being, you can't really potty train them. I know you can train them to use the litter box but there was frequent accidents. Second, they would chew on anything and everything, chords, walls, books, I mean anything. Make sure you have a "bunny-safe" area for them. Third, the males have scent glands that are a bit musty. But they were great once you got past those downfalls. They had wonderful personalities and were lots of fun to play with.

Answer 6

We had lots of pets growing up. One year for Easter we got bunny rabbits. We ended up getting a 'toy' bunny I guess it was - His name was Benjamin and he stayed small. The others were Floppsy, Mopsy Peter and CottonTail. They were all 5 kept inside in individual cages and they were all litter box trained. We took them outside on leashes. They don't bark or make loud noises. They were all really cute and calm and I don't remember them shedding. Highly recommend them as pets! Now I have too many kids to have any pets.
Dogs bark a lot and HAVE to go potty outside and cats cough up nasty furballs on your carpet and tear up your furniture.

Answer 7

Rabbits are great animals although make sure you buy the right gender otherwise u may find a surprise one morning! buy 2 rabbits so they will have company may i suggest rehomeing rabbits that don't have a home :) i hope that this helps!
xoxox
lauzz!!

Answer 8

Rabbits are brilliant pets, they're so cute but clever too. They become so tame, they need space to run about, i don't seeing them in a run, so you'll need to ensure garden is secure so they can't escape, but def recommend them, I've have rabbits all my life and love them!!!

Answer 9

Dutch rabbits stay small & make nice pets. My sister had them (she was in 4H) when I was a child & we even had a few that were litter box trained. They are pretty & smart. For more info: http://www.dutchrabbit.com/

Answer 10

Your best bet would be going with a crossbreed [I have dwarf lop crosses and they are cute and all of them are very friendly (all 6)]... preferably lops as they are the friendliest... miniature ones aren't usually as friendly, but as long as you make sure they were well handled from a fairly young age... they should be fine.