Hi, i am hoping to add a house rabbit to my family. My husband and i have 3 1/2 Great Dane dogs (one is half Great Dane mixed with half alien), and we are involved in Great Dane rescue and often have fosters. i also have a horse that is boarded nearby.
My husband is allergic to cats but not dogs. It's possible he'll be allergic to rabbits or their hay, and if that's the case obviously we won't be bringing a rabbit into the family fold. But if we can, please tell me (honestly) if you feel that the following seems like a good life for a bunny.
We will keep the bunny in the house. We were thinking about one bunny but i know it's common to keep two bonded bunnies together, and i'm not at all opposed to that either. We'd like to make a large NIC condo made from those cube panels, probably four panels by four panels by two deep, and two panels deep. Each panel is 14" by 14". There would be 4-5 sets of shelves in addition to the floor. We will furnish it with a litter box, a hay rack, food and water crocks, and plenty of various toys, including tunnels and wood chew toys, phone books, etc. We will also put a "front yard" with an exercise pen in front. The plan is for this to be placed in the very large (16' x 20' or so) master bedroom. We will bunny proof the bedroom, and the rabbit can have access to the condo at night, the condo and "front yard" during the work day, and then the whole bedroom in the morning and evening when we're home, which would be several hours per day "hop around" time. The dogs are only allowed in the master bedroom if well supervised because some will chew our shoes, so the dogs will be either extremely well supervised with the bunny or completely separated. Only occasionally will we bring the bunny into the main house or backyard and only when well-supervised.
i'm prepared to bunny proof the bedroom and also prepared for some destruction. We'd like a fairly social bunny that we can pet and interact with (though i know most don't like to be held, which is fine). i've been reading about diet and care, and i don't feel that the other basic needs of rabbits will be a problem.
The reason i'm asking if the above seems like a good idea is that i mentioned my hope to add a bun to the household to an acquaintance who said she didn't think it was a good idea. She feels that bunnies should always have access to the whole house, and this could be an issue with the dogs (whereas she keeps her dogs outside which i don't feel is best for them). Please be honest and tell me if this sounds like good accommodations for a house rabbit or a bad idea. Thanks!
My husband is allergic to cats but not dogs. It's possible he'll be allergic to rabbits or their hay, and if that's the case obviously we won't be bringing a rabbit into the family fold. But if we can, please tell me (honestly) if you feel that the following seems like a good life for a bunny.
We will keep the bunny in the house. We were thinking about one bunny but i know it's common to keep two bonded bunnies together, and i'm not at all opposed to that either. We'd like to make a large NIC condo made from those cube panels, probably four panels by four panels by two deep, and two panels deep. Each panel is 14" by 14". There would be 4-5 sets of shelves in addition to the floor. We will furnish it with a litter box, a hay rack, food and water crocks, and plenty of various toys, including tunnels and wood chew toys, phone books, etc. We will also put a "front yard" with an exercise pen in front. The plan is for this to be placed in the very large (16' x 20' or so) master bedroom. We will bunny proof the bedroom, and the rabbit can have access to the condo at night, the condo and "front yard" during the work day, and then the whole bedroom in the morning and evening when we're home, which would be several hours per day "hop around" time. The dogs are only allowed in the master bedroom if well supervised because some will chew our shoes, so the dogs will be either extremely well supervised with the bunny or completely separated. Only occasionally will we bring the bunny into the main house or backyard and only when well-supervised.
i'm prepared to bunny proof the bedroom and also prepared for some destruction. We'd like a fairly social bunny that we can pet and interact with (though i know most don't like to be held, which is fine). i've been reading about diet and care, and i don't feel that the other basic needs of rabbits will be a problem.
The reason i'm asking if the above seems like a good idea is that i mentioned my hope to add a bun to the household to an acquaintance who said she didn't think it was a good idea. She feels that bunnies should always have access to the whole house, and this could be an issue with the dogs (whereas she keeps her dogs outside which i don't feel is best for them). Please be honest and tell me if this sounds like good accommodations for a house rabbit or a bad idea. Thanks!