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Advice needed please from all you bunny experts

Hello everyone,

I have joined this forum to gather as much info as I can from you all in the know. I am Andrea, the mother of a 2 yr old daughter who would lurve to have a baby netherland dwarf as a pet which I hope to house train and allow to spend time both in the house and in a hutch outside.
I had one as a child and she was lovely so know this is possible, however, from the research ive done so far ive read that my beloved breed are not suitable for children and are aggressive. Also is it true that they require specific diets too.
My plea is this, can you put me right on this, whether its right or wrong as the last thing Id want to do is obtain a rabbit that we cant fully enjoy. Are there any small breeds that are friendly for children and can be house trained.

Your advice is very much appreciated, thank you x x x x x

Andrea (the bunny mummy to be):wave:
 
Nethies can be a bit fiesty and nippy from what i've read but obviously not every single one will fit into that description.

:wave:welcome to the forum. i'm not very knowledgable about all breeds but i'm sure someone with a better knowledge will come along soon.

as for diet - hay, hay and more hay! you have to drown them in hay! it should make up more than 90% of the daily diet. nomnomnom! museli mixes aren't ideal so it's best to go for a high fibre pellet, buns need very few pellets at all, it's like junk food (hence why they get so excited about having them).

there's good list of veggies bunnies can have but they should be introduced in a postage stamp size every few days, one veg at a time as their tummies are very delicate.
 
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:wave:Hi Andrea. We had Nethie house bunnies but our children were 6 and 9 at the time. They were sweet and gentle but did not like to be picked up and cuddled so the cats got all the attention from our kids instead. As for diet we discovered that they are more prone to dental issues ( according to our excellent vet ) so getting diet correct - ad lib hay and small amounts of greens - was essential.
Fluffy ( guess who named them! ) lived to the ripe old age of 7 most of that healthy and trouble free. His partner Santie was a runt but the most placid bunny ever, she weighed 700g and for all her tiny size was the only one that would jump onto the sofa to watch TV with us. A real people bun. However she was beset with health issues but never ever complained, growled or bit.
I don't think I'd have liked to have them when my kids were younger, their tiny size around the house may have made them vulnerable to injury.

:cry:Oh heck I miss my Nethies.
Hope that helps.
 
Hello, welcome to the forum :wave:

Well done you for doing you research beforehand :thumb:

I don't pretend to be an expert on breeds, but because rabbits are not bred for specific personality (unlike dogs), it's impossible to attach a certain temperament to a particular breed. You may get a very gentle nethie or a nippy giant.

Having said that, I too have heard that the smaller the rabbit the more likely it can be to be feisty, simply because they feel intimidated because they are so small.

But many people on the forum have very loving tiny buns :wink: I for one have a very soppy and extremely gentle mini lop :D

Hopefully a netherland dwarf enthusiast will come along soon :)
 
:wave:Welcome to the forum

I have had both very sweet and also very agressive nethies in rescue but it is only like any other breed.
 
Wow

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the quick replies. your all so kind. Please keep the great advice coming as I need all I can get. Shame about them not liking to be held though as I could cuddle them for days!!

thanks again andrea x x x
 
Hi Andrea,

I'm not sure that rabbits are good pets to have around a two year old in a lot of circumstances... especially if you intend to have one free range in the house. If an adult is not willing to oversee all handling/petting etc and can not guarantee that the child will not be able to approach the bunny intended I would reconsider them as a pet. Many people think bunnies are cuddly animals that love being handled and fussed over....unfortunately that is not the case and more accidents occur with bunnies when being handled by small children. My neighbours rabbit has broken it's leg TWICE because their small child dropped him :?

I think it would be a good idea to restrict the bunny to a large run where your little girl can enjoy him/her but the bunny is not at risk, and if you bring them indoors then use a pen. My sister has a two year old and he loves the bunnies, but she has had to sacrifice having them inside in order to keep them safe. He interacts a lot with them via the pen bars outside i.e feeds them grass and carrots etc but isn't in direct contact with them nor should he be until he is old enough to understand how to behave around them (something I think a two year old won't understand). Good luck though!! it would be worth looking around at a few rescues and consider rehoming two as opposed to one so that they have company of their own kind :)
 
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Wow

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the quick replies. your all so kind. Please keep the great advice coming as I need all I can get. Shame about them not liking to be held though as I could cuddle them for days!!

thanks again andrea x x x

*generally* bunnies, as a prey animal, don't like being picked up or cuddled but sometimes you can be lucky and end up with one who does. I'm lucky with my little monster, he doesn't struggle when held and lets me know when he wants cuddletime.
 
Temperament is obviously going to be a particularly important factor for you so if you do go ahead with a bunny my recommendation would be to adopt a neutered adult. That's the best way to find a rabbit with a 'what you see is what you get' personality. As a neutered adult you're least likely to get nasty surprises. With a baby often their temperament changes a lot as they grow up and get hormones :lol:
 
http://www.greenfieldsrescue.co.uk/rabbits.asp this link will give you enough information for you to make an informed descision about whether rabbits are for you.

Whilst they are lovely animals, they are certainly not childrens pets. If you do descide to go down this route, I would agree with what has been said earlier about getting a neutered one from a rescue as these are more reliable in their temprement than an unneutered one.
 
I'd just like to add that all the time I have had buns, I have never had the opportunity to cuddle any of my rabbits, as much as I'd like to. They all have personalities that don't like mushy attention. A "grooming" is the closest I get to a good cuddle :lol:
 
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