Advice re Continental Giants

Hi

I was just wondering if anybody could give me any advice at all regarding keeping continental giants!

I have a french lop and a dwarf lop at the moment who are bonded and who are great. Lately my partner and i have been looking and reading about continental giants as we would love to have one, but dont want to rush into it in case i cant look after it properly or dont have the space etc so was just wanting any kind of advice really!!

How much space do you need for them as a house bunny, are they destructive, friendly etc? Do they need a lot more care than other rabbits, although mine do get lots of care and attention. Would it be ok to get one even thouigh i have my other two?

Anyway as i say i just want to know as much about them as possible before i rush into it and do it all wrong so please help if you can :wave:

Kellyrich said:

Hi

How much space do you need for them as a house bunny, are they destructive, friendly etc? Do they need a lot more care than other rabbits, although mine do get lots of care and attention. Would it be ok to get one even thouigh i have my other two?

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My conti Bella is a house bunny who's out 24/7 - she has the whole of the flat to live in (which is a 25 foot sq. living room, hall, 2 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, secure balcony) and manages to make use of it all :lol:
She has her own little corner with a 48" dog crate which is her litter tray, but she is never shut in.

She hasn't been particularly destructive - just the christmas tree lights!, but we were careful to hide other wires, and she has constant access to apple tree branches which she loves to chew on. Toys and tunnels can be difficult to find because she can't fit through normal rabbit toys, so she has tunnels for children, and tents for dogs!!:lol:

She is the most friendly bunny I have ever met! As she is a single house bun she has become bonded to me, but especially my boyfriend and loves human attention. She spends most of her time spread out on the sofa grooming us! She has human company for around 18 hours a day.

You have to be careful they don't get too podgy as they can have problems with their legs being such elephants.

Oh and they get through a LOT of hay!!:lol::lol::lol:

Oh she sounds so sweet sprawled out on the settee, i wish my two would do that but they just cuddle up to each other, i think i miss the attention from them now that they are bonded!!ha ha

Thanks for your help, she is a lucky rabbit to get so many hours from humans!! We both work during the day so only see mine for a few hours in the morning and then when i get home and the are free to rome around the entire hosue when we are there but when we are out they are in an NIC cage thing but its big so they have plenty of room!

Ha ha thats funny about the tunnells and the tent! You should put some pictures of her on here! Mind you i will just want one even more then!!

oops i just seen the pics ha ha shes beautiful

I've only ever had one bunny and she's only been here a few weeks, so I can't make comparisons with other bunny breeds, but I love my conti Daisy-Sunshine sooooo much!

She's a house bun and lives in the living room. She has an indoor hutch and run in one corner (5ft x 5ft), where I leave her at night - although she can and does jump out, and some mornings I find her happily stretched out on the sofa :lol: Most of the living room is bunny proofed and I'm working on the rest, so she'll soon just have free range the whole time. She has explored the house on a number of occassions, but I can't let her be completely free range as she gets into too much mischief!

I work from home so spend all day and evening with Daisy - when I leave to go to the bathroom or make a cup of tea she sits beside the door until I come back, and always tries to accompany me if she can. She's very affectionate.

I get through loads of hay and megazorb (litter) and she's still only a little'un -so I think financially the cost of caring for a giant bun must be comparatively high.

Daisy is quite destructive - she loves nibbling the furniture (obviously sooo much tastier than the bunny nibble sticks I provide:roll, scratching the laminate floor, eating books and she has a shoe fetish!

Don't know if any of that helps but I love talking about Daisy!

I have two giants, but they are outdoors. if you do decide on getting one, would you bond it to your initial pair already? I have found, in all rabbits I have met/ owned giants are definatley the friendliest, but thats just me being biased! I think destructive wise, it would depend on the temperament of the bun you get, like Oscar is very destructive and will knaw at anything, but Hermione on the other hand is the calmer one of the pair!

are you thinking of rescuing a conti, i think theres a few on Rabbits Rehome who are looking for homes!

My two contis Thelma and Louise who live outside. They have a 10ft x 6ft dog kennel and run. They also have the run of my huge garden on a regualr basis, more now my OH is home alot. We get through loads of hay, i buy it by the bale size and get through around 1 a month. I also use this for their bedding, as poor old Lou is allergic to straw (I think!) They do get huge, mine weighed in at 5.6Kg and 5Kg on Saturday, they are 9 months old.

My girls dont handle very well, but then again they weigh too much to handle, but they love laying on my lap once they've calmed down, as they are sooo mad!

Oh you sound like you think the world of Daisy-Sunshine!! Another lucky bun!

She sounds like a dog following you everywhere, one of mine does this now and again but she is also quite lazy so it depends whether she can be bothered or not! ha ha

One of my buns like to eat the furniture now and again whereas the other one doesnt bother!

Im like you i talk about my two non-stop and i think i must bore my family and friends to death, but they are my babies and im sure thats how you feel too!

but i must admit the more and more i am reading the more i want one, and i do have a big house and a lot of love so that shouldnt be a problem...but still musnt rush and must think about my other two!! Must think sensibly!! But i cant resist!!

Hi coco, well im not sure about bonding them, this is waht i need to think about before i decide! I would like to really as then they will just all have the run of the house (when we are there) rather than keeping them separate!

I ahve heard from a few people that they are very friendly rabbits, i would love one to sprawl out on the sette with me for cuddles etc as my two wont do this as they are busy with each other!!

I have been lookihg on rabbit rescues all day just to get an idea but i cant seem to find any near me!

Thanks Michelle i was reading throuhg a few of your threads earlier today about your rabbits and the size of them ha ha!! I bet they are great!!

Kellyrich said:

Oh you sound like you think the world of Daisy-Sunshine!! Another lucky bun!

Im like you i talk about my two non-stop and i think i must bore my family and friends to death, but they are my babies and im sure thats how you feel too!

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Definitely! Now I come to think about it, my friends are all taking longer to reply to my emails ... hmmm ... they are mostly about Daisy! :lol:

I have a conti giant, Ronnie, hes abour 9 months old now and at the moment hes a house bunny He is very friendly, in fact he can be over friendly with us :lol: He likes to groom us, sit on the sofa with us... hes sitting right next to me now on the sofa as im on the laptop He has access to the whole house, but has his own crate with his litter tray, toys, water and food in

He isnt destructive as such, he will chew wires if theyre there, he also managed to get on my dressing table at my GHD's :roll: He can jump onto the stool, to get onto the table. I guess it depends on the individual bunny though as to how destructive they are

I also have other rabbits, and to be honest, they dont take any 'special' looking after :? Ronnie gets the same amount of attention as the others, he obviously gets through alot more hay and veg :lol:

I think the absolute world of Ronnie Hes my baby

I have recently had a french lop, Lolly, who i am trying to bond with him.. this is proving to be difficult. Hes more like a dog than a rabbit. I must also say, he has alot more personality compared to the other bunnies.

Heres a picture of Ronnie just to keep you going until you get a conti of your own




xXx

i have two contis they are 20 weeks old now and are huge. they do cost a fortune in hay and pellets.
my two live in a shed and have acess to the garden during the day. they have a fav bush they lie under and i actually saw holly compleatly sprawled out under it today
they seem to be well behaved and now ive learnt not to feed them before i let them out for a run,as i shake the pellet bag they come running(just like the dogs)

holly

thumper

Hi we have Harry a 10mth flemish 6.5kg he's a scream. He's very intelligent which is scary, his pal at the moment is our cat who happens to be the same colour as him. He's not one for being picked up but love's to be cuddled and stroked but on his level. He is an indoor bunny and has the freedom of the kitchen and dining rm, he has a dog crate where his litter tray is. Also he has the run of the garden.


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