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How much time do you spend with your rabbits?

LionheadLuver

Warren Veteran
Hey

I was wondering how much time you need or should spend with your rabbits to give them a good quality of life?

I spend probably about half an hour a day with mine. They live outdoors and in the mornings, I feed them their pellets, saying hello to them and giving them kisses, and then I get their run ready for the day, putting fresh hay and water in there. Once they have finished their pellets, I pick them up, giving them a kiss and a stroke before putting them in the run. This takes about 10 minutes. In the afternoon, the hutch is cleaned out and fresh hay added and I speak to them as I'm working. They then get put back into their hutch, picking them up and getting a kiss and a cuddle. They then get fed pellets and watered. I then clean out the run, but I don't interact with them during this time. This takes about 20 minutes.

Is this considered enough time to spend with them? All their basic needs are met, they have a clean environment, they are fed, watered and they have bunny company. Although they get a bit of love from me, its for a very small part of the day. However I work full time so couldn't spend any more time with them, and even when I do, sometimes sitting in their run, they bite me to get me out. :lol:

How much time do you spend with your rabbits?
 
Mine are in the house, so whenever I'm home.

Always on their terms though!

My fosters in the shed, similar to you. I go and visit in the morning, feed,water, make sure they have everything they need.
After work I go and sit with them for 10-15 mins, top up hay and sweep them out every couple of days then before bedtime I go and check on them, give them their dinner and top up hay again.

So probably about 30 min -40 mins a day - more on a weekend (if it's sunny :s )

Did bring them in for a run around the last few nights with my girls in the other room.
Unfortuneatley. it's resulted in my rabbits remarked their territory! oh dear!
 
Everyone has different ideas of what's enough time and whether it affects their quality of life.

The amount of time I spend with mine varies a lot day to day. Some days I'll only spend 5 minutes twice a day giving them food, hay and water, other days I'm out there for hours.
They couldn't give two hoots whether I saw them or not so I wouldn't say it affects their quality of life.

I remember reading a poster or leaflet on here that had the costs of bunny ownership which said you need to spend at least 6 hours a day with your rabbits and I thought that was utterly ridiculous, personally.
 
pretty much 24/7. i'm home all the time and also i sleep in the lounge aswell. so they never get a break from me really! :lol:
 
If they are in the company of other rabbits then I think as long as they are getting checked a couple of times a day and are having their needs met they will be happy and any other time spent with them is a bonus. Lone rabbits however would need a lot more time spent with them. They have access to me all the time that I am home.
 
It depends on how I'm feeling. If I'm well I might be out of the house for a couple of hours but the rest of the time in with the lionheads. The lops are in my room so I am around them for an hour or two in the evening/morning plus with them at night. If I'm particularly ill I will be in my room in bed more so will be around the lops more. :)
 
Almost all the time. They're free range in my bedroom so unless I do go out, or I'm in the bath/shower, then I'm in my room with them really!
I've been downstairs for about an hour and a half today watching TV, so I guess today it'll end up being about 20 hours I spend with them, even if I am asleep for some of the time :lol:
 
depends on the day but as long as they have company they be fine :)
i have other animals to do which dont have a friend atm :(
 
Whenever i come home from school or am home at the weekend or holidays, My Snowy is always with me. I hate leaving her on her own and she means the world to me.x
 
Mr b lives in doors so he gets what ever attention he wants, which is usually very little.

Strawbs and Snow are both outside and other than being fed and let our/put away they dont get human attention. They dont enjoy it, dont understand and are actually quite afraid of people.
 
I spend very little time with mine. No more than half an hour a day. I don't actually want to spend time with them I find. They have each other though, and have everything they need/want.
 
I spend very little time with mine. No more than half an hour a day. I don't actually want to spend time with them I find. They have each other though, and have everything they need/want.

I'm not criticising, because as long as they are well taken care of it doesn't really matter whether you spend time with them or not, but why did you get Aaran if you felt like this? Or did you not feel like this before?
 
One of mine (raymond) hates being stroked or picked up so i only handle him for health checks once a week. Rudolph on the other hand loves nose rubs and cuddles so he gets one when ever i get a chance. I think he would be ok without the affection as R&R groom each other so they would get affection from each other.
 
I have just got in (and am freezing!) from spending time with the buns. I went out to clean the buns around midday today, not full cleans, but litter trays in 5 hutches and the big'uns shed. I generally make litter tray cleaning time a time to spend with the buns. I have a little stool that i sit on in all weathers to 'chat' to the bunnies. Even if the bunnies don't like human attention i will sit next to their hutch and talk to them, you know just normal conversation (am i mad or do others talk to their buns?). I must say i spend less time with them than i used to when i just had my own, i now have 3 foster hutches and a foster bunny indoors plus my mums 2 rabbits whilst she is away. I do make a point of spending time with the bunnies every day, even if its just 15 mins each pair of bunnies plus 10 mins twice a day for morning and night time feeds. I don't understand why people have bunnies when all they do is feed and clean them :(
 
I used to spend upto 4 hours a day during the working week and much more at weekends

but now they are with my brother in law whilst I am on assignment overseas, I don't see them very often


I think bunnies are OK with little human interaction as long as they have other bunnies for company, BUT the more you interact with them, the more friendly they become. I find that mine now try to outdo each other for my attention, but of course having the occasional raisin treat does condition them into running over to greet me
 
Probably about 30mins a day when I feed them. they don't want for anything but I am afraid I am a great believer in letting bunnies be bunnies together and don't think they benefit/ appreciate my company. They are outdoor buns and all have a partner. They are checked and stroked when I go up to see them but in the end, I know they only like me for food. It may be different when they are housebunnies and always around you but as outdoor buns, I prefer to let them be as much as possible. I do talk to them and give them a fuss daily and when cleaning them out it is a much longer period - 2.5 hours - but regardless of the time I spend with them, they always greet me ready for food and not 'love'.
 
i spend 15minute in the morning giving him his pellets cleaning out his litter tray and filling up hay racks( i have to get the hay from inside the stables which is the wrong side of the garden so takes a while. then i am at school most of the day when i get home i take him for a walk which lasts half an hour onwards then i do all of myt homework in his playhouse with hi on my laptop which he is convinced is a evil blue thing and then after that which can take anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours i check up on him very 20 minute for about five minutes at a time then i give him his veggies and talk to him while he is eating then move thim into his hutch and give hima treat and talk to him for a bout 10minutes+ then after 9:00 i don't check up on him until ten when i bring him his snuggle safe and fill up his water bowl and hay racks and i think i spend a lot of time with him but he is an only bunny so i have to other wise he will get bored and hopefully he will have another friends soon but at the weekend i changes time wise as some weekends i am really busy others not but thats my school week day with benjji
 
It depends on how busy I am each day. Mischief can get any time up to about an hour of snuggles and nose rubs as she really enjoys them. However for Trouble I usually just sit in the playhouse for 15 minutes, then let him come up to lick me or receive quick nose rubs, as they're on his terms. He doesn't enjoy being picked up so I don't unless neccesarry.
 
I'm not criticising, because as long as they are well taken care of it doesn't really matter whether you spend time with them or not, but why did you get Aaran if you felt like this? Or did you not feel like this before?

I didn't feel like it before him, his litter training sort of put me in this place, he just won't stay clean in the shed, whereas he was 100% litter tray trained in his hutch. It's not his fault really, I think I just feel a bit down at the moment, and have a lot of other pets to deal with too. Don't worry though, they love each other and have plenty space and get everything they need. :wave:
 
The bonded rabbits I don't spend much time with, I feed/water/clean and do basic health checks and observe them for a few minutes to make sure they're acting as normal, and occasionally practice jumping with them, the unbonded rabbits I spend more time with, but I only have two unbonded and they have regular contact with each other (and due to be bonded soon!)

They make it very clear to me when they want attention, and I've found the unbonded ones crave it much more, the bonded ones usually don't notice me at all unless they're hungry :lol:
 
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