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Average age of rabbits

How long do you think is average or good age for your bunn to live to?

  • 5 years

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • 7 years

    Votes: 8 16.7%
  • 8 or 9 years

    Votes: 32 66.7%
  • 13 years and above

    Votes: 5 10.4%

  • Total voters
    48

BinkyBun

Wise Old Thumper
What is the average age of your rabbit that you would expect him/her to live to?

I keep being told by vets that Darcy has already lived to a good age (7.5yrs). Am I just in denial but I don't think that is long enough - I have heard on here of buns living till 13 or 15. I guess I just always wanted and assumed my buns would live longer.:(
 
I'd say 8-9 years :)

Thats the average iv'e been told anyway but i know some rabbits can live 10-11 years :)
 
Mine a 5 now and so I'm optimistic about 13 plus! I want as long as I can with these little monsters <3
 
How long is a piece of string - they seem to leave us at all sorts of ages. :( I have a personal theory that if a bun hasn't developed health problems by 3 years old then they are likely to live to at least 7.
 
The oldest out of my four bridge bunnies was 6 :( I hope that's just bad luck. Mischief is really healthy at the moment but I don't want to put an age on her.
 
Finx is only one and a half, and I don't know how old Tango is! He was on the rescue website as nearly 2 originally, but his notes say age unspecified. Hopefully I won't have to worry for many years yet, but it's interesting to see the answers here as I had wondered :)
 
I have voted 5 as I expect anything from 5-7, however anything past that would be great obviously. These are my first pair of buns, so I have no experience with ages.
 
Larger Breeds tend to have a shorter lifespan than the small breeds

My oldest Rabbit was 13.5 years, a Netherland Dwaf. I also had a 13 year old Mini Lop

At the moment I have Miss Bunny Penny, a Standard Rex, who is 11. That is very old for a Standard Rex. 8 being the average.

The oldest large breed I had was Maya, a Magpie weighing about 5kg. She was 7.
 
Mine will be 5 and 3 next year, so still pretty young. I hope they have many happy years ahead of them still. Boris has respiratory problems that could either improve or get worse at this point, and Bella is unspayed (would get that sorted if I could find a good vet around here) There's no way of predicting what will happen to them in the future, I can only hope for the best. But I love them so much and want them to live long happy lives.
 
I've only had one bunny die and she was 6 months.
I don't really know what to expect... I'd think 5 was a good age, but obviously I want as long as I can have with them!
 
I think about 9 is a good age for 'normal' breeds. I have 3 9-year olds, I have known some get to 11 or 12, personally I'm sceptical about the validity of many (not all) of those who reach, say, 15+. There was one bunny who was allegedly 17 when he passed away, except if you tracked the story back, he turned 14 less than 2 years previously, so while I do think it can happen from time to time just like we hear about the occasional 115 year old human, I do think there is a smidge of exaggeration in some of those cases of very elderly bunnies.
 
I voted 5 because my ben benji has dental problems and bad snuffles. I hope I get many more years with him yet as he is only 1 and a half, but I have no experience to what age snuffles/dental bunnies can live to, and whether these conditions shorten their lives :( If anyone could answer these that would be great :)
 
My two nethies both died around the age of 8, they were bonded females, uneutered (I didn't know any better at that time, it wasn't common knowledge about the neutering) so I was incredibly lucky I think.
 
I agree that it's widely variable. Vets will tend to tell you your rabbit is 'old' when they hit 5, but that's because the vast majority of buns don't get the care and attention that the rabbits of RU do. Your average bun:

Is not vaccinated - risk of death from myxi or VHD
Is not protected from flystrike
Is not spayed - risk of death from uterine cancer and pregnancy/birth complications (those kept with an 'entire' companion also at higher risk from fighting injuries)
Is kept in a prison of a hutch - obviously the more exercise a bun has the better for their health
Is not mucked out too often - increased risk of flystrike and illness related to poor sanitation
Is fed a poor and/or inconsistant diet - increased risk of stasis, poisoning and dental issues
Is not adequately protected from predators
Is handled by children without supervision - increased risk of injury due to being dropped etc
Is not given vet treatment when needed


Of course, there are exceptions, but if your bun is generally healthy please don't worry. My boy Ginger lived to 7, and his brother Pickles is still going strong at 8. :D
 
I say 9, hope it is longer.

I have had 2 bunnies pass away at 9. One at 7.5 years of age.

Nancy had serious problems and was between 5 or 6.

I often wonder if my first girl hadn't died of a heart attack at 9, caused by a fox trying to break in, how much longer she would have lived. I still feel so bad I never protected her. :(
 
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