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Giant rabbits?

avjones1704

Young Bun
Hi, I was just wondering how much harder a giant rabbit is to a normal sized rabbit? The rabbit would be a house rabbit and would have free roam of a room and then would be allowed around us when we were in the house.

Also, could you house a giant rabbit with an average sized one? We recently lost mathildas husbun so are looking for a friend for her to be with.

Any advice would be great!
 
Size doesn't matter at all when it comes to bonding bunnies, it's their personalities that matter :)
I have a friend that has a giant and a nethi as a pair, they look so funny together...and the nethi is the boss!

I don't think giant bunnies would be much different to look after than a smaller one. I suppose they would need a bigger litter tray, maybe more food and bigger toys.
 
:wave: I have a British giant, Benji, and I absolutely love him to bits.
He's the first rabbit I've ever owned, so I can't say whether he is harder work than normal, but I have recently got him a friend.

On the plus side, it may be related to background, but I think I've heard others say it too, giants are quite sociable and outgoing. My Benji will jump on the sofa and all over us, he doesn't get nervous around people at all. Also, his poops are so big that they are really easy to clean up. :lol:
I personally, would love to adopt more giants, I think they are my favourites now. I don't find him hard work at all. :D

He does eat a heck of a lot though. :lol: But then again, he is just a very greedy boy.
Space shouldn't matter since you are keeping him inside. It is harder to get toys, like tunnels are pretty much a no go, because he is too big for them. I've made one myself for him by cutting the bottoms out of two plastic laundry baskets and attach them together (these style baskets:http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/03/88/61/02/0003886102849_500X500.jpg). :).

He does chew A LOT though. It might just be different with every rabbit, but headphones, phone lines, all gone. He nibbles all our furniture, any paper from doing work. You name it, he nibbles it

And I'm currently bonding him with a normal sized bun and it isn't an issue at all. Benji is the dominant one though. :lol:

I would recommend getting a giant bunny to anyone (who knew about rabbit care). I love mine like he is my child. :lol: He can be so affectionate and I wouldn't change him for the world. :love::love:
 
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It is harder to get toys, like tunnels are pretty much a no go, because he is too big for them. I've made one myself for him by cutting the bottoms out of two plastic laundry baskets and attach them together

What about something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Puregadgets%C2%A9-Extra-Tunnel-System-Children/dp/B009SNRDBE/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1367132535&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=childrens+pop+up+tunnel

I had something similar, originally for my children, but they grew out of them quickly :lol: The tunnels can be picked up seperately like this one http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3679713.htm
 
I don't have a giant, but I do have what is classed as a 'large' bunny - when healthy he should be about 3.75kg.

He has a lionhead friend, she is overweight but should be about half his weight, so there's a fairly big size difference. Whilst their size difference isn't normally an issue, he doesn't seem to notice it. As a result he will barge into her or push her out the way for something, but because he is so much bigger what is a nudge to him means she is pushed quite far and sometimes stumbles. This was a problem when he was dominant as it was bordering on unintentional bullying at one point. I'm pretty sure she is the dominant one now, as she usually is when he is ill, so that has stopped, although it's been replaced by her going through phases of nipping and chasing him when he gets weaker. She is also a lot more agile than him, and he'll often try to follow her into places he can't fit in or can't get down from easily like her. The only other problem is food - Barney needs 4 times the amount of pellets she has, which means I have to feed them separately, which can be a pain. So for me, I have found problems with the size difference, but that it works a lot more smoothly when the little bun is dominant.

As mentioned by others, housing is a problem with giants, but it sounds like you have that sorted. Do remember though, that it is much harder to house them outside, so think what you would do if your giant turned out to be a big chewer and intent on destroying the house.

Giant rabbits are also prone to arthritis, have a shorter lifespan (about 5 years) and are more likely to get sore hocks - so again you'd have to think whether you can cope with these.

On the plus side, they tend to be a bit calmer (perhaps lazier).
 
What about something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Puregadgets%C2%A9-Extra-Tunnel-System-Children/dp/B009SNRDBE/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1367132535&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=childrens+pop+up+tunnel

I had something similar, originally for my children, but they grew out of them quickly :lol: The tunnels can be picked up seperately like this one http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3679713.htm

Yep, I use children's tunnels for my large bunny, as he doesn't fit in the rabbit ones. Some of the larger cat ones fit him too, but most are too small.
 
You're right, I could have used a children's tunnel, but the laundry baskets were £2 each from B & M bargains, so they were actually cheaper than anything else I'd seen. :lol:

And I think my bun is definitely lazy. I come from work and he's just lying behind the plant stand dozed off. :lol: He sleeps all day even though he has the run of two rooms and a hall. He is a bit more active now he has a friend though.

Benji absolutely loves going outside. It's the only time I ever see him binky, when I let him free range on the grass, so maybe you could consider letting yours out in summer, supervised. But don't think that just because they are big it will be hard for them to escape! If Benji wants to get somewhere, he will tug and tug until something is gone. :lol:
 
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:wave: I have a British giant, Benji, and I absolutely love him to bits.
He's the first rabbit I've ever owned, so I can't say whether he is harder work than normal, but I have recently got him a friend.

On the plus side, it may be related to background, but I think I've heard others say it too, giants are quite sociable and outgoing. My Benji will jump on the sofa and all over us, he doesn't get nervous around people at all. Also, his poops are so big that they are really easy to clean up. :lol:
I personally, would love to adopt more giants, I think they are my favourites now. I don't find him hard work at all. :D

He does eat a heck of a lot though. :lol: But then again, he is just a very greedy boy.
Space shouldn't matter since you are keeping him inside. It is harder to get toys, like tunnels are pretty much a no go, because he is too big for them. I've made one myself for him by cutting the bottoms out of two plastic laundry baskets and attach them together (these style baskets:http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/03/88/61/02/0003886102849_500X500.jpg). :).

He does chew A LOT though. It might just be different with every rabbit, but headphones, phone lines, all gone. He nibbles all our furniture, any paper from doing work. You name it, he nibbles it

And I'm currently bonding him with a normal sized bun and it isn't an issue at all. Benji is the dominant one though. :lol:

I would recommend getting a giant bunny to anyone (who knew about rabbit care). I love mine like he is my child. :lol: He can be so affectionate and I wouldn't change him for the world. :love::love:

I agree with all of this :) I have Moley who is just shy of 5kg he is amazing and so handsome.

He was a single house bun but as Benji's mum said he chews EVERYTHING especially when he doesn't get our attention. The only issues with his size are toys, nothing is big enough, litter trays, the amount of space he needs to run around properly and the amount of toilet waste he produces :)

We moved house and he's now a semi outdoor bun with a 2.6kg wife bun Poppy. He loves bossing her around but still loves attention from me. The size difference makes no odds they love each other loads and Poppy tries to give as good as she gets! I would also say the amount of fur they produce On a
moult seems worse from Moley ..... So much of it. I would definitely have another giant. :love:
 
i looked after a conti for a weekend and he ate LOADS! he mustve been about 5kg - he was a heavy chap! :shock: he was incredibly friendly though - he didn't know us and he was happy for us to stroke him, he was belly flopping everywhere :lol: he seemed really easy to look after compared to my two who are small and feisty :D
 
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