Researching giants - advice appreciated

Hello

(Apologies if this is wrong section!)

My OH and I have been looking to get some buns in the future, so I've been lurking on here gathering as much info as possible. We went to the Edenbridge show yesterday and saw some beautiful giants... we had never considered them as thought we would just go via a rescue and see which buns we would be suitable for. But could we really have giants? So I have a few questions if thats ok? We spoke to the chap selling them but would like some advice from different people.

We would like them to be house buns, with dog crate/puppy pen as their base. Is this a good set up idea for giants?

Would two be ok, as with other buns (if we had them snipped)? Are they harder to bond?

Are there any other illnesses that giants are more prone too? (Any books anyone could recommend?)

Are there many in rescue? Ideally I'd rather rescue but is this likely?

Do they make good first buns?

I'm trying to do as much research as possible before we get them, we have rats atm so have pet experience (and have had dogs growing up) so I think we are responsible enough.

Please excuse any daft questions but I'd rather ask and look like an idiot than not ask and be a bigger one!

Many thanks for reading my waffle, any advice would be greatly welcomed. I've lurked here for a bit (sorry!) and seems to be a great place for advice.

Thanks!:wave:

I foster a continental giant that has been in rescue nearly two years, so yes they are in rescue!!

Can't do a full reply now, but in short they need a lot of space, prone to arthritis and sore hocks due to size, don't live as long.

redsunflower25 said:

Hello

(Apologies if this is wrong section!)

My OH and I have been looking to get some buns in the future, so I've been lurking on here gathering as much info as possible. We went to the Edenbridge show yesterday and saw some beautiful giants... we had never considered them as thought we would just go via a rescue and see which buns we would be suitable for. But could we really have giants? So I have a few questions if thats ok? We spoke to the chap selling them but would like some advice from different people.

We would like them to be house buns, with dog crate/puppy pen as their base. Is this a good set up idea for giants? Yes but i doubt you could get a set up big enough to be able to lock them in at night or when you were at work. Free ranging 24/7 with the dog crate as a litter tray/water station base would be fine.

Would two be ok, as with other buns (if we had them snipped)? Are they harder to bond? Two is definitely better as all buns love company.

Are there any other illnesses that giants are more prone too? (Any books anyone could recommend?) I am not sure about illnesses but their life span is less than other breeds. Giants will generally only make it to 5/6 whereas other smaller breeds have been known to get to 9/10

Are there many in rescue? Ideally I'd rather rescue but is this likely? Yes there are but you may have to look at a wider area and organise transport. Rescue is definitely better as they will already be neutered and bonded saving you a lot of money and stress!

Do they make good first buns? Yes, just be prepared that most bunnies are not cuddly buns. I dont have giants but my buns will all sit still for a fuss in their own space but will not tolerate being picked up on being sat on my knee.

I'm trying to do as much research as possible before we get them, we have rats atm so have pet experience (and have had dogs growing up) so I think we are responsible enough.

Please excuse any daft questions but I'd rather ask and look like an idiot than not ask and be a bigger one!

Many thanks for reading my waffle, any advice would be greatly welcomed. I've lurked here for a bit (sorry!) and seems to be a great place for advice.

Thanks!:wave:

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Well done on doing the research first! I would love giants as my next indoor buns but we don't have the space at the minute.

Thanks for replies!

We are moving this week to a bigger house so hopefully we will be able to find enough space. I really would rather rescue than 'buying' so maybe once we know we are ready we can start trawling rescue centres, we have a couple near to us but we have been known to go couple hours away for rescue rats

Thats a shame about the shorter life span but sadly we know all too well about this with our rats living such short lives.

One other question... how do you transport them (to vets etc)? A normal carrier isn't big enough! Could you train them to be ok on a harness, if only going from car to vets and back? I appreciate the vets waiting room could be stressful for a bun on a harness though, but what else could we take them in? Sorry for sounding so ignorant!

We rescued 2 Contis a week and a bit ago, and I got a dog crate to take them to the vets for their vaccinations. It was very heavy to lift out of the car though!
I hesitated to answer your post TBH as we've only just got them and are far from experts, but I figured I would have wanted to hear from me anyway if you see what I mean!
Ours are sisters and get on pretty well considering they haven't been spayed yet and have been living in such a small space. Work starts tomorrow on their shed/aviary combo so hopefully they'll be content soon. We already have house rabbits, otherwise they would be living in with us although they would frighten my poor mum half to death!
They seem very friendly and gentle, and have let me pick them up to do bottom checks.
They eat a lot!

I have a continental giant, his partner is a 'normal' sized rabbit.

I take them to the vets in a large carrier on wheels...we call it their chariot. :lol: It's an Atlas 50 http://www.ferplast.com/en/shop/atlas-50-professional

I rescued a giant which I believe to be a conti almost 2 weeks ago. Hes 2yrs old and ever so loving. Eaxh morning he bounds over to greet me for a fuss ans will sit with me for ages but hatws being picked up and for some reason hates is back end being touched (vet has checked him over and cant find anything). He is in a 48inch dog crate which is really not big enough for him to be shut in. The first few days we did shut him in at night but this was to encourage him too use the poo tray as our hall floor was his night toilet! it worked and he now has the run of the hall 24/7 with the rest of the house when we are home. Im hoping to remove the crate all together today as hes now poop and pee trained.
He was a private recscue but im sure rescues have some.
As for transport he had to go in a cat carrier to come home as we had nothing else and the people wanted him gone so the poor boy had to be squished in although he cant have been that squashed as he managed to turn round bless him. I will be getting a bigger box for him tho.

Thanks Sam and Truffs.. yes I'd welcome any advice and stories!

I've been researching 'normal' sized buns for a while now, but our circumstances have changed a bit recently so we are waiting till we know what's happening before having any more pets but I'm hoping once we are moved things will settle down for us. I hadn't thought of giants as I just guessed they would probably need experienced homes.

Thanks Tracy, that looks ideal, I did think of dog crates but I wonder how easy that would be to get in/out of our car. Luckily our vets have a car park so it might not be so bad.

The chap at Edenbridge said they were the most docile breed... I guess their upbringing/background effects this though :? We have had rats that haven't had the best start an have been grumpy so and sos.

I'm used to animals and people eating loads... my OH is a rugby player so he eats a lot!

I have a British Giant who came from a rescue, I love him and his big feets :lol: he has a "normal" (well, sort of, she is quite large at 4.5kg) sized wifebun. He is very gentle and loves laying fully stretched out and digging haha. I volunteer at a rescue and have seen around 5 come in over the last 10 months, so they def come up!

Forgot to say I also have a Ferplast 50 and really recommend it!

Out of interest, would the Ferplast 50 fit 2 giants in?

Sam and Truffs said:

Out of interest, would the Ferplast 50 fit 2 giants in?

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I have one, Daisy and Digby both fit in it, they are 5kg each :wave:

Sam and Truffs said:

Out of interest, would the Ferplast 50 fit 2 giants in?

Click to expand...

I can get my 7ish kilo giant and his large wifebun in there but might be a push if you had two 7+kg buns, they do make a bigger one though

You'll have to excuse me, I get very passionate/excited about this topic! :shock:

My British giant Benji was a house bun for 6 months and I loved it. You would definitely need to litter train them, otherwise they would totally ruin your carpet, but once neutered, it is kind of straight forward.
To be honest, I let Benji free range the whole downstairs, we never put him in a crate/pen, he could just go where he wanted. We used to give him a carrier full of hay for a bed, but we found he just used it as a toilet and just chose to sleep on the carpet.
Something to bear in mind, giants, especially babies, LOVE to chew. We had broken phone lines, headphones, lamps, TV aerials, so make sure you provide plenty of boredom breakers and hide your wires! He also chewed our door and furniture too. :roll:
However, I loved him being inside. He used to jump up on the sofa with us and lie to be stroked, or get on our knee and try steal our food. And if we sat on the floor, he would come and lie next to us to be stroked.

From personal experience of having Benji, he was absolutely no trouble to bond with a normal sized rabbit. As you can see from my sig photo, he was bonded with April, who is not a giant. They were bonded in less than a week, as he was so friendly and outgoing and she is very shy and likes reassurance from another rabbit. I don't really believe size matters to be honest, it's the personality.

Sadly, giants are prone to heart problems, ie cardiomyopathy. My Benji passed away last weekend, he was only just over a year old. It was absolutely devastating, there was nothing we could have done for him though.

Do they make good first buns?
Absolutely 100% yes. They are brilliant buns, I love giants. They make fantastic pets, everyone in our family adored Benji. Giants are usually very friendly and outgoing, unless they have been mistreated.

The only main difference is the size obviously, and even then, the giant poops they do are so much easier to clean up. :lol: They do eat a lot, and they don't really like to be picked up. My vet told me it was because of their large size, it actually makes them uncomfortable to be picked up.

I wanted another giant, but there are not as many in rescue, so we settled for a giant mix. We searched all over the north west to find a giant in rescue and couldn't find one.

Firstly, the positives:

Contis are great. So friendly and giant softies.

However:


The need space though as are very active! My (single unneutered male) house bun has a crate (which is never closed) and the kitchen whilst I'm out. The house whilst I'm in!

They eat lots and it is not easy to get their diet right. For a first time owner, this will be a challenge (although not un-doable).

Don't expect to be able to handle them other than lift them from A to B!

They are in rescues (sadly too many people don't appear to do their research first!)

They don't live as long and contis can have heart problems.

They demand more time than smaller buns so far as mine have been concerned. Hector is a really cuddly bunny. That's a positive for me but I can understand some folk will not view it that way.

Good luck with your decision.

BigBunnyBenji... I'm so sorry to hear you lost him, is heartbreaking when they toddle off to the bridge. Thanks for your post, we are familiar with chewing but not to size of a rabbit's mouth though! We have rat proofed our living room as we free range the rats there. (We wouldn't free range two species together!!) So we have a rough idea of what to do, we try to box things in so wires are out the way. We haven't decided where the rats are going in the new house yet so its all very up in the air atm as to where everyone might live.

Thanks SJH, and to everyone else that has replied. We work full time but ideally would give them a room through the day and then the house and garden when we are in (garden under supervision though!)

Appreciate everyones honesty and advice, I've lurked on here a bit and you all seem like a lovely helpful bunch of folks