Which breed of rabbit should I get, we're a YOUNG FAMILY

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a breed of rabbit that would be best for us, we have a two year old, obviously any contact with the rabbit would be supervised, but we're looking for a friendly rabbit, not too scatty (I had a lovely but crazy Netherland Dwarf when I was a child!)

Welcome . Have you considered any other kind of pet?

happybun said:

Welcome . Have you considered any other kind of pet?

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We have but we'd like a rabbit

Hi and welcome :wave:
I've got two house rabbits, a neutered male and female. Both rescue buns an English and a Netherland Dwarf, we also have a two year old. The buns came before he did,so he has grown up with them and they are all used to each other and get on well, as the buns are very placid he helps me feed them and clean them out, but he's never on his own with them.
I'm not sure how I'd cope with getting a new bunny and have the toddler tho! Would you consider a neutered rescue pair as I would suggest that would maybe be a good place to start? As Happybun said, would you consider another type if pet,
as once you get a bunny its a massive responsibility and mt last one lived until 13 years old!
Everyone on hear is lovely tho and if you did get a bunny you'll get lots of great advice x

My thinking was that the rabbit would need to be used to the child so that's why I've waited until we had a child, I loves rabbits but admit I don't know loads about them (apart from the everyday care, medical side of things) so I just wonder what difference getting two would make? That was going to be my next question actually, whether to get one or two

Rabbits love to have company, so if you were able to get a bonded pair from a rescue, it would be great. They would be neutered too and would save you having to bond two rabbits. There is a rescue area on tho forum which gives lists if rabbits that need homes, I'm sure they would be some in your area.
My lb is really attached to them at the minute, got upset when I put them out in their run yesterday, he was fine once he knew they were safe!

Yorkie1981 said:

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a breed of rabbit that would be best for us, we have a two year old, obviously any contact with the rabbit would be supervised, but we're looking for a friendly rabbit, not too scatty (I had a lovely but crazy Netherland Dwarf when I was a child!)

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My favourite breed of rabbit would always be a RESCUE RABBIT!

They also usually come in twos, as rabbits love (and need company), already neutered and vaccinated.

And best of all, there are 67,000 given up to rescue each year, so literally thousands to choose from

Welcome to RU :wave:

Rabbits can get very lonely and bored if they are kept on their own as they are very social animals. You also can't just pick two rabbits and put them together as they will fight. They need to be bonded slowly and this can take months to do so, meaning you will firstly need two separate areas of the house for the bunnies to live in while going through the bonding process, while also provide an adequate amount of space (if you look on the RWAF page then the space needed is outlined there). That is why rescuing an already bonded pair is much better, and it also works out a lot cheaper as they will already be neutered and vaccinated which costs anywhere between £100-£200 for both rabbits!

Thank you for all of your great advice we're definitely going to go down the route of adopting two adult rabbits as I was reading up on it and that younger rabbits could like being handled at first but grow to hate it, and I like the idea of an already bonded pair. I've always adopted animals, usually cats, but my partner is allergic :-(

Is the rabbit going to be indoors or outside? One of the main things to consider is that as rabbits are prey animals they tend to be rather nervous around people and don't like to be picked up very much. In my opinion a rabbit and a 2 yr old is not a good mix unless you are going to make sure that the rabbit isn't frightened needlessly, so you will need to teach your child to be considerate around the rabbit. If you feel sure you will be able to control your child sufficiently to respect the rabbit's welfare, then it should work out. 2 yr olds can be very noisy.

Lionheads tend to be very sweet natured.

I took a rabbit off someone who had got her for her 4 yr old boy and the rabbit is now quite viscious, Whether it is connected to the child or not I don't know, but a rabbit can give a very nasty bite in self defence. Sorry to sound so negative.

In all their wonderful innocence, young children want to cuddle and hug little creatures. Because rabbits act on survival instinct, they usually don't like this - and can give a nasty bite in return for even the sweetest expression of care. Even bare feet or a pair of fuzzy slippers/shoes can be a threat and cause a bite on an ankle or foot. I speak from experience here (ouch - those bites HURT and can become infected). Like others said, with a very young child, I might put off the rabbit idea for a little bit. And I say this with the most respect for your choices but am passing along what I've recently learned; rabbits are not cuddly - they don't like to be bothered so much - they take A LOT of time to care for - and in some cases, they do bite and it's nasty.

njbunnymom said:

In all their wonderful innocence, young children want to cuddle and hug little creatures. Because rabbits act on survival instinct, they usually don't like this - and can give a nasty bite in return for even the sweetest expression of care. Even bare feet or a pair of fuzzy slippers/shoes can be a threat and cause a bite on an ankle or foot. I speak from experience here (ouch - those bites HURT and can become infected). Like others said, with a very young child, I might put off the rabbit idea for a little bit. And I say this with the most respect for your choices but am passing along what I've recently learned; rabbits are not cuddly - they don't like to be bothered so much - they take A LOT of time to care for - and in some cases, they do bite and it's nasty.

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I agree, one of my three will bite me whilst I groom him. He doesn't seem to realise that I do it for his health/benefit, not mine! [emoji23]