rabbit and kids!!!

hi there i wonder how many people here that have rabbits also have children? i had read on a couple of sites that children and rabbits are not a great combo, but all my bunnies seem to have an infinitiy with my daughter who is three. most of my buns are very young or rescues and live outside which i feel makes them slightly nerver than house rabbit!

but my adult doe who has been with me the longest is quite and agressive little mite and doesnt like much human contact but loves other buns.... lets my daughter rub her but hardly anyone else, the same goes for my other 2 buck buns who are very nerve as they were both miss treated before coming to me, will let my daughter rub them and handle them and she is 3 and is quite loud or excitable.

i wonder whether they sense her harmlessness or have become very use to very quickly which doesnt really make sense, (she is allways montored with them) my son is seven and has no real interest to busy with computer games than the nicer things in life typical man!!!!

do rabbits or animals in general realise there kids or is my daughter just lucky.......... i also think it makes her more caring but would not recommend buying children petts for this reason!!!

The difference is you have both pet bunnies and children, you haven't brought a pet bunny for your children.

Children aren't able to care for a animal without help, buying a pet won't automatically make a child responsible for it which seems to be a common misconception. Physically handling a rabbit can be difficult for a child (and the rabbit). Thats what most of the don't mix children & bunnies messages are about.

That doesn't mean the child can't interact with an adults pet bunnies and help out with chores as long as they are supervised. I don't know whether rabbits think of children differently but some certainly don't mind the attention and will put up with a little fur stroking in the wrong direction. I agree with you about the caring, learning about others needs is an important part of development. We had children here (mum childminds) that you can stop mid tantrum just by saying it will upset x animal.

Tam

My daughter is excellent with the buns and I have often been amazed at what she can encourage them to do whereas with me they would run in the opposite direction (especially a certain honey coloured bun :wink: :wink: ). I do feel that the rabbits can sense their innocence. My daughter had a special bond with Hobo and I would often find her sitting in the bunny shed or in the garden with him on her lap and he would let her carry him around like a soft toy, I was surprised that she didn't put him in her dolls pram and I bet the stooopid boy would have let her. At eight she has a good understanding of rabbit and guinea pig care but I would never expect her to take full responsibility of a pet, having said that though she was the one who first spotted Basil's slightly weeping eye and came running in to tell me that one of the buns was doing strange shaped poos on the garden. We often clean out the cages and feed them together and this is why she gains the knowledge that she does. My son on the other hand is far more interested in sport, music and the computer to remember that there are animals in the shed.

Some of my favourite memories as a child involve bunnies .

When I think back though....it's amazing what they let me do. I have pics of one of my bunnies loose in the garden, there are plenty of hedges etc that he could have escaped under, but he was always very easy to get back i nthe hutch. I would dream of letting a bunny run loose in my parent's garden now! I also have memories of pushing one bun around the garden in a wheelbarrow, he used to put his paws on the front edge, and be wheeled around like a king in a sedan chair. He was my mate.

My first bun was a pet for me but my mum did realise I wouldn't look after her and she looked after her, hence started my rabbit habit

I have 11 now, and every wednesday I look after my neighbours kid who had ADHD (Hyperactivity Disorder) and she has bonded so well with my viscious doe who won't let me get close to her, although we are progressing to occassional nose rubs. :shock:

Zeus loves children, I think it helps he is a big bunny so they don't try and pick him up.

During the summer a 2 year old at the vets spotted Zeus and wanted to stroke him so I asked his mum if it was ok - she looked at me shocked and said "won't he hurt him" - I got really offended and said Zeus wouldn't hurt anyone when she looked even more offended and said I meant wouldn't my child hurt your rabbit ! Anyway luckily we both laughed at the missunderstanding and I explained to the kid how to stroke Zeus gently on his nose. The little boy was ever so good and stroked Zeus just right which Zeus rewarded by settling down and chattering his teeth. When I explained why he was making that noise (the child asked if Zeus was purring) the child was so chuffed and ran to tell his mum that he had made the rabbit happy!

My two cousins love him and the littlest (1yr) often launches herself at him to give him a cuddle like he is one of her stuffed toys :lol: !

He takes it all in his stride!

I think it really depends on how the children are brought up round rabbits, if they are taught to love and respect them then I think the rabbits pick up on this and respond accordingly.

Caz

I would agree that it depends on how the child has been brought up. Gabby and Colette are well used to animals and respect them.

Colette is 14 and I can now trust her to pick the bunnies up properly etc etc, Gabby is only four and two little to pick them up but she loved doing little jobs to help out with them.

She has started to top up their hay (since I have begun to come out in a rash with the Timothy hay) and lets me know if their water is running low. When the bunnies are out playing she knows not to pick them up but will sit quietly and stroke them when they come up to her. Pie loves her loads and licks her hands

Our dog Meg is the same height as Gabby and just adores her - it is really funny watching Gabby trying to get Meg to sit and make herself sound authorative. I think most animals sense that children are innocent - Meg is very protective of her and so are the other dogs in Meg's gang - Jake (the staffie) just worships her and is like a limpet by her side

lol Pam

strange, it's probly because they can sense she's little and more of their size so they feel safer with children. I'm 14 and my rabbits are fine with me but I'm old enough to know what I'm doing with them. when I was little I was'nt very nice to animals I used to chase my nans dogs around so I suppose thats why they say no kids with animals.

strange, it's probly because they can sense she's little and more of their size so they feel safer with children. I'm 14 and my rabbits are fine with me but I'm old enough to know what I'm doing with them. when I was little I was'nt very nice to animals I used to chase my nans dogs around so I suppose thats why they say no kids with animals.

Well I actually heard this as well.. even some have had sort of bad attitude against kids with "pets" in general.

I did say I bought a bunny for Yasmin, I now she cant take care of Rusty as she is only 2 years old, I know she cant feed him every day and make sure he have water and that he is OK, but to me, it is her bunny.

She is very gentle with him, and everytime I hold her we have a "therapy" moment on how to pet.. yes I have to repeat me self as it goes out as quick as it goes in so far.. but I dont mind.

Talking to my dd about how to pet and be kind to Rusty.




I know there are parents that think kids in any age can handle anything they ask for.. but sometime I have noticed that we all parents get bad rep becuase of some other cant take their responsibility for being a parent.

:wink:

I think it makes lots of difference how the child is brought up around animals, to be taught to respect them and to handle them correctly. As long as parents are supervising and teaching then I think it is brill to have kids and pets as long as the animals don't mind the children!

The thing I have the problem with is rabbits being brought as pets for SOLELY the chil to look after, with the parents not realising/want to acknowledge the huge responsibilty. This is when you get ababdoned bunnies and buns in hutches at the bottom of the garden not being looked after. Although even this isn't just something that happens to rabbits with child owners - adults are just as capable too!!

But everybody on here knows how important the care of the buns is so I'm sure everybodys children are fine I wasn't allowed buns til I was 14, my sister was 10 at the time. My sister soon grew tired of them but as I was that bit older I was happy to look after them and took responsibility from the word go. I read all the books I could and looked after them on my own. I think it depends on the attitude of the child/young adult as even my sister now at age 17 wouldn't want to look after the bunnies (not very responsible!) but I have always been more responsible so enjoyed it!

Animals do sometimes react differently to kids - they must realise that they are less threat and prob helps that they often won't pick them up, as we know some animals hate this!

I hope that when I have children I'll have the responsible type! Although I may just stick to dogs, cats and rabbits in the future lol I'm not very 'child-orientated'!! :lol:

Nicola

My youngest is 6 so has always known life with a rabbit, my son was 5 when we got our first bun and now at 13 has little intrest in them, a cursory stroke now and then!

My daughter knows to leave them alone when feeding, washing, generally unless bunny asks for a nose rub leave alone. She likes helping me prepare their veggies and food, and I will encourage her to help more as she gets older.

When my childminded children are here they are in their cage, I sometimes get Brian out for them to stroke on my lap, but not Blueberry - it depends on the bun.

its quite naught of me really i used the children as an excuse to get the bunnies arr.. there for the children...... but i guess i felt a bit silly asking the other half if i could have a pet rabbit at the tender age of 26 and a year on i have 9 and growing.... i bet he wished he said no now!!!

but that was my excuse they were for me really good job you could not expect a child to look after 9 bunnies, it takes me 1.5 hours every three days to clean them out thats without all the other stuff.... :lol:

bunnylove said:

its quite naught of me really i used the children as an excuse to get the bunnies arr.. there for the children

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You did that too :lol: :lol:
I always wanted a rabbit and guinea pig as a kid but was never allowed one, so my kids were a good excuse to get some now (plus my daughter can manipulate her daddy far better than I can :wink: :wink: ).

I thought I would just share this though - this is the reason my new bun to be is in rescue:

Jack was brought in by a member of public who had bought him from a pet
shop. They were told he was born 7 Aug 04. They kept him for two months and described him as sociable and easy to handle but sadly their young son was terrified of him and screamed every time they tried to get them together.

his townbuns i bet there lots of us out there that did this (used there children to get there buns)

but he now knows the truth, so i am having to come up with different reasons now to extend my bunnie family and that includes asking him to drive me to the ends of the earth to pick one up when there is a pet shop down the road!!!!! :lol: :lol:

My other half is a footie fan and a music fan so is happy to travel to see a football match or a concert so he has can't complain if I want to drive across the country to collect a rabbit can he, especially if I take a slight diversion and end up in Ikea on the way ??

bunnylove said:

but he now knows the truth, so i am having to come up with different reasons now to extend my bunnie family and that includes asking him to drive me to the ends of the earth to pick one up when there is a pet shop down the road!!!!! :lol: :lol:

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:lol: :lol: that sounds familiar!!!