A Million Questions on Giant Housebuns

Hi, this thread may end up being in the wrong place as i have a number of questions about all aspects.

A friend of mine is thinking of getting a pair of rabbits to be house bunnies. These will be her first house bunnies (she has had cats before, and a guinea pig and a rabbit about 15 years ago). She has asked me lots of questions about how best to look after them etc, but as i havent had house buns or giants (she quite fancies a big pair!) i thought i would as you experts for advice and tips.

They are most likely to have access to the entire dining room, if not whole ground floor, during the day while she is at work, and then free ranging when she is home. There is also a garden with grass for some outside time, but not enough room for a big enough shed etc for them to be outdoor bunnies, and she wants them inside anyway. She was totally besotted with her last cat Barney and totally devoted to all pets she has ever had so they would be very well cared for and loved. Her adult son lives there too and his 18 mo daughter comes over quite frequently.

her main queries were about housing, especially if they need to be "contained" while her granddaughter is around. She hopes they can get along well but feels there must be a "back up plan" while she is so little. Also behaviour and special needs of giant buns and indoor buns. There is a catflap in the kitchen to the garden - is a standard catflap big enough? also, what is their expected lifespan and likely or inherent health problems? How much does it cost to keep 2 giants per week?

thanks xx

I have two conti giants, but mine are outdoor buns.

I think I'd def say that when the 18mth child is around I'd find a safe place separate for the rabbits as they are very easy to trip over, and not only could the little one hurt herself, she could damage the rabbits if she fell on them.
Also they have a hell of a bite on them when they're in a strop, and one hell of a kick - not worth the risk I'd say.

For the cost of keeping them - I guess you're talking day to day costs? - then mine have lots and lots of hay (if she can buy by the bale then I'd guess a bale every couple of weeks) different varieties of hays such as oat hay and Timothy hay around £6 per week, pellets (I buy a 20kg sack at £8) around £2 a week ish, and fresh veg/fruit every day - probably £6 a week.

Obv. on top you've got annual vhd vaccine, bi-annual myxo vaccine, bi-annual worming (or some people do just annually), and then their neutering costs (around £120) if she doesn't go to a rescue (which I'd strongly recommend that she does!)

She needs to be aware that some bunnies are little blighters with furniture and wallpaper, and I reckon - judging by what my two have done to my garden - they could wreck a room in no time at all it they're that way inclined!!

I have 2 buns living indoors that have total free range and don't mess outside their crate and don't chew, but there are plenty on the forum whose houses have been wrecked:lol:

59 views and only one reply? are all giant owners too afraid to tell me the truth of owning them?? :lol::shock:

thanks BB Mommy. I think you are right about the granddaughter. If she is a bit rough or it seems she will trip over, the bunnies can be shut in the dinning room where their bed/cage is likely to be anyway. would you recommend a playpen as well for them then? so they can still bimble around but not have free range? surely the area would have to be huge for giants?

thanks for the estimates on costs, that was something i just couldnt answer as mine are mini rexes and i wasnt sure how much more giants would eat or if they go through a lot more bedding or litter. what litter do you use for them?

The bunnies will definately come from rescue. Her last cat Barney was a headcase from a rescue, no-one else wanted him and he was going to be PTS if she hadnt come along. He adored her but was a bit of a psycho and would do crazy dashes around the room at head-height, bouncing off the walls and stuff with his eyes rolled back hissing! seems he quite enjoyed it as he was fairly normal the rest of the time and perfectly healthy! Knowing her, she'll pick some long-term residents or special cases cos she's a sucker for such things!

i have warned her about destruction - is it more with bigger buns? do they need a lot of toys when you are out or are they fairly chilled out? i always get that impression but perhaps i am wrong!

Hey there,

I have a Male BG and he was a rescue. He lived indoors but sprayed everywhere so went outside. He is booked for a castration at the end of Jan and will be a free range bunny, he is currenly now in the study, getting used to the heat etc. He is approx 7 months old and rather large. He is very laid back and when he was indoors loved nothing more than getting up on the sofa for cuddles. I must say he is not the most destructive bun. I had a trio that lived in the study but had ti be moved outdoors. They escaped and broke into a bag of packing noodles and chewed thorough my plugged in laptop cable. I have had many htings chewed and damaged and I must say Koda my BG has not been a part of this. However this does not mean that others will be so laid back. Getting Koda was such a great decision and I can't wait until he can be free range at last and enjoy it with him.

I am not sure if his is any helpbut this is my opinion on the breed etc. Feeding wise I agree with the previous poster. I have 5 buns and he of course eats the most!!!

this is Stumpy,he is my first ever inside bunny he is great fun,very relaxed and more like a cat that my other buns.He does chew a bit and he did spray urine until he was neutered,other than that he is the perfect pet and very nosy

hi

I dont have giants but all buns are the same as in training etc. My 2 are house buns they have full run of whole house even when we are out, although they do have their own hutch which they dont use in my sitting room. But they are potty trained, come on command etc if you want to tell her to have look at www.hoppybunnyrabbit.com we set up this page for esp this reason. I was annoyed when having to search millions of books for to find what your looking for so everything you should need to know is on their. (well apart from specific breeds)

As you know i have Ronnie (conti giant) and Lola (french lop). TBH i think they both act more like dogs... theyre not like my normal bunnies :?

A standard cat flap wouldnt be big enough, she'd need a medium dog door flap, they sell them in argos for about £25

I think it depends on the individual bunny, but my house is totally wrecked from the buns :? Theyve chewed skirting boards, doors, carpet... everything!!! You can only bunny proof things so much :roll: I cant wait to get them down the shed :lol:

They do eat alot more food than a normal bunny, as a rule, people normally say 2 small handfuls/1 cup of veg/fruit per 2kg of bunny, so to think some giants can get up to 10kg... thats an awful lotta veg!!! Both of mine are also good hay eaters, though i do alternate the different hays. Ronnie and Lola alone get through 2 bags of the Excel Herbage hay a week, plus normal timothy then normal meadow hay. Id say each of the giants cost the same amount of 2 normal sized buns

She could maybe get a puppy pen or something for when the little girl comes round?? I look after 2 small children 2 days a week and i wouldnt trust the big buns around them, Ronnie jumps up people alot, so if he did this to a young child he'd knock them over although im sure he wouldnt mean it As said above, they could easily do some damage if they bit a young child.

When im out i dont let the buns have total free range, Ronnie has the kitchen and hallway, which youve seen This is because i would never trust him in the lounge :lol:

Hope this helps xXx

I have a french lop that spends most of his time indoors and is very clean and well behaved. He has not bitten anything, but my mini lops used too when they were indoors. The only problem you may find with giants indoors is their ability to climb. My frenchie thinks nothing of jumping on the dining chair and then on to the table. So I would not leave him free range when I am out as he could end up hurting himself. But he is more like a dog than a rabbit and very chilled. I had him neutered as he sprayed sometimes, but has not since his op. It has worked completely.

oh I adore Stumpy i would love a giant housebun too, a girl for my big french lop boy Maybe you could do a search for more info.

I believe some vets will charge more for certain things for giants too; GAs for example and if they need drugs proportionately to their size. Also , if they needed boarding for instance, that would probably cost more.
I would think that if they needed to be separated from the toddler with playpens then you would probably need at least two. It might be better just to have a room that could be closed off completely so they had enough space?
I agree about being prepared for house wreckage! I've had quite a ew house bunnies and all but one of them chewed everything they could get their teeth round and were not reliably litter trained. Its great fun having them in the house but you have to be prepared! Think about things like could they jump onto the dining room chairs and then the table and chew them (yes, probably!) My rabbits always seemed to be able to get places that I didnt expect :shock::lol:

Hi

I have just got a giant conti (she is 10weeks old on the picture) so she will be a big girl, up to present i have had no problems she has free run of my kitchen with my two cats who live inside, and she has chewed nothing 'touch wood' although i think the cats keep her entertained. She has free run when we are home and is quite the adventurer!! She races around like crazy then flops for abit, the worse thing she does is lick the sofa which is quite funny,

at the moment i have a big cage which we got for her whilst she settled in but we do not close it anymore and i am getting rid of that soon so she will just have a cat box dome thing as a getaway but even now she never uses her hidey hole she sleeps on the bed with the dogs.

as for cost i have been given many ideas for cutting costs and feeding different food from a great breeder near me so it shouldnt be expensive, less than my cats anyway if she gets some i will give you the list!!

i dont have children so cant coment but i think she should treat as all animals should be around toddlers and that is supervised i am sure there would be no probs

thats my view so far on giants hope its abit of help

I took a 8mth old British Giant and her 12mth old partner who is a German Lop,
They were house bunnies. Jemima (British Giant) is into everything she as jumped over a 4.5ft fence in the garage to see the other buns she climbs up onto a hutch which sits on a work top and the top of the hutch roughly stands 6ft high off the floor and she climbs on top of that and sits looking out of the window:shock:, she pinches everything (shall i go on:lol::lol She is lovely though. They supposedly camre into rescue as it was a relationship split I think it was more what the poor bun did tbh:?