First, I'm posting here because I cannot find a forum for 'pets' or 'rabbits', although I'm also going to post this in the 'country living' forum (although we're in the burbs).
My DH is thinking about getting our daughter a rabbit. She really wants a large rabbit (we'd need one - have two inside cats; one 1 yo, the other 10 yo), and I explained that we'd probably have to grow some food specifically for the rabbit, as well as building a proper cage/hutch for it, as the 1 yo kitten likes to play with animals through the cages (that's a topic for another discussion), until the rabbit got big enough to 'defend itself' when let loose in the house. We're in south florida, so I don't think letting it live on the patio in this heat and humidity is proper.
My daughter did 'Google' some information, but I distinctly remember several members here mentioning their pet rabbits, so I figured I would ask here as well.
I'm looking for:
1. general info on rabbits (what breeds do well with other pets, etc)
2. what produce to grow myself for it.
3. what else it eats, like hay, straw, etc.
4. do you have your rabbits in a traditional cage or dog kennel, or did you build one for your rabbit?
5. do you have building plans for a wood/metal/plastic cage/pen for a rabbit? (the plans my daughter found look too complicated for me)
you can DMail me, or post here, or we can schedule time to chat on phone/skype.
thank you very much in advance.
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SFC (Dawn)
For DGers with Rabbits...
Dawn - I used to own the book: "Raising Rabbits the Modern Way" It will give you all the guidance you need. Amazon has the book for $5.99.
http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Rabbits-Modern-publishing-classic/dp/0882664794/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313599536&sr=1-1
I didn't keep our rabbits indoors and they did fine in the shade of our giant Mahoe tree when we lived in Palm Beach County.
I used to raise show rabbits. You can get lots of information from the American Rabbit Breeders Association. They should have a chapter in your area with monthly meetings. Most rabbit breeders are willing to share info with newbies. Your county extension office should have information on raising rabbits both as pets and as meat. I worked as a 4-H leader for small animal production and they have several good booklets available free, also from your county extension office.
thank you very much, hb & calalily!
i'll check out that information.
I can tell you what the wild cotton tails like from my garden... young sunflower seedlings about 1 foot tall, corn seedlings - about 2 inches. I thought the crows were eating the seedlings until I saw bunny presents. Young zucchini leaves (but not the pumpkin for some reason?). Not too keen on beans, but they did take a bite out of several before they decided there were better things. They also like grass seeds. And chicken layer pellets.
So far, they have left the tomatoes, pumpkin, and the fruit of the squashes alone.
My garden has 4"x4" wire fencing around it - that will not keep cotton tail babies out. At some point they got too big to squeeze in. I was afraid they would get stuck inside the garden instead of out. My dog is no help. The rabbits sit and laugh at him. The chickens would chase the rabbits, but they sneak attack the chicken food at dusk when the hens are all in the coop.
Oh, and they like to chew on my trees. Killed several before someone on the fruits and nut forum introduced me to tree wrap and deer-off. No deer here, but the rabbits don't like it either.
And rabbits can dig. Big ones, like the jack rabbits here, dig very well. They like digging. Think of cartoons of dogs digging with dirt flying in the air. Jack rabbits do that, too. So if your big bunny is left unattended in the yard, it will probably chew on your garden and dig it up or maybe dig out and escape.
Good luck! Have fun!
Kmom, I am laughing so hard at the image of the rabbits sampling your garden, stealing chicken food and digging! I can just picture the sneak attacks on the chickens and dog.
oh, i remember previous mentions of issues of others with rabbits, so when DH first mentioned, I told him under no circumstances would we be allowing it to roam free in backyard (and we're not planning on getting it in the near future; probably around x-mas)....bad enough i have to deal with bugs in the garden; not putting up with a pet eating my stuff! LOL!
The upside is that bunny presents are very good for the garden. I guess that's the deal they strike with the plants - you let us prune you a bit, and we will leave you some high nutritious bunny-poo!
I didn't let my bunnies (four of them) run around in the garden. Their cages had trays underneath to catch their "gifts".
When I purchased them, I had hoped for at least one female, but they turned out to be all males. I think the seller did this on purpose so I couldn't breed them.
The pet forum is under Leisurely Pursuits about 2/3rds of the way down. Most of our conversation is about cats and dogs but I'm sure there must be people there that have pet rabbits. Under Country living there is a poultry and livestock forum. It's 3 or 4 lines down in the center of the page. I'm sure that there are a bunch of posters that raise rabbit, some as pets and some as food.
Local humane societies sometimes have rabbits for adoption.
SoFlaCommercial
• There is a rabbit rescue organization near us in Denton, TX (WildRescue, Inc./Rabbit Rescue) from which we adopted our pet rabbit, Peter. Peter is a mini rex breed and makes a great pet for my kids (17, 20 and 22 yrs old). He is kept in a large cage with the door left open in my son’s bedroom where he has the run of most of the room (where there are no wires exposed). Or we let him run around outside in the back yard for short periods of time, due to the heat, inside a wire compost bin that is 4' x 4' x 4', sans compost of course (thank you City of Dallas). I wanted him for a fertilizer source for my garden and he is very good at producing a lot of nice fertilizer that I can put around my vegetables without composting it first. We feed him rabbit pellets and Timothy hay, but he also likes carrots, fresh basil, parsley, cilantro, and other herbs. The chore that I don't like is cleaning his cage a couple times a week, but the cage we bought for him makes it pretty easy. He is so much fun that we are planning on adopting a female mini rex companion for him, even though he has been fixed and she will be too (two males will fight each other until one is dead). Even though I have posted several pictures of him in the past, I never pass up an opportunity to post his cute face so here’s a new picture of him relaxing.
well, he is absolutely gorgeours, hrp50 - what kind of cage did you get for him?
What a gorgeous looking rabbit!
One thing I remember reading about breeding rabbits - let the female go to the male - if you do it the other way around she might attack him!
OK I have to post a picture of Chocolate, hes a mini rex also. Peter sure is pretty, Im surprised what great pets the make. I didnt realize they were so friendly and outgoing. I dont like cleaning the cage either but my garden likes the cage droppings. LOL I love this picture even though it doesnt show his face.
Here's a picture of my friend's rabbit in CA he is also named Peter and is a Flemish Giant. He is HUGE and super friendly, they let him hop around their backyard and he comes right up to you. Im afraid to let my rabbit out, hes been hopping around the kitchen for 8 years.
"I want some bunny to love!" Hmm... I'm sure that's not original, but it's all I got!
I've been thinking of adding chickens, but now I'm leaning towards rabbits. They are quieter, but they don't lay deep orange colored yolk eggs!
It'll be at least another eighteen months before making a final decision - I HAVE to pay off my car first. Then I'll have some freed-up money to spend on the garden.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying the bunny photos - thanks for sharing them.