[Guest_~Songbird~_*]

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This post has been edited by *SnowFlower*: 20/02/2013, 07:45 PM

[mokeydoke]

We have a beautiful lop eared rabbit. She (well, actually a he but I'm sure he/she doesn't mind- she was a girl for a few weeks before we discovered she was a boy) is very calm and gentle. The kids plop her on their laps like a cushion and just pat her while watching tv. It's very sweet to see!

We keep her inside, in a hutch, and let her outside in a converted climbing frame (climbing frame with chicken wire on the bottom levels) every day for a run/hop. Maybe she is still so gentle because she's inside and handled a lot?

[peking homunculu...]

We have 2 rescue rabbits. They have an outdoor hutch for the night time and they roam free in the backyard during the day.

They are not really cuddly, lap bunnies. But they do come up to you and say hello when you go outside and they like being patted

They are my first bunny experience. I have learnt a lot about rabbits from them. I had no idea rabbits were so curious- they explore every inch of the backyard and if something is in a different place they immediately want to know all about it. We used to keep them in a playpen during the day, but they are MUCH happier hopping around. Basically, rabbits like/need some freedom to explore and to exercise. I think you need to give them as much room as you can so they can hop around and be bunnies.

[MeHeNDa3]

We have a New Zealand. He is enormous, and not a fan of being cuddled. We had him desexed about this time last year (he was 6 months old) as he was lunging and biting. He still bites occasionally, usually my 6 year old's ankles while he's weeing He's an inside bunny who goes out the back to "play"

That said, I do love him and he is quite an amusing pet. I'm not sure if it's his breed or just him, but I wouldn't recommend him for kids who want a little rabbit to love on!

[JJ]

We have a dwarf lop (don't be fooled by the dwarf bit - they can get quite big!) and she is fantastic, very loving, affectionate and patient... a real character. She lives in a hutch outside... undercover on the back porch at night/when the weather is bad, and on the grass in the backyard during the day. We also let her out for a run around the backyard regularly, or sometimes she comes to visit inside.

Like PP this is my first rabbit experience, but from what I understand it's not so much the type of rabbit but their individual nature and what they are used to (by nature a lot of rabbits are very jumpy and easily scared). We got ours from a family with children (although a bit older that mine) and lots of animals... they had her for a couple of years before she was given to us, so I'd say she was well and truly used to being handled and being around people and other animals, and had no trouble getting used to us.

This post has been edited by JJ: 28/11/2012, 11:52 AM

[Flaxen]

I have had rabbits for the most part of my childhood and teenage years.
Netherland dwarfs were my favorite as well as Dwarf Lops
I found male rabbits to be less likely to bite and scratch.
Get them from young (6-10weeks) and ensure correct gentle handling and they will grow to be lovely placid rabbits. Let them run around for a bit out of the hutch before trying to make them sit still, or just choose your times to handle them when they already look to be calm.
Or find a older gentle rabbit needing to be rehomed, as these scenarios often come up.

[peking homunculu...]

Regular handling of your rabbit will help keep her/him friendly.

I give the bunnies the scraps from my cooking (carrot peels, zucchini tops etc) and give them a gentle pat while they are eating. They now come running out to see me and have a sniff of my foot everytime I go out the backyard.

They have also become more friendly since we stopped trying to pick them up. It scared them and so we all decided that they are not picking up animals. Since we have taken this more gentle approach they have learned to hop back into their hutch every night without much encouragement.

DD has a doll house on the back veranda. We had to put it up on a table because the bunnies kept going inside it and knocking over all the furniture and dolls!

[Allymeg69]

We have had two rabbits in the past, the first was a female, variety uncertain but she was a right little so and so, very highly strung, inclined to bite, scratch etc, she was short haired and stiff-eared (as opposed to lop-eared). She was not a pleasant pet, and we let her go to a friend with a property where there was a large outdoor space and other rabbits.

The second rabbit we had was completely different, he was a dwarf lop-eared cashmere (coat length in between short and angora, so not as much brushing required), and he was the most beautiful friend, he behaved like a puppy, followed us around the house and garden, loved being handled and patted. We did get him when he was very small though, unlike number 1 rabbit, so he was raised being used to people, but I believe he had quite a different general temperament.

We used to house our rabbits in fairly large hutches in our garage. Rabbit two spent a fair bit of time out of his cage each day though, in the garage or in a moveable pen on the lawn.

[Pooks*potters]

Do people who let bunnies roam have issues with neighborhood cats or no?

[Jjbeanz]

Also do the ones roaming around your yard try to dig a hole to get out?