Any experience with rabbits?
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Yes, they are delicious with gravy!
Okay, that was bad - my oldest daughter came home about ten years ago with a baby rabbit. Guess who got to take care of the rabbit? One day, she escaped from her cage and disappeared. About a week later, she returned, but I never could catch her, however, she lived in the yard and what she would do is when I came home from work, she would run circles around my feet and then stop and stamp her hind foot on the ground. If I did nothing, she would stomp again. She would keep stomping about every minute till I filled her bowl with food. This went on for about two years till one evening I came home and she was gone. Never saw her again.
dad used to raise 'em for meat when i was a kid.. 2 breeding pairs, butcher the litter before they went through puberty..
males can/will Fling Urine w/ their hind legs to "mark"
they really liked clover in the summers if we would let 'em out in the yard for a while.
males can/will Fling Urine w/ their hind legs to "mark"
they really liked clover in the summers if we would let 'em out in the yard for a while.
One other thing, when I lived in Indiana, I raised rabbits to put meat on the table. Most of them were very gentle, (which made it hard for me to butcher them), but some were mean as all get out. I had several that as soon as I put my hand or arm in the cage, they would claw me with their back legs and cut my arms to ribbons. They were the first to land on the supper table.
Originally Posted By: earlyre
dad used to raise 'em for meat when i was a kid.. 2 breeding pairs, butcher the litter before they went through puberty..
males can/will Fling Urine w/ their hind legs to "mark"
they really liked clover in the summers if we would let 'em out in the yard for a while.
Yeah, my Dad raised them for food when I was in my late teens. I learned how to slaughter, skin and butcher them. Nothing to it, really.
But, in terms of pets, they can be very cuddly, or sometimes pretty snotty. We've had a couple of pet rabbits. Some would bite a little, which isn't fun. One we had used to grab his cage with his teeth when he wanted food and rattle it until you wanted to kill him. I think we gave that one away. We fed him the proper amount, it's not like he was starving.
There are a lot of good web sites on keeping rabbits, and keeping them healthy.
dad used to raise 'em for meat when i was a kid.. 2 breeding pairs, butcher the litter before they went through puberty..
males can/will Fling Urine w/ their hind legs to "mark"
they really liked clover in the summers if we would let 'em out in the yard for a while.
Yeah, my Dad raised them for food when I was in my late teens. I learned how to slaughter, skin and butcher them. Nothing to it, really.
But, in terms of pets, they can be very cuddly, or sometimes pretty snotty. We've had a couple of pet rabbits. Some would bite a little, which isn't fun. One we had used to grab his cage with his teeth when he wanted food and rattle it until you wanted to kill him. I think we gave that one away. We fed him the proper amount, it's not like he was starving.
There are a lot of good web sites on keeping rabbits, and keeping them healthy.
We got a female. Not sure how old she it, but she seems pretty sweet. Very chill, she sits beside you in bead and likes to be petted. Just never had any experience with them before. I heard they need a diet of fresh food too, ill need to look more into that.
A neighbor had two of them. They asked and I did feed them when they went on vacation. One of them was afraid of literally everything. That one dropped dead one day. I think it was from fright. So among other things, they can be damaged by fear. A dog and a cat does not sound like a good environment for a rabbit.
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
A neighbor had two of them. They asked and I did feed them when they went on vacation. One of them was afraid of literally everything. That one dropped dead one day. I think it was from fright. So among other things, they can be damaged by fear. A dog and a cat does not sound like a good environment for a rabbit.
Yeah, I was/am a little concerned about that. Heard that rabbits can drop dead of fear. The dog lives in the same room as the rabbit, but so far they have not had any issues. They kind of mind there own business. Maybe I can put a towel over the rabbit cage while I am away so it wont see our dog.
A neighbor had two of them. They asked and I did feed them when they went on vacation. One of them was afraid of literally everything. That one dropped dead one day. I think it was from fright. So among other things, they can be damaged by fear. A dog and a cat does not sound like a good environment for a rabbit.
Yeah, I was/am a little concerned about that. Heard that rabbits can drop dead of fear. The dog lives in the same room as the rabbit, but so far they have not had any issues. They kind of mind there own business. Maybe I can put a towel over the rabbit cage while I am away so it wont see our dog.
I know that they can be good food for large colubrids.
My mother and sister had a couple as pets when I lived at home. Pretty easy to take care of, make sure they have places to go and not just in a cage all day. Different breeds have different temperments. We had a netherlands dwarf who was not particularly friendly and a mini lop who was very sweet.
Make sure to have regular vet visits also.
Make sure to have regular vet visits also.
When I was courting Marina, her brother had a large white rabbit. Babbit was house trained and lived peacefully with the house cats and the shepard mix
My ex-wife and I raised rabbits for over 25 years (for pets, not food). I still have two.
They should have commercial rabbit pellets and plenty of timothy hay available at all times.
Avoid lettuce...too much can give them diarrhoea and that can be fatal for rabbits. Dark greens, like parsley, spinach, and kale are OK.
Giving them an apple core as a treat is fine, just make sure there are no seeds in it. Apple seeds contain trace amounts of arsenic.
Rabbits teeth continue to grow, so make sure they have something to gnaw on, like a small branch of some fruit wood.
Periodically check their ears for mites and keep their claws trimmed...if the claws get too long, they can snag on something and tear one.
Above all, play with your new bunny. They can get bored and lonely and sad if left alone...better yet, get him a companion. I have never had less than two at any time.
They should have commercial rabbit pellets and plenty of timothy hay available at all times.
Avoid lettuce...too much can give them diarrhoea and that can be fatal for rabbits. Dark greens, like parsley, spinach, and kale are OK.
Giving them an apple core as a treat is fine, just make sure there are no seeds in it. Apple seeds contain trace amounts of arsenic.
Rabbits teeth continue to grow, so make sure they have something to gnaw on, like a small branch of some fruit wood.
Periodically check their ears for mites and keep their claws trimmed...if the claws get too long, they can snag on something and tear one.
Above all, play with your new bunny. They can get bored and lonely and sad if left alone...better yet, get him a companion. I have never had less than two at any time.
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
Okay, that was bad - my oldest daughter came home about ten years ago with a baby rabbit. Guess who got to take care of the rabbit? One day, she escaped from her cage and disappeared. About a week later, she returned, but I never could catch her, however, she lived in the yard and what she would do is when I came home from work, she would run circles around my feet and then stop and stamp her hind foot on the ground. If I did nothing, she would stomp again. She would keep stomping about every minute till I filled her bowl with food. This went on for about two years till one evening I came home and she was gone. Never saw her again.
Could your rabbit be male. That circling and thumping is often associated with mating. We had rabbits and one of the big males was always trying to circle one of that cats and would then try to hump the cat. I don't think I've ever seen a more pi$$ed off cat.
Okay, that was bad - my oldest daughter came home about ten years ago with a baby rabbit. Guess who got to take care of the rabbit? One day, she escaped from her cage and disappeared. About a week later, she returned, but I never could catch her, however, she lived in the yard and what she would do is when I came home from work, she would run circles around my feet and then stop and stamp her hind foot on the ground. If I did nothing, she would stomp again. She would keep stomping about every minute till I filled her bowl with food. This went on for about two years till one evening I came home and she was gone. Never saw her again.
Could your rabbit be male. That circling and thumping is often associated with mating. We had rabbits and one of the big males was always trying to circle one of that cats and would then try to hump the cat. I don't think I've ever seen a more pi$$ed off cat.
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We had 2 rabbits as and they are generally good pets. I'm allergic to cats and when my daughters wanted a cat, a rabbit was a good compromise. They stayed in our living area in their cage.
Rabbits do not need fresh food actually, although a little now and then is OK. After a certain age (2 years?) you do not want to give them an alfalfa based food as it will cause diarrhea. Too much fresh food will do the same. If the rabbit is slightly older you should give it a hay based food, we gave ours Oxbow brand timothy hay pellets and as much regular timothy hay as they wanted.They did very well.
Our rabbits lived ten years. They were males and yes, a male will mark unless he is neutered. Our rabbits were neutered.
Our rabbits were litter box trained (more or less), they stayed in the cage unless we let them out to roam the house. Once in a while you found a stray beanie but not too much. They will chew on TV wires and lamp cords though if you don't watch out.
Our rabbit was pretty much fearless of anything. The dogs tolerated it and the rabbit liked the dog. Since they did not know anything about being prey they would never have lasted in the wild.
Originally Posted By: gregk24
We got a female. Not sure how old she it, but she seems pretty sweet. Very chill, she sits beside you in bead and likes to be petted. Just never had any experience with them before. I heard they need a diet of fresh food too, ill need to look more into that.
Rabbits do not need fresh food actually, although a little now and then is OK. After a certain age (2 years?) you do not want to give them an alfalfa based food as it will cause diarrhea. Too much fresh food will do the same. If the rabbit is slightly older you should give it a hay based food, we gave ours Oxbow brand timothy hay pellets and as much regular timothy hay as they wanted.They did very well.
Our rabbits lived ten years. They were males and yes, a male will mark unless he is neutered. Our rabbits were neutered.
Our rabbits were litter box trained (more or less), they stayed in the cage unless we let them out to roam the house. Once in a while you found a stray beanie but not too much. They will chew on TV wires and lamp cords though if you don't watch out.
Our rabbit was pretty much fearless of anything. The dogs tolerated it and the rabbit liked the dog. Since they did not know anything about being prey they would never have lasted in the wild.
Originally Posted By: gregk24
We got a female. Not sure how old she it, but she seems pretty sweet. Very chill, she sits beside you in bead and likes to be petted. Just never had any experience with them before. I heard they need a diet of fresh food too, ill need to look more into that.
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
Yes, they are delicious with gravy!
And taters.
Yes, they are delicious with gravy!
And taters.
They do like sitting next to you and being petted. The only time one of our rabbits ever bit someone was when my daughter stopped petting it. He turned and nipped her (pretty hard) as if to say "hey, keep petting me".
Originally Posted By: gregk24
We got a female. Not sure how old she it, but she seems pretty sweet. Very chill, she sits beside you in bead and likes to be petted. Just never had any experience with them before. I heard they need a diet of fresh food too, ill need to look more into that.
Originally Posted By: gregk24
We got a female. Not sure how old she it, but she seems pretty sweet. Very chill, she sits beside you in bead and likes to be petted. Just never had any experience with them before. I heard they need a diet of fresh food too, ill need to look more into that.
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