Bunnies

Bunnies

by: Boots - 10-03-10 17:52

Hi,

We have been offered some baby lop eared rabbits and a suitable hutch for free.  Does anyone know of any restrictions on keeping pets in a nursery?  Any tips or disadvantages i need to know???

by: stormgirl

The main issue for me, is that most of the children that I have worked with in the UK (Admitedly I have only worked in London since coming here from NZ) have never been around pets before. They aren't really sure how to treat them. So they can often be rough with them.

They would need to be kept in a place where they can be supervised at all times and kept safe.

We had a lop ear rabbit in NZ and it was great, it used to run around free in the nursery. It did bite occasionally though. We made sure that prospective parents knew we had one, talked to the children regularly about how to treat him with respect, it was checked out regularly by the vet and was up to date with vaccinations etc...

by: Maestro

Dont forget allergies etc... I always regard rabbits as dangerous due to the fact they can quite easily take off fingers if provoked. Poke the rabbit in the cage and finger gone. Seen quite a few mangled fingers from rabbits.

by: Tunja

You would be subject to the same animal welfare laws as any pet owner. The minimum accommodation requirement are 36 square feet for a pair of rabbits ie a 6'x2' hutch and 6'x4' run.

More info on care/legal obligations here: http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/rabbits

Do you know the gender of the rabbits? Two male or two females, if unneutered, they will often fight and a male and female will obviously mulitply. So you'll need to neuter whichever combination you get. Rabbits are social so just getting one isn't a good option.

I think allergies is definately something to think about as rabbits need hay which can be a common allergen as well as the rabbits themselves.

Vet bills are quite expensive and they do live 7-10 years so they aren't a short term commitment.