Are rabbits good pets for kids? I have two girls, 4 and 6, not too wild, who would love a pet. I have no expectations of them taking care of it, I know that would be all me, and I'm OK with that. But are rabbits generally chill enough for a household with kids that age?

www.bunnylu.org/

This is another rabbit rescue.

OP, sounds like you have some good rabbit experience so you know what you are getting into. Rabbits are great pets if you are committed to them and understand their needs. We have a singleton rabbit that we've had for 2+ years. He is awfully content and gets tons of attention so we have never felt the urge to pair him. He is out often and he and the dog and cat are great friends.

Good luck and I am happy to hear that you are working through a rescue. Too many rabbits get adopted for their cuteness and then are given up when people find out how much work they can be.

If anyone is looking for a family holiday movie, The Christmas Bunny is a nice film with a good message about caring for rabbits.

OMG look at this cutie pie...

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/24437339

I had a dwarf rabbit as a kid. She was so cute, but girlfriend needed to be an only. She was a prima donna. She chewed up everything, but we never bunny proofed. She also stomped her foot when she was pissed. We had a porch and we took her there often. She would prance about happily and some how send out a signal to I assume all the male bunnies in the neighborhood. They would show up in our backyard and even hop up the steps to flirt. She held court as the suitors came beckoning.

10:56 again.

I have a lot of chewed stuff, to be honest, but it's because I wasn't always as vigilant as I ought to be about bunny proofing. You can get rigid plastic cable covers at RadioShack, cut it to the necessary length, and cover electrical cords with that. It seems to be working in my house. I've also creatively and discretely blocked access to areas like behind the couch with leftover bits of wood from carpentry projects.

I heard that two males can be a problem. We had two males and they killed each other.

Bunny cage fighting?

Thanks everyone. We are not living in DC right now so are using a different rescue - the House Rabbit Network (not HRSociety) - than 10:56, but it seems to work in a similar way. They actually have pairs of bunnies who are already bonded who are available for adoption and also have rabbits that they recommend as good bonding mates for existing pets. Our previous rabbit, having had a completely isolated first 4-5 yrs (no human contact exceptthat someone threw some food into her cage a couple of times a week, and no contact with other animals at all), was not a candidate for bonding, so yes, that alleviated our guilt about not having a friend for her. It is something to think about - to get one who isn't a good candidate for bonding and then focus mainly on him or her. Thanks for the reminder of this.

I do know that male/male and female/female pairs are not often good for each other unless bonded as babies. For the PP who said that male/female pairs would lead to many more bunnies, the rescue actually spays/neuters so this isn't an issue.

Thanks for the feedback from people. ALso, we are hoping our next rabbit(s) will not be (a) chewer(s) of everything (wires, furniture, etc) the way some are. Our last one wasn't. Do you know if there are ways to discourage chewing other than to give the rabbit tons of hay and tunnels and things to chew on in the pen?

Thanks again!

Lookit these cute bunnies!
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/24470489

Oh hey also? My rabbits' other siblings are still up for adoption, and I know the woman fostering them would love to adopt them out together, or at least a pair of them:

http://rabbitsinthehouse.org/

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20000235

Hey there. I have two bunnies adopted through the House Rabbit Society. We adopted a pair of siblings because we aren't home all that much, and rabbits are social animals. Check out the House Rabbit Society. They have matching events where you can bring your bunny to meet other bunnies available for adoption and see how they get along.

You can't just throw two rabbits together an expect them to get along as they are naturally very territorial. The House Rabbit folks are very knowledgable. Also, any bunny available for adoption through HRS is already spayed or neutered.

In terms of it being more work than one bunny, my experience is that it isn't. It's mostly just an issue of how much space do you have, and offering a larger amount of food.

I hear that about cats too - but when I adopted my cat from a rescue, I was told she "needs to be an only cat." Apparently she had been an only cat, another cat was introduced into the home, and she attacked the interloper. (Don't get me started about why they got rid of the "old" cat and not the new cat). Since I REALLY only wanted one cat, this was a great solution for me.

Would a rescue have a rabbit that "needs to be an only rabbit?" Best of both worlds - the rabbit is happy being an only, and you are guilt-free about only having one!

So if you get a male and female you're not going to have two rabbits for long. That's where the "like rabbits" expression comes from after all.

We have guinea pigs which also are animals that are supposed to live in pairs at least. We had two but one died. I have to say that having one is much easier and I won't go back to having two. We got lucky because our pig was fine being an only pig. He also gets a lot of attention and occupy a spot in our main living area so its hard for him to get lonely.

I heard that two males can be a problem. We had two males and they killed each other.

We rescued a rabbit from a pretty dismal existence several years ago. She was a great pet for the years we had her. She recently died of old age and we are looking to get another rabbit. I am reading that we should consider a pair rather than a singleton. Have others here had two rabbits? How much more work does a pair entail over a singleton? Our rabbit set-up is great - big cage that we leave open to a large play area. We already clean out hte cage 1-2 times/day and feed fresh veggies twice daily plus give lots of attention and affection. Pros and cons of two vs one rabbit? Thanks!