| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| MissLiss |
Posted - Feb 28 2011 : 11:24:43 AM
Does anyone out there keep fiber rabbits? I live in a city and am not allowed to have "farm animals" of any kind, but we do own our home and the city cannot complain about having indoor rabbits. So I'm thinking about raising some until I can move out to some land for sheep. I'm wondering how that is for you, I've never had rabbits though have had all the usual indoor pets...cats, hamsters, rats, fish, even a dog when I was young. I have no pets currently, so interactions won't be a problem. But I do have a 5 year old and a 5 month old. I'm just looking for any advice that can be given. Are they hard work? If raised properly, will they be good with the kids? Will they be happy living in a large hutch in the house? Should I have one alone or do they prefer friends? I know males and females should be kept apart unless breeding, is there one or the other that is better kept, in your opinion? I don't know anyone who has kept rabbits, so I'm hoping for some real world advice/experience from my sisters to go with the book learning I plan on getting from Storey's Guide to Rabbits. Thank you all!
Melissa ~ Farmgirl #724
Mother Hen to The Knitty Gritty Farmgirls of the Inland Empire
http://fabulousfarmgirl.blogspot.com/ |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dogsmum |
Posted - Mar 20 2011 : 3:04:51 PM
quote:
Originally posted by prairielandherbs
My male angora is a full-time housebunny. He does not spray or smell. he is also neutered! :) highly recommended for an indoor bun. he is an awesome part of the family.
Hello
I am about to purchase my first Agnora bunny, a French in April. I've been reading quite a bit about them and just read Suzie Surgrues book on The Nervous New Owners Guide To Angora Rabbits and it was the first time I had read that you should neuter a buck or else it'll spray. The book is the best by the way. I'm getting a 10 week old buck as a housepet and for it's fiber. Do I really need to neuter him? He will be in the house and I have a cage with urine guard? Thank you for any advice on this.
"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." e.e. Cummings |
| MrsRooster |
Posted - Mar 13 2011 : 3:13:57 PM
I would really like to raise English Angora rabbits. But, here in south Texas, it gets into the 100+ during the long summers. I am thinking about lion heads instead. Any one raise either?
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
|
| coloquilter |
Posted - Mar 11 2011 : 1:35:23 PM
When I was 16 my then BF gave me a bunny for my birthday . I trained him to use the litter box and he was very clean.He also had an outdoor cage/run where he could get sun and fresh air. Silly rabbit would spend all day out there and never potty and the moment we let him in he would dash for the potty box.
We did have to be careful of lamp cords ,he was known to chew them
I am a beginning spinner and have thought about getting a couple of angoras. They take up lots less room than an alpaca !
Susan |
| prairielandherbs |
Posted - Mar 11 2011 : 08:04:16 AM
My male angora is a full-time housebunny. He does not spray or smell. he is also neutered! :) highly recommended for an indoor bun. he is an awesome part of the family. |
| MrsRooster |
Posted - Mar 11 2011 : 07:38:52 AM
We use furball gel that you use with cats or rabbits. I didn't have blockage problems. You can pick it up at Wal-mart or the feed store. Mine stated cat and rabbit.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
|
| HDA |
Posted - Mar 09 2011 : 05:15:49 AM
I have one male angora that lives indoors. Kids & rabbits do not mix well. If you do go ahead with rabbits it might be a good idea to get rabbits large enough that your kids would not be able to pick them up easily until they were older. My bun is 8 pounds and even my 7 year old neice does not try to pick him up (I would not let her anyway). Rabbits can be perfectly friendly, it is more that rabbits instictively do not like being picked up which is often the first thing a child wants to do! If not done properly they will kick & can hurt a child and themselves.
An angoras coat does take commitment. It mats easily so you have to be diligent about brushing. I do not use the fiber, my bun is a pet only, but I still have to brush him all the time and give him haircuts sometimes when it gets too long for me to maintain. He lives in our living room & pretty much owns that room! He has an enclosure made of a dog crate where his litter box is (he likes the "safety zone" of the enclosure if he gets startled) and the door is always open out to an x-pen so he has lots of room to roam. When we can supervise we let him out & he has the run of the living room. Exercise is very important!
Litter box training is pretty easy because rabbits tend to do their business in the same spot all the time anyway, plus we have hay hanging above the litter box so he can munch while he is in there. He has never once gone outside of his litter box! We use wood pellet bedding (soaks up urine great & is compostable) with some straw on top of it which helps so the wood pellets don't stick to his fur. Sometimes the angora hair can drag stuff with him after he has been in the box, but fortunately nothing a vacuum can't clean up easily. Other than that my bunny is pretty clean & does not smell, he is neutered though which I am sure makes a difference.
Lots of bunnies do become bonded to another rabbit. I only have the one and he has never seemed to mind being an "only bunny". We spend a ton of time with him though & I also have a dog & 2 cats. He gets a long great with the dog, although bullies the cats some & will chase them if they are in the room with him. My husband & I LOVE having our bunny & he is a constant source of laughter & amusement for us with his funny antics. Good luck with your decision! If you have more questions I could talk about him all day :) |
| ladyfarmer29 |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 10:57:07 AM
You will want to be sure to keep hay around and such with the wooly type breeds too because they can get fur block. (We had one die because we didn't know what was wrong at the time.:( ) Do you have a garage you could convert? Maybe one side for bunnies? One of our 4-h families did that and worked out great...they had a nice system set up so that all of the waste went right into the septic or sewer or whatever they had in town. LOL You could find a breeder in your area and talk to them about it also or check out the arba website. :)
"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." |
| amomfly |
Posted - Feb 28 2011 : 5:03:27 PM
Males [bucks]are not that great inside. And some males[bucks] can get aggresive if not breed. I have had indoor rabbits. I think you should check if rabbits are considered livestock.And even if they are there may be a way around it. Like keeping no more then 10 or something. I do not think this so in most places. We had hutches that were three high and had trays. If you keep them clean there really is no smell.
I would suggest you get a book on angoras. They need regular grooming. There is also great info online.
Good luck.
Come visit my blog
http://angieruralliving.blogspot.com/
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
#1038 |
| woolgirl |
Posted - Feb 28 2011 : 4:15:35 PM
I used to have Angoras for fiber and have lots of friends who still do. Some people (myslef included) think bucks are more friendly, but I think that is just an opinion. I don't know about having the hutch inside, they can get pretty smelly and the males tend to spray.
Farmgirl #1947 |
