Rabbit Web Discussion Board

My 7 year old has been begging for a rabbit since he could talk. They are his favorite animal. We live on a farm and have dogs, cats, horses, etc. So one more animal wouldn\'t be a problem, it would live in a cage in the barn (which I\'m told from lots of people is just fine). He plans on showing it for 4H next year, but wanted to get one now to get used to it.

What type of rabbit is best for a kid? He doesn\'t really like carrying animals, so I don\'t think he\'ll try carrying it around a lot, but he wants to be able to sit on the floor and play with it. Also is a male or female usually better for a one rabbit house? I don\'t plan on breeding (I\'ll leave that to the experts).

I have been getting a lot of mixed answers from the people at our feedmill that supposedly specialize in rabbits, husband says one thing, wife contradicts him.

Thanks for all your advice. Kathy

We have dwarf lops and my 9 year old son does great with them. They don\'t like to be held and cuddled for long periods. But when they\'re out of the cage on the floor and he\'s in the room, they come up and jump all over him and play. We have a wonderfully loving male and two great females, so I can\'t say one sex is better than the other. It\'s more the individual rabbit. Our rabbits are also kept in a hutch in the barn.

Good luck with what ever rabbit you end up with.

Kathy: I\'ve always heard that most rabbits are pretty gentle. I\'m not sure what breed Petey is, but he is very gentle. He enjoys being petted, but not held-- never has. I would start holding them when they are very young. We didn\'t buy Petey until he was 8 weeks and I think he already had his own ideas about not being handled on a lap.

He loves to play, however, and give kisses, etc.! Good luck and let us know -- and see!- what bunny you end up with!

Thanks...hubby made a deal that if after 30 days of taking care of the house cat, if he still wants one, he can get one. So I don\'t have to panic and look for one right now.

I just didn\'t know if the smaller breeds tended to be nicer or meaner, or if one type worked better for outdoors.

Thanks for the help...I\'ll let you know what happens.

Im a former 4H leader and breeds i reccomend are Dutch,himilayan,jersey woolie,holland lop,minilop,Netherland dwarf ,mini rex,new zealand andfuzzy lop.See the parents ,if they are not friendly do not buy the babies.I think a male is a better pet.some females get cranky if not bred.Breeds that are high strung include english spot,britania pettite,checkered giant i would avoid these breeds for children.bluebird