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I’m an animal lover and have always grown up with them.
When I was younger our house was full of dogs, I’d had a pony, a cat and rabbits.
Being so young I never really considered the financial implications of all of these pets.
Mrs Monday is the opposite, while she likes animals, she’ll often put me between me and a dog when we go for a walk and when we first went to our local farm would reluctantly feed the animals afraid that they’d take a finger.
When we moved into our first home together we discussed the idea of animals.
We were initially thinking something small may be a hamster or something similar in size.
After days of research, we actually decided that a rabbit would suit us better.
They are full of personality and depending on what breed you go for are so cute.
It’s no wonder, with their fluffy tails, cute noses and playful manner rabbits are a popular pet.
Taking in a rabbit is a huge undertaking and one that many people underestimate.
In 2017 the RSPCA rescued 2000 rabbits and investigated 2428 complaints of neglect.
Do your research first
Like dogs and cats, different breeds have their own temperaments, so this was obviously going to be a factor in our buying decision.
The thing is some can be fooled that just because they are small they take little to no looking after.
The biggest mistake you can make in your decision to buy a rabbit is to think that they are a cheap pet.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
They cost a lot and here are the reasons why they don’t make cheap family pets.
So why don’t rabbits really make cheap pets?
Rabbits are social creatures, though contrary to popular belief are not keen on being cuddled or picked up.
They are prey animals meaning that they see virtually anything as a thread and picking them up is a terrifying experience for them
Ours would rather run to the hills than be picked up. There have been occasions where I’ve spent a good 10 minutes trying to get them back into their hutch, but that probably more down to the fact that they’ve enjoyed being out.
With this in mind, it’s recommended that you buy two. Two males will probably end up fighting so you will have to get them neutered.
If you are going to get a make and female then, you’ll probably have to get the female spayed as well as the male neutered.
Not only will this ensure that they don’t reproduce, but it will also assist in curbing their aggressive behaviour.
These are procedures that will be carried out by a vet so you will have to consider whether you can afford this procedure beforehand.
2. A safe place to call home
Whether you are going to keep you rabbits indoors our outdoors they are going to need somewhere to call home.
If they are outside then they will need a rabbit hutch, many of the ones that you can get in pet stores are too small for two rabbits, so you might have to consider spending that little bit more to ensure that they have enough space to allow them to be rabbits and that will mean running and hopping about and playing with their toys.
For a good quality, one that is made to last and will withstand the elements will probably cost you in excess of £100 and then there is the cover to ensure that they are protected from the elements, which depending on the size of the hutch could cost you in excess of £50.
If you intend to keep them indoors they are still going to need somewhere to sleep at night, so you will have to invest in an indoor rabbit cage.
Again you are going to want your rabbits to be able to move about, so be prepared to pay over £130 for a good quality cage.
You might be able to get these cheaper from auction sites or local classifieds but conscious of the fact that there might be further costs in transit of these items.
They certainly are not small and if you are buying an outside hutch will probably either have to arrange transport yourself as I’m sure there aren’t many sellers that are going to want to dismantle a hutch for dispatch.
3. The cost of feeding your rabbits
A rabbits diet should consist mainly of hay and some good quality nuggets.
While not as expensive as a dog or cat, our rabbits like a mixture of nuggets and each bag costs between £15-20.
This can last us a few months, but the main foodstuff is hay.
We buy hay around three times a month at a cost of over £6 a bag, there are probably cheaper alternatives but our rabbits didn’t get on with hay direct from the farmers, so while we get the nuggets from Pets at Home, we have to buy our hay and straw from another pet shop.
4. Like all creatures they will sometimes become ill
Rabbits are complex and you’ll sometimes not know that they aren’t well until it’s too late.
Our little Bobby was the most affectionate little rabbit, he would greet me with a happy grunt and would love to be stroked until he decided he had had enough.
Unfortunately one day he took a turn for the worst, without any signs whatsoever.
We took him to the vet and were prescribed antibiotics, seeing any animal, not themselves his hard enough, but when you love them as much as we did Bobby it’s made even worse.
We sat with him for a couple of days and he was not getting any better, he was off his food and he wasn’t drinking, this led up to the point where he could no longer move and when he did you could see he was suffering which led us to take him to the vet and do the humane thing and have him put to sleep.
Throughout this time, money wasn’t even a consideration, he was ill and we wanted him to get better but vets aren’t cheap so we had to pay for the first consultation and medication and the second visit and the cost of having him put to sleep.
We also pay for our rabbits to have yearly jabs which cost £20 for each rabbit.
You might want to consider insurance for your rabbit and we had this initially but didn’t claim as our excess was more than the cost of trying to help Bobby get better.
The cost of this insurance was £6.00 per month for each rabbit, which only increased as they got older.
5. The cost of equipment needed to keep them
The breed that you decide upon will decide how much exercise they will probably need, but in any event, they are going to need somewhere to stretch their little legs.
Therefore you might have to consider buying a run, if the hutch that you have bought doesn’t have one or if they are indoors a pen.
Again these items aren’t necessarily cheap, with a good run again costing anything over £50.
If they are indoors you might want to consider getting them a pen, but you’ll probably not want them doing their business all over your floor so you’ll probably have to get them some flooring.
That is if you haven’t trained them to go in a tray.
Choosing where to buy your rabbit(s)
We got ours from reputable breeders, but this was because we couldn’t find the breed we were looking for elsewhere.
I’d stay clear from pet shops as you aren’t able to see how they are kept.
Unfortunately, people are buying rabbits without knowing how much effort and money they need to hence the RSPCA’s 2017 figure.
Making your decision
I hope this post has given you some food for thought in your decision as to whether to buy a rabbit.
They make fantastic pets, but aren’t cheap and take a lot of effort to look after.
Will you be prepared to clean them weekly, no matter what the weather or take them to the vet when they become ill.
If you’re just getting one for your little one, I’d ask you to think twice.
While they say that a dog isn’t just for Christmas either is any other animal and they all need a lot of love, affection and money spent on them.
So if you are prepared for that then good luck, otherwise you might be better off going to your local petting zoo once in a while and allowing someone else to do the looking after.
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