How many people feel rabbits are high maintenance?

[somebunnylovesme]

I thought I would ask the question. What is your opinion?

 

[Popsicles]

Definitely. If you look after a rabbit properly and provide everything they need then it is a lot of work!

 

[SableSteel]

I don't consider them particularly high maintenance, unless you have a bunch of them. Not compared to a dog, or horse at least. Probably comparable to a parrot if you want a well trained rabbit. If you're comparing them to fish, mice or finch? Sure. It really depends on the rabbit though. Some are particularly destructive, or spray. Some take a ton of work and handling to get used to people, and some are born friendly and down for anything. As a breeder, I selectively breed towards rabbits that are low maintenance, though (no spraying, no grooming, friendly, healthy) so my experiences might not be as universal.

 

[somebunnylovesme]

Really? Why do I not feel that they aren't a lot work. My bunny free roams and has its own room. I clean out its litter box and spend time with my bunny. My bun gets vet check ups once a year. I find molting season requires more grooming.

I've had other bunnies before. When they were sick it was more work to give them their meds and going to the vet to treat illness or filing down molars.
Other than that I don't feel they are high maintenance. No more than a dog.

 

[somebunnylovesme]

My rabbit also know voice so commands, I don't even find a dog high maintenance. I agree with you
SableSteel. Maybe because I've had rabbits for so long I don't feel that. I don't know. I'm just curious to see what others think about rabbits being high maintenance, because I hear so much about that they are.

 

[somebunnylovesme]

SableSteel what type of rabbit do breed?

 

[Popsicles]

I agree, I just meant they are high maintenance compared to other small furries, and certainly more high maintenance than first time bunny owners often assume.

 

[Hermelin]

Don’t really think they are high maintenance but it can be hard for some to get their rabbit to become tame/bonded and litter trained.

Seen so many rabbits getting sold because they aren’t cuddle, haven’t learned going in the litter box and so on. It takes time cleaning all the cages and they cost more than owning a cat does.

 

[jess24rose]

I think they are very high maintenance in my opinion. But my bunny is a real attention lover and I can only be with her every second week so I am hanging out with her almost all of my time (even if I'm supposed to do homework) Anyway I am left to look after her pay for all her stuff and makes sure she's not sick. My dad isn't the smartest when it comes to bunnies and honestly doesn't like her that much.

 

[Lauren Kiernan]

I feel the are more work than a cat but less work than a dog. House safety is about equal to raising a toddler. Just when you think you thought of everything, they find the one thing you missed.

 

[zuppa]

I think you really need to invest some time and money at the beginning to create proper housing and train them and go through their young age problems with them and educate yourself but if you did it all properly it is all set up you don't have to spend much time on cleaning if you have proper set up.
I think it's not that much, no more that with a dog. When you get a puppy you also have to spend a couple months on training, your puppy will make puddles on your perfect floor and will chew your shoes and will bark and so on, if you worked hard and trained your puppy and provided bed/food/toys/exercise/regular health check etc you're all covered, the same I imagine (I want to believe) is with rabbits. I don't have much experience myself only about 3 months with 4 rabbits so this is my opinion at the moment. My dads parents kept outdoor rabbits in a hutch and my grandpa was great with constant innovations and he was a very organised person himself and everything in the house, garage and around the house was perfectly organised everything in it's shelf/place so he was very active always working but it was very enjoyable because everything was covered it didn't take too much attention.
At the moment for me it's a lot of maintenance mostly because I wasn't educated enough and got rabbits that cannot be in the same cage together at least before they are spayed/neutered so I have four cages to clean and four rabbits to let out for exercise separately, it is my own fault and complicates my life yes but I am getting experience and it is very valuable and enjoyable too.

 

[Cassy315]

Super high maintenance. We have dogs and they are easy breezy. But I might just be a bit obsessed with them. They are super spoilt. I actually don't have a day time job because of them. I wake up when my partner wakes up, feed all the buns and give them water, let them have a stroll outside for around an hour, lightly clean their area. Then I have a break during the day and it all starts again at around 5ish and I head to work after. And I'm up throughout the night because of them. I have 3 outside in their own little condo and 3 in my bedroom

 

[Orrin]

We've had dogs, cats and bunnies. Each needs its own set of chores and in our case they are all about equal. That said, I prefer the bunny jobs over having to clean cat litter or pick up doggy dew off the lawn.

Each can be destructive in its own way. Doggy spots kill the lawn. A cat has shredded an expensive leather sofa and love seat, as well as a pair of easy chairs. One of our buns chews wires. Another hasn't hurt a single thing in the house.

Dogs can be very demanding: let them in; let them out; beg attention, etc. We no longer have one because we do not need one. We wouldn't have cats, either, if we didn't need mousers. But... we will always have bunnies. They are "just right" companions. We love our bunnies and spend much of our time doting on them because we love them. They light up our lives.

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

Gosh I don’t find a rabbit to be high maintenance at all. It’s a bit more trouble than a hamster, but compared to a dog, rabbits are much easier. Dogs need to be trained, they need walks every day, they need more grooming than rabbits, they need so much attention, and they need their anal glands expressed ( ew) . Rabbits like to socialize, but they don’t need nonstop attention.

True, a rabbit needs its litter box cleaned, but they stink far less than a cats litter box plus a rabbit litter box won’t carry surprises like brain parasites the way cat litter boxes can. Rabbits rule!

 

[majorv]

I don’t find them to be high maintenance, at least not in our experience. We only had 2 rabbits that we retired and kept as pets. The rest were for breeding/show. We rarely had to take a rabbit to the vet, but as SableSteel said, we bred for good genes/temperament.

 

[Imbrium]

Dogs need to be trained, they need walks every day, they need more grooming than rabbits, they need so much attention, and they need their anal glands expressed (ew).

Some rabbits need their anal glands cleaned out too, heh. It's not a fun chore, but it doesn't need to be done that often (if at all, it depends on the rabbit) and you can get it done pretty quickly as long as the rabbit isn't a butthead about being handled in the necessary fashion.

I think how high maintenance a rabbit is depends a lot on if they've been successfully trained to tolerate being handled (which involves training the owner as well). We have four rabbits, two of whom have only been with us a couple weeks. One of those is named Harley Quinn for very good reason, lol. I'm still working on getting to the point where she'll let me trim her nails without going a bit psycho. She loves being pet and will tolerate being picked up, but when she's ready to be done with something... man, she gets explosive! If I all four were that uncooperative about nail trims, it would take me at least an hour to get through them.

Overall, though, I would say that once you have things set up for them, know all the stuff you need to know about them by heart, etc. they're about the same as any other pet. We have cats (4), rabbits (4), diamond doves (very small doves), society finches, sugar gliders and a turtle. I'd say rabbits are on par with the cats. Cats might actually be worse as their litter boxes seem to need changing more often (they're poop factories!) and smell worse.

 

[RWAF]

Rabbits absolutely ARE high maintenance when looked after properly.

Sadly a lot of people buy them on impulse without researching fully beforehand, and that leaves them open for some nasty and very expensive shocks.

Some people do cut corners, they spend as little as they possibly can, they seldom if ever provide proper vet care, they feed cheaply and wrongly, they don't provide adequate housing, environmental enrichment or companionship and of course the rabbits suffer. The rest of us learn - often the hard way - what they truly need and are prepared to provide for all their needs.

It's not cheap, it's not all that easy, but the rewards are immense, having happy, healthy companions that live a long life with a great diet, proper companionship, good vet care, plenty of enrichment - with or without their owner and adequate housing The greatest joy is watching them just be rabbits, snuggling with a neutered, bonded, compatible partner, binkying when they are happy and excited, doing the 'dead bunny flop'. which is heart-stopping, especially the fist time you see it!, getting up to 'mischief' - which can be destructive for us but is normal, natural behaviour for them. If we aren't filled with joy when they do these things, they really aren't the right pets for us

 

[Zuzanna]

Definitely, many people think they are a ‘easy pet’ or one they can just get for their child however it is very opposite and they need attention love and care all of the times. You cannot leave them alone in the house for more than 12 hours and they do not react with change well either meaning many visitors to the vets and vaccinations every 6months. They are super pets which bring joy in to your life but they are more high matinance than a dog or cat and need a thick bank account also.
I recommend them to families with time, money and a passion for bunnies.

 

[Evelyn Gomez]

My rabbit is much easier, and much cheaper to maintain than my English Bulldog. He gets only the best in veggies, pellets and hay, he has an entire room to run and play in. Eventually, he will have the entire downstairs. Once I got everything set up for my rabbit, got him potty trained and got his routine down, he is by far low maintenance compared to the dog.

 

[bhabydihmonds]

Yes and no, I have a flemish buck whos fairly low maintenance on my level or I guess it's just my daily routine with my furry, spiky and scally babies. Mr.PeterBear is pretty laidback on my perspective others might see him as a giant pooping machine. anybody else got a laidback bun?