Upstate New Yorker getting ready to welcome a few buns

[boygirlmama]

Hi there! I am in the middle of doing all sorts of research on house rabbits before bringing them into my home and I was excited to find this forum in one of my searches. I've been reading a book on my Kindle all about rabbit care, housing, etc. I want to go into this well prepared!
Growing up I always wanted a rabbit, but we were a dog family. My husband, however, raised French Lops for years and has lots of bunny experience. We do have two children- a toddler and a seven year old, but we will be completely supervising our children and caring for the rabbits ourselves.
I think my biggest question so far is what size housing do we need for two rabbits? Also, we have friends whose rabbit just had babies (mini lop/Holland mix), but would it be better to adopt rabbits?

 

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

hello welcome!! I bought an x large dog crate and put a shelf in it for my 2 new boys. they started fighting the other day so I had to buy another crate. If you get 2 bunnies make sure you have another cage if they start fighting. It started earlier than I thought. It's always good to adopt but if you're heart is on a certain breed. get what makes you happy!! Everyone on this forum are so nice and informative!!!

 

[Blue eyes]

Hello and :welcome1
You've come to the right place for lots of rabbit advice. The library section has much info.
If you are looking for 2 rabbits, I'd highly suggest getting an already bonded pair. That way you know the bond is good. Rabbit rescues usually always have bonded pairs available.
Getting babies (even siblings) is no guarantee that they will bond. Once their hormones kick in, they can fight (as bunnyclyde experienced). Then they will need to be fixed (costly) and then re-introduced. They may or may not bond after that.
The bonded pairs from rescues will be already fixed, vet-checked, and possibly even litter trained.
As far as cage size, you may get many varying answers. I think, though, that most would agree -- the larger, the better. NIC cages and x-pens are popular options for making large cages for less. You can see some of these here:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f69/your-2012-cages-youve-made-64844/

The cage I have for my bonded pair is 52"x 28" and 30" high (with a shelf). BUT the door to the cage is open ALL day long. Otherwise I would consider the cage to be too small. Since it's open all day, it's more of just a home base.

 

[boygirlmama]

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

I have my eye on a few different shelter bunnies, but we're headed to Walt Disney World next week for my son's birthday so I will resume my search once we return. I like the idea of doing a rescue. It breaks my heart that so many animals end up unwanted.
I've been looking at NIC cages and I think that's going to be the way to go. We're house hunting currently for a larger home, and in the meantime I'd have less floor space for the buns, but more upward space. I'm thinking a 2x3X3 condo to start, with room for expansion. Also thinking about an X pen attached with the doors open for more space. The only large enough area to accommodate both currently would be our bedroom. It just gets rather cold in here, so I need to figure out a way to keep the buns warm.
Getting very excited to finally realize this lifelong dream of owning a rabbit! I tend to be more of a small animal person I've realized. I have no problem cleaning litterboxes and changing bedding, but I admittedly hate going outdoors to walk a dog in the winter.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Generally, if you can stand the temperature, your bunnies will be fine--they can take cold temps easier than you. It's the heat that's a killer--85 degrees F can kill a bunny. As for space give them the most you can. Ours have smaller hutches but are out 4 hours everyday. We firmly believe in rescuing from shelters, as life there is neither nice or long, plus you get the advantage of seeing the personality first hand and can usually get ones that are already neutered which is a big plus.

 

[agnesthelion]

So glad you found us here we definitely are a bit rabbit obsessed I think they make wonderful pets. I also have a son, 4 years old, and he enjoys our buns. I just supervise him with the buns and like you said, I do all the care for them.
Don't worry about them being cold. If you are okay on the bedroom, they will be okay. They actually tolerate cool temps better than hot temps. So even if your house drops to 50 or 60 degrees that's almost ideal for a rabbit
I wanted to echo what Blue eyes said about adopting an already bonded pair. That will be so much easier. You will have to spay/neuter babies which is expensive, and then as blue eyes said they could start fighting and you may need to rebond, it can be tedious. Also, same sex pairs are more prone to spontaneous fighting, FYI.
NIC with an attached xpen sounds great. Alot of us have NIC condos. My two are actually free run during the day and go in their condo only at night. My NIC is 3 levels of 2x3 grids.
Let us know when you get your pair and if you have any other questions

 

[boygirlmama]

Oh good! Yes, our house temp is somewhere around 60-65 in the winter. Summers are humid, but we use air conditioners plus fans to help us all stay cool.
I wrote to a local rabbit rescue about a bonded pair today and they wrote back and said the poor sweeties have not found a home yet. They are a few hours away, but not too bad. The woman fostering them said she will get me more info tomorrow.
Hubby said he will help me build a large rabbit condo.