The Bunny Trail
Written By Ann Hodgman
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A Good Read
Start with the House Rabbit Society. Here you'll find extensive articles and links about rabbit care, rabbits and children, rabbit vets, local adoption agencies, and much more. This site is required reading for anyone who wants to add a rabbit to the household. Lucile C. Moore's A House Rabbit Primer is a good reference book.
What will your rabbit cost?Purebred bunnies can cost hundreds of dollars, just like purebred dogs. Shelter rabbits are sometimes free; "fostered" rabbits will generally require that you pay a spay or neuter fee of around $100. (It's nice to give shelters or rescuers a donation to help defray costs; most animal rescuers are volunteers.) Rabbits should have annual checkups and medical treatment for any health problems that may arise. The average house rabbit lives up to 12 years.
Timothy hay is the staple of a rabbit's diet. If you buy your hay online, as I do (oxbowhay.com and kmshayloft.com are good sources), bear in mind that shipping often costs more than the hay itself. On the other hand, the timothy will arrive in a nice neat bag instead of a big messy bale. I spend about $800 including shipping a year on hay (you can expect around $150 for a single bunny), but for me the shipping cost and convenience are well worth it. Rabbits also need small amounts of timothy-based pellets and a handful of greens daily, plus plenty of fresh water.
Keeping a rabbit in a pet store cage is like keeping it in a toilet. When it's not roaming around your house, a rabbit needs a pen at least 3 by 5 feet. (A bathroom can also make a good bunny home.) I have fenced off a room-sized area in my finished basement for my rabbits using puppy gates. Many rabbit owners use cube-and-coroplast (C&C) pens that are easy-ish to make at home; check out cavycages.com. An unassembled rabbit-sized C&C pen will cost around $100, including shipping. Most owners prefer to line their C&C pens with newspaper topped with either hay or pelleted newsprint, such as Carefresh, which is available at pet stores ($18 for a 46-quart bag, amazon.com)
Both in and out of its pen, a rabbit also will need a couple of newspaper-lined litter boxes filled with hay or aspen shavings.
Where should you get your rabbit from?You'll be doing all rabbits a favor if you adopt a shelter bunny; sadly, there are thousands and thousands of abandoned rabbits in the U.S. Some of them are rescued by foster owners who will take the time to match a rabbit with a potential owner. A good place to start: petfinder.com. Note that some rescuers will not place rabbits in homes with small children. (Generally, it's fine to have a rabbit living in the same house as a cat or dog; you'll need to keep an eye on their interactions, but after a careful introduction, things should go well.) The good shelters will tell you a little about each available rabbit's personality, how friendly it is (or is likely to become), and what kind of household it's most likely to flourish in. If you feel you must have a purebred baby rabbit, get one from a reputable rabbit breeder — not from a pet store. Generally speaking, the larger rabbit breeds, such as Flemish Giants and New Zealands, are calmer and more mellow.
