Big bunnies!

[vonnie]

Went into a Pets at Home today. I only went in for flea tablets but I couldn't possibly leave without looking at every animal in the place

Well I've been thinking about getting a rabbit for a while, and I just fell in love with one which was HUGE, but which they'd just labelled "giant house rabbit". I'd never dream of buying anything from there anyway, but I just wondered, as I'm pretty clueless about rabbits, what the breed is likely to have been.

OH got a bit OMG at the price tag of £120. Does that sound steep?

One last question ... house rabbits and cats. One of the reasons I was tempted is that it was actually much bigger than my cats so would presumably not be in any danger from them. That's a principle that seems to apply with my hens. Does anyone keep house rabbits and cats together?

Thanks

[feorag]

I've seen one of those in Pets at Home where we live. It's probably a cross British Giant which they have decided to label as a Giant House Rabbit, as far as I'm aware there's no such breed. I did have a British Giant years ago and he was a lovely rabbit, bigger than my cats and he had a fabulous temperament.

I've kept rabbits and cats together for years without any problems, but obviously it does depend on the individual cat. The first rabbit I brought home was an 8 week old dwarf lop. I let it run in the garden and it kept hopping over to my cats and trying to burrow underneath them for comfort. They didn't much care for it, that's for sure, but they never harmed the rabbit, just ran away apart from a couple who let it lie beside them. Here she is with Briagha, my Havana that day.



I don't know what the average price for a rabbit is nowadays because the last 6 rabbits I got were all rescues - in fact the dwarf lop was the only one I ever bought, but I think £120 is a steep price to pay for a non-pedigree rabbit.

Be interested to read what the rabbit experts on here reckon though, cos I am out of touch!

[hoglet]

Originally Posted by vonnie

Went into a Pets at Home today. I only went in for flea tablets but I couldn't possibly leave without looking at every animal in the place

Well I've been thinking about getting a rabbit for a while, and I just fell in love with one which was HUGE, but which they'd just labelled "giant house rabbit". I'd never dream of buying anything from there anyway, but I just wondered, as I'm pretty clueless about rabbits, what the breed is likely to have been.

OH got a bit OMG at the price tag of £120. Does that sound steep?

One last question ... house rabbits and cats. One of the reasons I was tempted is that it was actually much bigger than my cats so would presumably not be in any danger from them. That's a principle that seems to apply with my hens. Does anyone keep house rabbits and cats together?

Thanks

Hi,
The rabbit you saw in PAH will be a continental Giant, I presume the ears were errect (sticking straight up), The other variation on a house rabbit is the Giant French Lop as the name suggests this is a lop eared version of the giant rabbits. The price is ridiculous get on the web and search for either Continental Giant or Giant French Lop breeders in your area you can expect to pay between £20.00 and £45.00 depending on the breeder and if you are interested in showing, buying a rabbit from show stock will be more expensive than buying one from a family breeder.
I have no idea about cats and there ways but when I kept Giants my dog had no problems with them, but the buck did try to mount my dog. If you introduce them properly under supervision I wouldn't see a problem but I wouldn't leave them alone just to be on the safe side. I kept giant frenchies and they are a brilliant pet (not for small children) there not prone to many illness but they will eat you out of house and home if you don't watch them they are prone to obesity so you do have to ensure you don't overfeed. They can over time be trained to come and can be litter trained.

[sheldon&shelly]

that wouldnt happen to have been in blackburn pets at home would it?

they had an agouti giant at the time she was 6 mths old and me & the kids fell in love with her talked hubby round into buying her asked the price then laughed,

it is a very stupidly ridiculous price

[denny2]

hya , have a look in the ad trader ( yellow paper) there are often continental or gianth frenc lops for sale for a fraction of the price usually about 50 quid or even less. i wouldnt pay pets at home such an exorbitant price ....

[netwoir]

we have 8 giant rabbits at work and they arent suitable for young children or anything coz they can grow to like 8kg in weight but they are good pets. price is way too high though - pets at home will often do this so you can get them much cheaper from a breeder online.
they are cool but we have some that are a bit aggressive so i guess just watch the temperament of a conti before you get it

[netwoir]

oh and ours are in a large pen with african pygmy goats and chickens as well. so you dont have to have them as house rabbits, though watch your lawn coz they'll dig a lot if given the chance

[feorag]

Originally Posted by hoglet

Hi,
The rabbit you saw in PAH will be a continental Giant, I presume the ears were errect (sticking straight up), The other variation on a house rabbit is the Giant French Lop as the name suggests this is a lop eared version of the giant rabbits.

And there is the British Giant which has been bred here for years!

All rabbits can be houserabbits. There's no specific breed of houserabbit. A houserabbit is any rabbit whose owner decides they want to live in the house.

[saxon]

Originally Posted by netwoir

we have 8 giant rabbits at work and they arent suitable for young children or anything coz they can grow to like 8kg in weight but they are good pets.

I have to disagree with this. Unless you're on about british giants where I would agree as they arent' as friendly as my conti.

I have a continental giant who is fantastic with my grandkids. My 6 yrs old granddaughter carries her aorund. She weighs in at around 24 llbs at the moment and she is only 7 months old.

To the OP,
Average cost from a breeder, for basic agouti colour, would be in the region of £50. Sometimes they are cheaper but it's not always that the breeder knows the ancestry.
Other colours can cost more.
they only live about 5 yrs though so that's the down side to owning giants.
There are also British Giants that are a bit smaller than conti's. I have three and I've found they aren't as friendly as the conti's.
I wouldn't advise BG's for kids.

Where are you as there is a lad on here who has conti's. He's on Mansfield.
His rabbits have great temperaments and are healtlhy.

I am planning on breeding my girl as I plan to show conti's next year.

Both my BR's and my conti are fine with the cats and dogs.
then again so are my lionheads.

[Steve L]

There's a little riding school in Nuneaton for disabled kids
they fund stuff through breeding rabbits guinea pigs birds etc .
They have those big rabbits starting at 20 quid