Rabbits and Kids

At Magic Happens Rescue we often get requests for “kid friendly” rabbits. This section of our website is designed to go a little more into some things to take into consideration when adopting a rabbit to be around your young children or teenager.

• Top 5 Things To Consider Before Adopting A Rabbit For Your Child

  1. Rabbits live 8-12 years. While your child may be 8 or 12 when first getting the rabbit, will they still be interested when they’re 16 or 24? What will happen if your child loses interest, gets busier at school, or moves to the dorm and can't bring the bunny? At Magic Happens we are looking for their forever home, not their “until” home as they've already been abandoned at least once before (and often because children outgrew them). We know that things can sometimes change beyond a family’s control, but we like to make sure adopters are aware of the potential lifespan of their pet.

  2. Rabbits are prey animals, this means that things like health issues can be harder to detect and more expensive to treat since they are classified as exotics (i.e need to see a vet that sees rabbits regularly). A watchful eye is needed to detect these things, and is not often something a young caretaker can pick up on.

  3. Most rabbits do not enjoy being held. They are a lot like a cat, they prefer to come to you and may not always want to be with you. We generally have an idea of what rabbits are more Ok with it than others, but we like adopters to know that bunnies are not often snuggly. Rabbits are far more likely to want to be around their humans if they feel are respected and not forced to stay in one spot or be held.

  4. Rabbits are fragile, and can be seriously injured when dropped. Smaller rabbits are usually not better for small children. As mentioned above, most rabbits do not like to be held so when they squirm to get away; it is all too easy for them to be dropped and accidentally injured. We often recommend larger, calm rabbits if they are going to be around small children to discourage picking up/holding. Larger rabbits are also often more tolerant of loud noises and quick movements (though each one is an individual of course).

  5. Rabbits may bite or kick and scratch if they are scared/feel threatened or think food is nearby. We do our best to evaluate rabbits prior to adoption but not every rabbit will do well in a noisy home environment. They also can’t retract their claws like cats, they are always out so if they try to get away while being held they will scratch. While we can’t promise a specific rabbit “won’t bite or scratch” your child or teenager, we do recommend what rabbits we know have done well around children or what rabbits we are fairly sure will do well based on their personality we have observed or experiences/reactions in their foster home. Rabbits, like most animals, will let you know when they have had enough attention. Their body language is more subtle than dogs and cats and they can’t bark or meow to help you know how they feel. We always recommend supervising interactions between children and rabbits to make sure they are approached properly.

• Should I Adopt A Young Rabbit To Grow Up With My Child?

  We are commonly asked this question, and for the most part we have seen a better match when families choose an adult (i.e 1-3 years old and older). Keep in mind, rabbits generally live anywhere from 8-12 years old so 1-3 years old isn’t that old in the grand scheme of things.

  In general, adopting young rabbits is like adopting puppies - more work, goes through the “puberty” phase, but definitely a few more months of cuteness!

  Having them young does NOT guarantee that they will become more adjusted or be more likely to enjoy cuddle time. Just like with humans, it's a combination of nature & nurture. We’ve seen completely neglected and abandoned rabbits be so scared of every little thing, but the next one in a similar scenario was so grateful to have company!

  A big benefit of adopting an adult that has been in foster care is that you’re more likely to know what their personality will be for the next 2-10 years vs being unsure as a youngster just starting puberty. Teenage bunnies are less likely to want to be held as they are finding their own “voice” and independence, whereas an adult has been around the block.

  It’s definitely not a bad idea to get a young one, but our recommendation for families and beginners of any age is a “road-tested” adult.

• My Teenager Has Been Wanting A Rabbit For Years -- Anything We Need To Consider?

  Rabbits can live for 8-12 years and while the idea of having a rabbit as a pet can be an appealing “upgrade” from hamsters or fish, it’s important to consider care past the “novelty” phase (i.e the first 1-2 years of having your first rabbit).

  One of the top reasons rabbits are surrendered is because the teenager has gotten busier with school, especially high school and college. Rabbits are often surrendered when students move to college and can no longer house the rabbit in their dorm, or they have to move into a non-pet friendly apartment. We’ve even had some that had to surrender due to living with roommates (i.e roommates dogs, allergies, rabbit couldn’t free roam etc.). Oftentimes the family members were not involved with the care of the rabbit, so when the student leaves them behind they don’t receive as much care or attention.

  We usually recommend that when adopting a rabbit, the whole family should be involved with the process. This way everyone understands the care that goes into the rabbit, while the teenager may be the one who primarily cleans up or feeds the rabbit, it’s important that parents are involved to also help make sure that the rabbit is being cared for, and is there to help when the teenager gets busy. The whole family should know what is good to feed the rabbit, and what behaviors are normal for the rabbit so that way if anyone observes abnormal behavior it can be recognized faster. The sooner a problem is noticed and the sooner the rabbit goes to the vet, the better chance they have at recovery.

• Where Will The Rabbit Be Housed

  Oftentimes if the rabbit is being adopted for a teenager or child, it is assumed that the rabbit will go in the child/teenager’s bedroom. We often do not recommend this for a few reasons:

      1. Rabbits are crepuscular, this means that don't sleep through the entire night and are often raring to go in the early hours of the morning. While rabbits don’t bark or meow, they do have teeth that constantly grow so they like to chew. This means that at night is when they are the “most noisy,” often playing, chewing, and wanting out time (i.e possibly chewing on the bars for attention). This can be disruptive to anyone sleeping near a bunny!

      2. Rabbits do like to be part of the family, housing in the living room or an office that is used often might be more ideal. This helps everyone in the family to be able to keep an eye on the rabbit, hopefully spot health issues faster, spend time with the rabbit when they’re home, and everyone can keep track of when the rabbit needs things like their hay or water refilled or litterbox cleaned.

      3. We always recommend supervised interactions between young children and rabbits, and keeping the rabbit in a younger child’s bedroom means that you do not always see how the rabbit is being approached or handled. We have often heard that the rabbit “bit the child unprovoked” only to learn that the parent did not see the interaction, or was unaware of bunny body language, which is different than cat/dog. We understand every child is different, but it is important to make sure that the rabbit feels secure in their environment as even a "nice" bunny can only take so much if their subtle body language of saying no isn't being understood or respected.

• Veterinary Care

  As mentioned above, rabbits are prey animals, this means that things like health issues can be harder to detect and more expensive to treat since they are classified as exotics (i.e need to see a vet that sees rabbits regularly). In southeast Louisiana we fortunately have exotic vets spread out usually within 30 minutes to an hour or two apart. Not all exotic vets are open 24 hours, so we recommend researching what options are nearby and if they are experienced with rabbits - a lot of clinics may say they ‘see’ rabbits but verifying that they have an exotic’s experienced vet is important. We do have a list of recommended vets you can see by clicking here.

• “What if” scenarios to consider:

  What if your child loses interest within a few months or 1-2 years?

  What if your child or another family member is severely allergic to the rabbit?

  What if the rabbit needs veterinary care and the teenager can’t afford it or drive the rabbit to the veterinary clinic?

  What if the child/teenager gets busy and can no longer keep up with cleaning up after/socializing the rabbit?

  What if the teenager is moving to college and can’t take the rabbit with them?

  What if your family moves to another state or across the country?

At Magic Happens Rescue we do offer “trial runs” also known as “Foster to Adopt” to try to help cover some of the “what if’s” and see if the household as well as bunny can adjust to each others' needs. We also ask that any families adopting from us to please contact us first if their situation changes for whatever reason and they can no longer keep the rabbit. We prefer our adoptables come back to us since we are already familiar with them. We very much care about our “alumni” and we would prefer to take them back in and try again with finding their furever home.