Caging animals

[JASMAK]

I think that there is people out there that care a lot and do what they can to support causes that they believe help in what they feel is right. You obviously feel very strongly against PETA but to make everyone involved with PETA to sound like we are making everything go backwards is quite offensive, incorrect, and down right ignorant. It may be the opinion opposite of yours but I don't think you have all your facts tbh.

 

[minties]

I think it depends really.

I used to keep rabbits for many years who were in hutches, but had turns running around. They were all desexed, flea treated, bonded to partners and had very large enclosures. They all lived inside when it was cold. Their nails were clipped and they were fed decent food and good hay.

In contrast, my MIl has a free-range rabbit. He has fleas, mange, she's never checked his teeth or trimmed his nails, and his bottom is so caked in poo and clumped up fur that he's like he has another rabbit stuck to his back. He eats bananas and carrots and apples all day and no good food. That is so bad for rabbits! Is like us eating lollies and biscuits from dawn to dusk.

So no, I don't think I was ever cruel to my rabbits. They spend a lot of time underground in warrens in nature anyway, being a prey animal they wouldn't just be bounding around in broad daylight all day long.

We had a huuuge yard/garden that I made safe and they ALL got time to run around to their hearts content. I couldn't just leave them all out all the time as being in bonded pairs or groups, they would fight with other pairs or groups.

And you CAN tell when a rabbit is happy, relaxed and enjoying life for sure! They binky, which is when they throw themselves into the air, twist their heads and kick their legs out to the side. My rabbits had heaps of love from humans and other rabbits, they would lie on their backs showing me their tummies (which showed they trusted me), would sleep snuggled up to me on my bed, and would groom me and run their chins on me (marking territory).

I mainly housed them in large bird aviaries, laid down on the largest side. So my Netherland dwarf pair (they were 1.2kg tiny rabbits) had a hutch that measured 2.5 x 2.5 x 1 metre tall. That was for night time.

There were some pet rabbits someone released on that street who got run over and kept breeding and I rescued a few of them.

Rabbits are not the dumb, cuddly boring animals one is led to believe.

I also had a totally free range bunny when I lived with my MIL, he was gorgeous, his name was Ben. He dug under a fence and a dog ate him

 

[BabyMamma93]

I think it depends really.

I used to keep rabbits for many years who were in hutches, but had turns running around. They were all desexed, flea treated, bonded to partners and had very large enclosures. They all lived inside when it was cold. Their nails were clipped and they were fed decent food and good hay.

In contrast, my MIl has a free-range rabbit. He has fleas, mange, she's never checked his teeth or trimmed his nails, and his bottom is so caked in poo and clumped up fur that he's like he has another rabbit stuck to his back. He eats bananas and carrots and apples all day and no good food. That is so bad for rabbits! Is like us eating lollies and biscuits from dawn to dusk.

So no, I don't think I was ever cruel to my rabbits. They spend a lot of time underground in warrens in nature anyway, being a prey animal they wouldn't just be bounding around in broad daylight all day long.

We had a huuuge yard/garden that I made safe and they ALL got time to run around to their hearts content. I couldn't just leave them all out all the time as being in bonded pairs or groups, they would fight with other pairs or groups.

And you CAN tell when a rabbit is happy, relaxed and enjoying life for sure! They binky, which is when they throw themselves into the air, twist their heads and kick their legs out to the side. My rabbits had heaps of love from humans and other rabbits, they would lie on their backs showing me their tummies (which showed they trusted me), would sleep snuggled up to me on my bed, and would groom me and run their chins on me (marking territory).

I mainly housed them in large bird aviaries, laid down on the largest side. So my Netherland dwarf pair (they were 1.2kg tiny rabbits) had a hutch that measured 2.5 x 2.5 x 1 metre tall. That was for night time.

There were some pet rabbits someone released on that street who got run over and kept breeding and I rescued a few of them.

Rabbits are not the dumb, cuddly boring animals one is led to believe.

I also had a totally free range bunny when I lived with my MIL, he was gorgeous, his name was Ben. He dug under a fence and a dog ate him

my rabbit wasnt very human social, not because we didn't try to socialise with him, we did, he was just much happier by him self, we also had a guinnie pig (sp?) he used to lay on her when she squealed LOL. anyway he would run around his big hutch, banging his back legs and whacking them on the hutch, we thought this was bad, and spoke to a vet, she said its good, its not that he wants to escape, hes happy and having fun.. so even not human social he was still a happy bunny. he sadly died at about 12 years old, and is now buried in my mums garden..

i dont think its cruel owning rabbits although i do see where people are coming from.. my OH's grandad has 3 rabbits in his freezer. i hate this, i mean each to their own if you like to eat rabbit fine its only like eating a cow. the only difference, rabbits can be household pets. them 3 rabbits could have been someones pets if they wasn't in the wild. poor bunnies

 

[Tiff]

I was very ignorant when it came to how bunnies are until we had our own. I had no idea about the bonding process at all, and just how devastating it is to them.

I feel bad for Jj, I really do. I mean, aside from doing binkies, what else is there he can do to let us know he's okay with how he is living? He does eat, will move around his cage, drinks plenty of water and will grunt at his ball and stuffed small bunny when he's playing with them (will flip them up in the air then go chase after it) and he's a monkey at times with trying to tip his water dish over. We've had to secure it so he can't ha ha.

Funny enough, he doesn't try to tip over his food dish though.

ETA - I decided to google his soft grunting noises, apparently means he is happy? I figured as much because he never went into "prey mode" when doing it and his ears were always forward when he grunted (meaning, he was curious or inquisitive).

 

[minties]

They like to toss stuff, baby toys are good for that! Old hard plastic rattles etc.

I think what really gets a rabbit down is being bored all the time.

And don't feel bad, I was terrible with my first bunny. I kept her in a tiny hutch and shoved a guinea pig in there for company. She almost killed the poor thing.