Rabbit lifespan expectancy
Mike Dawson
We have a brown Dutch rabbit (about 3 lb, but not really a true dwarf).
"Hoover" has just passed 8 1/2 years of age and to all outward appearances is
extremely healthy and quite active. Hoover is left free in the house although
he voluntarily confines himself to about 3 of the rooms. He also has free
access to our fenced in back yard when we're home and he loves to hang out in
the backyard whenever he has the chance (We live in California so the climate
is relatively mild year round). So he's extremely happy.
All the old pet books put rabbit life expectancy at about 5-7 years, 8 on the
outside. However, I think these estimates are from days gone by when people
didn't really treat their rabbits as true pets like cats and dogs. Vets are
also just becoming more skilled in rabbit care and we're fortunate to have an
excellent one here in the SF Bay Area.
So I'm throwing an open question out there... How long do you fellow rabbit
owners think a normal lifespan is for a well cared for, well adjusted rabbit
is? Is it more on the order of 8-10 years? 10-12? Any of you have personal
experience with a "long in the tooth" bunny?
--
Mike "Ajax" Dawson
e-mail: daw...@ccnet.com
Mike_...@cc.chiron.com
----------------------------------
C Smith
It's really hard to tell. One of the problems is that people,
except those who write in to this newsgroup, think of rabbits as "throw
away" pet so when things go wrong, they either don't think to take them
to the vet or they don't go along with treatments to get them well. I
think that's one of the main reasons why the average is so low. That and
the fact that rabbits have not been as popular a pet for many years as
they are getting to be now. I have heard rabbits living to age 14 from
people in this newsgroup and I would guess the average is more like seven
years, rather than five. I also think it could probably be shown, if
someone would do a study that the smaller ones, like dogs, live longer
than the bigger ones do. Any takers?????
Rabbit
My mini lop lived to be about 13. Don't know about the others as I have
no idea what their ages are (they are rescues). My vet told me that the
larger ones tend to have longer life spans than the small ones (opposite
of dogs). Can't remember if the HRS has any info on this. Since their
business is the companion bunnies, their data would probably be more
accurate for this group than some of the bunny books (which are geared
toward breeding, etc).
Cynthia, Stew, Gimpy, Trouble, Pteradactly the conure and Fish the
cichlid
--
()__ Rabbit Hill Enterprises
{; ___)* 4083 W. Avenue L Suite 254
rabbi...@geocities.com Quartz Hill, CA 93536
"Ideas R Us" 805-726-4640
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/6107/
Silenus T. Spatchcock-Spathe
In article: <33C91E...@geocities.com>
Rabbit <rabbi...@geocities.com>
writes:
> Pteradactly the conure
Pardon my ignorance, but what's a conure ?
--
A Haddock & Chimp's Production (c) 1997
>{{{{{'> o o O O
^ ^
(-) (-)
Robert Benner
On 8 Jul 1997 05:06:42 GMT, daw...@ccnet.com (Mike Dawson) wrote:
>
>So I'm throwing an open question out there... How long do you fellow rabbit
>owners think a normal lifespan is for a well cared for, well adjusted rabbit
>is? Is it more on the order of 8-10 years? 10-12? Any of you have personal
>experience with a "long in the tooth" bunny?
>
>--
>Mike "Ajax" Dawson
>e-mail: daw...@ccnet.com
> Mike_...@cc.chiron.com
>----------------------------------
Hi Mike,
Our male holland lop Pogo is now 12 years 3 months old!
He has a bit of trouble getting around, does not hop like he used to, he also gets a dirty
bum alot which we wash. But he can still binky and zig zag by giving loud cheering and
coaxing. Even though he is neutered he will once and a while chase our other bun (female
lop 9 months) Burt and try to have a good time. I sure hope I am as peppy as he is at 120
;-)
I have pictures of Pogo and Burt at http://web.idirect.com/~moo/personal
niki
Just recently we lost our beloved bunny Odie. He was the sweetest bunny
and a joy to my husbund and myself. Odie was well over 9 years old. In
his younger days he loved to run around the house, from room to room to
see how fast he could go. He loved small pieces of bunny bread (bread
dried rock hard) and would walk on his hind legs and beg. He also
loved small pieces of banana . Odie would do litttle tricks to get our
attention, so that we would give him is favorite snacks. We miss him, I
wish our little buddies could live as long a some of the parrot
familys.
But, I would'nt want them to get so old that all they could do is lay in
a cage ,and be unhappy.
Thanks for giving me a chance to
tell someone else about our Odie.
Wendy Panter
My Netherland dwarf, departed this world in February. She was 13 years
9 months.
The average is between 8-10 years but for dwarfs the expectancy is
higher. I think there was one who lived until 20! But I think no
matter what the breed if they are given freedom, love and the right diet
they can live for a good deal longer than 8-10 years.
Wendy
Dorothy Hoffman
My bunny, Esther (a Netherlands dwarf mix), is about 8 1/2 years old
now, and she is beginning to show her age. She doesn't have as much
energy as she used to but she still has her mischievous streak and a
pretty good appetite. I hope she has a few more good years left in her.
--
Esther Bunny & Dorothy Hoffman
"A society can be judged by the way it treats its animals." --Gandhi
Esther Bunny's All-Animal Page
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/2655
Paw Prints Post
http://www.netreach.net/~dhoffman/pawprints
dhof...@netreach.net
esthe...@geocities.com
Dave and Rhonda
In article <33CECB...@geocities.com>, esthe...@geocities.com
says...
My Netherland Dwarf, Fuzzy, will be 12 this October.He has a little
trouble hopping around; and his appetite is very good. I have to shred
his carrots as he just has one stump of a tooth left in the front. This
does not stop him from chomping on his pellets though. And he does soil
his blankies with "tinkle", so I change those often and do bunny laundry
as needed. He likes to lay stretched out more than sit up; guess I
would too if I was his age! :)
rhonda mcdonald
rdmc...@peganet.com
LRigby
Hello there.
Yes, it is really strange. You know you said about the banana- it is my
Rabbits (Sugar) fav food. What did your bun really think of it? Was he mad
for it?(Ours is really upset of if he doesn't get any when we feed him)
I think that all bunny owners should try giving there rabbit it.
Sorry to hear about your bunny Odie
Larr...@Earthling.net