Should we get a rabbit or even two at the most.

[RCbutcher]

Now we have a private garden of our own the kids are always out but look pretty bored despite all the stuff. Most of the time i see atlesst one just wandering around the grass. My mrs always wanted to get a rabbit for them but im more like nooo. But i do see the benefits for my daughter's. So long as they can pet it grab it pick it up. Plus stick to it so the thing stays tame. 

 

As kids we got our rabbits from some auction very strange memory including a swing pretty close to a cliff edge. It turned out the rabbits were wild. They just ate their way through the chicken wire and absconded. Brought back by neighbours 3x before totally disappearing. 

 

Ide want it to be a slow bunnie we can let roam the garden with the kids. Floppy eared ones look slow. Pets at home can supply everything and have a hutch perfect to fill a dead space next to the back door. Would a hutch attract mice and rats tho? 

 

My grandad kept bird averies with some smaller breeding cages for some parot type but one day all we found was one terrified bird a small hole surrounded by feathers. A fat marker pen sized hole a bird alittle smaller than a pigeon. No idea what took it he thought a rat tho. I wouldn't want to attract that stuff lol. Already found the biggest dead mouse ive seen at the bottom of the garden. Well the kids did. 

 

Or a play frame swing set. Less maintenance lol. 

[rawalker666]

we have had rabbits in the past and it is very hiy and miss weather  you get a tame one or not they can be very vicious

 

the best pets we ever got were chickens. Let the kids raise them from chicks so they were tame my daughter would spend ages in their run feeding and stroking them

 

plus they are the pet that gives you something in return you can go out and get your eggs for breakfast each morning

 

 

[RCbutcher]

Does sound like a good idea. Especially the raising them aswel. But dont you need a male roaming to get eggs? A garden down the road has penned hens and a cock roaming. 

[RCbutcher]

Mrs says no based on pen. She hates birds tho i forget. Shame my hobby list includs hawks lol. One day ill do it and keep telling her. But not for awhile an older hobby i think. A teacher had a harris hawk and sometimes we'd just take it through the feilds. It was an amazing bird. 

[rawalker666]

Don't need a cock for eggs you only need that if you want more chickens
If you get pullets just standard orange chickens they lay an egg a day

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

[Fly In My Soup]

I've kept chickens for 5 years, very rewarding animals to keep.

 

Best advice for a newbie is getting hens around 6-9 months, known as Point.Of.Lay hens, as chicks need vaccinating etc a few week after hatch, although they are extremely cute, especially if you hatch them yourself so they imprint on you as their mother hen.

 

Best breed to go for would be the what most consider to be a regular  'farmhouse' hen...

These are actually all 'hybrid' breeds, bred specifically for egg laying, derived from German stock.

 

Chickens like these ISA hybrids above will give you about 200 eggs a year, from P.o.lay to about 2 years, then egg production tails off with age... no bird lays every day out the week consistently.

 

You will have to feed them layers pellets or mash to get them to lay, teamed with calcium mix (crushed egg shell, shells) to help them form good egg shells.

 

I've kept many different breeds, including polish hens, old English Dorkings, and hybrids

 

I would NOT recommend anyone with young kids to keep cocks, i once kept a buff dorking cock, damn thing was huge, stood about 3½ foot tall when stretching out, big lad he was....Very aggressive, protective of his girls, constantly tried to come round my blindside and 'flog' the back of my legs, he was a 'pure' breed (Italian stock) aswell with 5 claws instead of 4.

Certainly impressive, this one below is only 26 weeks old

 

 

 

If you do get a cockerel you can't let them mix with the girls either(if you want eggs) as once they gather a clutch of eggs, they'll sit on them, become 'broody' and refuse to lay for sometimes months. (Hens will do this without a male present but with less haste)

 

 

 

[Tamiyacowboy]

rabbits are ok 

 

we had a couple as kids BUT be warned they aint slow whatever they look like and however cute they look, they will also kick out with the hinds when handled and are a bit frisky so you gotta be warned there and they have claws to so need trimming once in a while. 

 

they will dig given half the chance , they are masters of escape when given a chance. they are targets for cats - foxes - dogs - and raptors ( not the dinosaur type ) .
i can tell you now get the wrong bunny and you can end up with a frakenstien that weighs in well over the 10lb mark , these are usually called californian bucks or californian whites , they grow HUGE and will chase cats and birds from the yard. they have a huge set of claws and kick like a pro linebacker, but they are super cute and huge .

chooks are cool to like mentioned they give back eggs so thats sweet, the poop can be worked into the flower beds and give back in the summertime. 

 

ducks are noisey but they also give eggs and require a bit of water.

 

goose are devil birds trust me dont get a goose, infact do not buy a male and female goose if you want to be in the yard, they gang up on you and try to mob/mug you  ( something we found out to our cost lol )

 

Puppys are good they also leave you gifts very often but its the cleaning up of those gifts that some dont like and the large vet bills that come with them to.

[Fly In My Soup]

11 hours ago, Tamiyacowboy said:

chooks are cool to like mentioned they give back eggs so thats sweet, the poop can be worked into the flower beds and give back in the summertime. 

 

Yeah.....Almost forgot that fact about chicken ownership...

 

Laying hens crap everywhere, if you go free range, invest in a pair of 'back yard only' wellies ...

[Tamiyacowboy]

12 minutes ago, Fly In My Soup said:

 

Yeah.....Almost forgot that fact about chicken ownership...

 

Laying hens crap everywhere, if you go free range, invest in a pair of 'back yard only' wellies ...

 

 

yeah chooks up here would get snaffled by the local foxes or the local zombie cats lol ....... i made the huge mistake of going to the livestock auction and winning the livestock for a grand total of £6  only problem was auction number 56 was two freaking geese i wanted auction number 58 the two bunnys lol. 

two days later after the geese were in the pen me and my mate decided we would go in and check up on our new pets ........... we got two freaking killer geese lol breading pair and when they clutching they become evil monsters lol, chased me and friend up a 12ft ladder and i mean the male climbed the freaking ladder after us. lets just say two months later  there was two roast geese dinners on a sunday lol 

 

my fave pet was snowy the cali buck , we had him from young he was an awesome bunny when he was up on back legs he stood well above the knee caps and was more like a extra large cat than a fluffy bunny with an attitude to. he used to chase the local cats outta the yard and the local birdlife, in summer time he would sneek into the hosue via the back door and take up his bed ontop of the VCR  under the tv . 

If your gonna get a bunny and want something unusual i would honestly say grab a californian buck but you will need to keep and eye on the kids when he/she is around they can be a bit boystrus untill used to handling . ...... Hutch wise you want the largest one you can get hands on these cali whites grow huge and have a max weight of upto 12lb for the bucks, the does go to around 10lb

[Fly In My Soup]

Geese are cool, as are chickens..... As you pointed out cowboy...what other animal can you keep as a pet in your garden, get eggs from, then eat it the pet itself....

 

Saying that, rabbits do make a tasty stew...