# Feeder rabbits as pets?



## nbetweendreams13

My boyfriend and I were at a pet store today and saw a sign for feeder rabbits. We thought it would be cool to get one and raise him or her as a pet. Are there any differences between breeder and pet rabbits? And are breeder rabbits a certain breed so we can do our research first? I tried to google it but couldn't find any info on having them for pets. Thanks!


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## I_heart_Fraggles

No generally there is no difference. Fraggles was bred to be a meat rabbit. I bought her from a meat farm and she is a wonderful house pet.


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## Nancy McClelland

Our old boy Hoss was a REW New Zealander which is a "meat" breed and he was a great house rabbit. Sure do miss him.


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## Korr_and_Sophie

Feeder rabbits tend to be bigger breeds are do have a different body type. There are a few breeds that are commonly used as meat. Common breeds are the Califorian and New Zealand, but there are others. 

As far as other breeds, it really depends on what you may be looking for. Meat breeds tend to be bigger, so if you are looking for a small rabbit these are probably not the best choice. 

Any breed can make a good pet. One thing about rabbits bred for meat is that they tend to not be bred with the health of the rabbit in mind as they usually don't live too long. While this usually doesn't make a huge difference since many breeders don't specifically breed for health and longevity. You should try to choose a healthy rabbit.

What you really need to take into account is the size of the rabbit. There are a few meat breeds that have red eyes and they can freak some people out. If the rabbits you are looking for don't have red eyes, they don't develop them later on, if that is a concern for you. 
They might have some issues with food since they probably haven't been given hay or veggies. It may take some time to get them eating these and used to eating them. There may be some sensitivities to foods, so keep that in mind when giving new foods. 

Breed doesn't make a ton if difference with keeping rabbits as pets. There are some differences, but these are usually related to size, fur (amount of grooming), and energy level. Other differences can be due to the sex (some intact buck will spray and hump and intact females can be moody), and just the individual rabbits. 

If you want to get one of the rabbits, then go for it.


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## Kipcha

Two of our rescue buns, Kit and Kat, were feeder babies for a snake. They were the sweetest little things but weren't the healthiest (Hence why the ended up with our vet since she had the best shot at getting them up to health, we tried but the vet bills really started adding up) so keep that in mind when you're looking, make sure they are healthy. Now, keep in mind with Kit and Kat they were in a snakes cage for a few days without food or a good source of water. When the guy realised the snake wasn't going to eat them, he decided that he would give them to me, when I went in I found Kit literally sitting on the snakes head. So they did not have the best start, who knows the toll that type of dehydration and starvation can take on a 2-3 week old bun. We had them for a week and a half or so and they seemed to be going good before it all went downhill, so we wound up giving them to our vet when she offered to take them.

If you find one that's healthy, active and friendly, I would say go for it. It'll feel good to save a life


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## nbetweendreams13

Thank you so much guys 
I'll have to look into them more. I had bunnies when I was younger and we used to let them run around our backyard. They're a lot of fun.


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## holtzchick

Awh, thats sweet that you've decided to get a feeder rabbit! I know I can't force my views on others or stop them from breeding rabbits strictly for meat (when I was a kid my grandpa had a meat farm ) but we can all make a large difference in 1 bunnies life at a time right!


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