# Costs for keeping a rabbit?



## cloverleaf1985 (17 March 2013)

I just wondered roughly much it costs to keep a rabbit per month?

I'm thinking about rehoming one or two indoor rabbits, but would like an idea of cost of food, insurance etc please


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## webble (17 March 2013)

There are some great housing ideas here http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?58-Housing

initial set up costs depend a bit on the set up you go with and the amount you want to spend.

Ongoing costs around £5 per month per rabbit for insurance. Vaccs once a year £20-£30 depending on the vets. Hay should be a huge part of the diet. A small bale lasts my 6 two weeks so would last two about 6 weeks. Veg daily a couple of pounds a week. Toys treats etc are up to you. Pellet type foods cost around £3-5 for a bag, I feed a handfull per two rabbits a day

I think I worked out as an average mine cost me £7 per rabbit per month but mine arent insured


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## ShadowHunter (17 March 2013)

I think my two are on the expensive side.
With feed at about £6 a month, hay at £7, shavings at about £5 (two smallish bags a month) 
Then theres your cages, toys and vet bills, but on average, mine cost £18-20 but without hay (as it last for about 3 months) £11-£13.

I really shouldn't work that out, but i do have 3 guinea pigs too..


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## smokey (17 March 2013)

Ours lives wild in the garden, eats every non poisonous plant it comes across, I bring a net of hay from the yard once a week, and she/he/it ( were not sure, lol) gets a bag of cheap rabbit feed once a month. Also scrap veggies from the kitchen. Costs next to nothing, other than the carnage repair to my garden!


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## mperson01 (17 March 2013)

Ha ha smokey, your bunnies sound like my two, who just run riot in the garden. But for a laugh, have a look at much your bunny "should" be costing you; http://content.www.rspca.org.uk/cms...goBlobs&blobwhere=1233010272280&ssbinary=true


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## catxx (18 March 2013)

They can cost up to £1,000 a year.

Mine are pricey! They are insured at £24 for the two of them per month. I don't have room to store bales, so pay for pricier hay in bags, about £7 a week for a large bag. Then there's their veggies a couple of times a week. Their pellets last me ages as they should only have a handful a day so that's only about month or so. Then there's vets bills, both of mine are prone to gut problems plus yearly vaccination.

Their housing cost me about £300, they are outdoor bunnies as my house is tiny.

Feel a bit sad for the ones left to run rampant round gardens, at the rabbit rescue we volunteer at, had a report that an adopted bun was killed in his forever home as he was in an open topped run and an owl got him. They are prey after all.


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## lottiepony (18 March 2013)

mperson01 said:



			Ha ha smokey, your bunnies sound like my two, who just run riot in the garden. But for a laugh, have a look at much your bunny "should" be costing you; http://content.www.rspca.org.uk/cms...goBlobs&blobwhere=1233010272280&ssbinary=true

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seriously??? I wouldn't want to read how much a dog 'should' cost! Think that delightful fact sheet would put most people off! If you've got a horse then you don't even have to pay for bedding I just used loose straw from the barn. as with any pet they are as expensive as you make them


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## GinaB (18 March 2013)

I keep my rabbits very cheaply I think. Hutch was expensive, but I made my own run. Vaccinations would be the dear part as I've two to pay for.
Bale of straw for bedding is £2, hay £2.50. That can last a good while but they always have adlib hay. Veg we get free, pellets about £5, they get two eggcups each per day so bag lasts about a month or so?


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## smokey (18 March 2013)

lottiepony said:



			seriously??? I wouldn't want to read how much a dog 'should' cost! Think that delightful fact sheet would put most people off! If you've got a horse then you don't even have to pay for bedding I just used loose straw from the barn. as with any pet they are as expensive as you make them 

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I just saw the bit about grooming and zoned out! Ours is a rare attack rabbit, goes for anything walking past. It also comes to call, and on the rare occasions it has escaped, we just shout it in, like a dog. We back onto woodland, and it's never made an attempt to dig its way through. I'm not sure if this shows a superior intelligence, or lack thereof. I do worry about the deer in the woods should it ever decide to go, it would likely rip their throats out!


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## wench (18 March 2013)

My rabbits certainly have never cost £1000 a year!!!


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## It's Me Megan (18 March 2013)

My rabbit just cost over £1000 in vets bills  Poor darling broke her leg, so is now hopping around on 3 legs following amputation! Luckily she is only young (4 months) so is adapting to things very quickly....


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## Faithkat (18 March 2013)

wench said:



			My rabbits certainly have never cost £1000 a year!!!
		
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I can't imagine how you could spend £20 a week on rabbits unless you have dozens!!!!  My bunnies have a straw bed (I buy huge agricultural bales at £20 each which lasts about a year); they have handfuls of hay pulled out the equally huge bales I buy for the horse and shavings (Bedmax at £6.50 a bale which, again, last for AGES) in the shelter in the run.  They have food pellets at £11.95 for 20kg which last for ages  . . . . . .


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## catxx (18 March 2013)

If I had room for bales of hay I'd save a ton of money, but I don't. I live in a 1 bedroom house with a tiny garden which belongs to the rabbits. No room for bales. So £7 a week for hay soon adds up. Plus their weekly veges (spring greens and herbs). I only use straw in the winter as well as hay. 

I also buy MegaZorb once a month or so for my bunnies litter trays. 

If you have a horse and already have access to bales, you save cash.

I spend more as I also have mine insured. And I also vaccinate and take them for check ups at the vet every few months or so. They're starting to moult now so, no matter how much a brush them, I am expecting a trip to the vet for gut stasis within the next few months. 



smokey said:



			Ours is a rare attack rabbit, goes for anything walking past. It also comes to call, and on the rare occasions it has escaped, we just shout it in, like a dog. We back onto woodland, and it's never made an attempt to dig its way through. I'm not sure if this shows a superior intelligence, or lack thereof. I do worry about the deer in the woods should it ever decide to go, it would likely rip their throats out! 

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That's because your rabbit is not neutered. Unneutered rabbits are extremely territorial and will attempt to take invaders in their territory out. Not rare, normal unneutered rabbit behaviour. He's frustrated and angry.


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## Kimage (19 March 2013)

My Bobbi only cost me about £15ish a month, got straw and hay from the yard when I got all the horses, she didn't need a lot so it wasn't a huge dent and a bag of 15kg bag of pellets was about a tenner. Vets was about £30 every 6 months for vaccinations and wormer was included. If you have them outdoors in a SUPER SECURE (tetchy point for me, Bobbi was taken from her hutch, which had a bolt on the door, by a fox last year ) run, they will have grass to eat so you won't need as much hay! Xx


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## smokey (20 March 2013)

catxx said:



			If I had room for bales of hay I'd save a ton of money, but I don't. I live in a 1 bedroom house with a tiny garden which belongs to the rabbits. No room for bales. So £7 a week for hay soon adds up. Plus their weekly veges (spring greens and herbs). I only use straw in the winter as well as hay. 

I also buy MegaZorb once a month or so for my bunnies litter trays. 

If you have a horse and already have access to bales, you save cash.

I spend more as I also have mine insured. And I also vaccinate and take them for check ups at the vet every few months or so. They're starting to moult now so, no matter how much a brush them, I am expecting a trip to the vet for gut stasis within the next few months. 



That's because your rabbit is not neutered. Unneutered rabbits are extremely territorial and will attempt to take invaders in their territory out. Not rare, normal unneutered rabbit behaviour. He's frustrated and angry.
		
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catxx, I was being tongue in cheek, I doubt the rabbit could really take down a full grown deer! its actually a very friendly big lump, happy as a pig in the proverbial! it plays with my cats, chases us about the garden for food and attention and as stated already, eats everything non poisonous. we think its part dog as it comes to call. its certainly not unhappy.


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## BlackRider (23 March 2013)

when my rabbit was ill and needed surgery the bill was £500, he also couldn't eat hay for some time and needed 4 hourly feeds of fresh veg and soaked pellets for 4 weeks.

generally my biggest outgoing is hay, and he is incredibly fussy, and will only eat the more expensive hays, but even so its only about £4 a week as I buy in bulk.


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## serena2005 (23 March 2013)

I spend £13 in pets at home bag of feed, small bale of straw, treats and toys probably every 6 weeks 
That keeps my 2 rabbits.
Then they get all the veg cuttings from dinner.


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## catxx (23 March 2013)

serena2005 said:



			I spend £13 in pets at home bag of feed, small bale of straw, treats and toys probably every 6 weeks 
That keeps my 2 rabbits.
Then they get all the veg cuttings from dinner.
		
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What about hay? Straw and hay aren't the same thing.


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## serena2005 (23 March 2013)

Yes I do know they are not the same thing!!

They pinch the horses hay.


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## catxx (25 March 2013)

serena2005 said:



			Yes I do know they are not the same thing!!

They pinch the horses hay.
		
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Good! Just checking haha! Some people don't have the luxury of being able to pinch horse's hay and we've had to deal with welfare cases where no hay was provided at all (read of one case where the poor things were fed just a loaf of bread and carrots ) so I was just making sure!


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