Best breed for children under 6?

My two children want a pet rabbit, what is the best breed to get them? Both are under 6.

I've heard California Rabbits and lops are pretty calm rabbits. I have 2 lop mix rabbits. One tried to "run away" the other day and he pretty much took 8 slow steps and stopped, so I just picked him up and put him back. My other one "explored" her surroundings earlier too, she slowly spun in a circle and then plopped back down on my lap. I've never had Californian rabbits myself, but have heard many good things about their sweet nature

if you're looking for a pet you can pick up and carry around like a cat or dog, a rabbit is probably not for you. if your kids are pretty calm and aren't ones that like to grab at or pick up animals, it'd be fine though. but even my calmest rabbits will kick at me sometimes - i have huge scars on my arms and chest from rabbits kicking me when i picked them up. they do make great pets with amazing personalities and many love to lay next to you and steal your veggies, but they do generally prefer their feet on the ground (unless they're having a binky!)

i have mini lops and i can attest that they are very calm, lazy bunnies. they don't move terribly fast, so they aren't difficult to keep an eye on. my meat mutts are also quite calm but of course get much larger and have more energy. i've heard that in general the larger the bunny the calmer it is - and smaller breeds like dwarfs will be more active and less calm/"friendly" than others. in my experience it's true, though i've only had one housebunny (and he's a special rescue case and he hates me so he doesn't count haha.)

i've also heard from people around here that dutch and himalayan are great smaller rabbits that are very calm and easy to handle.

Honestly? I would not recommend a rabbit as a pet for children so young. Rabbits look adorable, but they are not the gentlest of creatures. They generally do not like to be picked up. They can give very nasty scratches and are not unknown to bite - hard! They are also fairly fragile and can be badly hurt by a fall or a jump from someone's arms. Given good care a rabbit can live at least eight years and I have heard of some as old as fourteen. A rabbit is as big a commitment as a dog or cat.

Pet rats have very nice natures and are gentle. They are smaller and can be handled more easily. They are cute and playful and come in many colours and patterns. They have shorter life spans so less chance the children will tire of them.

If their pet MUST be a rabbit, consider a Flemish Giant. Good-natured and too big to pick up, so there is less chance of accidental injury to the rabbit.

Sorry to be so blunt, but many, many pet rabbits end up in shelters because their owners had no idea of the realities of a rabbit as a pet.

I definitely agree with these lovely individuals above, rabbits typically don't care to be picked up even if they are picked up on a daily basis. Even if they were 100% hand raised and hand fed by you from BIRTH and you have the absolutely cutest videos of them willingly climbing into your lab, cuddling with you, and begging for attention when they were kits. My bottle babies, two of which I still own, turned about 4 months of age and a switch was flipped. They still love me but get ROYALLY pissy when I pick them up and while they'll allow being picked up to move briefly, any sort of carrying from one location to the next you best do quickly because they will struggle and do their best to leap from your hands... this causes their abnormally sharp nails to leave deep gauges in your arms. To the point someone may look at your arms and take you aside for a "supportive talk."

It's not that the rabbits wish to inflict pain, it's just that they wish to get down and their claws HURT. So if you do end up getting a bunny for your children, I'd advise implementing a no carrying rule, lol. I think if you constantly supervise them with the rabbit, it can be a very enriching experience for them... but understand claw marks in your daughters may occur if handled improperly. You might try giving them a stuffed rabbit as well and saying THIS one they can pick up, :lol: A Giant breed of rabbit may be a good idea because your daughters sure as heck won't even be able to try and lift them, lmao.

Good luck.

I have bunnies and kids. The kids learned quickly that rabbits are not to be picked up, only pet. They scratch a LOT just like everyone else has said. IF your kids can understand that sorta, I'd get a big bun. Even a cross bred mutt. The size will be a bit intimidating for the kids to pick up, and the bigger bone structure means they can take a little more roughness than the smaller breeds.
So, Standard Rex (may be a bit jumpy) the big lop ears, flemish giants, Champagne d'argents (my favorite-They're big, but quite willing to come up and say hello for petting) crene d'argents, maybe the silver foxes (No personal experience with them, but going by the standard of people that raise rabbits for meat don't want to lose fingers=calmer rabbits)
Stay away from anything that looks like it can run. That would be english spots, belgium hares, etc. Everything I read about them says they're a lot more active than the big buns.

And as suggested, rats are awesome! I have a trio that I've had for less than a week that I'm calming down. They're scared at first but they're great! Can check out my thread Rats! in the 'other pets' section.

I agree with the picking up. Most don't care for it and you're likely to get scratched at some point. But I did have one mini lop years ago that our friends little girl took home. Tamest. Rabbit. Ever. She even let the little girl put dress up clothes on her. And liked it!! :roll: Mini Lops are pretty docile usually, as well as a lot of big breeds. If you're looking for smaller, Himalayans are great! Our himmie is an indoor pet and she's got a great temperament and loves people.