This is going to be a long one...

House Rabbit Societies. Yes I'm bringing this topic up, so I warn you these are my opinions, mixed with research I have done using books/vets/the internet.

First of all, rabbits make great house pets, in fact I currently have 5 of my rabbits in the house, 4 of which are in my bedroom. The other is in Tristyn's room. Although unless your house is 100% bunny proof letting them run around free is not a wise decision. The others are in a fully insulated shed. I use natural light, light bulbs which is turned on early in the morning, and turned off late at night. I also am in the shed with them as much as I am in my own bedroom (while not sleeping).

Secondly diet. I believe in feeding a diet of unlimited timothy hay, and a quarter cup of pellets mixed with oats and flax, once a day. Of course unlimited water as well. Now water doesn't need to have vitamins and minerals added to it, these are in the pellets. The diet of a domestic rabbit varies depending on the purpose it is kept for. The most important component of a pet rabbit's diet is hay. Hay is the base of pelleted feeds. In addition to pelleted feeds, Timothy hay, is a necessary and very important part of a rabbit's diet. This kind of hay provides more fiber than other types of hays (Alfalfa is in pellets). Fresh water in clean bowls or water bottles must be available to rabbits at all times. When a rabbit's sensitive digestive system is stable after weaning, vegetables and some fruits may be introduced safely if they are introduced slowly and cautiously. Avoid, nuts and corn. Overfeeding of treats such as apples, bananas, carrots and other sugary foods can lead to obesity or GI stasis, a condition that can be fatal. Feeding greens such as lettuce, fresh grass, and celery, in excess is unhealthy for rabbits and causes diarrhea.

Thirdly Housing. I use wire bottom cages with resting mats, these cages are far more sanitary then shaving cages and much more cost effective and can be made in to what ever size you deem appropriate. With the wire bottom the feces and urine fall through into a drop tray which means the rabbits will not have the chance to sit in their own urine/feces. It is also more sanitary when worming rabbits, in a cage with shavings the rabbit can inhale the worm eggs it just excreted. In the drop pans I use StallDry which neutralizes the ammonia an reduces the chance of ammonia related ilnesses, while also drying any moisture. When cleaning I scrape everything out of the tray, wash with water then spray with a bacteria killing spray before adding a layer of StallDry and returning the tray. Shavings do not due anything to reduce the smell of ammonia and once wet stay wet which in turn leads to urine stains. Also having rabbits with long wool wire cages prevent shavings from getting caught in the wool and causing huge messes like urine/fece stains and matts.

Spaying and Nuetering rabbits. If you feel you should then you should no one is going to stop you, but I suggest finding a reliable rabbit savvy vet. I have found that if your rabbit has already started humping things neutering will not stop this (unless neutering also involves having certain areas of the brain removed). Rabbits do not generally do well under anesthetics especially if they are under 4lbs. 1 in 1000 rabbits will die while being spayed or nuetered which is a very high odd considering the amount of rabbits. I have also read that 80% of rabbits will get cancer in their reproductive organs if not spayed or nuetered by the age of 5. Here I relate this to people, people have huge risks of developing certain cancers as well, what about human over population? Should we spay and nueter ourselves??? I have several rabbits of the age of 5 all are perfectly healthy, and I know many more over the age of five that are perfectly healthy. Again it is up to the owner, and just because someone chooses nature over human interferance they shouldn't be ridiculed for it.

Show rabbits. Show rabbits are supposed to be fit well conditioned animals. Fat rabbits do not win, and skinny rabbits do not win. Therefore they are fed a propper and balanced diet to keep them in shape and healthy. Rabbits with sore hocks are dq'd dirty rabbits will loose a lot of points and no one, especially judges like an agressive rabbit. That is why most breeders who show will not let any openly aggressive rabbits in their breeding programs most things are genetic as much as they are learned behavious. Rabbits who have any abnormal lumps, cuts, mites, are any other sign of illness will be kicked off the table which can be embarrasing, which is why breeders have healthy friendly, clean rabbits.

Rabbit rescues. Sure they're great but one thing has to be made clear here, Breeders don't put their rabbits in shelters, most are fully prepared to look after the ones that aren't up to par with a breeding or showing program. It is bad owners that send their pet rabbits into shelters after they wear out the novelty of being cute. I do not sell to pet stores where people are impulse buyers. I sell to people who have done reasearch about rabbits and are fully prepared to look after them for the 8+ years. Or I sell them to other breeders, which is what most breeders do. In fact I know of several breeders who refuse to sell their rabbits to pet buyers at all. Here is idea for Rescues, take all those unwanted rabbits and turn them into meals for the homeless (I know this sounds wrong but your killing one bird with two stones here). Fixing the over-population of rabbits and feeding the homeless. I for one would not even consider buying from a rescue or even a pet shop, you don't know where that rabbit came from, it could be carrying a whole host of diseases/virus without showing an symptoms I would not risk infecting any of my other rabbits.

I am 100% against house rabbit society crazies. 100% for house rabbits. If you look carefully at messages from house rabbit societies you can see many things where they contradict themselves. Go take a look, and remember domestic rabbits aren't wild rabbits.