When I was growing up, for Easter one year my parents got us a live baby duck, which we named Oswald. Oswald was the softest, cutest little thing and we really liked him – for a while. Then he became a responsibility. We had to care for him and feed him and he grew. Before too long, my parents decided that Oswald had to go, but what do you do with a duck? Fortunately my dad talked with a caretaker at a local park that had a pond with ducks. He said Oswald would fit right in. And so we said goodbye and never saw Oswald again.
Live bunnies and baby chicks and ducks are popular Easter gifts for kids. The problem is that they will become adult rabbits and chickens and ducks and may not make the best housepets. One statistic says that four out of five rabbits bought for Easter are abandoned or die before the next Easter. Some are surrendered to animal shelters, but way too many don’t make it that far. So what started out as a “cute” idea becomes a problem and then a tragedy.
I know a lady that has rabbits as pets (not Easter bunnies – rabbits). She has special cages for them and does not let them play alone in the yard – they are easy prey for neighborhood dogs. She puts out litter boxes for her rabbits which helps to keep things cleaner. She has special food bowls and water bottles with nozzles. She also buys dried grass, or hay (because rabbits eat grass in the wild), and pellet food, and some fresh veggies. She has to work hard to keep their area clean because rabbits can be messy.
The equipment and supplies needed to keep rabbits as house pets could be somewhat expensive - and caring for them time consuming. So if you’re thinking about giving a child an Easter pet, please - think again. For me, I do like Easter bunnies – the chocolate kind, when I’m speaking of Easter pets.
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