Easter Pets – Get’em or Forget’em?

When you think of Easter celebrations in the United States, your mind probably goes immediately to images of fluffy rabbits, cute chicks, and adorable ducks. Some of your thoughts probably even go toward the actual animals, rather than their tasty edible counterparts (don’t lie – you know you were thinking about Marshmallow Peeps and chocolate bunnies!).

But either way, those thoughts often lead to the idea of buying or adopting a cute little creature of your own  in celebration of the Easter season. While this may seem cute and appropriate, you should know a few things before committing to the care and ownership of these pets.

1. These Pets require care long after the Easter season has passed.
   Whether you have chosen a baby rabbit, a chick or a duck, you can keep them in a large cardboard box or a wire cage, but it less than a month, they will grow out of the boxes and will need room to run and play. They will also need a place that can be covered to sleep, as well as litter. You’ll also need to clean their cages at least once a week.

   You’ll also have to tend to their specific diets. Rabbits usually take fruits, vegetables, protein pellets, and hay or alfalfa, while chicks need small grit and whole grains. Nothing too bad there, but feeding ducklings is a little, um, grosser. You should feed them things like cracked corn and hard-boiled eggs, as well as various kinds of worms.

   Additionally, these pets live anywhere from seven to sixteen years, at least as long as many cats and dogs do. Chicks in particular can live up to sixteen years, and they’ve already reached their adult physical maturity after about two weeks. So, if you think that cute little hand-held chick you have now is going to stay that way forever, you will very quickly be disabused of that notion, and many, many years to laugh over it.

   Then, there’s the matter of interaction between these pets, humans, and other animals. One reason they don’t always make ideal pets for children is that they aren’t built to withstand the roughhousing a child can give them. Even squeezing any of these pets too tightly can result in broken bones, internal injury, or death. And, as cute as these seemingly cuddly critters are, like many animals, they tend to bite when feeling threatened or scared. They don’t mix well with other pets, either, especially dogs and cats (just look at Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird!). And contrary to the perception they give, they are NOT typically into loads of affection and cuddling, and often respond negatively to this kind of attention.

2. Many common household items for humans are dangerous or deadly for rabbits, chicks and ducks.
   It’s probably no surprise that pets, like babies, like to explore with their mouths. So having one of these pets really requires you to be vigilant (and perhaps have the Animal Emergency people on speed dial). Many of you know that dogs and cats can’t eat chocolate. The same is true about these foul and furry friends. Paper products, especially wrappers, decorations, and ribbons are also particularly dangerously enticing. It should also go without saying that alcohol is a big no-no for them. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t get into an open can or bottle of it if it’s lying around. Even seemingly innocuous houseplants can be toxic to the poor little characters.
   It takes very little of any of these products to kill your pets, so you may need to make some serious changes to your housecleaning routine to accommodate your new pets.
3. In many cases, you can’t just “give the pets back” to their natural habitat.
   If something comes up that makes you unable to care for your cat or dog anymore, you can take them to a humane society or sell/give them away in various ways. It isn’t that simple to just give away or abandon rabbits, chicks or
   ducks to a secure and safe future. Because these animals require more than that conventional amount of care, frustrated parents of well-intended children often end up abandoning these animals, thinking that they can simply be set
   free and will immediately adapt to their new surroundings. Unfortunately, this is NOT true, especially of ducks. Many people think they can fly, but save for two breeds of duck in the US, most can’t. This means many ducks are trapped
   beneath the frozen water in the winter. Some are rescued by shelters, but others are not so lucky. Others are attacked by predators because they’re ill-equipped to defend themselves in the wild.
4. They may not be the cleanest pets. Or the most legal.
   Some foul can carry some foul diseases. Salmonella strains can be carried by ducks and chicks alike, so having them as pets can very risky. Also, you need to check out the local laws about keeping them as pets, as they are not legal in some areas.
5. The Humane Society is asking people not to give these away as pets.
   ‘Nuff said.

Consider some alternatives to giving live pets like these. For instance, there’s always the option of plush animals, but if that’s not “real” enough for you, you can choose to help sponsor the care of real ones through the help of zoos and humane societies. And of course, there’s always Chocolate Bunnies and Marshmallow Peeps . . .

Tagged as: bunnies, easter pets