Hello!

[cbun]

Hello everyone! I am a mom from the Midwest who is planning to adopt a rabbit in about 6 months and joining the forum in order to post a few questions. My daughter (age 9.5) has been a bunny lover her whole life and begging us for a pet rabbit for years (yes, years). We've done a lot of research at this point, so I'm at the point where it's time to get some community input for my more specific questions.

 

[Jocee]

Hello and welcome to the group, can't wait to see your Bun

 

[Diane R]

Great advice on everything you need to know on RWAF website below. Worst rookie mistake is to buy a baby bunny. Instead, adopt an already neutered bonded pair from a rescue. Much easier, cheaper and the right thing to do. https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/new-to-rabbits/

 

[Wishyouwerehere]

Hi, so my first piece of advice I'd say is adopt. I have 2 rabbits, my girl is 8 yrs old and my male rescue will be 5 this year. It's not easy at all, a lot of training (litterbox training) and bunny proofing had to happen before I could free roam. They needed to be spayed and neutered because they reproduce like crazy and also a ton of health issues can occur if you don't. Plus neutering and spaying makes litterbox training easier. They hate being locked in anything so I decided to give it my all and research how to free roam. If you can't free roam I would get an x-pen at least. A lot of time and patience is needed with rabbits. Their trust needs to be gained definitely. Try laying on the floor with a book and grab a small piece of banana to help lure them and gain your trust. They hate being picked up, at least mine both do.
I actually know someone who bought a rabbit when their daughter was about 10 and now she's a pre-teen and they're trying to give their rabbit away to me because she no longer wants it. It's sad because I can't take her so now who know where this poor rabbit will end up. Just please take into consideration when making your decision that rabbits can live anywhere from 8 to 13 years and they are very costly (hay,litter, fresh lettuces, veterinarian, etc). For this reason they say they're not kid friendly but if you're willing to do the work and take over in case she changes her mind then yaaaay. I would go on youtube and search lennon the bunny or the bunny lady or research why rabbits would make good pets and why they wouldn't just so you get a real idea of what you're getting yourself into.

 

[Mom to Minx]

Hi and welcome to the forum! You’ve just been given a wealth of information to ponder and think about! I knew nothing about what I was getting into. My fault!! I lost my husband and so I got a bunny! Minx is now 2 1/2 and I love her to pieces!
But it’s been a learning process! I’ve had baseboards chewed. She scratched a section of tile off my floor…she has found cords to chew and yes! They are expensive!!! The fresh greens especially! But she is precious and I love her! She is cute and funny and makes me laugh! I don’t come home to an empty h house! She greets me with kisses on my nose because she know she gets a treat,!,,
So do your homework …and make decision…I don’t think you’ll be sorry!

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Great advice on everything you need to know on RWAF website below. Worst rookie mistake is to buy a baby bunny. Instead, adopt an already neutered bonded pair from a rescue. Much easier, cheaper and the right thing to do. https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/new-to-rabbits/

Great advice

 

[RabbitO]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[New2RabbitsDonna63]

Hi and welcome to the forum! You’ve just been given a wealth of information to ponder and think about! I knew nothing about what I was getting into. My fault!! I lost my husband and so I got a bunny! Minx is now 2 1/2 and I love her to pieces!
But it’s been a learning process! I’ve had baseboards chewed. She scratched a section of tile off my floor…she has found cords to chew and yes! They are expensive!!! The fresh greens especially! But she is precious and I love her! She is cute and funny and makes me laugh! I don’t come home to an empty h house! She greets me with kisses on my nose because she know she gets a treat,!,,
So do your homework …and make decision…I don’t think you’ll be sorry!

What a lovely story.
I too got my amazing rabbit during a very hard time in my life. My first born grandson was killed just 3 months after turning 18 years old. Two days before our first Christmas without him I was down and out for 2 weeks with covid. I had 5 'good' days and then I was bedridden for 6 weeks from sciatica. Long story short, we adopted a 2 year old male from the Humane Society. My mind and time and emotions had an outlet. I am enthralled with rabbits. I had NO IDEA how emotionally intelligent they are, how incredible their memory is and how very very rewarding it is to gain their trust and affection.
View attachment 20240713_175323.mp4

 

[Mom to Minx]

What a lovely story.
I too got my amazing rabbit during a very hard time in my life. My first born grandson was killed just 3 months after turning 18 years old. Two days before our first Christmas without him I was down and out for 2 weeks with covid. I had 5 'good' days and then I was bedridden for 6 weeks from sciatica. Long story short, we adopted a 2 year old male from the Humane Society. My mind and time and emotions had an outlet. I am enthralled with rabbits. I had NO IDEA how emotionally intelligent they are, how incredible their memory is and how very very rewarding it is to gain their trust and affection.
View attachment 66242

She’s a little darling’

 

[cbun]

Great advice on everything you need to know on RWAF website below. Worst rookie mistake is to buy a baby bunny. Instead, adopt an already neutered bonded pair from a rescue. Much easier, cheaper and the right thing to do. https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/new-to-rabbits/

That is where I was leaning and it's nice to hear that reinforced!

 

[cbun]

Hi, so my first piece of advice I'd say is adopt. I have 2 rabbits, my girl is 8 yrs old and my male rescue will be 5 this year. It's not easy at all, a lot of training (litterbox training) and bunny proofing had to happen before I could free roam. They needed to be spayed and neutered because they reproduce like crazy and also a ton of health issues can occur if you don't. Plus neutering and spaying makes litterbox training easier. They hate being locked in anything so I decided to give it my all and research how to free roam. If you can't free roam I would get an x-pen at least. A lot of time and patience is needed with rabbits. Their trust needs to be gained definitely. Try laying on the floor with a book and grab a small piece of banana to help lure them and gain your trust. They hate being picked up, at least mine both do.
I actually know someone who bought a rabbit when their daughter was about 10 and now she's a pre-teen and they're trying to give their rabbit away to me because she no longer wants it. It's sad because I can't take her so now who know where this poor rabbit will end up. Just please take into consideration when making your decision that rabbits can live anywhere from 8 to 13 years and they are very costly (hay,litter, fresh lettuces, veterinarian, etc). For this reason they say they're not kid friendly but if you're willing to do the work and take over in case she changes her mind then yaaaay. I would go on youtube and search lennon the bunny or the bunny lady or research why rabbits would make good pets and why they wouldn't just so you get a real idea of what you're getting yourself into.

yes to this...I have watched all of their stuff already and am definitely ready to be involved...as much as I love my daughter and support our getting a pet, I don't trust her to do all the taking care of, and I'm sensitive to the well-being of pets as well, so I'm doing all the research and prepared to be heavily involved. Luckily, we finally got my husband on board with the idea, so he'll be happy to help out, too. We are thinking that we'll have a grid pen (about 3' x 5') for when we first take it home and it's acclimating, or for at night or when we're out, but then we'll have a couple designated free-roaming rooms, and we'll have to adapt to what needs rabbit-proofing once we know its habits.

 

[cbun]

Hi and welcome to the forum! You’ve just been given a wealth of information to ponder and think about! I knew nothing about what I was getting into. My fault!! I lost my husband and so I got a bunny! Minx is now 2 1/2 and I love her to pieces!
But it’s been a learning process! I’ve had baseboards chewed. She scratched a section of tile off my floor…she has found cords to chew and yes! They are expensive!!! The fresh greens especially! But she is precious and I love her! She is cute and funny and makes me laugh! I don’t come home to an empty h house! She greets me with kisses on my nose because she know she gets a treat,!,,
So do your homework …and make decision…I don’t think you’ll be sorry!

Minx looks beautiful!

 

[cbun]

As I stated, our plan was to adopt a rabbit in January. However, Porcini's face and video on a local shelter website worked its way into my husband's heart early... so here we are with our girl who is likely an American fuzzy lop mix (maybe with Lionhead or angora- thoughts? She was found in a park, which is why her mix is not fully known) She is curious, lovable and friendly. She spent the first few days acclimating to her enclosure, and then the small office room that her enclosure is in, and then we've subsequently introduced her to more space in our family room. It's only visible in the first picture, but when she is not alert, she has an ear that tends to droop or 'helicopter', hence the suspicion of being a lop mix.

 

[JBun]

Congratulations! She's adorable

With those cheek and head tufts, along with her semi lopped ears, probably a lionhead, and mini lop or Holland lop mix. They're popular rabbit breeds and the most likely combination to show these traits. But other combinations could be possible instead.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We have rescued over 50 in the last 3 decades, mostly mixes of unknown breeding so we had to guess what most were, but, happy and healthy was all we really cared about. The funniest one was "an English Spot mix, full grown". She was really skinny and spent her first hours with us eating almost non stop. She was 7 pounds and large. Turned out she was a purebred Checkered Giant and was almost 21 pounds in a years time. She was the largest bunny we had ever seen and a very sweet lap bunny--again, happy and healthy is what we strive for, but I did take on a lot of problem bunnies too, biters that learned to trust and stop their bad behaviors. Either you train your bunny or your bunny will train you as they are all very smart. So happy for you and your new family member.

 

[cbun]

We have rescued over 50 in the last 3 decades, mostly mixes of unknown breeding so we had to guess what most were, but, happy and healthy was all we really cared about. The funniest one was "an English Spot mix, full grown". She was really skinny and spent her first hours with us eating almost non stop. She was 7 pounds and large. Turned out she was a purebred Checkered Giant and was almost 21 pounds in a years time. She was the largest bunny we had ever seen and a very sweet lap bunny--again, happy and healthy is what we strive for, but I did take on a lot of problem bunnies too, biters that learned to trust and stop their bad behaviors. Either you train your bunny or your bunny will train you as they are all very smart. So happy for you and your new family member.

Wow! What a great story! The shelter thinks Porcini was born in early 2024, but of course it's hard to say for sure. Her coat hasn't grown out anymore and is a nice medium length. She definitely has the body shape of an American fuzzy lop, except that her head seems a little bit more well-rounded than a pure bred lop. She has a bit of a head fringe (very subtle) that could be lionhead. .The most surprising thing for me has been that the more we are around her, the less we see the one lopped ear. It's most visible when she is most relaxed, as seen in the first photo, but when she is awake and interactive both ears are very alert. She weighed about 4.5lbs at adoption, and I haven't weighed her since.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Thank you, @cbun, for adopting from the local shelter. Similar to @Nancy McClelland, we've done rescue for only two decades, not three. Many were found abandoned. Many frightened buns needed to overcome the prior treatment or housing conditions they had endured. Once you establish trust with your girl/boy and he/she is sp/eutered, your affection for these vulnerable beings will change immensely. Over the past two decades, hubby and I have established deep bonds with our intakes.

Btw, in years past we would rescue euthanasia-list buns from high volume (overpopulated) shelters in Illinois.

Thanks for the lovely pictures of your lucky adopted girl.