How Far Would You Drive OR Have Driven To Get A Bun?

[agnesthelion]

Exploring my options for adopting a husbun for Agnes. There are no buns where I live.

So, how far would you drive or have driven to get a rabbit?

My two concerns are:

*What is too far of a drive that would stress out a bun?
*What is too far of a drive that would officially make me NUTS just to go get a rabbit?

Thanks!

 

[woahlookitsme]

I drove 14 hours away to El Paso, TX to get a buck and doe from a breeder in California. Buns did fine the whole way. We also have driven 12hrs to shows in Oklahoma in a van packed to the top with buns and everyone does fine.

Of course thats not including the rabbits we had transported from Indiana to Texas from the last ARBA convention. My tan did perfectly fine. My moms polish had a little bit of trouble adjusting but did fine after they got settled in. It depends on the rabbit

 

[Blue eyes]

We were going to drive out of state (about 5 1/2 hours) to get a bonded pair. But it worked out that they were able to hitch a ride with another adopted pet that was passing by our way.

Our "local" rescue from which I've adopted a few bunnies is about an hour's drive.

If you are looking for a speed date bunny, you might want to consider that if the first one doesn't bond, you may be taking the trip more than once.

What's the deal with that smaller rescue you mentioned that allows speed dates? How many buns do they have? Are they far?

 

[agnesthelion]

^^^the smaller local rescue that allows dating is not far at all. Probably a 15 minute drive.

They have about 8 buns right now. All are bonded OR females. One male but he is a larger bun, skittish, looks wild (they even wondered if he was) and not what I'm looking for.

I check with them everyday for new buns. The guy there told me they have had these ones for a long time. (like 6 months, some over a year, a couple are even over 2 years!) So their population doesn't change much. Of course, he can't say they won't get more in, but you just never know. They are not well known in our area, small, hard to find......I just feel like my gut is telling me I'm not gonna find what I want there. I could be eating my words later but it's what I feel now....

And the larger rescue here....where most anyone would think of if they are surrendering a pet...doesn't do bunny dating. So I kind of have it in my mind that if I do go through with adoption, I'm just going to have to put my mind to bonding. I mean, really give it a go, even if it takes months.....yikes!!

Even with all that being said, there just aren't alot of buns up for adoption here. Which I guess is good!! But not if you want a rescue.....

Also, I want a single male, (not a boned pair of course) smaller breed, neutered, litter trained, somewhat "social" so that limits me even more.

I'm not necessarily in a hurry, i will be patient and I'm really searching but then I've heard bonding goes a bit easier (possibly) when they are younger so it makes me hope for one now

Anyway, that's my story, just wanting to see if driving for one is something I should or could consider.......

 

[Nancy McClelland]

The longest we've driven to get a bun was 3 ours. It was a 9 hour drive from CA to here, with 17 of them.

 

[gmas rabbit]

I have drove 10 hours including a expensive ferry ride to get one bunny, and 9 hours to the north part of Alberta to get another ( that one included an expensive speeding ticket to my son-in-law). Depends how much you want them and if the breed is available in your area. Sometimes reliable breeders are quite far away.

 

[littl3red]

agnesthelion wrote:

Even with all that being said, there just aren't alot of buns up for adoption here. Which I guess is good!! But not if you want a rescue.....

Oh my gosh, I know exactly what you mean. I'm going to be talking to my mom tonight about maybe seeing about getting Teddy a friend (or seeing if she even WANTS another rabbit around) and there are no rabbits for adoption around here. Unfortunately, it's not because there's not many rabbits around here, rabbits are a dime a dozen around here. It's just that rabbits are like livestock up here, and unwanted rabbits don't get adopted, they get eaten. :X I can't imagine ever eating a rabbit, the very thought of it makes me sick, sick to my stomach. I guess it's that way with a lot of animals, I struggle a lot with a hatred of the meat industry and poor treatment of animals to be used for meat, but I also enjoy the taste of meat, and it's so hard to get away from, what with meat often being the main part of the meal here in America...

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Lillian about 1.5 hours away, but I did have to go down there twice.

I have had rabbits travel about 3.5 hours and 2 that came from about 12 hours away (that doesn't include 2 days at a show and I think 3-4 to the show, so a big weekend for them). They all seemed to have travelled fine. Any differences in how they travelled was more to do with the individual personality than distance.

Rabbits tend to do well with travel, but it does vary from rabbit to rabbit. If you do have a long drive, then frequent stops are a good idea. Providing food (hay usually) in the carrier and having water when you stop can also help.

 

[katherine at sacred stories]

My Harvey and Halo were "bunderground bunnies" and they drove from Florida to south central Virginia to me. (Actually they were driven...they didn't have their licenses yet

Amazingly, Harvey and Halo didn't seem stressed at all when they got here and all the other bunnies handled it very well. You can read about their journey in this forum...scroll back to July 20 or so.

:bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt:

 

[Blue eyes]

agnesthelion wrote:

I've heard bonding goes a bit easier (possibly) when they are younger so it makes me hope for one now

You may be right, but... The single girl I had years ago was already 4 when I adopted her. After a year I looked for a companion for her. The first try didn't work (he was mean) but the 2nd did. He was 5 years old also. They got along great even though they were both already 5 yrs.

 

[missyscove]

Both of my buns came from shelters within about a half hour drive. We have no shortage of adoptable pets here in Los Angeles. Have you considered bonding her to a female? Or bonding a trio? Regardless of where you get another bunny you do have to be prepared for the possibility that they may not bond and you have to house them separately.

 

[ldoerr]

I have driven 1.5hrs each way to get a rabbit before. I know of many people that have rabbits flown in from accross the country. Many people will drive 5-8hrs to go to a show. I drive 1.5hs to take my rabbits to the vet. I had to make a 3 hr round trip drive 2x last Friday for my rabbits.

 

[agnesthelion]

katherine at sacred stories wrote:

My Harvey and Halo were "bunderground bunnies" and they drove from Florida to south central Virginia to me. (Actually they were driven...they didn't have their licenses yet

Amazingly, Harvey and Halo didn't seem stressed at all when they got here and all the other bunnies handled it very well. You can read about their journey in this forum...scroll back to July 20 or so.

:bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt::bunnybutt:

Thanks Katherine! Yes I remember that journey and I read about the whole thing. I did seem like the buns did well. That is encouraging!

 

[agnesthelion]

missyscove wrote:

Both of my buns came from shelters within about a half hour drive. We have no shortage of adoptable pets here in Los Angeles. Have you considered bonding her to a female? Or bonding a trio? Regardless of where you get another bunny you do have to be prepared for the possibility that they may not bond and you have to house them separately.

Unfortunately it just won't be an option to me to house them separately I know that is sad and seems selfish...but I have been honest about that. But if I can't get them to bond I will have to rehome. It's just a reality for me. That being said, I'm prepared to thoroughly and fiercely attempt a bond. Not just a week or two, I'll put ample time into it. I'm taking a gamble I know, but I've really done my research and I am taking this very seriously.

I won't attempt a trio either. My husband would not be on board with that and the bun condo I have would be okay space for 3 but more than adequate space for 2 which I prefer.

As far as female I have considered that too. I am keeping my eyes open for a female and if I find one that fits what I'm looking for I may. The smaller shelter said they will discourage f/f bond so again ran into a road block there, but I'm still looking

 

[Troller]

When I was looking for my rabbit, I was perfectly willing to commit to a 4 hour drive (are we counting round trip? 8 hours then). I'm seriously impressed with those who considered more then that. Not to say I wouldn't, but I'm already straining my supposed non pet loving practical self.

I'm in a situtation similar to yours agnesthelion when it comes to lack of committed space for 2 seperate rabbits. I built a very large cage in a seperate room for my Conan, and it just unfeasible unless I move to house unbounded rabbits. Hell neutral space is difficult for me, so bonding another rabbit might prove tricky if not impossible for me. I've read in the UK and California where they got reputable boarding places that will bond rabbits for you (through speed dating and adoption or bring your own set). I like the idea of a trained person doing this in a neutral ground where it would give me an oppertunity to sanatize my pet space to give the newly bonded pair a sort of new home. Maybe they got something like that a drive away from you? I'm in NY, and the nearest place to me is Maryland which is a 9 hour drive total.

 

[Imbrium]

I still think you should at least give the females a try - you never know, you might find one that works out quite well and be able to give a home to a bunny that's been waiting six months or more to be adopted... worst case scenario, you either come home empty handed from the bunny dates or you end up having to return a bunny 'cause it's not working out. you won't know unless you try, though!

 

[agnesthelion]

Thanks for everyone's input!!

The place I'm considering (emphasis on considering) is a 5 hour drive away. Yikes!

I will consider a female for sure. There isn't any that meet my criteria right now, unfortunately, but I check with them everyday!! I'll probably have to convince them to allow a f/f bunny date (this is the smaller rescue that does) because he was pretty adamant against it, but if then"perfect" bun shows up I will fight for it!

I'm just exploring all my options. I've been looking for other buns for like 3 months now, maybe more, before I was even considering a husbun for Agnes, and only ONE potential match has come through the both rescues in all that time. He was adopted in less than a week of being listed! I'm also even checking craigslist and hoobly and other ads JUST in case I might see something there.

I guess if it's meant to be something will show up, if not maybe Agnes is meant to be unmarried

 

[MiniLopHop]

I also have two of the FL bunnies. Mine were the last ones home because we picked up in Deleware, took the three to New Jersey, and then came home. It was a total of 6 hours of driving around. By the time we had them 24 hours Panda in particular was already acting like he owned the joint and had declared himself king.

Cinderella came from Deleware at the HRS there, so about 4 hours drive time.

I think it is important to do the right thing for Agnes, which is what you are doing. You are such a great bunmom! The up side of a long drive is that they could be pretty well bonded by the time you get home. That way you can try taking them from the carrier and streight into their joint area. I would put the new bun in first and watch carefully. I have done this several times with great results.

 

[agnesthelion]

MiniLopHop wrote:

think it is important to do the right thing for Agnes, which is what you are doing. You are such a great bunmom! The up side of a long drive is that they could be pretty well bonded by the time you get home. That way you can try taking them from the carrier and streight into their joint area. I would put the new bun in first and watch carefully. I have done this several times with great results.

Thanks Brandy!

I had wondered if the drive might end up being a positive as far as bonding goes.

We shall see. I'm so appreciative of all the advice!

 

[Imbrium]

I've actually heard before that the unfamiliar, semi-stressful experience of a car ride can be a good way to coerce two bunns into bonding. mine were babies, which I've heard will bond with just about anything so it may not mean much, but they were all lovey-dovey by the time we got through the hour-long drive home.