New To Fostering ~ Any Tips?

[RunnyBabbit]

Anyone have tips for fostering rabbits?
I've never had a rabbit before but I've done research for a long time now and know nearly everything about them. I'm currently writing and article all about rabbit care including (but not limited to) finding if a rabbit is right for you, kids and rabbits, what not to house them in and why, chewing and toys, diet, bunny proofing, supplies, grooming, litter training, play pens and setup, and free roaming.
I have two small and very well behaved dogs that wouldn't hurt a fly and I know how to properly introduce them. I'm sure the rescue would put us with a rabbit was was okay with dogs or at least didn't have a bad experience with them. The rescue I'm looking at fostering from does have a rabbit in need of a foster home that is good with dogs and is already litter trained. He's and adult Harlequin mix. Here's a picture of him


Does anyone have experience with fostering rabbits? Advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Fuz]

No experience with fostering, but I just wanted to say, that rabbit is a cutie!

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Fostered many, rescued many, adopted many. For the past 17 years. I would speak with a rabbit-savvy person at the rescue or shelter. How much expense will the rescue/shelter cover for fostering? All pets cost money so be prepared for vet bills and purchasing hay and the essentials that rabbits need; stimulation toys, chew toys, interaction time with you.

Caution about small dogs, as this came up on a FB forum where a person had multiple small dogs who were well-behaved in her presence. When she left and a sitter came in, one of her small dogs escaped the area and killed the large rabbit in the other room. So be ultra careful when you combine a defenseless prey animal (pet lagomorph) with a dog (predator with fangs who can quickly injure or kill).

Speak to the individuals at the rescue or shelter about their process of matching up a lagomorph with a home with dogs. Fosterers sometimes fail and keep the rabbit they lovingly cared for. That's A-OK. Happens often.
1) have adequate funds to cover all costs of fostering
2) be prepared for traveling to a potential home when required
3) be prepared to say goodbye to the bun you fostered unless you decide s/he should live with you for the next 12-14 years.
4) be prepared to socialize your foster bun for future new home
5) be prepared for the unexpected -

He's handsome, and I have a soft spot for harlequins.

Fosterers are much Needed as shelters/rescues run at capacity with the amount of rabbits who do not have forever homes!
Savvy shelters will spay and neuter. 100% best.
-- We know that rabbits are euthanized daily and in plentiful amounts due to not enough homes.

 

[RunnyBabbit]

Fostered many, rescued many, adopted many. For the past 17 years. I would speak with a rabbit-savvy person at the rescue or shelter. How much expense will the rescue/shelter cover for fostering? All pets cost money so be prepared for vet bills and purchasing hay and the essentials that rabbits need; stimulation toys, chew toys, interaction time with you.

Caution about small dogs, as this came up on a FB forum where a person had multiple small dogs who were well-behaved in her presence. When she left and a sitter came in, one of her small dogs escaped the area and killed the large rabbit in the other room. So be ultra careful when you combine a defenseless prey animal (pet lagomorph) with a dog (predator with fangs who can quickly injure or kill).

Speak to the individuals at the rescue or shelter about their process of matching up a lagomorph with a home with dogs. Fosterers sometimes fail and keep the rabbit they lovingly cared for. That's A-OK. Happens often.
1) have adequate funds to cover all costs of fostering
2) be prepared for traveling to a potential home when required
3) be prepared to say goodbye to the bun you fostered unless you decide s/he should live with you for the next 12-14 years.
4) be prepared to socialize your foster bun for future new home
5) be prepared for the unexpected -

He's handsome, and I have a soft spot for harlequins.

Fosterers are much Needed as shelters/rescues run at capacity with the amount of rabbits who do not have forever homes!
Savvy shelters will spay and neuter. 100% best.
-- We know that rabbits are euthanized daily and in plentiful amounts due to not enough homes.

They'll supply us with a large playpen, a litter box, toys, a carrier, food and water dishes, hay, pellets, and litter. The only thing they can't supply us with are fresh greens since it needs to be fresh and bought regularly. They'll also pay for any vet expenses.

I would definitely be sure he has new and exciting toys too. I'll probably swap them out every week so the toys seem new and fun. And there are lots of DIY toys I could make. Whenever I go to the pet store I always come back with tons of toys for the dogs so it would probably be the same for the rabbit.

I'm homeschooled so I'll have plenty of time to bond with him and give him free roaming time. He would only be in the playpen at night, when no ines home to watch him, or when he's snoozing and we cant supervise him. But for most of the day he'll be outside of it and it'll just be a homebase for him.

We would only let the dogs and rabbit be together when under close supervision.
My dogs would probably hide from the rabbit and pretend it didn't exist lol.
My dogs don't even chase the lizards that live in our area. If anything they may bark ince or twice just because they wernt sure of it and probably because they would be a bit scared..

The foster application has lots of questions to find the right rabbit and the right people. They have a section for other pets and an area to talk about them so they would be able to match us with a rabbit that says good with dogs.

 

[RunnyBabbit]

This is the foster application

 

[Blue eyes]

My advice would be to definitely keep him confined to the ex-pen --- initially. Free roaming a rabbit is a great idea but should not be done right from the start. Doing so can be extremely stressful on a rabbit because they are, by nature, so cautious. When first moving to a new environment, they prefer to be confined so they have a "safe space" as they get accustomed to the new sights, sounds, and smells of their new home.

Once they've adjusted (I'd give it about a week {or more if bunny needs it}) then you can allow some roaming in a limited area. The idea with limiting the area is to ensure that bunny consistently returns to his litter box as needed. Offering too much space too soon can result in potty accidents that are then difficult to 'un-train.' So the roaming should be expanded in small increments over a period of time.

As for the dogs, even the most gentle of dogs should still be taught what behavior is acceptable. Dogs and rabbits "speak" different languages so the dog needs to be shown what is acceptable. I go over this in more detail here:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/introducing-dog-to-rabbit.html

 

[RunnyBabbit]

My advice would be to definitely keep him confined to the ex-pen --- initially. Free roaming a rabbit is a great idea but should not be done right from the start. Doing so can be extremely stressful on a rabbit because they are, by nature, so cautious. When first moving to a new environment, they prefer to be confined so they have a "safe space" as they get accustomed to the new sights, sounds, and smells of their new home.

Once they've adjusted (I'd give it about a week {or more if bunny needs it}) then you can allow some roaming in a limited area. The idea with limiting the area is to ensure that bunny consistently returns to his litter box as needed. Offering too much space too soon can result in potty accidents that are then difficult to 'un-train.' So the roaming should be expanded in small increments over a period of time.

As for the dogs, even the most gentle of dogs should still be taught what behavior is acceptable. Dogs and rabbits "speak" different languages so the dog needs to be shown what is acceptable. I go over this in more detail here:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/introducing-dog-to-rabbit.html

Thanks for all the info!
When free roaming he won't have access to the entire house. We have a space to the side of the kitchen and in between the sunroom and living room that he'll get to be in with his playpen. We can shut the door to the kitchen and block off the living room (which has a rug) with the playpen that I'll open up, so he can free roam in there and the sunroom. He can be in the living room when under supervision. We'll bunny proof the whole house just in case too.

With my Yorkie puppy we only let her have access to a small area at first to help with potty training so we'll definitely do the same with the bunny.

When we first bring him home we'll keep the doggies away so not to stress him out. His free roaming time will be dog free too until we can trust them more.
When we introduce them I'll be sure to wear out the dogs so they're calm (though Teddy sleeps all day anyways). My dogs are kinda lazy.. Well, Rosie loves to play fetch and tug of war, and Teddy will run around the dining room at times, they both love walks, but they tire quickly. For whatever reason they don't play together, much less rough play. Teddy thinks himself to sophisticated for such nonsense lol. Neither of them have a high prey drive what so ever too.
Always better to be safe rather than sorry though. We'll go through all the steps you would with a crazy and playful dog.