New Zealand

[piperknitsRN]

I just adopted a NZ white bunny, about 2-4 months old, neutered, from the local shelter as a companion for my 5 month old lop. What can people tell me about this breed? I hear they are generally friendly, docile temperment and laid back.

 

[Lucy500]

My Bonkers is a NZ and he is very laid back and calm MOST of the time. But I guess puberty affects the best of bunnies .
He is a very lovable bun, loooves to get petted and is very food driven. He gets along great with my little brother (hes 8) and in general, a very good rabbit who was never caused any HUGE trouble. He is not a snuggle bun by any means, but we are working on that, building his trust. I don't know if he was already litter trained, but he did it in a snap, and is very clean about it. Just know that he will get big, Bonkers is up to cats size and he's not even 6 months old yet! But more bunny to love

Keeps us updated! Do you have any pics?

Good luck!

 

[piperknitsRN]

No pics yet; I just got him yesterday, though I suppose I could snap a few. Right now I'm concentrating on trying to bond him with Olive, and the both of them are not quite happy about the prospect. He seems so mellow, though. I have him in Olive's X pen (she's not terribly happy about that) and he just sits in the litter pan all day long. He looks calm and content, unless Olive happens to come around, then he tenses up and will lunge a little. Sigh. This is going to be a longer process than I had assumed.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We had a big boy, Hoss. !2 pounds and all of it mellow.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

We think Gus is a New Zealand cross (probably with Rex). Lucy's description of Bonkers is pretty close to the way we'd describe him! He's 7 1/2 lbs and the size of a small cat. He's very social, extremely curious, and quite smart. He's a lazy boy, though, and spends a lot of the day snoozing. We've tried to get him interested in toys, but he's not a big fan. We tried getting him into agility, too, but he'd rather go under the jumps than over them. He loves food and goes crazy for treats. He can be naughty, but mostly he just does it for attention. He's learned to love pets, though he's not a fan of being picked up or snuggled.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[piperknitsRN]

Thanks, Rue! It's still too early to tell what my bunny's personality will be; right now I think he's probably a little shell shocked from the transition--shelter to a home. He was transferred from another area shelter up to mine, so the poor thing has been through the wringer. He does seem calm and friendly, though. I've never had a really, really big rabbit (I tend to favor Holland lops) so I'll be interested to see what it's like to have a large bunny!

 

[Lucy500]

Oh boy, sorry to hear about the bonding, but I think its normal unless you get lucky and get a "love at first sight" scenario, which happens sometimes. I think Bonkers would react the same way with a gf, it just takes a little timeand patience and youll have a happy couple! I'll look foward to your updates so ill know what to expect when I decide to get Bonkers a bunwife.

 

[piperknitsRN]

Lucy: It's hard not to think you made a mistake when they fight/spar each other. I should have known to go slower, but in the past I've had very easy bonding experiences so I figured this one would be, too. A little knowledge about how difficult bonds can be would have been in order. I thought getting a male would help the bonding situation, but now I know I pushed too fast, and unfortunately, they fought. So now Olive has free range of the house except at night and when I'm gone, and the NZ bunny (I really need a name!) is in her X pen (he's not yet litter trained--but he stays in his litterbox--poor thing is probably afraid of what will happen if he leaves it!)