Return my bunny?

[Twila Animations]

So, I know I might sound like a terrible person, but I feel I should maybe return my rabbit. Her previous owner said we could do so if things didn’t go well. I’ve had her for almost two weeks, and already there has been non-stop noise at night, digging out litter box, biting and nipping and so much stuff. She’s two years old, so she isn’t used to being here at all. Plus she’s had two litters already, and I’m making her an indoor rabbit when she was a outdoor rabbit before. I feel honestly bad for doing this and for even taking her. Do you guys think I should return her and just find someone with a baby rabbit who I can raise to be used to this life?

I’m a very timid and emotional and empathetic person, so I’m just imagining how I would feel being taken away from my home.
And honestly, I feel like crying right now because of how bad I feel for taking her an hour and a half of a drive away from the home she grew up in.

 

[Hermelin]

If she’s in heat that will stay for a few months. It can also be that she dosen’t get her enegy out or just love digging. Often as long they can get their energy out it will be good.

But she might just not fit your household and what you want a bunny to be. And how you house her. Myself have a doe that fit better outdoors than living indoors. She was extremely loud during the night, scratching doors, peeing every where and tipping the litter box over so the whole bathroom looked like a mess. Even though she was free roaming. It happened every night for two months, it was like a switch flipping over when it became night. While day time she was a great bunny.

Turn out she was a lot happier outdoors than indoors. Where she could dig as much she wanted and she wouldn’t feel stressed.

It’s also better adopting a bunny so you will find out it’s personality and also they often will be castrated, which will take away the hormones messing with your bunny.

If you get a new one, the same problem can occur again. How will you handle it then with your new bunny?

Also a kit will have an annoying teenage period, so their temperament can change to a whole different bunny when they are pumped with hormones. So if you get unlucky will you be ready to work with the bunny, make it socialize and train it.

Because from a kit age you will have to teach the bunny to not be afraid of things, socialize it and train it to be handled. But it will also come to the kits personality if they are skittish or not. Skittish bunny take longer to train than bunnies that are more brave.

Myself have handled the skittish and highly dominant bunnies. So even I got frustrated and wanted to give up many times. Asking if I was the right owner for my bunnies but with hard work and a lot of time put down on my bunnies. I have the best trio of bunnies.

Your bunny have only been there 2 weeks often it’s good to wait 2 weeks more. Try to give her toys before bed time, let her have fresh hay and eat pellets plus veggies before bed time. A bunny after a big meal will rest for a few hours and the fresh hay will be what she will be eating early morning. It will be sound when she eat hay. You can also let her out from the cage and let her play with a few toys before bed time.

You can also get her a bigger litter box and you will skip a litter box flying and having hay in it will make her stopping digging and throwing it away. At least that work for two of my bunnies.

But if you aren’t ready to work with your bunny. It might be better to adopt a new adult one and give your bunny to the breeder, so she can find a better home that fit her.

 

[Morgan223]

So, I know I might sound like a terrible person, but I feel I should maybe return my rabbit. Her previous owner said we could do so if things didn’t go well. I’ve had her for almost two weeks, and already there has been non-stop noise at night, digging out litter box, biting and nipping and so much stuff. She’s two years old, so she isn’t used to being here at all. Plus she’s had two litters already, and I’m making her an indoor rabbit when she was a outdoor rabbit before. I feel honestly bad for doing this and for even taking her. Do you guys think I should return her and just find someone with a baby rabbit who I can raise to be used to this life?

I’m a very timid and emotional and empathetic person, so I’m just imagining how I would feel being taken away from my home.
And honestly, I feel like crying right now because of how bad I feel for taking her an hour and a half of a drive away from the home she grew up in.

I totally understand where you're coming from and I'm the same way--I'd feel horrible about it.

That being said I don't think it's wrong of you to return her. It's not like you'd be dumping her at a shelter or releasing her in the wild to die, you'd be giving her back to someone who has said they'll take care of her. It may seem selfish idk. But if you're committed to giving a bunny the best life possible, give them space a healthy diet vet care and attention I don't think it's wrong of you to want a bunny you really click with.

I know there are tons of bunnies in shelters and rescues and sometimes I feel guilty for getting mine from a breeder instead. I would do anything in the world for Peach (renting a car and driving 3 hours for her spay next month to go to the best vet facility in my state) and having an affectionate bunny was really important to me and not something I thought I could be guaranteed from a rescue bunny. My parents have dogs from a shelter and when I eventually get a dog I'm going to do that too. But Peach is my world and the perfect fit for me and I don't spend my time thinking about all the bunnies in shelters I could have or should have saved. Your bunny has a home to come back to if you are not the right fit for her, so you shouldn't feel bad about doing what's right for you.

 

[zuppa]

You don't have to feel bad returning her because you want her best and actually it is good that she'll go back to people who know her and to her normal routine, not to some random people with no experience with rabbits from the craiglists.

Digging and making noise drinking is completely normal behaviour for rabbits, and they are active at night as well as they are prey animals. I agree that maybe your household is just not suitable to keep a rabbit as you don't have room to give her enough space for exercising so she has no way to use her energy and not tired enough in the night time to stay quiet while you're sleeping.

I also agree that if you will take another rabbit it can be same in a couple weeks and also completely agree on taking a baby. If you get a 8 week old baby it will probably look like a little toy and will be all nice no biting etc, but it won't last long as they hit puberty at 12-16 weeks and then you have a few months of a raging teenager peeing everywhere, rattling and chewing their cage bars and making noise zooming wall to wall in the cage etc. It can continue until they are about one year old or if neutered/spayed (usually around 4.5-6 months and it is expensive as you said you can't afford it) so getting a baby can become a nightmare after a few weeks of having a sweet baby.

Again, you don't have to feel bad, it's not you are bad, it's you have no suitable place for a rabbit, three people sleeping in the same bedroom and a rabbit who needs to exercise and dig and binky and has no space for it and becomes angry and unhappy. It's not a toy it's a living animal and she's unhappy maybe you are making noises when she doesn't like it, you are three giants laughing and loudly talking and running and throwing the door all over her head while she wants to relax so it is not surprising that she gets stressed and doesn't want to communicate at all. It's not your fault it's life, maybe you can have a rabbit when your situation will change, but imagine, rabbits live about 10 years so she's two now and she will have to stay with you for another 8 years. If she lives in a constant stress she can get depressed get sick and die suddenly, you don't want it.

It is your decision keep her or return to her previous owner, so she can go back to her normal life, please think twice before getting a new rabbit, especially a baby, prepare a proper housing for them if you decide on getting one. Never hesitate to ask for opinion, we all love rabbits and will give you honest opinions and you will decide for yourself listen or not. Keep us updated

 

[Twila Animations]

Thank you all so much, this is really helping me. I think I best return her. I don’t want to put the poor bunny under stress. I know our household had been much more capable of raising a rabbit 13 years ago because there was only 5. children Now it’s 10. I’m nervous about asking my mother to drive an hour and a half to return a rabbit, but it’s for the best.
I can have her to take me to the shelter to see if they have a rabbit I can take home. If not, then... I’ll just deal with raising a baby. Not like my family hasn’t dealt with rampaging babies before.

 

[Twila Animations]

Question, are rabbits already spayed/neutered in animal shelters, or is that something shelters just ignore?

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Most shelters spay/neuter their rabbits, but call a shelter before you go there to make sure.

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Most shelters spay/neuter their rabbits, but call a shelter before you go there to make sure.

 

[Twila Animations]

Thank you. And I just want to know, is there an amount I need to pay for adoption?

 

[Cloverhouse]

The urge to breed and raise kits is super strong in female rabbits. If they are not fixed and are not breeding they tend to have way too much energy and aggression. If you cannot get her fixed or offer her a secure large outdoor home with lots to do, it is probably best to return her. Otherwise you are asking her to go completely against her instinct and experience with no relief in sight.

Altered rabbits are happier rabbits generally because they aren't always wanting what they can't have. We cannot train instinct out of our pets, we can only work with it, respect and honor it.

Please don't feel badly for not being able to make friends or provide everything she needs, you weren't aware of how it would be and you have a nice option of returning her.

Hopefully you can find a bunny from a rescue or adopt one from someone who needs to rehome a fixed bunny and can have a better experience.

 

[zuppa]

As above most of rabbits in shelters are neutered or scheduled for neutering, you can usually see on their website photos of rabbits available for adoption and if there's adoption fee. It all depends on a shelter, many of them also do homecheck to make sure their rabbits will have suitable living conditions so you better google your local shelters and get in touch before traveling there

 

[Cloverhouse]

In my area the regular shelters that deal primarily in cats and dogs don't always spay/neuter small pets, but the rabbit rescues ALWAYS do. There is usually an adoption fee from 30 to 100 dollars depending on the organization. Sometimes they have situations in which they waive the fee, like special promotions or if a pet has been there a long time without being adopted. The best thing is to call around and find out.

This fee is not only to help cover costs involved in taking care of the animal but also to make sure the pet is going to a home that can afford its expenses and to someone who means to make a pet of it rather than using it for some other purpose.

Some rescues actually keep legal ownership of the animal and basically are loaning or fostering the rabbits out to those who adopt them. They can check on the animal at any time and reclaim it and you sign an agreement that if you ever need to give up the pet you will return it only to them, never rehome it. That is a binding legal agreement and some of them chip the animal and will prosecute if they find the animal has been passed on to another home.

I hope this information is helpful

 

[Twila Animations]

In my area the regular shelters that deal primarily in cats and dogs don't always spay/neuter small pets, but the rabbit rescues ALWAYS do. There is usually an adoption fee from 30 to 100 dollars depending on the organization. Sometimes they have situations in which they waive the fee, like special promotions or if a pet has been there a long time without being adopted. The best thing is to call around and find out.

This fee is not only to help cover costs involved in taking care of the animal but also to make sure the pet is going to a home that can afford its expenses and to someone who means to make a pet of it rather than using it for some other purpose.

Some rescues actually keep legal ownership of the animal and basically are loaning or fostering the rabbits out to those who adopt them. They can check on the animal at any time and reclaim it and you sign an agreement that if you ever need to give up the pet you will return it only to them, never rehome it. That is a binding legal agreement and some of them chip the animal and will prosecute if they find the animal has been passed on to another home.

I hope this information is helpful

Thank you, this is VERY helpful.
Unfortunately, it seems I can't get a rabbit from a rabbit rescue. I'll just have to see if the SPCA has any and see if my mother will take me there to choose one.

 

[Preitler]

So, I know I might sound like a terrible person, but I feel I should maybe return my rabbit. Her previous owner said we could do so if things didn’t go well. I’ve had her for almost two weeks, and already there has been non-stop noise at night, digging out litter box, biting and nipping and so much stuff. She’s two years old, so she isn’t used to being here at all. Plus she’s had two litters already, and I’m making her an indoor rabbit when she was a outdoor rabbit before. I feel honestly bad for doing this and for even taking her. Do you guys think I should return her and just find someone with a baby rabbit who I can raise to be used to this life?

Just my thoughts on your situation:

If you reckon that your situation, your household isn't totaly compatibel with keeping a rabbit, it would be a responsible decision if you decide to return her. You just had her for 2 weeks, rabbits need time to adjust (people too) - and since rabbits got fancy as indoor pets rather recently their behaviour isn't changed by breeding that much like, say, that of dogs. There are quite some compromises to live with. I would say they are more independent room mates then pets, their cuddly appearance is somewhat misleading there.

But that goes for all rabbits. Spaying doesn't cut them back to beeing good pets, they are still rabbits. Spaying just takes care of the big mood swings and false pregnancies, and can improve litter habbits. After 2 weeks your rabbit hasn't really settled in, imho that can take months. Your previous rabbit had a lifetime to yield to his situation.
About digging, my one spayed doe moved about 300kg of dirt out of various tunnels in the garden last year. Also, she's always up in the middle of the night for a snack, but she goes to another part of the house for it. And she isn't even close to the energy level of my intact 8yo black Fury (living outdoors with another doe).
A neutered male might suit your situation better, but I have no experience with those.

And I don't think getting a baby rabbit is a good idea, you'll run into the same problems, and you're playing the lottery there because you can't tell beforehand with what kind of character you'll end up with. And it's still a rabbit anyway, and can be for another 10, 12 years, where will you be when you're 18, 20? Sure, one of your siblings will take care, but if you look for something furry in a cage to care for I'm not sure a rabbit is the best option.

Anyway, I wouldn't rush things.

 

[Morgan223]

Thank you, this is VERY helpful.
Unfortunately, it seems I can't get a rabbit from a rabbit rescue. I'll just have to see if the SPCA has any and see if my mother will take me there to choose one.

I would also advise you though to really consider if a rabbit is the best pet for you in the first place if space/money are gonna be issues. Because even if you get a fixed rabbit that doesn't have the digging issues, that doesn't mean it will be easy.

 

[Twila Animations]

Just my thoughts on your situation:

If you reckon that your situation, your household isn't totaly compatibel with keeping a rabbit, it would be a responsible decision if you decide to return her. You just had her for 2 weeks, rabbits need time to adjust (people too) - and since rabbits got fancy as indoor pets rather recently their behaviour isn't changed by breeding that much like, say, that of dogs. There are quite some compromises to live with. I would say they are more independent room mates then pets, their cuddly appearance is somewhat misleading there.

But that goes for all rabbits. Spaying doesn't cut them back to beeing good pets, they are still rabbits. Spaying just takes care of the big mood swings and false pregnancies, and can improve litter habbits. After 2 weeks your rabbit hasn't really settled in, imho that can take months. Your previous rabbit had a lifetime to yield to his situation.
About digging, my one spayed doe moved about 300kg of dirt out of various tunnels in the garden last year. Also, she's always up in the middle of the night for a snack, but she goes to another part of the house for it. And she isn't even close to the energy level of my intact 8yo black Fury (living outdoors with another doe).
A neutered male might suit your situation better, but I have no experience with those.

And I don't think getting a baby rabbit is a good idea, you'll run into the same problems, and you're playing the lottery there because you can't tell beforehand with what kind of character you'll end up with. And it's still a rabbit anyway, and can be for another 10, 12 years, where will you be when you're 18, 20? Sure, one of your siblings will take care, but if you look for something furry in a cage to care for I'm not sure a rabbit is the best option.

Anyway, I wouldn't rush things.

thank you. I really do feel positive about having a rabbit. It’s just, I feel really bad for taking her from her home, so I think my best choice is to adopt one and if not that, I suppose buying will be the only thing I can rely on.
I know really well now that I might have to send her back to her original owner because I started crying and apologizing to her for taking her. So yeah, if my mother goes along with it, I’ll probably be getting a different rabbit. One who doesn’t have babies or a mate and one who is used to being the only rabbit.
I know a rabbit may not be the best choice, but it’s really what I want.

 

[Blue eyes]

I know a rabbit may not be the best choice, but it’s really what I want.

Rabbits are irresistably adorable, however, as others have repeatedly stated, and you have admitted, a rabbit is not the best choice for your situation. You don't have the room or the resources and it simply wouldn't be fair to put any other rabbit in that situation.

You may "really want" a rabbit, but if you do truly care for a rabbit's well-being, then you will wait until your situation has changed. It isn't that "a rabbit may not be the best choice" but that it would be a poor choice -- poor for the sake of any rabbit.

It is tough for sure to resist, but it would certainly be the more mature choice.

Maybe a different pet that doesn't require the space or costs would be a better option.

 

[Preitler]

I’ll probably be getting a different rabbit. One who doesn’t have babies or a mate and one who is used to being the only rabbit.

I'd like to point one thing out:
Im breeding rabbits for years, let's put it that way: Once the kits are old enough the dams are relieved of a burden when their brats are gone. And they are gone anyway. They do not have a lifelong bond like humans, all they are interested in then is making more. Usually, breeding does live alone, so she's used to that. Unless she lived in a bonded pair (like my 4 breeding does do) or in a colony there's no "mate" - they are brought to the buck for a few minutes, that's it. Guess my Fury set a record with getting out of the hutch and getting pregnant in about 30 seconds. It's scratching an itch, no romance.

What I want to say is that, like many other pet people, you seem to project romantic human ideas on animals, that's all about how you feel about what you think they would feel if they were human, it has nothing to do with the actual rabbit. It's like, when the Lassie Movies aired, too many thought Collies were really smart and almost human, not the beautifull couch- and garden ornaments they actually are (Pardon to all Collie owners, I know they are adorable anyway)

All I'd like to do is to nudge you to think about it, because such feelings are not a good pbase for a rational decision. Whatever feelings, storys etc. pop up in your head are just there, the real world does it's own thing.

One thing I would do is write list with what you feel is a problem, and for each what the pros and contras are for getting another.
Like:

Rabbit digs at night.
Pro: Maybe a older, neutered male would be somewhat less active than a fertile doe in her prime.
Contra: All rabbits can do that, they need some way to work out their energy. (friend of mine returned 2 neutered boys (it's illegal here to keep single pet rabbits) recently because she couldn't cope with the level of activity throughout the night, she got panic attacks)

Rabbit makes a mess.
Pro?
Contra: All rabbits are capable of that, what makes the difference is the setup they live in.

And so on. It's your decision, and actually I think it's an opportunity to practice making decisions. Since it has some long term effects, I would make comming to a decision an own project . Also makes argueing more effective if you can cut out, or at least be aware of most of what is essentially "I want/I feel". Workload, costs, interference with the daily life, those are things what remain even if what you feel or want changed.


I do think you will benefit from having a pet, albeit it might put up some challenges, there will be compromises, no matter which rabbit. I would consider other pets too.
I can't have a own dog, so it's rabbits I share my home with (and the occasional foster dog for a week now and then)

 

[zuppa]

Thank you, this is VERY helpful.
Unfortunately, it seems I can't get a rabbit from a rabbit rescue. I'll just have to see if the SPCA has any and see if my mother will take me there to choose one.

SPCA BC also charge 76 dollars adoption fee including registration

thank you. I really do feel positive about having a rabbit. It’s just, I feel really bad for taking her from her home, so I think my best choice is to adopt one and if not that, I suppose buying will be the only thing I can rely on.
I know really well now that I might have to send her back to her original owner because I started crying and apologizing to her for taking her. So yeah, if my mother goes along with it, I’ll probably be getting a different rabbit. One who doesn’t have babies or a mate and one who is used to being the only rabbit.
I know a rabbit may not be the best choice, but it’s really what I want.

If she had babies 6 months ago she forgot about them already. Rabbits only take care of their kits until they are 6-8 weeks, after that mothers are usually separated from their babies and if they met each other later they act as it's completely foreign rabbit for them (except if girl rabbits were kept with mother a few months after birth, up to 5 months, after that they start fighting for territory as they become teenagers. Boys babies are separated from mother at 8-10 weeks, as they become sexually active and can get her pregnant).
Rabbit's life is shorter than humans and if her babies are 6 months think of them as young adults, they are not babies anymore and they are all on their own. So there's no point in feeling bad for taking her from her babies, they wouldn't stay together for any longer anyway.

I understand that you really want a rabbit, but you are 13 and from your comments I can see you're very responsible and nice person, I am really impressed that you decided to return Blossom to her owner but please think why she became a pain for your situation why your sisters complain? Because Blossom doesn't have proper setup and she's terribly uncomfortable this is stressful situation for her and she's not happy, she gets stressed and as a result she started biting and all, any other rabbit will do the same after a couple weeks or months, if you take a baby they grow really fast and you don't even know how big they will grow, maybe much bigger than Blossom!

So I agree that you should resist from getting another rabbit until your situation has changed and you have suitable housing and enough room for them. Be strong, I know it's not easy and you need a pet, but you want your pet to be happy, right? Maybe a little hamster would feel more comfortable, they don't need much room and you could build lots of tunnels for them, the cage you have would be huge for them they would be happy and they don't make noise.

I believe you are a very nice and very strong person and you want to be fair to your pet, you can't change your housing situation so try to compromise, be reasonable, I can see you are.

I've checked BC SPCA site there's also a fee for rabbits adoption and you will have to register them +11 dollars, so that would be 76 dollars in total, they also have hamsters and adoption fee is just 5 dollars.

There's also another option for people like you who don't have suitable accommodation to keep a house rabbit, you can volunteer with them possibly? Once a week for instance, why not? You can meet nice like-minded people and you go back to your bedroom and sleep well and your sisters won't complain, think about it as well.

Look, here's BC SPCA site I don't know your exact location but you can choose which shelter is closer to your home
https://adopt.spca.bc.ca/pets/?weight=any&age=any&gender=any&bonded=any&pet_name=&animal_id=

I also think that rats are very smart, hamsters are funny saving food in their mouth and they would fit into your situation more easily. Give it a think, you have a few options, when you will have more room you can get a rabbit too.

 

[zuppa]

But if you decided rabbit or die your best option would be a neutered male older than 1 year, not a baby